While We're Young Ideas

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Our Sunday Sports Notebook on the IVY League

May 9, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The IVY League led the way back in March 2020. Hopefully, the Presidents of the IVY League schools knew something back then and know something once again. Something more than the rest of us because the IVY League is coming back for Fall Football.

“Given the current steady decline of Covid-19 infections in this country, and the broad availability and uptake of vaccinations, we are optimistic that our campuses will be back to something close to normal by this fall, including in-person learning with students in residence,” the Council of presidents said in their statement. “And this includes our expectation for the resumption of regular competitive schedules for Ivy League athletics across all sports beginning in fall 2021.

Here in the Greater Boston area, Harvard announced its plans in March to have invite all undergraduates back to campus to live and attend in-person classes for the 2021 fall semester. University President Lawrence S. Bacowalso wrote to affiliates this week that Harvard will require all undergraduates living on campus in the fall to get inoculated against the coronavirus.

While most major football conferences returned to some on-field activity last fall, the schools in the IVY League sat on the sidelines. As time passed, most Division I conferences permitted conference play for the Winter 2020-21 and Spring 2021 seasons. A handful of Ivy League schools permitted teams to hold local scrimmages this spring, but Ivy League teams were unable to compete against one another.

Specifics for various school graduations and other large gatherings are being scrutinized at campuses all across America, and pro sports are gradually increasing the percentage of capacity allowing fans to watch their favorite teams. The Ivy League decision, for some reason or another, forecasts better times ahead.

Here’s hoping Harvard visits Yale for “The Game,” this coming November and a significant crowd assembles at the 64,000+ capacity Yale Bowl. One thing is for sure, whatever the percentage of capacity is allowed to watch the football game inside, there will be an equal or larger number of alum assembled in the parking lots, tailgating away and reminiscing about “Glory Days” of the past.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – May 2

May 2, 2021 by Terry Lyons

Sunday Sports Notes for May 2

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – It happens every spring. March Madness fades into One Shining Moment which almost simultaneously brings Major League Baseball’s Opening Day and the crack of the bat. Pro basketball and ice hockey take a back-seat breather in March and early April for the dog days of their seasons, but the playoff races begin to intensify and – soon enough – every single possession of every single minute of every single game matters.

At this time of year, good teams must defeat the bad ones.

That translates to the proverbial “must win” for every team in playoff contention to defeat every team playing .500 or worse.

First, let’s take a look at the NHL’s Boston Bruins who’ve played 50 games and, as of May 1, are 30-14-6 which calculates to 65 points. They are in fourth place but only two victories (or four points) from the NHL East Division-leading Washington Capitals. Sandwiching the Bruins are the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. The four best are lengths ahead of the bottom-feeder New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres.

The Bruins have won nine of their last 11 games, all against East Division foes. The six remaining games are also against their division opponents, with the next two against the Devils and the following deuce against the Rangers.

Bruins’ goalkeepers Tuukka Rask and newly elevated back-up Jeremy Swayman have stepped-up their games, peaking at the right time of year for a playoff run. Newly acquired (trade deadline) forward Taylor Hall’s arrival has coincided with the streak. In the 10 games he’s been a Boston Bruin, the team is 8-2 and Hall has five goals and three assists for eight points. He’s recorded a plus/minus rating of (+9,) while his shooting percentage has risen to a lofty 14.3 percent.

To sum it up, the Bruins are winning the games they “must win” if they are to compete – and succeed – in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Boston Celtics of the NBA can not claim such consistency. The Celtics boarded a roller coaster ride since Baylor soundly defeated Gonzaga at the NCAA Final Four. The trade deadline acquisition of Evan Fournier didn’t result in a boost a la Taylor Hall. Instead, Fournier went 0-10 and – after getting on track a game or two later – he landed on the COVID+ injured list.

From April 2nd to 17th, the Celtics won eight of nine games. From April 19th to 27th, the Celtics lost four of five, including two losses against those “must win” opponents – vs. the sub-five-hundred – Chicago Bulls (24-33), and Oklahoma City Thunder (21-41).

Heading into today’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers (35-28), the Celtics are (34-30, .531) and are holding down fourth place in the NBA’s Atlantic Division and the sixth slot in the Eastern Conference, dangerously close to the seventh-seed Miami Heat and the dreaded play-in tournament. Friday night’s miraculous 143-140 Celtics’ overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs included a franchise/Larry Bird-tying 60-point outing by Jason Tatum to help the Cs overcome a 32-point deficit (65-33, 3:58 left in the 2nd quarter).

Starting this evening, the Celtics play eight more regular season games down the playoff stretch, two against the Miami Heat. The “must wins” are evenly dispersed over the final fortnight of the 2020-21 season and they are circled vs Orlando, Chicago, Cleveland and Minnesota. But, to be a contender and a pretender, the Celtics will need to defeat the Heat, not once but twice.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) April 25th

April 25, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – One of the most amazing “fails” in the history of sports took place over the past few weeks and it will go down in the sports history books as something even worse than the XFLs (2001 & 2020) or the USFL.

The proposed European “Super League” of Futbol (Soccer for the Americans in the crowd) began and ended within a few days. The timeline was short and surreal:

Sunday, April 18th – Super League announcement doled out.
Monday, April 19th – The pushback from European fans became intense.
Tuesday, April 20th – The Super League began to fall apart
Wednesday, April 21st – The Super League was vanished, banished and apologies were issued to fans by team ownership and team presidents of the rogue Futbol clubs.
In the time it takes to clear waivers, the Super League and zillions of dollars of potential revenue for players and teams alike, became the Stupor League – a punchline for sports start-ups forever.

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As we know, or maybe for American fans – pretend to know – there are more leagues, cups and competitions in European Futbol that UFC fights on Pay-Per-View TV. They have Premier Leagues, they have FA Cups, they have Bundisligas, they have Spanish Liga, they have Copa del Reys, they have Italian Serie A and Coppa Italia, they have First Divisions in the Netherlands and Portugal and everywhere else, they have Scottish Premierships and they have UEFA Champions and UEFA Europa League.

There were Cup Winners Cups and even a Cup of Cups. Suffice to say, there are more Cups than in the Montreal Canadiens’ trophy case.

The creation of the European Super League would’ve been like skimming-off the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, KC Chiefs, New York Giants, the Denver Broncos and LA Rams and creating a mini-American Football (not Futbol) League of the perennial champs.

Except for what?

The fans of the Dallas Cowboys live and love their match-ups with the Washington FC and Philly Eagles. The KC Chiefs and their fans loath the Oakland Raiders and await each and every regular season match-up. The Packers live for the Black & Blue Division games between the Pack and Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.

That’s just what happened in Europa, as fans of Liverpool, Man United, Arsenal and Tottenham went ballistic at the idea of siding up with Real Madrid and a few of the others hand-selected.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez told Diario As of Spain the Super League “must have done something wrong” with the announcement of the project – never expecting the fans’ violent/protest reaction and the ultimate pushback from football’s governing bodies, politicians and industry sponsors. The last wiper was Perez claiming the founders will take “some weeks to reflect” on their next steps.

They’ll also need to ponder potential lawsuits and penalties from the various Leagues, UEFA, and FIFA – plus the double-down from UEFA and FIFA to bar rogue players from national competitions in the near future if they so dare to compete for an upstart new league, potentially disrupting the Futbol Gods.

For now, the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan – and the “as nyet” withdrawn Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan – all have retreated to their corners, slouched corrected by a strong union of European futbol fans who all despise American club ownership and influences (see Liverpool and John Henry/Fenway Sports and Arsenal’s Stan Kroenke as Exhibits 1-A & B).

Of note in the failed Stupor League was the fact PSG of Paris was not in the mix and the league failed to try for an American franchise to join the club, much to the MLS’ delight, for sure.

One mea culpa came from financier JP Morgan who issued an all-out apology, saying that it “regretted supporting soccer clubs in launching a breakaway European Super League after the plan collapsed earlier this week amid intense criticism from fans and politicians.” A rep for the bank said, “We clearly misjudged how this deal would be viewed by the wider football community and how it might impact them in the future. We will learn from this.”

Yeah, until the next $Billion-Dollar deal comes along.

PGA TOUR BEWARE: The one North American-based sport totally open to the formation of a new “Super League” is the PGA Tour and the method to infiltrate is on display this weekend at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the only match-play “team event” on the PGA schedule. Of course, the PGA has the hammer and could expel players who broke away, so the concept is a dream, but consider the fact a strong group of “Super Players” could break-away and form a Super Match League for pro golf. They would need to carve out five weekends a year (quarterly) and then one for the title (Thanksgiving in USA). Each match play tournament would be run much like the Zurich Classic this week. The four tournaments would create a “Final Four” of Match Play qualifiers (once you win a place for the Final Four, you no longer compete in the next tournament). The Super League/Final Four would be played on Thanksgiving Weekend at Pinehurst.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The NBA and NBA Players Association introduced the cryptocurrency pseudo-owning highlight phenomenon of Top Shot and the rest of the sports world is plotting how to follow along. … While never one to begrudge the new tech, whether it was glossy cards with authentic uniform strips inserted within instead of a strip of sour-tasting bubble gum, or the latest Air Jordans, there is ONE and ONLY ONE sports highlight I would choose to “own” and that would be Secretariat’s run at the 1973 Belmont Stakes. Everything else is playing for second place.

QUARTER CENTURY: It was 25 years ago (April 24, 1996), the NBA Board of Governors voted to create the WNBA. Not long after, Val Ackerman – currently the Commissioner of the BIG EAST Conference – was elected President of the WNBA, reporting to then-Commissioner of the NBA, David Stern. As the USA Basketball women’s senior national team prepared for that summer’s ‘96 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the WNBA signed Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo as its first three players and league ambassadors. … The league tipped-off June 21, 1997.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Not-fer-Nuthin’ but the MLB injured list is getting out of control, and its still April. In NO particular order, the following players have been hurt, on the IL and sidelined this season: Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, Christian Yelich, Eloy Jimenez, George Springer, Luke Voit, Lance Lynn, Ketel Marte, Jose Altuve, Max Kepler, Johnny Cuerto, Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Santander, Miguel Cabrera (no surprise), Juan Soto, Starling Marte, Anthony Rendon, Trevor Rosenthal, and Max Fried. That list places the likes of Chris Sale, Noah Syndergaard , and Justin Verlander on another page, as their injuries were documented well before the season or they’re recovering from surgery.

The Houston Astros are the only club to be hit hard by the COVID-19+ tests, and Altuve remains on the IL. Earlier, the Astros placed second baseman Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, catcher Martin Maldonado and reserve infielder Robel Garcia on the injured list due to MLB protocol.

HOOP-HOOP, Hoo-RAY: Forward Michael Foster Jr., a five-star prospect, has signed to play with NBA G League Ignite next season, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today. Foster, ranked by ESPN as the No. 7 prospect in the Class of 2021, is the first player to sign with NBA G League Ignite for its second season. … “I’m super ready to learn the NBA game and train like an NBA player from NBA guys while playing for NBA G League Ignite,” said Foster of his decision to “go pro” rather than take the collegiate route. … A 2021 McDonald’s All-American, Foster spent his last two high school seasons at Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, where he averaged 32.2 points and 18.4 rebounds as a senior and 26.3 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.1 blocks as a junior. In his first two high school seasons, Foster led Washington High School of Information Technology in his native Milwaukee to back-to-back Division 2 state runner-up finishes. He earned All-State and All-Area First Team honors as a sophomore.

COMMERCIALS: Here at While We’re Young (Ideas), we’ve had enough of the “I’ve got the brains, you’ve got the looks, let’s make lots of money,” spot. Plus, The Pet Shop Boys called, and they want their tune back. … Secondly, the nice Mom who helps her adopted daughter through her first serious break-up was a nice idea for Adopt US Kids, but if there’s another airing of the “plus, he’s tagged in 400 posts,” we’re apt to toss War & Peace through the TV screen. “Good bye, Dave.”

COMMERCIALS II: In the New England region, local furniture shoppe “Jordan’s Furniture” is again offering free furniture to customers who purchased goods if any pitcher on the Boston Red Sox pitches a “No Hitter,” between August 3rd and October 3rd. If so, everything is free. … The odds are on Sox starters Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodriguez at the moment, but the chances for free stuff would improve significantly if Sox ace Chris Sale were to return in his Cy Young Award form.

A NEW SIGN of the APOCALYPSE: ESPN and Marvel announced a “groundbreaking collaboration” to launch the first-ever Marvel-inspired alternate presentation for the Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans game on Monday, May 3. The exclusive alternate presentation, NBA Special Edition Presented by State Farm: Marvel’s Arena of Heroes, will start at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes with the traditional game telecast on ESPN.

The latest development in Marvel and ESPN’s long history of sports content collaboration, the telecast will integrate elements from an original Marvel story and iconic characters including Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Black Widow, and Doctor Strange throughout the live game, including 3D virtual characters, custom graphics and animation packages.

From the press release: “After a narrow victory over an invading alien army, the Avengers receive an ominous threat from the enemy who vows to return in greater numbers and force. The Black Panther and Iron Man quickly realize they will need more help and form a plan to expand their ranks to fight this impending threat. Recognizing the superior physical abilities, agility, and tenacity of Earth’s greatest athletes, the Avengers will hold a series of contests where the winners earn the right to train and fight alongside them as Marvel’s Champions! The Avengers will begin their recruitment with the NBA elite and observe the battle between the Warriors and the Pelicans, focusing on three star players from each team.”

That said, we LONG for the days of the late Rudolph “Spider” Edwards sweeping the Boston Garden parquet in his trademark “fedora’ hat as the lone “entertainment” for a game.

WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY: The 2021 IIHF Championship tournament, scheduled in Nova Scotia with a start date of May 6 has been canceled due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in Canada. The IIHF is looking into a new date to play the women’s tourney this summer. … Makes you wonder about the Tokyo Olympic Games?

CFP PREDICTING ALL SYSTEMS GO: “It was quite a year,” said the great Bill Hancock, the Executive Director of the CFP. “Given all the challenges presented by the pandemic, teams were fortunate to have played as many games as they did. It’s a real testament to the student-athletes, commissioners and their staffs, athletics directors, coaches, the schools’ staffs, medical personnel, and, frankly, everyone who loves this game. Satisfaction with the CFP remains high, and we can’t wait for what we hope will be a more typical season this fall.” … Hancock said the CFP intends to return to the traditional pageantry of college football for the CFP games this year. “We are planning to have marching bands, cheerleaders, mascots and the rest of the wonderful traditions at the CFP games. We are optimistic, but, of course, everything will depend on the circumstances this fall.”

HUDDLE-UP: According to newsletter, Huddle Up, sports media company Overtime almost broke the internet when they announced the launch of Overtime Elite (OTE), a professional basketball league that will pay high school-aged players $100,000 or more. That is along the lines of what the NBA and its G-League are doing with their Ignite franchise. … The key issue for Overtime was the cash needed to jump-start a pro-type league amidst the pandemic. According to the report, Overtime Elite raised an $80 million Series C round that values the business at more than $250 million.

The round included investors:

Jeff Bezos
Drake (musician/rap; ambassador to Toronto Raptors)
Alexis Ohanian
Devin Booker
Pau Gasol

Furthermore, Sapphire Sport and Black Capital led the Series C round, with more than 25 current and former NBA players participating.

EXIT NIKE: Both gymnast Simone Biles and the estate representatives for Kobe Bryant (headed by his widow Vanessa) exited the Nike family this week. Biles signed-up for a new apparel partnership with Athleta that she says more closely “reflects her values.” Biles told the WSJ: “I felt like it wasn’t just about my achievements, it’s what I stood for and how they were going to help me use my voice and also be a voice for females and kids,” she said. “I feel like they also support me, not just as an athlete, but just as an individual outside of the gym and the change that I want to create, which is so refreshing.” … Meanwhile, a Nike spokesperson stated: “Simone Biles is an incredible athlete and we wish her the very best,” and that “we will continue to champion, celebrate and evolve to support our female athletes.” … As for Kobe Bryant, ESPN reported that “sources” noted, “Bryant and the estate had grown frustrated with Nike limiting the availability of Kobe products during his retirement and after his January 2020 death in a helicopter crash. There was also frustration with the lack of availability of Kobe footwear in kids’ sizes, according to sources.” … Vanessa Bryant added: “My hope will always be to allow Kobe’s fans to get and wear his products,” Vanessa Bryant said. “I will continue to fight for that. Kobe’s products sell out in seconds. That says everything. … I was hoping to forge a lifelong partnership with Nike that reflects my husband’s legacy. We will always do everything we can to honor Kobe and Gigi’s legacies. That will never change.”

CONDOLENCES: Condolences are in order for the family of Boston basketball prospect Terrence Clarke, a 19-year old from Roxbury who died in an auto accident in Los Angeles on Thursday night. He was in California for work-outs and auditions to prepare for the NBA Draft. Clarke played ball at Roxbury’s Vine Street Community Center, then for The Rivers School, Brewster Academy and then the University of Kentucky.

Parting Words & Music

Suggested by a column contributor. The Waterboys.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Sunday Sports Notes – April 18

April 18, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – As 6.8 inches of frosted flakes-sized snow fell this week on the Woo-Sox new digs in Worcester, Massachusetts this week, Major League Baseball recognized Jackie Robinson Day while MLB.com also celebrated the 40-year anniversary of Fernando-Mania and the amazing 1981 season of LA Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year winner of that amazing baseball season.

MLB’s annual tribute allows every player in the league to wear No. 42 and it’s probably the ultimate tribute to any one player of any pro sports league anywhere. Every April 15th, MLB dedicates all of its resources to memorializing the great Brooklyn Dodgers player who broke the color barrier for the majors.

It’s wonderful, as every year new fans of the game are introduced to the story of the great Jackie Robinson. Simply put, it’s a pleasure to behold albeit a daunting challenge to official scorers everywhere in the league.

While not on the level of Jackie Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela deserves praise, especially from the greater Los Angeles area and from a nation of Mexican fans who enjoyed every minute of the full ride of Valenzuela’s MLB career.

“El Toro” broke onto the MLB scene in 1980 and pitched in only 10 games, going (2-0) in 17.2 innings pitched. He struck out 16 batters and allowed eight hits and two runs, none earned. His WHIP (walks, hits over Innings Pitched) was a low 0.74.

The magic of “Fernando-Mania” would come a year later, in 1981, when he went (13-7) over 192.1 innings, earned a 2.48 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP while striking out 180 batters and holding his opponents to a .205 batting average. His performance was limited by the ‘81 MLB player’s strike. Valenzuela’s magical run lasted another nine seasons with the Dodgers, until 1991 when he was released by the Dodgers and picked up, first by the California Angels, then bouncing around to the Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres and eventually retiring from MLB as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

On December 20, 2006, in Mexicali, BC, Mexico, Valenzuela started for Los Aguilas de Mexicali in the last professional game of his career.

All that aside, that ‘81 season started a five-year run which built to the 1986 season when he went (21-11), threw 20 complete games and struck out a career-high 242 along with earning Gold Glove honors.

MLB dot com recognized the 40th anniversary of Valenzuela’s ‘81 season in a big way and it was fabulous to see this week.

Fernando Valenzuela and his Luis Tiant style delivery

As you might expect with this column’s goal to zig when everyone else zags, so let’s note there’s another anniversary to be recognized this summer, as it’s the 35th year since the Summer of ‘76, MLB’s celebration of the “Bi-Centennial” and the Summer of Mark “The Bird” Fidrych, he who was born in the place of 6.8 inches of April 16, 2021 snowfall.

Fidrych made his MLB rookie debut on April 20, 1976. So sadly, 33 years later – to the exact date – he died in a freak truck accident on his Northborogh, Massachusetts farm, suffocating as his clothes were caught up in the drive shaft underneath his truck.

Back in the Spirit of ‘76, any baseball fan alive recalls the amazing antics and the success they brought to a rookie pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.

Fidrych made the Tigers roster as a non-roster invitee to the Tigers’ spring training and, although he made his debut on April 20, he only pitched one inning through mid-May. In his third MLB appearance on May 15, Fidrych made his first major league start, caught by Bruce Kimm, his battery-mate from 1975 at Triple A minors in Evansville. He held the Cleveland Indians hitless through six innings and tossed an impressive two-hit, (2–1) complete game victory, issuing only one walk while striking-out five batters.

For baseball fans, it wasn’t the 2-1 win nor the two-hitter that caught their attention, but it was the fact Fidrych frequently paced the mound and talked to the baseball during his pre-pitch warm-ups. Fidrych would strut around the mound, manicure the dirt on the surface of the mound and near the pitching rubber, never allowing the grounds crew to go near his work of art, all the while talking to the baseballs.

Fidrich’s 1980s-style hair, curly and free-flowing earned his his nickname of “The Bird” as he had somewhat of a resemblance to Sesame Street’s “Big Bird” and at 6-foot-three, no one argued with the connection.

Here’s a glimpse of what happened that summer:

May 25: Fidrych started at Fenway Park in Boston and pitched in front of busloads of his friends and family from nearby Worcester and Northborough but lost when he allowed a two-run homer to Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski while his Tigers fell to a Luis Tiant masterpiece shut-out.
May 31: Fidrych pitched an 11-inning complete game victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and momentum began to build.
June 5: He pitched another 11-inning complete game victory over the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
June 11: Fidrych pitched another complete game, 4–3, victory over the California Angels before a crowd of 36,377 on a Friday night at Tiger Stadium.
June 19: Fidrych pitched yet another complete game, 4–3, victory over the Kansas City Royals before a crowd of 21,659 on a Wednesday night at Tiger Stadium.
June 24: Fidrych returned to Fenway Park in Boston with his friends and family in the stands, yet again. He gave up back-to-back home runs to Fred Lynn and Yastrzemski but won the game in his sixth consecutive start.
June 28: Only four days later, Fidrych pitched before 47,855 at Tiger Stadium and an ABC Sports Monday Night Baseball national television audience in the millions, and Fidrych and the Tigers earned a 5–1 complete-game victory over the ‘76 World Series bound New York Yankees. With Fidrych’s pace, the game took only an hour and 51 minutes and Tigers fans would not leave the stadium until The Bird emerged from the dugout for a celebratory curtain call. After the broadcast, which was filled with plenty of “Bird” antics, Fidrych became a national celebrity.
July 3: Fidrych pitched before a sell-out crowd of 51,650 on a Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, shutting out the Baltimore Orioles, 4–0, and improving to 9–1 in ten starts. He reduced his earned run average (ERA) to 1.85.
July 9: Pitching in front of a sell-out crowd of 51,041 at Tiger Stadium, Fidrych held the KC Royals to one run in nine innings, but run support was non-existent as Dennis Leonard shut out the Tigers, 1–0. Despite the loss, Detroit fans refused to leave the stadium, once again, until “The Bird” made a curtain call.
July 13: Mark “The Bird” Fidrych became only the second rookie to start in the MLB All-Star Game (following Dave Stenhouse in 1962) but he gave up two earned runs in the first inning, none in the second, and took the loss.
Fidrych got back to his winning ways after the MLB All-Star break and won his tenth game, a 1–0 victory over the Oakland A’s. Four days later in Minneapolis, before Fidrych’s 13th start, the Minnesota Twins released an unlucky 13 homing pigeons on the mound before the game. According to Fidrych, “they tried to do that to blow my concentration,” but he went out and pitched another complete game, an 8–3 win, to improve his record to 11–2.

On the 1976 season, Fidrych went (19-9) with 24 complete games and 250 innings pitched. He struck-out 97 batters and registered a 2.34 ERA and a 1.079 WHIP. He finished second to Jim Palmer in the 1976 American League Cy Young award voting and 11th in the AL MVP voting. He won the AL Rookie of the Year with all but two of the first place votes.

His 1977-through-1980 MLB seasons could not match-up with the magical year of ‘76 after he tore cartilage in his knee, fooling around in the outfield during his 1977 spring training sessions. At the end of the ‘81 season, the Tigers released The Bird and he was signed by the Boston Red Sox. Fidrych reported to the minors but he did not make it back to the majors. A torn rotator cuff injury was later diagnosed, in 1985, an injury he must’ve suffered during a July 4, 1977 game when he suddenly felt his arm “go dead.”

Fidrych had retired from baseball in 1983 at the tender age of 29 years old.

Fidrych lived with his wife, Ann, whom he married in 1986, and they settled nicely, living on a 107-acre farm in Northborough. They had a daughter, Jessica. Aside from fixing up his farmhouse, he worked as a contractor hauling gravel and asphalt in a ten-wheeler. On weekends, he helped out in his mother-in-law’s business, Chet’s Diner, on Route 20 in Northborough. The diner was later operated by his daughter.

He died, as noted above, on April 13, 2009 at the age of 54.

To my knowledge and via research online, there were no mentions of Fidrych this past week.

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook – April 11th

April 11, 2021 by Terry Lyons

Sports Notes, Thoughts, and Observations on Masters Weekend

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – This will be a column of free-flowing thoughts and observations from the past week. In honor of the Masters, I bring you a Sunday Sports Notebook “Unlike Any Other.”

“One Shining Moment” was lauded last week just before the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament came to a wonderful Final Four close with one amazing semi-final game (Gonzaga over UCLA) and an incredible display of overall offensive and defensive talent by the 2021 NCAA Champion Baylor Bears with their title win over the previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Little did we know that “One Shining Moment is actually a not-so-distant cousin to the famous Masters mantra “Tradition Unlike Any Other” – a phrase made famous by CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz. The catch-phrase, can be attributed (once said Nantz) to the same man who was behind “One Shining Moment.” That is Doug Towey, the CBS Sports Creative Director who so sadly passed away in 2009 at the age of 61. … In the sports industry, it’s important to “Make a Mark,“and Towey did that behind the scenes at Blackrock with two iconic spring sports traditions that will – hopefully – last forever.

Speaking of “Making a Mark,” Rick Welts, the President of the Golden State Warriors, this week announced that this season would be his last with the franchise. In full disclosure, I used to report to Welts when he was the head of communications and marketing at the NBA – a bit before his promotion to the President of NBA Properties.

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In one of Welts’ senior management presentations at an internal business summit held at the Doral Conference Center in Rye Brook, NY, he noted the most important things to consider if you were to be a success at the NBA. Four of them always resonated with me and rose to the top of Welts’ list:

Know the NBA’s History
You’re Often Judged by the Way You Contribute to the Goals of Others
Conflict is Good; Un-resolved Conflict is Not Good.
Make a Mark

That, indeed, is what Welts did and will continue to do so, in some fashion, I am sure.

Winning seems to follow Rick Welts around, as evidenced by a laundry list of amazing career accomplishments. Here are a few off the top of my head:

In his first sports job, as a ballboy for the now defunct Seattle SuperSonics, the Sonics won the NBA Championship (1979). More importantly, those years struck the chords for a lifetime friendship between Welts and Bill Russell, the NBA’s “Babe Ruth.”
As the head of NBA Properties, the business and marketing arm of the league, Welts spearheaded the launch and marketing of the WNBA, together with USA Basketball and his staff, he planned and executed all media, marketing and PR efforts behind the 1992 USA Basketball Dream Team – from inception to the staging of the Basketball Tournament of the Americas in Portland (the USA had to qualify for Barcelona ‘92) and right up until the USOC took over marketing rights at the ‘92 Summer Games. Welts built NBA Properties and further grew its influence in Consumer Products (think NBA Hoop Cards, E/A Sports video games, apparel, you name it) into a $2 Billion operation that had a mantra of, “we’re not just in the business to sell, but more importantly to renew and improve existing sponsorships, licensees and advertisers.” … Aside from those major marks, Welts was behind the expansion of the NBA All-Star Game into a full NBA All-Star Weekend, complete with All-Star Saturday’s Slam-Dunk and popular Three-Point Shootout. … He played a lead roll in most of the NBA’s International business and marketing efforts, including the establishment of regional offices around the world. … There’s plenty more but column inches, even online, are somewhat limited.
After his stint at the NBA league office, Welts took a side-step to work with Chase Carey and FOX Sports’ interests in professional sports, including STAPLES Center, the LA Dodgers and other investments but the lure of the NBA came calling and he joined the Phoenix Suns as President, and later team CEO, running the franchise’s business operations. … In 2002, when Welts joined, the Suns went 36-46 but by 2004-05, they soared to a 62-20 record under Coach Mike D’Antoni. (The Suns fell short in the Western Conference finals.)
After his nine-year stint with the Suns, Welts joined the Golden State Warriors as team President in October, 2011. Of course, most credit is due to all-star level talent and strong coaching by Steve Kerr, but welts helped place an organizational foundation under the Warriors that resulted in five appearances in the NBA Finals and three NBA Championships (2015, ‘17 and ‘18).
In addition to his successes around the court, Welts also made a huge mark when, in May, 2011, he announced to the sports industry and the world that he was gay, and in doing so, was the first executive in m major sports to take that step so publicly in a front page New York Times story, nonetheless. … Welts noted he received thousands of notes, emails and not one was negative in any manner. … His tireless philanthropic work and true inspiration to all in the SF-Bay area just might outshine those 60+ win seasons and three NBA championship rings.
Most recently, Welts next took on one of the most difficult tasks in the sports industry as the Warriors’ lead exec for the club’s move from Oakland to San Francisco and the building of the brand new Chase Center and its surrounding, privately financed “Thrive City” multi-purpose entertainment facilities.

What’s Next or Who’s Got Next? Welts seems to be keeping it close to the vest while looking forward to a near-future, post global pandemic return to some normalcy and maybe travel to some of the spots he didn’t really get to see while on the job, whether they be Paris or Barcelona or other points in the worlds.

His interview with Mark Spears of The Undefeated touched on many of these very topics. Click HERE to read that column.

While Welts takes a well-deserved break from the pressure and running an organization in the middle to third quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic, this columnists wonders aloud what might happen if the Seattle SuperSonics franchise were to be resurrected sometime soon in the Emerald City and an ownership stake and President/CEO position came calling for a man to jump-start the expansion franchise?

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – April 4

April 4, 2021 by Terry Lyons

MLB’s Opening Day Brings Excitement, Wonder and Hope

By TERRY LYONS

The late, great Shelby Strother once wrote in a Christmas-New Years sports column, “The Annual Second Chance is near – it’s called New Year’s Eve. It is the window of opportunity where the hopes and fears of all the year (not to mention the mistakes) can be erased.”

You might argue, there is a much better day than New Year’s Eve to do a self examination of the human mind and the life it leads. There is a day when Spring Training is in the rearview mirror and suddenly, everything is for REAL. It all counts. Together with blooming annuals, chirping birds, the NCAA Final Four, and a crowd at Mahoney’s Garden Center, we bring you Opening Day of Major League Baseball.

For most of Baseball, Opening Day was April 1st, April Fools Day which is an indicator for some to be mentioned later in this column of notes. For New Englanders, Opening Day was RAINED OUT at Fenway Park but you can count on Baseball to be there and, indeed, it was on Good Friday.

But as Jimmy Fallon’s character, Ben, said in “Fever Pitch,” you can count on Baseball. “Every April, they’re here. At 1:05 or at 7:05, there is a game. And if it gets rained out, guess what? They make it up to you. Does anyone else in your life do that?”

They made it up on Friday, complete with all the Opening Day splendors of ceremony, bunting, social distancing, 39-degree weather and fly-overs. The Baltimore Orioles were the visiting team and their starting pitcher, John Means of Olathe, Kansas, gave up a lead-off single to Red Sox 2B Kiké Hernandez much to the delight of the 4,452 fans lucky enough to score a ticket for such a special game.

Then, reality set in and – for Red Sox fans – often, “Reality Sucks!”

The kid from Johnson County, Kansas threw darts and a sinking change-up that must’ve fallen-off a cliff in Oz. Means tossed 7.0 innings of one-hit baseball, including his retirement of 18 consecutive Boston batters. When John throws a baseball, he Means business and the Red Sox were shut-out on their Opening Day for the first time since 1976.

Yet, somehow, even Red Sox fans went home happy.

Baseball – with some fans in the stands – was back and people came to the game. Better yet? In Texas on Monday, they’re expecting 40,300 at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers play host against a homeless team originally from Toronto. Must be a “give-away day,” right? Just ask the Washington Nationals.

Rangers fans are obviously shouting, “Pandemic Fever be Damned,” and how can you blame them? We’ve all endured a year of a global pandemic, and so many of our global neighbors, some 2,836,220, have passed away while 130,101,770 of our brothers and sisters threw their own sinking change-ups and one-hit the disease, thank God.

Sunshine, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Baseball bring us the excitement, wonder of what the future may bring in the standings of ball and the ladder of life, and hope. Dear, precious hope.

As James Earl Jones, playing Terence Mann in Field of Dreams said so eloquently to Kevin Costner, portraying Ray Kinsella as they discussed the allure of the sport we call our National Pastime:

“People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.”

Yes. People came out to the old ballgame and things were good once again for the day.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Baseball’s Opening Day might be one of the more underrated of GREAT events on our normal, annual sports calendar.

Another is upon us, as well. That being March Madness and the Final Four. The Saturday semifinals of the tournament is on that lofty list of the greatest days in sports. The underrated gem, is the half hour before tip-off of the first game on Saturday. At that point in time, the fans of the four teams in the gym ALL think they have a shot at the National Championship. The excitement and buzz in that half-hour might be the very best 30 minutes in sports.

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook

March 27, 2021 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) of March 28

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The price tags of each NBA expansion franchise over the last 40-plus years are etched in the mind of this NBA-lifer gone fishing’ in New England back in 2008. Yes, this column construction worker began as an intern at the NBA league office in 1980 and a lot was going on. Namely:

It was the same year Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird began their (paid) NBA internships as league rookies.
It was the same year the NBA adopted the “gimmicky” Three-Point Field Goal made popular in the ABA.
It was the same season the New Orleans Jazz became the Utah Jazz.
It was the same year that Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Los Angeles Lakers and The Fabulous Forum from Jack Kent Cooke.
It was the same year that the late, great Darryl Dawkins broke two glass backboards.
It was the same year David Stern was promoted to Executive Veep – Business and Legal Affairs, under Commissioner Lawrence F. “Larry” O’Brien.
And, it was the same year the NBA laid the foundation for the Dallas Mavericks to become the NBA’s 23rd franchise, beginning the following season – 1980-81.

The purchase price for the Mavericks was a cool $12 million.

When it came time to expand again, in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons, the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic gained entrance to the NBA at the cost of $32.5 million.

The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies bought in as expansion teams in 1995-96 at the cost of a then-whopping $125 million.

The Charlotte Bobcats joined the NBA party for a cool $400 million in 2009-10.

It seemed ridiculous until the Los Angeles Clippers were sold by disgraced team owner Donald Sterling to an anxious to join the club Steve Ballmer for $2 billion in the summer of 2014. That franchise purchase (not via expansion) changed everything across every professional sports franchise.

Nowadays for the NBA, Commissioner Adam Silver is floating a $2.5 billionexpansion fee as a starting point for discussion. Undoubtedly, someone will pay it, most likely to replace the Seattle SuperSonics in the Emerald City.

Now! Sit down for this!

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Our good friends at Sportico issued franchise valuations for the Major League Baseball this week. Read it and weep if your family name isn’t Steinbrenner, Angelos or Illitch.

Here’s the Top 10:

1 New York Yankees – $6.75 billion

2 Boston Red Sox – $4.80 billion

3 Los Angeles Dodgers – $4.62 billion

4 Chicago Cubs – $4.14 billion

5 San Francisco Giants – $3.49 billion

6 New York Mets – $2.48 billion

7 Los Angeles Angels – $2.46 billion

8 Atlanta Braves – $2.38 billion

9 St. Louis Cardinals – $2.36 billion

10 Philadelphia Phillies – $2.28 billion

(Note: The New York Mets were just purchased by Steve Cohen for a record $2.475 billion.)

Sportico last did the NFL franchise valuations for the 2020 season.

Here was the Top 10 of American Footy:

1. Dallas Cowboys – $6.43 billion

2. New England Patriots – $4.97 billion

3. Los Angeles Rams – $4.10 billion

4. New York Giants – $4.00 billion

5. New York Jets – $3.70 billion

6. San Francisco 49ers – $3.63 billion

7. Washington Football Team – $3.58 billion

8. Chicago Bears – $3.41 billion

9. Philadelphia Eagles – $3.35 billion

10. Houston Texans – $3.34 billion

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TL’s Sunday Notebook – March 21

March 21, 2021 by Terry Lyons

BOSTON – The Road to the Final Four isn’t going through Lexington, Kentucky. Nor is it going through Durham, North Carolina. The Road isn’t North Broad Street in Philadelphia where Temple University holds the fifth best college basketball winning percentage of all-time and it’s not taking a turn on the corners of Grand Central Parkway, Union Turnpike and Utopia Boulevard in Jamaica Estates, Queens where St. John’s boasts the ninth winningest basketball program in the history of the sport.

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Those traveling to Indianapolis for the Final Four won’t see the Golden Dome of Notre Dame in South Bend, and the Indiana Hoosiers won’t be playing although they’re using their gym. No Arizona, nor U of Vermont, and no Dayton Flyers – all NCAA regulars.

Gonzaga, a college basketball program established in 1908 and the 32nd winningest team in history holds the overall No. 1 seeding in place of longtime college blue bloods like the Kentucky Wildcats or Duke University Blue Demons.

The times have changed as Antoine Walker wasn’t coming through the door for Kentucky fans, and Christian Laettner wasn’t coming through the doors of Cameron for the Crazies.

The question (and possible answer) for this column is WHY?

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Deserving a Second Chance

February 20, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

BOSTON – Who amongst us, doesn’t deserve a second chance?

During the 1980s, NBA All-Star guard Michael Ray Richardson was thrown-out of the league for failing to adhere to the NBA’s anti-drug program but was later given another chance. A decade later, Richardson thanked the late David Stern who as Commissioner of the NBA was credited by the wayward star for saving his life by providing the tough love, then rehabilitation from a serious drug problem.

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In the ‘70s and ‘80s, substance abuse problems and the need for second chances became common place, unfortunately. New York Mets stars Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry each fell into drug dependency and abuse asa they were being built up by Mets fans as long-awaited superstars. They were given second chances by Baseball and New York fans and turned it around.

Former Celtics guard Chris Herren falls into the same category and now counsels youth against the pitfalls of substance abuse, as does basketball’s Vin Baker, who admitted to his fight against alcoholism and worked his way back, first taking a job as an assistant high school basketball coach in Connecticut in 2014. Afterward, he worked as a Starbucks coffee store manager in 2015, and now is back in the pros, working as an assistant coach with one of his former NBA teams, the Milwaukee Bucks.

Not all stories of rebounding for a second chance stem from drugs or alcohol abuse. Olympic speed-skater Dan Jansen was primed for possible medal contention in the 500 and 1,000 meter speed skating races at the 1988 Winter Olympics when – on the day of the 500 meter event – he received a call from his family home in Wisconsin that his 27-year old sister (Jane Marie Beres) was dying from leukemia.

Jansen attempted to speak with his sister by phone, but she was not able to respond. He was later informed of her death and he tried to compete but fell in the 500, distraught. Four days later, in the 1,000 he began with record-breaking speed only to fall again. Jansen left the ‘88 Games in Calgary with no medals and found himself unable to medal at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville.

Jansen made good on his third chance, when he trained and won a World Championship in 1993 then took the gold in the 1,000 at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer in one of the most heartwarming and remarkable stories of USA Olympic Games history.

Again, along the lines of the remarkable is the story of Seabiscuit, one of the greatest thoroughbred race horses of all-time.

“In 1938, the year’s No. 1 newsmaker was not FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. Nor was it Lou Gehrig or Clark Gable. The subject of the most newspaper column inches in 1938 wasn’t even a person. It was an undersized, crooked-legged racehorse named Seabiscuit,” wrote Laura Hillenbrand in Seabiscuit, An American Legend.

In 2003, Seabiscuit’s story was transformed into an Academy Award nominated film (Best Picture), based on the best-selling book by Hillenbrand. Directed by Gary Ross and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, among others, Seabiscuit is in my personal Top 3 and it is my No. 1 favorite “sports” motion picture of all-time.

As we’re delving into “second chances,” Seabiscuit leads the pack when you study the true-life story of an undersized and overlooked thoroughbred whose unexpected success made him “the people’s favorite” and a true sign of hope for the masses in the USA during the Great Depression.

Seabiscuit is also the story of how three men — Charles Howard, Tom Smith, and Red Pollard — overcome personal limitations, demons, and tragedies, as well as economic hard times to bring about Seabiscuit’s thrilling and inspiring victories. The horse was sold to Howard for $8,000 at a Saratoga auction after being trained to lose to would-be greater racehorses. And, lose he did to the point where he was disregarded and discarded.

“You don’t throw a whole life away because he’s banged up a little,” Seabiscuit’s owner Charles Howard said, echoing Tom Smith, then adding later: “Sometimes all somebody needs is a second chance. A lot of people out there know what I mean.”

“You know, everybody thinks we found this broken-down horse and fixed him,” said Pollard, the over-sized jockey played by Tobey Maguire in the film. “But we didn’t. He fixed us; every one of us. And I guess in a way, we kinda fixed each other too.”

That brings us to the 2021 Boston Red Sox baseball season and the second chance being provided to Sox Manager Alex Cora.

There’s “no rooting in the press box,” of course, but even “Tick Tock McLaughlin” would be making his “Lazarus of Bethany” references as it pertains to the vaunted Sox organization placing new trust in Cora after his dismissal and one-year suspension for his center stage effort in the Houston Astros cheating scandal.

In January 2020, the Red Sox and Cora mutually agreed to parting ways after the Astros scandal cost the jobs of Houston GM Jeff Luhnow and team Manager A.J. Hinch. In the COVID-19 limited 2020 season Ron Roenickefilled in nicely for the Sox, but on November 6, 2020 – not long after Mookie Betts and the LA Dodgers were crowned World Champs – Cora was re-hired and signed to a two-year contract by Boston.

While a 108-54 record with the Sox this season is not to be, Red Sox fans and the few veteran players left from the record-setting 2018 season will be supporting Cora in a big way.

The reason?

While Americans enjoy building up heroes then knocking them down, the story isn’t complete and a fan isn’t satisfied until that broken hero gets his/her second chance.

That’s the case this season with Cora and the Sox, although he must now help rebuild the club, rather than rejoice in 100+ wins alongside the likes of Betts, David “Big Papi” Ortiz, Chris Sale and Xander Bogaerts.

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