While We're Young Ideas

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 14, 2024

January 14, 2024 by Terry Lyons

January 14, 2024

By TERRY LYONS

FOXBOROUGH – Sunrise, sunset. Cold running water, direct from your home faucet. The unconditional love of a puppy. The U.S. Mail. The dial tone (remember those?).

What are the things we count on but always take for granted?

For two dozen years, at 1:00pm or 4:00pm on an NFL Football Sunday (or Sunday Night, Monday Night or Thursday night), we could count on seeing Bill Belichick run out to a football field to coach the New England Patriots.

During the week, leading up to the game, we could count of Belichick to say nothing about his game plan. He’d complement the opposing team and say absolutely nothing else. He sometimes answered media questions with one word or even one syllable answers.

It’s something we could count on.

Patented answers to basic, softball questions: “Good, solid contributions from the players – all three phases of the game.”

On an excellent contribution by any one player: “Well, some good things and again, a lot of things we can improve on.”

We heard it week-after-week, year-after-year for 24 years. In the twenty-four years of postgame press conferences and Monday morning reviews, Belichick gave up nothing. Often expressionless, he dead-panned one short answer after another. Print, radio, TV all got the same – nothing.

Then, an appearance on an NFL at 100 special or a guest appearance for ESPN’s College Game Day before the Army vs. Navy game, and Belichick would turn into a quote machine. He’d tell stories, provide anecdotes, remember everything from his childhood to his first coaching job to yesterday afternoon – as long as it wasn’t about the New England Patriots.

He’d delve deeply into the history of the NFL, the great coaches, the Top 100 players of all-time. All tremendous, meaningful commentary. But, a question about the Patriots’ recent loss?

“It’s on to Cincinnati.”

After 333 wins, 31 postseason wins and six Super Bowl titles, he’s gone – “a mutual decision,” said team guidance counselor and franchise owner Robert Kraft. Yes, he’s gone – like the lyrics in a Hall and Oates song. He’s gone, surely to coach somewhere else and set the NFL’s all-time record for coaching wins. He’s gone, but he’s only 27 NFL wins away from passing the great Don Shula as the winningest coach the game has ever seen.

In a town where the Celtics’ Red Auerbach was the greatest coach of all-time, Boston might have to commission a statue of Belichick to sit right down on the bench with Red.

There are fond memories, of course. Belichick with Tom Brady. Belichick dressed up as a pirate to go roller skating at a Halloween Party at the request of Randy Moss. Belichick focused for the win even though the NFC’s Atlanta Falcons led Super Bowl LI, 28-3, midway through the third quarter.

But, just like the 6:00am train from South Station, Belichick was there, on time, ready to “Do His Job,” as he encouraged his every player to do the same.

Off the field, he’s delightful. A summertime gathering for the Bill Belichick Foundation would produce stories, smiles and hundreds of photos with the fans. At the press conference (with no Q&A), Belichick’s voice broke when he paid tribute to the fans. Somehow, he made it through speaking about the organization, the team owners, the coaches, the players and he even named his “right hand man,” Berj Najarian with a voice as solid as his successor, Jerod Mayo. But, the fans … it was the thought of the fans that made the toughest guy in pro football crack, for just a second.

It revealed one thing about a guy who would do anything for his players, his coaches, his staff. It revealed he doesn’t coach for the money or the fame. He’s got enough of both. It revealed he does what he does, he does his job and asks others to do their job all for the benefit of the fans of the New England Patriots.

The fans might count on him to be there for a 1:00pm game next Fall, but he’ll be on the other sideline and he’ll be coaching for the fans of another team.

It will be the New England Patriots’ biggest loss in franchise history. They let the greatest coach in all of sports walk out the door in the stupidest “mutual decision” in the history of American sports.

WINNINGEST COACHES IN NFL HISTORY

(Name, Regular Season Victories)

Don Shula – 328
George Hallas – 318
Bill Belichick – 302
Andy Reid – 258
Tom Landry – 250
Curly Lambeau – 226
Marty Schottenheimer – 200
Chuck Noll – 193
Dan Reeves – 190
Chuck Knox – 186

Here’s what “Seat Club” looked like for this week’s CFB Playoff Championship

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: You’ve heard of Sam’s Club, Lions Club, Lending Club, or Boys & Girls Clubs. Get ready for the “Seat Club.” Sports industry veteran and serial entrepreneur Cole Rubin recently launched “Seat Club,” a new marketplace designed to help consumers avoid all hidden fees and markups when purchasing tickets for live events at the lowest possible price on the secondary market. The marketplace, which sells tickets to its members at its cost without any markups or fees, officially launched this week and can be found at https://seatclub.com

“The biggest complaint consumers have in the event space, are fees and markups,” said Rubin. “Fees and markups make the ticket buying process frustrating and more expensive than necessary, so we built Seat Club as the pathway to solve these problems.

“We have spent a great deal of time talking to fans and event producers, and can now deliver this unique value proposition, where our members know they are getting the best pricing, and will save countless hours comparing ticket prices online. The price you see listed on our platform is the price you pay, with no fees added on later in the checkout process.

“There are no hidden markups, unlike other platforms who claim they don’t charge fees, but bake profits into the listed cost of tickets. Seat Club’s pricing may be as much as 35% less than competitors for the same exact tickets, which is significant, especially on high profile events. We believe in transparency, and our sole source of revenue comes from our membership fee,” added Rubin.

Seat Club’s $99/year membership includes:

Access to the same ticket inventory as the top secondary sites
No fees or markups, members buy tickets AT OUR COST
There is no cap of the number of tickets that can be purchased. Subscribers are entitled to unlimited ticket purchases annually.
Fan Protect Guarantee on tickets purchased (24/7 support staff)

(At this point in time, WWYI is not in position to vouch for Seat Club but we’ll check it out for the Celtics, Bruins, College Hoops, the NY Rangers/Islanders and NY Knicks and let you know in the near future).

TIDBITS: Every four years, we’re lucky enough to drop one of the greatest one-liners of all-time into the column. The scenario was a mid-January NBA on NBC game and the legendary play by play man, Marv Albert, opened the broadcast with Mike “The Czar of the Telestrator” Fratello. After the opening “scene setter,” Marv threw oit to NBA courtside reporter extraordinaire, Ahmad Rashad, with the following introduction: “Now it’s down to Ahmad Rashad, the man who thinks the Iowa Caucus is a CBA team.” … Of course, the line is dated as the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) was the predecessor of the NBA D-League which was the predecessor of the current NBA G-League. … Not to make light of such a potentially dangerous situation, but I think I saw the Houthis at CBGBs in 1980 … The New England Patriots wasted no time in naming Jerod Mayo as the club’s new head coach. What about the rest of the NFL as it stands on January 12? … Does former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll head for the opening at NCAA No. 2 Washington? Or, does he toss his name into one of the growing number of NFL head coaching jobs? … Wouldn’t the dream be for Bill Belichick, Carroll and recently retired Alabama Coach Nick Saban to all hook-up and share the helm as scouts, college draft prep, training camp, and then coaching together as one? … Wouldn’t Saban be the very best at drafting players from all the SEC schools?

That said, SportsBetting.ag provided a listing of predictions for the landing places for all the revolving NFL coaches. Here it is:

Chargers – Jim Harbaugh
Commanders – Ben Johnson
Falcons – Bill Belichick
Panthers – Kellen Moore
Raiders – Antonio Pierce
Seahawks – Dan Quinn
Titans – Bobby Slowik

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 7th

January 8, 2024 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) on the PGA Tour and Happy 2024

BOSTON – The holidays are a busy time of year, but post holidays might be busier for sports fans. Here at WWYI, you might expect this column to be topped by predictions on the upcoming NFL Playoffs (I like SF and Baltimore – chalk city). Or, maybe a look at the College Football Championship finale between Washington and Michigan (I like Michigan (chalk city II).

Maybe it’s time to dig in deeper to the College Basketball season since the silly season is completed and team are already three or four games into their Conference schedules. St. John’s is (3-1) in the BIG EAST after a nice 10-point upset win at Villanova Saturday – more on that later.

We also have the exciting start of the all new Women’s Professional Hockey League with our hometown Boston entry – known as PWHL Boston instead of some catchy name like the Boston Koalas. (Bruin, by the way, is the Dutch word for brown). The new team and league have opened to much fanfare and full-page coverage in the local paper, even though the club is playing out in Lowell, Massachusetts at the University’s Tsongas Arena – a wonderful venue and good choice for the fledgling PWHL.

But, instead of more coverage of the English Premier League (EPL) or stoking the coals on the Hot Stove season of “The” Major League Baseball, or even talk and typewriting on the NBA or the NHL, I give you the start of the PGA Tour season, a.k.a. the “Opening Drive.”

The professional golfers, those who haven’t cashed checks in LIV Golf, all teed-it up at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on the Island of Maui in Hawaii. The course is several miles north of Lahaina which was devastated by wild fires but the PGA Tour and its significant charity wing will be dedicating money, time and additional resources to assist in the rebuilding and comeback for the town of Lahaina and also Maui as a hole.

On the Tour, 21 of the top 25 players in the world are playing at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, a tournament that expanded its field and increased its purse to $20m to go with 700 FedEx Cup points and full elevated designation by the PGA Tour.

While the Nor’easter bears down on the east coast, viewers can stream ESPN+ for a look at the 81-degree sunshine of paradise by the golf cart lights. At press time, the Sentry Tournament of Champions leaderboard was packed with big name PGA Tour players with the final round on NBC and The Golf Channel this afternoon and evening. Yes, evening as in primetime golf as the time zones help the Tour office open up in the best of times.

It’ll be the same thing next weekend as The Opening Drive’s second event is the SONY Open from Honolulu.

There’s plenty of news on the Tour, so this weekend, I’d urge readers to click HERE for a look at sister-publication – PGA Tour Brunch – as you enjoy your breakfast brunch, lunch or dinner – maybe even a late night snack, depending on where you’ll be watching from for the start of the golf season.

The PGA Tour dignitaries and the powers that be of LIV Golf were not able to complete a deal by their self-imposed December 31 deadline, but they’ve expanded the window and a settlement is expected soon (by April). PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is under intense pressure to make good on a deal but also work the PR lines as the Saudi Investment Fund (often referred to as the PIF, as in Public Investment Fund or Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund) who combined might sink a whopping $3 billion into the PGA Tour and the sport of golf.

“Our goal for 2024 is to reach agreements with SSG (Strategic Sports Group, consisting of individual investors in sports like the Fenway Sports Group and Boston Celtics team managing partner Wyc Grousbeck), PIF and the DP World Tour, bringing them on board as minority co-investors in PGA Tour Enterprises. These partnerships will allow us to unify, innovate and invest in the game for the benefit of players, fans and sponsors,” said Monahan in a memo to the PGA Tour membership, a memo Tour star Collin Morakawa later called “fluff.”

With all the intrigue and drama, the expected deal by the time the entire golfing world tees-off at The Masters, the morning line sees two competing golf leagues on tour in ‘24, one playing four days and 72 holes to determine a champ for each tournament and the other playing three days and 54 (LIV) holes to crown a champ who might clear as much as $3 or $4 million for a single tournament title. (Thus, the increased purse of the PGA Tour’s elevated events – the winner at the Sentry will bank $3.6 million).

When the dust settles, the average golf fan might be left with a bad taste in their mouth as the gentlemen’s game – like seemingly everything else – is screwed up and in flux. Only time will tell if professional golf will settle down and maybe join forces to bring the best players in the world back together each week.

PGA TOUR COM’s Top Tour Players: Rob Bolton of PGATour.com went 223 players deep on his PGA Tour membership rankings chart, more-or-less a Golf Fantasy Cheat Sheet. For the sake of space on your mobile phone, we’ll pass along the Top 20:

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Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy
Viktor Hovland
Collin Morakawa
Justin Thomas
Xander Schauffele
Patrick Cantlay
Max Homa
Jordan Spieth
Sam Burns
Matt Fitzpatrick
Ludvig Aberg
Min Woo Lee
Rickie Fowler
Tom Kim
Tony Finau
Sahith Theegala
SungJai Im
Wyndham Clark
Hideki Matsuyama

Chris Kirk Won at The Sentry AFTER a TL prediction:

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TL’s Two Cents for the Top PGA Tour Pros: Taking the Bolton Top 20 a little further, yours truly thinks the following golfers will break through in 2024:

Tyrrell Hatton (Simply one of the best; could strike on a Major)
Jason Day (Returns to form)
J.T. Poston (That’s Boston, not Boston)
Eric Cole (Rookie of Year takes the next step)
Akshay Bhatia (Showed strong signs last year)
Chris Kirk (Just get him to East Lake)
Lucas Glover (Veteran returns to form)
Harris English (Will battle back)
Shane Lowry (Never count him out; Even at Augusta)
Cameron Young, Cam Davis, Cam Anyone (They’re all good)

HERE NOW THE NOTES: Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was reinstated by the NBA following his suspension for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić on Dec. 12, 2023. Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations, made the statement official and will be the man at the NBA keeping a close eye on Green, much the way his predecessor Rod Thorn had his watchful eyes on Dumars’ former teammates, Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s – when the Pistons were known as the “Bad Boys.”

During the period of his suspension, which began on Dec. 14 and resulted in him missing 12 games, Green completed steps that demonstrated his commitment to conforming his conduct to standards expected of NBA players. He has engaged in meetings with a counselor and has met jointly on multiple occasions with representatives of the NBA, the Warriors, and the National Basketball Players Association, both of which will continue throughout the season.

Green re-joins a team in disarray as indications are that coach Steve Kerr has “lost the locker,” or at least temporarily lost the respect of 2021 draft choice Jonathan Kuminga, who vented his frustration to reporters after he played only 18 minutes in a game, indicating he had “lost faith” in Kerr. A day later, Kuminga backed off his comments and in a media session Kerr tried to defuse the issue.

Kerr spoke with Kuminga and made it clear he wished any displeasure remained in-house. “You have an issue, I’m here. I’m the most accessible coach in the league probably. My door is always open,” said Kerr.

TID-BITS: The final weekend of the NFL brings a couple of games where it’s win or go home – in other words football at its best. Still others (like Pittsburgh at Baltimore) saw the Ravens sit MVP candidate and front runner in QB Lamar Jackson as a precaution since the Ravens had already locked up the No. 1 seed in the NFL’s AFC Conference. … Some teams are playing for their Playoff lives while others (see NY Jets and New England Patriots) have meaningless games, unless you think the Patriots should tank for a better draft choice. … Speaking of which, any player who tanks might see his club draft a player at his position, and that veteran player might be out of a job to a newcomer, so don’t think tanking is all that easy to do. … The Carolina Panthers clinched the slot as the worst team in the NFL, but the Chicago Bears have Carolina’s pick. … Of position players in the NFL in 2023, SF RB Christian McCaffrey outperformed all of his peers while Dallas WR Cee Dee Lamb paced the WRs. Miami wide-out Tyreek Hill wasn’t far behind Lamb, and Hill was nursing injuries late in the year. Amongst the higher scoring QBs, here are the Top 10:

Josh Allen – Buffalo
Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia
Lamar Jackson – Baltimore
Dak Prescott – Dallas
Jordan Love – Green Bay
Brock Purdy – SF
Patrick Mahomes – KC
Jared Goff – Detroit
Tua Tagovailia – Miami
Baker Mayfield – Tampa Bay
C.J. Stroud – Houston

NCAA INKS a BIG DEAL: The NCAA signed a landmark eight-year media deal with ESPN for 40 championships domestically. Maybe that’s an indication that the sky is not falling within the ranks of the NCAA as bickering over NIL, college football playoffs (hear that, Florida State?) and dozens of other issues the NCAA is facing. (Relatively) new NCAA head honcho Charlie Baker, the former Guv’nah of Massachusetts, is settling issues one at a time.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Dec 31

December 31, 2023 by Terry Lyons

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

BOSTON – There are “No Days Off” for WWYI and Digital Sports Desk. Last week, we had our January to June 2023 (Half) Year in Review. This week, we’ll feature July to December 2023, all reminders of what was covered by this Sunday Notes column during the so-so Year of 2023.

Let’s hope for better things to come in 2024.

First, a look at some NBA news generated by the one-and-only Steve Kerr. In case you missed it, take a look/listen on what he said last week after Golden State’s 120-114 Christmas Day loss to the Denver Nuggets, and I’ll comment on the other side.

First, the Golden State head coach has a decent point. It’s fair to state that the NBA – as a whole, and via the league’s Competition Committee and Officiating supervisors and staff – have always molded the NBA rules to return a slight edge to the offense. Yet, the defense always adjusts and catches up.

Look back to major reform, back when the late Commissioner David Stern and then-NBA Senior VP for Basketball Operations Rod Thorn called for a summit to discuss the fact teams had clamped down on the game to limit opponents to 84.3 to 88.9 points per game. Defenders locked down their opponents with stifling, firm hand-checks and made it damn near impossible to cut through the lane without being roughed-up. Thus, there was little movement on offense.

The first meeting resulted in a set of rule changes designed to even the playing court for the 1994-95 season. Hand-checking rules already on the books were more strictly enforced both on the perimeter and in the paint. The NBA also moved the three-point FG line in to a uniform 22 feet all around the arc. Previously, it was 22 feet in the corners but 23.9 around the top of the arc.

Although the three-point FG line was changed in order to help FIBA conform to one set of rules for all of basketball, the shortening of the distance allowed the superior NBA defenders to pack in around the lane but quickly get to the 22-foot line to defend three-point FG attempts. In other words, the move backfired on the NBA, and the rule was soon scrubbed and the line returned to 23.9.

For the entire decade, the NBA examined the game with input from some of the great basketball minds – a few that were actually the cause of the grind-it-down NBA. Pat Riley’s New York Knicks and Mike Fratello’s Cleveland Cavaliers limited possessions and played ultra-physical defense, but they joined in for the betterment of the game. Much of the trend was mirroring the success of Chuck Daly’s championship teams with the Detroit Pistons.

For every inch the league gave the offensive side of the ball, the defensive side always counted and quickly caught-up. Stern was a stickler for following the rules that were ALREADY in the NBA rule book and thus the officials were instructed (and new refs taught) to keep the offense free-flowing and enforce the very rules in the book.

Kerr was making a point of offensive players being smart and knowing how to draw contact and get to the free throw line. Back in the ‘90s, Utah’s Karl Malone was exceptional, and he led the league in free throw attempts eight seasons in a row. Interestingly, the Malones – Karl (9,787) and Moses (9,018) – are one-two in the all-time free throws made column.

Getting to the line to score is nothing new.

During the Christmas Day GS vs Denver game, reigning NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokić scored 26 points and went 18-for-18 from the line. Kerr was insinuating Jokić was a master chef in cooking up reasons the refs should call a shooting foul, and, as noted above, Kerr has a legitimate point. But, then again, Kerr’s best defensive player – Draymond Green – is serving an indefinite suspension for clocking Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkić in the face – earning a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection, then the suspension since it was a repeated violation and a potential harm to fellow players. (We’ve yet to hear why the NBA Players Association doesn’t reprimand Green for potentially injuring fellow union members).

That leaves us with the dilemma the NBA is facing in terms of Kerr’s criticism of the league – via its Competition and Rules Committee and the enforcement of the rules via the officials. Does Kerr’s view have serious enough merit to call for additional rule changes, or are we being cajoled by a head coach witnessing his best offensive players shooting (Steph Curry – 3-for-13) and (Klay Thompson – 3-for-10) an abysmal six-for-23 from three point range while the Warriors were outshot (26-for-32 to 20-for-23) at the stripe.

Play the game: Aging jump shooters vs. the league’s best at drawing fouls with the ability to “B.S” his way to the foul line” (Kerr’s words, not mine). Who is going to get the best result?

One important thing in Kerr’s defense is that he has a track record of integrity, honesty and very direct answers to media questions. He noted the Warriors didn’t play well enough – in “bringing the ‘A’ game vs. the NBA defending champs.”

Give the man credit.

Maybe it’s time for Kerr and current league Basketball Ops guru Joe Dumars to convene yet another summit to legislate some more physical play and defense back into the league?

We can call the new legislative agenda “The Jokić Rules.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: During the past two weeks, WWYI took time to stop and think of the amazing things in our lives that we are truly thankful for as Christmas brings joy to many, but pain and sorrow for some of our dear friends. Let us never forget those lost, this year, last year and the years before. A very special intention for my father, Timothy Francis Lyons (December 22) and his first son, my brother Timothy Francis Lyons III (December 16) and one other, for Mr Albert Nittoly, our loyal neighbor for so many years before he was taken by COVID-19.

As a lead off, this might surprise some as my favorite Christmas song is Luciano Pavarotti singing “O Holy Night,” … I love the original Spode Christmas Tree place settings. …Memories of three Matchbox cars under the Christmas Tree, a real evergreen complete with lighted village and running HO train set, the greatest machines ever build – Big Bruiser Tow Truck, the Flexible Flyer sled, my neighbor’s Easy Bake Oven, Hula Hoops, Whiffel Balls, the Hess Truck, a 45 rpm RCA Victrola, and tickets to the annual Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden in New York City when St. John’s, Manhattan (Billy Campion) and Fordham (Charlie Yelverton) were all tough outs.

You’ve gotta love meeting interesting people. … People that know that Springsteen’s “The Rising” just might be the saddest song you’ve ever heard but it’s also so inspirational that it ROCKS.

Puppy Fur and Puppy Barks … U2 doing “Walk On,” … Christmas tree lights glowing in a dark living room … Turntables … Artwork of Paris by Constantin Kluge (1912-2003) … Johnny Winter … a well-done cheeseburger … Dowses Beach on East Bay in Osterville … Ditch Plains Beach at Montauk … the Chatham Light established 1808 … Chuck Leavell’s piano on Jessica by the Allman Brothers Band. …. Hello Old Friend by Eric Clapton with backing vocals by Yvonne Elliman … Corner Bistro West Village … the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in the underrated City of Baltimore … the 1,000 acre Vassar College campus in the City of Poughkeepsie, another underrated joint with great restaurants stemming from the nearby Culinary Institute of America Center for Research and Innovation.

Freihofer’s Chocolate Chip Cookies … good news from a Facebook post … Tannoy Speakers … a full tank of gasoline … discovering a new great jukebox … cleaning up on Trivia Night … old Saturday Night Live skits, before it was known as SNL … Ditka and ‘Da Bears … Bears 96, Lions 3 … halftime score … Camelback Inn – Where Time Stands Still (Suite 159) … thick, green grass … seeing it’s Curly and not Shemp when a Three Stooges episode airs … Football weather. … Late afternoon winter sun in Southern California. … Refreshing thunderstorms … Seeing Louie Carnesecca at a St. John’s game. … Bass guitar … Original hot Dunkin Donuts coffee. … The smell of freshly cut grass or freshly painted walls. … Red Tulips. …a new Zildjian 20 inch S Series Medium Ride Cymbal. … the Pressbox at Fenway Park. … the Theme from The Last Waltz. … the patter of dog paws on a hard wood floor. … a good haircut. … St. Patrick’s Day. … Breyer’s Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. … Bruce Hornsby taking a hard turn in the middle of a hit song and it’s a tangent to heaven. … new Subway cars, we call it the T… Coast-to-Cost in First Class. … Late night Baseball on SIRIUS XM.

Frampton Comes Alive. … Earle Bailey on WLIR-FM 92.5. … Plenty of kindling and dry hardwood for the Fireplace. … F Troop re-runs. … The Turntable and listening to an album start to finish. … Christmas Tree smell until January 1st. … The late Christine McVie’s voice. … Replays of the ’69 Baltimore Orioles’ third-baseman, the Human Vacuum Cleaner, Brooks Robinson. … the sound of a golf ball hitting the bottom of the Cup. … See a red door and I want it painted black. … TOMMY’s back on Broadway. … A good clock, a good watch, a good time. … Joining a werewolf drinkin’ a piña colada at Trader Vic’s. His hair was perfect. … toast. … Top 1,000 Countdowns for Rock songs. … The guitar instrumental on ELO’s Fire on High. … Putt Putt golf. … Penny & Max. … Special ❤️ to CMM, VJL and AGL.

THE OLDEST RIVALRIES: College football is coming to a close for the 2023-’24 season. Here’s a quick look at the oldest rivalries in college footy:

Princeton vs. Yale (1873)
Harvard vs. Yale (1875)
Harvard vs. Princeton (1877)
Harvard vs. Penn (1881)
Dartmouth vs. Harvard (1882)
Lafayette vs. Lehigh (1884)
Amherst vs. Williams (1884)
Michigan vs. Notre Dame (1887)
North Carolina vs. Wake Forest (1888)

OLDEST BOWL GAMES: It’s Bowl Game week(s) and we must salute the Taxslayer, the Pop-Tarts and other fine sponsors. An analysis of the Pop-Tart Bowl said there was $12.1 million in coverage generated for the sponsor. Okay.

The ROSE BOWL – (Established 1902) but Played Year-after-Year (1916) – (Pasadena)
ORANGE BOWL – (1935) – (Miami)
SUGAR BOWL – (1935) – (New Orleans)
SUN BOWL – (1935) – (El Paso)
COTTON BOWL – (1937) – (Dallas)
GATOR BOWL – (1946) – (Jacksonville)
CITRUS BOWL – (1947) – (Orlando)
LIBERTY BOWL – (1959) – (Memphis)
PEACH BOWL – (1968) – (Atlanta)
FIESTA BOWL – (1971) – (Phoenix/Glendale)

Oh, how we miss the Astro Blue Bonnet Bowl in Houston’s AstroDome!

2023: HALF YEAR IN REVIEW – Part Two (July to December)

July

Harrison Ford Tribute
Media in the Arts, Religion, Sports and Investigative Journalism
Professional Women’s Ice Hockey Future
SlamBall

FTX cryptocurrency collapse and sports
USA Basketball Named 2023 USA World Cup team
Nikki McCray-Penson RIP
Middle East new influence on global sport
NBA In-Season Tournament announcement

The Open
AI on The Open (Oops)
Gambling on the Special Olympics
USA Under-19 Women’s team – Kiki Rice
SlamBall Takes Shape for ESPN

Maureen Madill at The Open
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The New York Times folds Sports Section
NHL Players Assn (Marty Walsh) on the Winter Olympics

Congress on Name, Image, Likeness
Messi and Mbappe
UMass coaching money tree
NBA Basketball w/o Borders

August

NFL and the Sunday Ticket
FIBA World Cup
Tubby Smith on the Transfer Portal
Demise of Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 – Tournament of Posers
HBO HARD KNOCKS
NFL Team Valuations
PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs

PGA Tour – No Boston Stop
Fallout on NIL and Collectives
USA Basketball Showcase tour
SlamBall Championship

Springsteen at Gillette Stadium
College Football ’23 Kick-off
Patriots Tough Start? (0-7) or (1-6) – How about (2-10)

September

College vs Pro Football Towns
Ten Best Colleges for Sports
The Un-Retirement Commercial
Sports Biz: Amy Latimer Promotion

Cable TV history lesson
The NFL Players You Wished You’d Drafted
USA Basketball World Cup Upended by Germany
Jimmy Buffett Memorial

Load Management in the NBA
8.040 Days Since Sept. 11, 2001
Boston College and the Red Bandana – For Welles
Boston Bruins @ 100
NLL Lacrosse Entry Draft
Bruni

Ryder Cup Golf
Baseball Season Turns in to Football Season
The Worst Fans in the NFL
First Sighting: Travis Kelce Meets Taylor Swift
RIP: Dennis D’Agostino

October

1st

More on the 2023 Ryder Cup
Solutions for the USA Ryder Cup team prep
WNBA Finals
Stones, The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen Released Songs on Same Day

No High Payroll Teams Left in MLB Postseason
World 3×3
NWSL (Women’s Pro Soccer) Valuations
The Great Rivalries in College Football
Health in the USA
BIG EAST Predictions

Britney Griner/WNBA
College Basketball Blue Ribbon
Top 25 Predictions for CBB in ’23-24
ESPN’s Top 10 NBA Players (Active)

Dog Days of the NFL Season
Bill Belichick-Gate (Watch) Begins
Most Marketable Athletes
Sports Motion Pictures to Come
The Sphere

Improbable MLB World Series
NBA In-Season Tourney Spots
NBA Franchise Valuations
NBA on TNT
LPGA to Boston in 2024

November

RIP Coach Bobby Knight
Top NBA Team Salaries
More Really Bad Investments

Boston Common Golf
NHL and NBA Global Games
TL Sports Entrepreneur Podcast
Bill Hancock to Retire

Pardon My Take: Charissa Thompson
Ben Bradlee
The Fall of Milan Lucic
TGL / Boston Common Golf: One Year Delay

27 – Thanksgiving Edition

Giving Thanks When Due
Pan Mass Challenge – Cancer Research
Mighty Max Joins the Family
World Basketball Day Approaching

December

Aaron Rodgers
The Fall of Sports Illustrated
NFL Power or Parity Ratings
MLB’s 2024 Look-Ahead

Army vs Navy Game (New England Style)
Bucket Lists for Sporting Events
Dodgers Land Ohtani
College Gameday
Imagine

Dodgers Have Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the Crosshairs
Need for MLB Salary Cap system
Draymond Green Indefinite Suspension
Get Well Soon: Kareem

Special Christmas Column
2023: Year in Review (Jan to June)

Special Year End Column
2023: Year in Review (July to Dec 31)
Special Thanks

PARTING WORDS and a TRIBUTE: Popular comedian of the ‘60s and ‘70s Tommy Smothers passed away December 26th. Tommy, together with his younger brother, Dick, formed one of the great TV comedy acts and earned a primetime show from 1965 to 1966 and then their “Comedy Hour” with more free-wheeling creative control on CBS in 1967. After the TV show was cancelled, the Smothers Brothers continued a successful comedy career, but in ‘67. Tommy bought a vineyard in Sonoma County, California which he kept through 2023 when he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Here’s a classic scene from The Tonight Show, starring Johnny Carson.

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly Sunday Sports Notebook and news column written by Terry Lyons. The posting of each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city news stand on Saturday night around 10pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a sports-filled compilation of interesting notes, quotes and quips.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes is brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.

Last Chance for the Special Holiday Sale of While We’re Young (Ideas)

Special Holiday Offer: Visit —> HERE

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Nov. 12

November 13, 2023 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at Boston Common Golf

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – There’s a new sports franchise in town and its players will begin hitting golf balls this January with games in Palm Springs Gardens Florida, not The Country Club or TPC Boston. Let’s welcome Boston Common Golf to the Commonwealth and jump on the “merch” to stuff your Christmas stockings, just before the initial TGL Season Preview on ABC this December 30th.

TGL is a connection to Tiger Woods’ brand and is backed by Woods and PGA Tour superstar Rory McIlroy.

Fenway Sports Group introduced the team this week at a press gathering at MGM Fenway a little while after the players were given a tour of the ballpark.

The TGL season will begin on Tuesday January 9, 2024, with coverage of ESPN and ESPN+. The first match will be broadcast at 9pm ET, a day after the College Football National Championship game.

The second week of matches will be broadcast Tuesday, January 16 at 7pm ET, a day after the NFL plays its Monday Night Football wild card playoff game. The promotional value of the CFP and NFL should not be lost on fans, as TGL golf executives carefully picked the dates to find open windows in the “big event” and NFL playoff game schedules. They’ll switch from Tuesdays to Mondays to allow the PGA Tour players time to travel to the next tour stop on Monday night or Tuesday morning, especially as the Tour swings through the home base of Florida and the Southeastern USA at the same time of year.

Mike McCarley, Founder & CEO, TMRW Sports and TGL and former golf executive for NBC Sports and the Golf Channel is calling the shots and has been working on the concept for nearly three years.

One by one, McCarley checked the items off his “To Do” list, partnering with Tiger Woods, attracting talents like Rory McIlroy and scores of others, securing an IP deal with the PGA Tour itself – proving its far better to work in conjunction with the Tour rather than to butt heads much the way LIV Golf made the scene a couple years ago.

In addition to introducing the four players (McIlroy, New England’s own Keegan Bradley, Australia’s Adam Scott and England’s Tyrell Hatton) to call the Boston Common Golf their home team, the TGL rolled our news releases this week like putts on a practice green .

On the same day the Boston Common Golfers were introduced, the general rules and the introduction of a shot clock to golf were put in place along with a handful of other assorted goodies revealed:

The SoFi Center, a purpose-built arena (studio) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on the campus of Palm Beach State College, will act as home base. Full use of technology is a foundational element of TGL, and it will offer fans a progressive, shorter format presentation of team golf.
The Custom-Built Venue is a first-of-its-kind experience for golf enabled by a data-rich, virtual course paired with a tech-infused, short-game complex.
TGL Teams: The six TGL teams will each have four players assigned. A TGL match will feature three players competing for each team in a modern match play format.
Modern Match Play: TGL matches will feature two teams squaring off across two sessions: nine holes of Triples, 3 vs. 3 team alternate shot, and six holes of Singles, head-to-head competitions. Each hole is worth one point and most points wins the match.
Tech-Enabled Fan Experience: There will be a high-energy, greenside fan experience (picture the Phoenix (Waste Management Open) with every shot live within a two-hour televised match. All TGL players will be mic’d up.
Referees will be employed to monitor the shot clock and rules.
Inaugural Season: 15 regular season matches followed by semifinals and finals matches, on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ in the U.S.

The league also announced Jupiter Florida as its sixth (and final) franchise for the 2024 season. It’s no secret, Woods hails from Jupiter and he’ll be cashing sports franchise owner David Blitzer’s checks when the competition begins.

Blitzer is personally investing in Jupiter Links GC and is the first person to hold equity stakes in five North American major sports teams. Blitzer founded Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment with Josh Harris and is co-chairman and managing partner of its portfolio highlighted by the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), New Jersey Devils (NHL), Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and Joe Gibbs Racing (NASCAR). Blitzer also is a co-owner of the Cleveland Guardians (MLB) and Washington Commanders (NFL). Additionally, Blitzer is a General Partner of Crystal Palace Football Club (English Premier League) and owns stakes in a variety of soccer clubs around the globe, including Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Utah Royals of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Blitzer needs to back a WNBA franchise and he’ll be in business.

(L to R: (PR emcee) is Zineb Curran, Lev, Bradley, Hatton, Scott and McIlroy. (Photo @DigSportsDesk)

Here’s a look at the TGL’s full ownership as of November 10th:

Atlanta Drive GC: led by Arthur M. Blank, AMB Sports and Entertainment (Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, PGA TOUR Superstores). Team roster currently includes Justin Thomas.
Boston Common Golf: led by John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, and Fenway Sports Group (Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, Pittsburgh Penguins, RFK Racing). As previously mentioned , team roster currently includes Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Tyrrell Hatton, and Adam Scott. The team will be run by club president Mark Lev of Fenway Sports.
Jupiter Links GC: led by Tiger Woods’ TGR Ventures and David Blitzer (Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Cleveland Guardians, Washington Commanders, Crystal Palace FC, Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals, Joe Gibbs Racing). Team roster currently includes Tiger Woods.
Los Angeles Golf Club: led by Alexis Ohanian (Angel City FC), Seven Seven Six, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams; as well as limited partners the Antetokounmpo brothers, Alex Morgan, Servando Carrasco, and Michelle Wie West. Team roster currently includes Collin Morikawa.
TGL New York: led by Steven A. Cohen (New York Mets), Cohen Private Ventures.
TGL San Francisco: a group led by Avenue Sports Fund with Marc Lasry, the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry; and limited partners Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson. Iguodala, by the way, was just named executive director of the NBA Players Association.

Look for a “Western Division” in either Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona or Frisco, Texas to pop-up in a year or two, allowing Tour players based in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas (among other locales) to play at a venue closer to their home base.

Does a Texas Friscos franchise sound alluring for Jordan Spieth’s participation in 2025 or beyond? Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones’ or Mavericks franchise guru Mark Cuban’s money awaits.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Fifth Set, a tennis apparel company that provides patented “SweatRoute” technology to keep tennis players dry, comfortable, and at the top of their game, is making its product(s) available to the mass audiences. Serving-up its inaugural collection with men’s shorts, the product is now available exclusively on www.thefifthset.com and retails for $72.00. Shorts are available in three colors and four different sizes. The full product launch is coming off the heels of a successful Kickstarter campaign where the start-up crowdsourced more than $9,000 through pre-orders of the tennis shorts.

“The Fifth Set is a labor of love that solves a real problem that plagued my game for nearly 30 years — wet tennis balls from sweat-drenched pockets, causing a ‘sweat tsunami’ whenever I served,” said Yoni Malchi, The Fifth Set’s CEO and founder, as well as a lifelong tennis player. “After discovering a void in the market for tennis shorts with waterproof, breathable, and accessible pockets, I received a patent on my own design, which is a game-changer for tennis players at every level.”

The Fifth Set’s patented shorts offer three key differentiators:

Sweatproof: Pocket liners are constructed with a waterproof layer and heat-sealed seam. Combined with a water-resistant outer body, the shorts redirect moisture to keep tennis balls fully protected.

Breathable: The body and pocket liners are breathable to promote comfort, as well as quick and agile movement. The pocket liner’s microporous, waterproof layer protects from sweat while keeping the player cool.

Accessible: Pocket openings are unsealed, but stay closed, preventing sweat from seeping in and allowing quick accessibility for frequent use.

“During the pandemic, one of the biggest retail trends that evolved was that consumers have become more demanding for unique, top-quality products that are also function-specific,” said Danielle Malchi, co-founder of The Fifth Set. “With more people focused on fitness than ever before, consumers are seeking truly innovative products to help them reach their personal goals and needs, and we are here to support them in this endeavor.”

The company is based in Parkland, Florida.

TIDBITS: This week, thee NBA staged its (seemingly annual) Mexico Game regular season game, an exciting 120-119 Atlanta Hawks victory over the Orlando Magic in front of 19,986 fans in Mexico City just as the NFL was in between a pair of regular season games in Frankfurt, Germany. (Bet, the New England Patriots’ season ticket holders were happy to dish off a home game).

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the NHL is staging their Global series this week in Sweden.

For the NHL, its an unprecedented event with four NHL Clubs traveling to one European City (Stockholm) to play four regular season games between Nov. 16-19th. The Toronto Maple Leafs will become the 26th NHL franchise to play an international game while the round-robin of games will be the second time that both the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild have traveled abroad to play regular-season games. It’ll be the third such trip for the Ottawa Senators.

NHL Global Series Results (Credit: NHL Morning Skate)

HOME SALE: Former Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdan headed to Portland (along with the injured Robert Williams) in the trade that brought guard Jrue Holiday to the Boston Celtics. In the home transaction, Brogdan gained a slim $125,000 ($4,440,000 to $4,525,000) in the off-market deal which took only a week to close.

PODCAST ANYONE? – Give this a try, if you dare:

BIG EAST: From November 6 to November 10th, the eleven member teams of BIG EAST played 15 games and won all but one of them. DePaul was the lone loser, dropping its opener vs Purdue Fort Wayne, 82-74. All 14 of the others went into the Conference “win column,” including Butler, Marquette, Villanova and Xavier all startings with a 2-0 record.

The annual Gavitt Games begin this week, pitting BIG EAST teams against those of the BIG TEN. The series of contests pitting two of the great college basketball conferences in the land are conducted in memory of the late Dave Gavitt, Basketball Hall of Fame administrator and contributor to the game and the first Commissioner of the Big East Conference.

BILL HANCOCK: Air Force Superintendent Lieutenant General Richard M. Clark will replace the legendary college athletics and Olympic administrator Bill Hancock as the new executive director of the College Football Playoff. Mississippi State President/CFP Board of Managers Chair Mark Keenumnoted, “General Clark’s experience leading the U.S Air Force Academy as a three-star General and also being a four-year letter winner with the U.S Air Force Football team gives him a strong background to excel in this crucial leadership role. I would add that we will surely miss Bill Hancock, but I want to note that Bill has graciously offered to stay on board through January 2025 to help General Clark get ready. Bill will remain at the helm throughout this season, while 2024 will mark a year of transition. Bill has been an outstanding leader for CFP’s first 10 years. Everyone in college football owes Bill a debt of gratitude.”

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct 29

October 29, 2023 by Digital Sports Desk

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – When the NBA tipped-off the 2023-24 regular season earlier this week while MLB’s Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks became unlikely World Series foes and the Boston Bruins began their NHL season at 6-0 before falling to the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3 in overtime, and the NFL hit “Week 8” of a promising season to come, we all looked forward to Sunday, October 29th when all four major sports will be in action of the same day. It’s come to be known as “Sports Equinox.”

If you’d like, you can toss-in the English Premier League and the MLS for a five sport equinox with a tip of the cap to the PGA Tour which is smartly taking a weekend off before returning with the World Wide Technology championship in Los Cabos, Mexico from November 2-5.

Add-in some weekly college football and you have what many believe is the best week of the year for sports fans.

Great? Only great if you prefer a World Series between such unlikely participants Arizona and Texas instead of a Fall Classic with 100-win teams like Atlanta Braves and LA Dodgers vs upstart and extremely likable Baltimore Orioles.

The NFL and NHL are knee-deep in highly competitive and unpredictable seasons ahead. Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francesco 49ers look good in the NFC while the Kansas City Chiefs look like the team to beat in the AFC. But, don’t be surprised if you’re watching the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jags or Baltimore Ravens rep the AFC this February.

Similarly, the NBA of 2023-24 will be rush to the finish for talented teams that can stay healthy and peak on the 1st of May. In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics are getting the most favorable look by Las Vegas oddsmakers while the West is still in the hands of the Denver Nuggets for most observers.

And, they’ll run the first ever “In-Season” tournament to get the ball rolling. It should be interesting as it makes early season game count even more than usual. This columnist likes the idea a lot and loves the NBA promo just as much. If you haven’t seen the spot, it’s entitled, “The Heist” and it’s a take-off of a Sopranos episode meeting Ocean’s 11. I only wish they’d have put some of the players in team uniform and had a cameo by team mascots Rocky or The Coyote. The theme will repeat in additional spots as the In-Season Tournament progresses. Give it a look, knowing the tournament’s finale will be in Sin City:

The full cast of “The Heist” includes:

The Mastermind: Michael Imperioli (“Goodfellas,” “The Sopranos”)
The Heavy: Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)
The Sly Guy: DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls)
The Ice Man: Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)
The Lookouts: Julius Randle (New York Knicks) and Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers)
The Vet: Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
The Inside Man: Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers)

WWYI will do a more in-depth look at the NBA in the next week or two. Preseason predictions are often quite inaccurate, so this columnist will await the 10-game mark of the regular season to make some enlightened observations and predictions.

For the others?

MLB World Series: Texas is up 1-0 as of column creation, so Texas 4-games-to-1
NFL: KC Chiefs over the San Francisco 49ers – 27-21.
NHL: Las Vegas Knights over the Boston Bruins – 4-games-to-2

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: With the start of each pro season, WWYI usually runs Team Valuations calculated by our friends at Sportico, but since my company subscription ran-out a few weeks back, we’ll look to the old standard of Forbes for NBA Team Valuations of 2023-24.

Team, State, Current Value, 1-year change in value (%), debt/value (%), revenue, income

1. Golden State Warriors CA $7.7b 10 14 $765 M $79 M

2. New York Knicks, NY $6.6b 8 4 $504 M $169 M

3. Los Angeles Lakers, CA $6.4b 8 1 $516 M $159 M

4. Boston Celtics, MA $4.7b 18 4 $443 M $88 M

5. Los Angeles Clippers, CA $4.65b 19 2 $425 M $-12 M

6. Chicago Bulls, IL $4.6b 12 4 $372 M $115 M

7. Dallas Mavericks, TX $4.5b 36 3 $429 M $83 M

8. Houston Rockets, TX $4.4b 38 5 $381 M $125 M

9. Philadelphia 76ers, PA $4.3b 37 3 $371 M $120 M

10. Toronto Raptors, 🇨🇦 $4.1b 32 5 $305 M $75 M

NFL FUTURE FANS: A new kids’ game, Future Fans, was born when one of those iconic sports moments happened but for a young Dad watching the game with his young child, there was no one there to really share it with. The specific game was the 2022 AFC Championship game and the Cincinnati Bengals were about to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl in 33 years. Mike Schroder, a lifelong Bengals fan, watched nervously alone, wishing his then five-year-old daughter would watch with him.

Mike had spent countless hours trying to teach her about football and she knew the players and the fight song, but he couldn’t get her to watch the game. In that moment, he wondered whether there was a better way to get her engaged as a fan, and what that might mean for their future relationship together.

Mike (Schroder) sought out his friend Michael (Gold) and a small business was built on the belief that shared experiences in sports creates and sustains lifelong bonds. Michael (Gold) saw the power of his friend’s idea, reflecting on the central role of sports in the relationships in his life – going to Cincinnati Reds games as a kid with his grandmother, Ohio State college football games with his dad, and now Columbus Crew soccer games with his own kids.

Together, Michael and Mike set out to teach kids the rules of sports in ways they could understand – through stories, games and toys. They built Future Fans with the knowledge that life for parents of youngsters is quite busy – but win or lose, participation as a player or viewer in sports provides an opportunity to spend time together, and maybe, all week long talk about the next big game. Sports adds a bond between people over a shared passion – the experience of life as a true fan. Future Fans exists so everyone can experience a lifetime of great moments with their favorite teams, and enjoy the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat – together.

To get a Future Fans game for yourself or a friend or family member, visit: AMAZON

TIDBITS: The NBA on TNT and its emmy award winning wrap-around show enjoyed its debut this week, and was certainly beyond “mid-season form.” … Amongst the revelry and chaos, Charles Barkley made his viewpoint known when he commented, “Golden State is the fourth-best team in California,” placing the Warriors behind an unnamed order of the Los Angeles Clippers, LA Lakers and Sacramento Kings.

Later on as the “Inside the NBA” stars were enjoying local cuisine, the producers had a little surprise – especially for Shaquille O’Neal and Barkley.

Shaq: “Chuck, if you put him around your neck, I’ll give you 100,000 dollars.”

The BIG NOON (Big 12) game on FOX on Saturday ended at 4:30 (ET). Good game, but a rain (and some lightning) delay from 1:08pm (ET) to 2:02pm (ET). Kansas upset OK, 38-33, to snap an 18-game losing streak. … Saturday, in the FOX studio show before the Clemson vs N.C. State, Steve Smith Jr. said that “N.C. State was a basketball school.” After N.C. State upset Clemson, 24-17, Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren told the game announcers of CW Network, to tell Steve Smith “he can kiss my ass.” … On Friday night, with the Miami Heat in town to take on the Celtics in Boston’s home opener Celtics all-stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown told guard Derrick White that he had to be more aggressive this season. White responded and was trending on “X,” the artist formerly known as Twitter, all day Saturday after posting a 28 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and five 3-pointers made line vs the Heat. Celtics opponents can expect – at least – four players to score in double figures, maybe six players. Tatum, Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and toss in Jrue Holiday and Al Horford for the six-some.

WEMBY & WILT: Much was said this week over San Antonio Spurs rookie first overall selection Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut when he finished with 21 points on 7-of-19 shooting (0-for-6 from deep), 12 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the Spurs’ 126-122 overtime victory. … Without any doubt, he’ll be fabulous. … But consider this, Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA rookie debut on October 29, 1959 showed a final (hand-written) boxscore of 43 points, 28 rebounds. … Keep in mind, the NBA didn’t track blocked shot until the 1973-74 season. Can you imagine?

While We’re Young (Ideas) continues to grow and is enjoying a whopping, grand, incredible 73% “open rate,” as of last Sunday. FYI (for those not in the business of PR or e-Newsletters, the norm of 27.9% is considered quite good.

LPGA – BOSTON: While the PGA Tour has taken a pass on the Boston market the last few years, the LPGA and Fenway Sports Group are planning a tournament at TPC Boston for 2024.

In a formal announcement this week, which included Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy on the dais, the LPGA Tour and FM Global named TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., as host golf course for the 2024 FM Global Championship. From Aug. 29 to Sept. 1, the newly created tournament will feature a field of 144 players competing for a $3.5 million purse, the largest prize fund on the LPGA Tour outside of the majors and Tour Championship.

The last time the LPGA played in Greater Boston/Mass was 20 years ago and the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open, held at Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, Mass. It was won by Meg Mallon.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct 22nd

October 22, 2023 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS, Editor in Chief of Digital Sports Desk

FOXBORO – The Dog Day Afternoons of the NFL season are fast upon us. The anticipation of early September pro football and the heat of the Summer of 2023 are long gone. They’re in the rearview, optimism be damned, as 38% of the 2023 NFL regular season is in the books. In their place, reality has set in for the New England Patriots’ and the cruel dose of reality is accompanied by a 1-5 record, a last place position in the AFC East, a three-game losing streak and a (-80) score differential in the six games gone by.

In Week Seven, the Buffalo Bills travel to New England while the NFL schedule-makers provide the Patriots with a road trip to play the Miami Dolphins in Week Eight. New England’s one-and-five record of the morning of October 22 can easily be one-and-seven by the time All Saints Day rolls around and the only Saint you’ll need to know is St. Jude – the patron saint of lost causes as it’s ugly and it could get really ugly.

New England Coach Bill Belichick, waxing reminiscent like his famous, “On to Cincinnati” monotone retort of late September, 2014, had only a “We’re getting ready for Buffalo” message for the media and fans of the Patriots.

Belichick delivered his plan this week in much the same manner as he did when his 2-2 Patriots team of 2014 went on to Cincinnati and won seven straight and 10 of 11 games en route to a Super Bowl win over Seattle that February, his fourth of six Super Bowl titles in the 21st Century.

Except, this season, the “We’re getting ready for Buffalo” isn’t flying with the fans in Foxboro, nor Fitchburg, nor Fall River. It’s not flying in Falmouth (Mass. or Maine) and it’s not flying with fans or players anywhere near the six States encompassing New England. Rumors of Belichick’s future are flying in every direction – mostly South – and they include a report from Monday Morning QB’s Albert Breer that stated Patriots team owner Robert Kraft has been in discussion of what a “post Belichick” world would look like “for a while,” (as in weeks/months or years) he wrote.

The Dog Days will do that to coaches in the NFL, but never before to Belichick, certainly since he took over the Patriots in late January of 2000.

The Dog Days also wreak havoc on NFL players from coast-to-coast. Let us count the ways as we peruse NFL Injury Reports leading up to Sunday, Oct. 22nd.

The Buffalo Bills have been decimated by injuries decimating their defense, including defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (torn pectoral muscle), cornerback Tre’Davious White (Achilles’)-out for season, and defensive tackle Ed Oliverruled out of the game this weekend because of a toe injury. The Buffalo Bills are also missing RB Damien Harris – neck, on the injured reserve list, and leaving the rushing duties to RB James Cook.

ALSO OUT – are QB Jimmy Garoppolo – back injury (LV Raiders), QB DeShawn Watson – strained right rotor cuff (Cleveland Browns), QB Justin Fields – thumb injury (Chicago Bears).

Injured with game-time decisions to play or not to play are the SF 49ers duo of RB Christian McCaffrey – oblique and WR Deebo Samuels – shoulder. Listed as questionable is NY Giants QB Daniel Jones – neck; New England RB Rhamondre Stevenson – ankle remains questionable on a lengthy Patriots injury listing; GB Packers RB Aaron Jones – hamstring; and Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf – hip.

Meanwhile, injured RB David Montgomery -ribs (Detroit Lions); RB Kyren Williams – ankle, (LA Rams); TE Pat Freiermuth – hamstring (Pittsburgh Steelers) are doubtful.

Let’s not overlook the big-name injuries earlier this season, including NY Jets QB Aaron Rodgers (Achilles’ – out for season), Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb (severe knee – out for season), NY Giants RB Saquon Barkley (knee – questionable after missing a month), LA Rams WR Cooper Kupp – (returned last week after missing six weeks with hamstring injury), and Cincy Bengals QB Joe Burrow (calf) has been nursing his injury all season and just getting into form in mid-October.

What does it all mean?

Injuries are a huge part of the NFL season and each club has the “next man up” mentality to replace its fallen soldiers. Often, the opportunity supplied to a reserve or practice player is enough motivation to fill the hole admirably, but more frequently on offense rather than defense. The injuries to the defensive unit of the Buffalo Bills might’ve side-tracked a Super Bowl season. In the Bills’ AFC, Kansas City remains the favorite while the Miami Dolphins continue to impress. In the NFC, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Detroit all stand at 5-1 and will all will fight-it-out for the right to represent their conference come February. May the healthiest team advance.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The World Golf Hall of Fame recently announced that NBA All-Star and champion Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors will receive The Charlie Sifford Award presented by Southern Company, which honors recipients for their spirit in advancing diversity in golf. Curry receive the award on June 10, 2024, at the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony presented by CME Group held during the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst – not far from Curry’s alma mater – Davidson College in North Carolina. The Charlie Sifford Award was created in 2021 to honor an individual who personifies Sifford’s groundbreaking achievements through perseverance, confidence, respect, and adaptability.

MOST MARKETABLE ATHLETES: SportsPro, a sports marketing e-News and event company with a decidedly European tone, named its 50 most marketable athletes of 2023. Not surprisingly, Lionel Messi – the great Argentine striker who “wowed” the MLS crowds backing the Inter Miami CF club this year.

Here’s the Top 20:

Lionel Messi, soccer, MLS Miami
Lebron James, NBA, LA Lakers
Alex Morgan, USWNT
Giannis Antetokounpo, NBA, Milwaukee Bucks
Megan Rapinoe, USWNT (recently retired)
Mikaela Shiffren, USA Alpine Ski Team
Lewis Hamilton, F-1 motorsports, British/Mercedes
Simone Biles, USA Gymnastics
Kylian Mbappe, soccer, PSG France
Max Verstrappen, F-1, Belgium/Dutch, Red Bull
Novak Djokovic, tennis, Serbia
Coco Gauff, tennis, USA
Stephen Curry, NBA, Golden State Warriors
Naomi Osaka, tennis, Japan
Lucy Bronze, soccer, Britain, FC Barcelona
Robert Lewandowski, soccer, Poland, FC Barcelona
Leah Williamson, soccer, Britain, Arsenal
Aryna Sabalenka, tennis Belarussia
Angel Reese, USA, college basketball, LSU
Alphonso Davies, soccer, Ghana/Canada, Bayern Munich

Some Notes Worth Considering: Eight of the Top 20 were soccer players, marketable worldwide but limited in a great degree in the USA; Three of the Top 13 were NBA players; Angel Reese is the lone American basketball player; A total of “Zero” NFL, MLB, NHL nor PGA Tour players are in Top 20 and you had to dig to No. 29 for golfer Rory McIlroy and to No. 35 to come up with KC Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (and, no, he was not pictured with pop star Taylor Swift) and the Top 50 revealed no MLB nor NHL players.

SILVER SCREEN: Two motion pictures featuring endurance sports will entertain us from now through the Christmas holidays. Starring Annette Bening and Jodi Foster, NYAD dives into the story of Diana Nyad and her triumphs, friendships, and her will to dig deep into the human spirit. The movie is available via Netflix. … With a promotional lift in Boston via The Head of the Charles Regatta, another spectacular endurance story, entitled, “The Boys in the Boat” is an inspirational drama based on The New York Times’ No. 1 best selling non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown in 2013. The film, directed by George Clooney, is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the ‘36 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The movie reflects the true story of a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world as Nazi Germany surfaces beneath the Olympic flame. The movie rights were once owned by the Weinstein Group, but with Harvey Weinstein serving a life sentence behind bars, the rights were eventually acquired by Lantern Entertainment of Dallas who chose Clooney to direct. You heard it here first, watch NYAD on Netflix and find time to head to a movie theatre near you to see “The Boys in the Boat.” … Get the “Inside Look.”

Then, maybe, head out to Las Vegas and catch U2 performing at The Sphere where Van den Berg is filling-in for Larry Mullen, Jr. while the longtime U2 drummer, 61, recovers from undisclosed surgery with plans to return to the band. The price of a floor ticket for U2 is averaging $956.

TIDBITS: Former Celtics champion and basketball HOFer Kevin Garnett’s Big Ticket Sports is planning a joint-venture with Pro League Network to create str33t, a new 3×3 pro streetball-style basketball league. Str33t’s first series is expected to launch in early 2024, ahead of the Paris Games, which marks the second Olympics 3×3 basketball will be contested as an Olympic sport. … The league and USA Basketball’s efforts toward the Paris Olympics are not connected.

BREAKING GOOD? – Breaking is the only sport making its debut at Paris 2024. At the Paris 2024 Games, the breaking competition will comprise two events – one for men and one for women – where 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls will go face to face in solo battles. Athletes will use a combination of moves and improvise to the beat of the DJ’s tracks. Breaking made its Youth Olympic debut at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018. … Sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding were also selected by the IOC as demonstration sports for the 2024 Olympic Games.

PITINO EXHIBITION “W”in DOUBLE OT: St. John’s defeated Rutgers, 89-78, in double-overtime of the charity exhibition game, the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at the V Foundation. … St. John’s Nahiem Alleyne buried a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to force double-overtime. He led all scorers with 19 points on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena. It was new coach Rick Pitino’s first game as St John’s head coach, but the “W” won’t count in the record books.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 15

October 15, 2023 by Digital Sports Desk

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Basket-Fy Yourself

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

BOSTON – There’s a saying, maybe call it words of advice: “Stick with what you know best.” Or, in the immortal words of Ignaz Bernstwin (1836-1909), “Do what you know best, if you’re a runner – run. If you’re a bell – ring.

That’s what we’ll do today as this reporter knows the sport of basketball the best and we’ll look at it in three segments.

First, the WNBA: The league has enjoyed, perhaps, its best season since former WNBA President Val Ackerman tossed-up a ceremonial tip-off between Lisa Leslie of the LA Sparks and Kim Hampton of the NY Liberty to start in the inaugural season in the Summer of 1997.

Embed from Getty Images

How quickly those 26 years flew past sports fans, proving the league is here to stay.

The season began with the return of All-Star Brittney Griner who was unlawfully detained in Russia and eventually released in a prisoner exchanged in a State Department led effort to bring Griner home after an airport search uncovered vaping cartridges with less than a gram of hash oil, purchased legally in Arizona but illegal in Russia where she was traveling from playing overseas at her UMMC Ekaterinburg club located in Russia’s fourth largest city situated in Perm Provence. Griner was exchanged for an arms dealer, Viktor Bout, who had served 10 years of a 25-year Federal sentence in the USA.

Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm won the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game MVP after an impressive 31-point performance.

Game 3 of the WNBA Finals will tiup-off at 3pm (ET) today in New York with the Las Vegas Aces leading the New York Liberty 2-games-to-0 in their best-of-five series. The WNBA Finals feature a match-up of two super teams in league history. Jackie Young, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum have proven too much for the Liberty during their stay in Vegas as Hall of Famer Becky Hammon guides her Aces. No team has ever come back to win a series from an 0-2 deficit.

While overall WNBA viewership is up 27% over last season, the Sunday games in this series are going up against NFL regular season and MLB Postseason telecasts. An uphill climb for a league that concluded its season on Labor Day weekend back when Val Ackerman tossed the ball.

Next Up, the Collegians: Yes, it’s been written in these pages before, but each year, a favorite day for all College Basketball fans is the day their Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook arrives in the mailbox. It happened just last week, and this column was teased with a quick look at the great Chris Dortch’s predictions for the 2023-24 BIG EAST Conference.

This week, we’ll take a good look at the Blue Ribbon predictions for the Top 25 in College ball and maybe – just maybe – the patented preseason NCAA bracket will be back for the most ridiculous attempt at a preview.

The College Basketball Blue Ribbon Preseason Top 25:

Kansas
Purdue’
UConn
Marquette
Michigan State
Tennessee
Duke
Arkansas
Creighton
Baylor
Kentucky
Houston
Gonzaga
Florida Atlantic
Arizona
North Carolina
Texas A&M
Texas
Alabama
Mississippi State
USC
Miami
Colorado
Villanova
San Diego State

No major surprises were installed in those selections, except for the fact of an ever-increasing shift of dominance from the former East Coast powerhouses, like Syracuse, Georgetown, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Providence, and St. John’s, to the Midwest and South.

Blue Ribbon named Purdue’s 7-4 Senior center Zach Edey the preseason Player of the Year and Kansas senior center – 7-1 Hunter Dickinson Newcomer of the Year. Dickinson is not exactly a “newcomer,” as he played three years at Michigan but entered the college basketball transfer portal for his senior season and chose Kansas over Villanova, Kentucky, Maryland and Georgetown.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard (r) and The Freak

Saving the best for last, here’s a little look at the pros:

NBA SEASON OF 2023-24: Training camps for the NBA began on September 27 (for teams traveling outside of North America) and October 3 (for the entire league) and the NBA Preseason began October 5 in Abu Dhabi with a pair of Minnesota Timberwolves’ wins over the Dallas Mavericks. (BTW, Dallas went on to lose another game as they stayed in Europe and fell victim to Real Madrid, 127-123 on October 10).

The big change in the NBA schedule of 2023-24 is the incorporation of an “In-Season” tournament which tips-off November 3 and concludes with a December 7 & 9 semis and championship in Las Vegas.

Looking towards the regular season, the talk of the league is Damian Lillard’s summertime trade from Portland to the Milwaukee Bucks and how he’ll fit in with All-Star bigman Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the talented Bucks roster. Keep in mind, Bucks NBA Finals champion coach Mike Budenholzer was fired May 4 of this year and replaced by Toronto assistant Adrian Griffin.

Milwaukee is the team to beat in the East while Denver remains the front runner out West. Next week, we’ll look at the individual divisional ladders and make some predictions for the 2024 NBA Playoffs. While contemplating the NBA, this columnist will take a crack at the impossible —> predicting the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff contenders and winners.

TID-BIT: Keeping up with the Basketball Jones theme, please examine the ESPN list of Top 100 players in the NBA. For a limitation of space on this missive, here’s the ESPN Top 10, in descending order:

No. 10: Anthony Davis, LA Lakers

No. 9: LeBron James, LA Lakers

No. 8: Shea Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder

No. 7: Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns

No. 6: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

No. 5: Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors

No. 4: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

No. 3: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (last year’s MVP)

No. 2: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

No. 1: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Thoughts: Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns is missing from the Top 10, although to ESPN’s credit, he clocks in at No. 11. Personally, with Kevin Durant’s lack of lateral defensive ability (and lack of desire to play any D), the obvious move is to switch Booker with Durant. … At the top of heap, there’s no reason not to list Denver’s Nikola Jokic at No. 1 and The Greek Freak at No. 2. Jokic and the Nuggets are defending champions and he was the MVP of The NBA Finals. That deserves a No. 1 position. … NBA fans and fans of the 76ers might be wary of Joel Embiid’s progress and conditioning for the 2023-24 NBA season. Just sayin’ … New 76ers coach Nick Nursestressed running and conditioning in his first training camp with his club. Undoubtedly Embiid will be a focal point to examine as Nurse plays an up tempo, move-the-ball, FAST game. … Meanwhile, Sixers 10-time all-star guard James Hardenremains at odds with Philadelphia GM Daryl Morey. Harden is on the Sixers’ books for a cool $35.6m this year and – although he is trying to force a trade – there aren’t any takers at that inflated number. The 76ers are also paying Embiid ($47.6m) and Tobias Harris a cool $39.2m per year. There’s a have and have not on the team payroll in Philly.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct 8

October 8, 2023 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – No New York Yankees. No New York Mets. No Boston Red Sox. No San Diego Padres.

But, yes, the Mets, Yankees and Padres, with a combined $876.4 million tab for player salaries this season, all missed the postseason.

The Mets fired GM Billy Eppler and their skipper Buck Showalter while the Red Sox gave the trap-door approach to their head of Baseball Ops and defacto team GM Chaim Bloom. If you add expectations of the LA Angeles to the mix, add to the carnage with Angels Manager Phil Nevin hitting the unemployment line. The SF Giants fired manager Gabe Kapler and the Winter Meetings are two months away.

The 2023 Postseason started slowly with less-than-compelling Wild Card match-ups all ending in a short series (2-0).

The MLB Divisional Playoffs are expected to bring increased interest and batter baseball. In the National League, the Atlanta Braves – baseball’s best – are facing a tough, playoff-tested Philadelphia Phillies team while the winner of the LA Dodgers vs AZ Diamondbacks awaits (think Dodgers).

In the American League, the State of Texas planted two franchises in the divisional playoff bracket – the defending World Series champion Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers. They can meet if the Astros dispose of the Minnesota Twins and the Rangers can defeat upstart and entertaining Baltimore.

Regardless of the results this year, the Baltimore Orioles will be “here to stay” in MLB Postseasons to come.

As postseason progresses, an examination of Baseball’s vital signs shows a very healthy patient. Major League Baseball attendance experienced its largest growth in 30 years in 2023, said the league in a regular season-end statement. Total attendance of 70,747,365 was up 9.6 percent over 2022 (64,556,636) and the average attendance of 29,295 was up 9.1 percent.

Seventeen of the 30 MLB teams drew more than 2.5 million fans, matching the most in MLB history, and eight attracted more than 3 million. Eleven weekends drew more than 1.5 million fans, compared to a total of five such weekends over the previous four full seasons (2018-19, 2021-22) combined.

Factoring into the sport’s increased “watchability” waas a decrease in the average length of the games, thanks in large part to pitch clocks. The regular season games of 2023 averaged 2 hours, 39 minutes and 49 seconds, the shortest since 1985 and a decrease of 24 minutes from last season.

Only nine games lasted 3 1/2 hours or longer, down from 390 such games back in 2021.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The USA Basketball Men’s World Cup team settled for a 4th Place finish this summer in Manila with Germany, Serbia and Canada gaining the top three spots. The groomsmen instead of the groom approach continued this weekend in Amsterdam where the USA Basketball 3×3 entry from Miami took 2nd Place behind a squad from Vienna, Austria. … The second-place finish marks Team Miami’s sixth straight Top 4 finish on the World Tour, including their second runner-up finish of the campaign.

In a rematch of their Saturday “pool play” game, Vienna sought revenge vs. Miami in the Tournament Finals, winning the tightly contested battle, 21-19. Jimmer Fredetteput Miami into the lead, 8-7, with a two-pointer with just under seven minutes remaining. Vienna tried to pull away multiple times, but Miami hung-on and grabbed a 19-18 lead with 3:28 remaining after the Americans went on a 6-1 run. Both teams had empty possessions before Vienna scored the game’s final three points. Fredette led Miami with 10 points. Dylan Travis pulled down a team-high five boards. … The Miami 3×3 entry will next compete at the Doha Challenger on Oct 10-11.

NWSL VALUATIONS: Fresh off a newly reported four-year deal for game rights, divvying up coverage between ESPN, CBS, Amazon and Scripps, the sports business publications – Sportico – released valuations for the National Women’s Soccer League. Here are the Top 10:

Angel City FC – – $180 million
San Diego Wave – – $90m
Kansas City Courant – – $75m
Portland Thorns – – $65m
Washington Spirit – – $54
North Carolina Courage $52m
Houston Dash – – $50m
OL Reign – – $49m (Olympique Lyonnais)
NJ/NY Gotham FC – – $48m
Racing Louisville FC – – $47m

Two other clubs, Orlando and Chicago rated at $47 million or less.

The WNBA just awarded a franchise the the Golden State Warriors’ organization at the value of $50 million.

TIDBITS: The Minnesota Twins snapped an 18-game postseason losing streak with a win in their best-of-three Wild Card series vs. Toronto. It marked the longest losing streak in any major North American sports league. Minny’s 3-1 Game 1 win over the Blue Jays, was dominated by a player who was five years old the last time the Twins won a playoff game. Twins DH Royce Lewis drove in all three runs with a two-run home run in the first inning and a solo shot in the third. …

RIVALRY WEEK: Dare you to say that three times and fast! With No. 12 Oklahoma’s 34-30 upset over No. 3 Texas in Saturday’s Red River Rivalry, it’s time to wax philosophic on the greatness of college football, something city-folk in New York don’t understand.

Here’s my non-comprehensive list of the best rivalries in college football:

Army vs. Navy This year to be played in Foxboro, Mass
The Game – Harvard vs. Yale
The Iron Bowl – Auburn vs. Alabama
Michigan vs Ohio State – Usually, it settles the Big 10 championship)
USC vs. Notre Dame – a rivalry based in great games, every year)
Georgia vs. Florida – aka “the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”
Miami vs. Florida State – ‘Canes vs. ‘Noles
California vs. Stanford – Public vs. Private
UCLA vs. USC – West Coast elite, in the Rose Bowl
Lafayette vs. Lehigh – The Rivalry which dates back to 1897

And, don’t forget the Catholics vs the Convicts (ND vs. Miami) of yesteryear.

THINGS TO PONDER ON A SLOW DAY: Back by popular demand are a listing of a few things I think about.

Ready?

For years and years we’ve all been shaken by the sound of the Emergency Broadcast System … Repeat after me: “Station XYZ is conducting a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test. If this had been an actual emergency, an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message.” … “This concludes the test of the Emergency Broadcast System.” … Okay, I get it. … It’s an important function and it grew from a directive from President John F. Kennedy in the very early ‘60s during the Cold War. … Now! Tell me this? During the damn GLOBAL PANDEMIC of 2019-2020 did you hear one peep from the Emergency Broadcast System? … That said, they tested an upgraded version this week.
Why are there three different ways to describe the exact same thing?

In New York, it’s a car ACCIDENT
In Boston, it’s a CRASH
In Texas, it’s a WRECK

There’s “Fender-Benders,” “Pile-Ups,” “Collisions,” and “Smash-Ups.” Can anyone explain the origin of all of these descriptions and tell is why we need so many different ways to tag the same disasterous thing? Maybe we should slow down and drive safely, especially in the local neighborhood where the speed limit states “20 mph,” and not double nickels.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct 1st

October 1, 2023 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The marketers behind the 2023 Ryder Cup are not afraid to borrow a phrase or two to promote their wonderful USA vs Europe matches. It was a bit of a surprise to learn the Ryder Cup was “an event unlike any other,” not too far from CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz and his description of The Masters as “A Tradition Unlike Any Other.”

On the PGA of America side of the coin, we learned that the PGA Tour pros gather together to exclaim, “We Love This Game,” a phrase made famous by the NBA’s popular “I Love This Game” campaign of the 1990s.

To steer clear of any copyright and trademark issues, and after watching the first two days of the 2023 Ryder Cup matches from Rome, the suggestion is to edit the tagline ever-so-slightly and etch into stone, “We’re Getting Our Asses Kicked in this Game.’

On Friday, Team Europe was out to an all-important and momentum-building 4-0 start in Foursomes, which was followed by Saturday morning’s 3-1 shellacking. As of this writing and a post on Saturday night about 10pm (ET), the singles matches of the Ryder Cup will be seven and a half hours away (11:35am (local)/5:35am (ET).

If you’re an American fan and haven’t seen the pairings for Sunday’s singles, cover your eyes now. Team Europe captain Luke Donald, needing four points to win the Ryder Cup, is not fooling around, as he placed four of his big-name gems as his first four players out (Rahm, Hovland, Rose and McIlroy).

Should he need back-up, his No. 5 is Matt Fitzpatrick (played 2, won 1, lost 1), and his No. 6 is Tyrrell Hatton (played 3, won 2, lost 0, halved 1).

(Europe listed first)

Match 1

Jon Rahm

5:35 a.m.

Scottie Scheffler

Match 2

Viktor Hovland

5:47 a.m.

Collin Morikawa

Match 3

Justin Rose

5:59 a.m.

Patrick Cantlay

Match 4

Rory McIlroy

6:11 a.m.

Sam Burns

Match 5

Matt Fitzpatrick

6:23 a.m.

Max Homa

Match 6

Tyrrell Hatton

6:35 a.m.

Brian Harman

Match 7

Ludvig Aberg

6:47 a.m.

Brooks Koepka

Match 8

Sepp Straka

6:59 a.m.

Justin Thomas

Match 9

Nicolai Hojgaard

7:11 a.m.

Xander Schauffele

Match 10

Shane Lowry

7:23 a.m.

Jordan Spieth

Match 11

Tommy Fleetwood

7:35 a.m.

Rickie Fowler

Match 12

Robert MacIntyre

7:47 a.m.

Wyndham Clark

The unavoidable questions of “what’s wrong” with Team USA will surface, but the truth of the matter is that Team Europe simply played better golf over the first two days (and possibly the Singles Sunday to come).

USA Team Captain Zach Johnson had the USA well prepared and he had the right 12 players. Maybe, just maybe he could’ve picked Dustin Johnsonover Justin Thomas, but he went with Thomas for the historical strong team combo of JT with his longtime friend and cohort Jordan Spieth.

On the logistical side, a few members of the USA team came up with common cold symptoms, but the tea,m refused to use that as an excuse. Issues such as colds, flu-like symptoms or God-forbid COVID+ are a constant threat to constant trans-Atlantic travelers under stress, the same as it is for business travelers.

Possible solutions:

Travel in smaller groups (4) on commercial flights or charters, utilizing N-95 masks during travel
House the players in small groups (2) or (4) max to luxury house rental or spread-out on one floor of a luxury hotel.
Get on the same time zone 2+ weeks early, and play more practice rounds on European soil. Team USA practiced at Marco Simone Golf Club two weeks prior to the Ryder Cup competition but some players flew back and forth across the Atlantic, adding wear and tear and jet-lag stress to their bodies. They need to minimize travel and potential exposure to germ-incubators that can effect the entire team.
Maybe a “Team Room” is a traditional setting that can be left behind.
Cut out the “hat waving” and “Hat-gate” B.S. and act like you’ve been there before.
While Team USA is at it, they might become more media friendly and allow access to Netflix documentaries and attend media sessions after Opening Ceremonies. All the “no” answers create more negativity within and around the team. It’s the little things that begin to add up.
Once the Team USA Roster is determined, designate one player spokesman and a back-up from the most seasoned and affable players on the golf team. USA Vet Rickie Fowler could have been very helpful with media obligations during the week if Captain Johnson knew in advance of his line-ups.
Included in the extra stay in the European time zone, build in one or two “media days” and give media advanced access, and designate a day/time for media to get still head shots, set aside time and complete any network TV obligations. Advance plan and stage a newsworthy photo op and short media availability twice a week while on European soil. Once the photo obligation is complete, Team USA can be treated to a great meal or a stop to surprise and create extra bonds between the players.
The more an atmosphere of normal interaction is created, the less stress, pressure and tension will be on the players come competition time.
Embrace the local culture, language and customs to show respect to the host venue, the European players and the fans will appreciate it.

If all that fails … hit some putts and stay an extra hour on the practice greens.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As soon as the Ryder Cup golf tournament is settled on Sunday morning, you can turn your TV dial/remote/satellite to watch the NFL in London. The Jacksonville Jaguars are crossing the pond, once again, this week facing the Atlanta Falcons. See all NFL odds and betting options: Jags (-3) over Falcons

This is the 10th year the Jags have played in London, but this trip is different as Jacksonville will play back-to-back games in England, as the home team at Wembley Stadium against the Falcons, but as the away team at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against the Buffalo Bills. It’ll mark the first time an NFL team will have an extended stay in the regular season since the league launched its International Bowls in 2007.

The Jags’ front office staff hopes to add business partners and future sponsorship opportunities for the franchise both in the U.K. and in Jacksonville.

One factoid, not to be overlooked, the loyal fans of the Buffalo Bills will lose a home date.

TID-BITS: Here’s a glimpse into some of the stuff I think about: (Special attention to sponsor USAA) – Why isn’t the Army v Navy college basketball game a big thing? All regular season college hoops games could be scheduled to end on Saturday, March 9, 2024 (and the equivalent each season) and then the Army vs Navy Game could be played each year as the final regular season game of the college season (Sunday, March 10, 2024). … Surely, this columnist is not the first to suggest something like this, correct? … Ponder this: Do DOGS know when it’s their birthday? … Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora named Chris Sale his Opening Day when the Sox play the Mariners in Seattle on March 28th, 2024. Oh Good, but talk to me on March 21st.

Why, on earth, would Curt Schilling make a brain cancer diagnosis of his former teammate Tim Wakefield public against the wishes of Wakefield and his family. Wakefield’s wife, Stacy, is also battling cancer. The couple has two children, Trevor (born in 2004) and Brianna (born in 2005).

Schilling – the bird brain that he is – made the private diagnosis of Wakefield public on a podcast. Wakefield and the Red Sox organization were forced to issue a statement after the podcast aired.

“We are aware of the statements and inquiries about the health of Tim and Stacy Wakefield,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, this information has been shared publicly without their permission. Their health is a deeply personal matter they intended to keep private as they navigate treatment and work to tackle this disease. Tim and Stacy are appreciative of the support and love that has always been extended to them and respectfully ask for privacy at this time.”

WNBA FINALS: The Las Vegas Aces have advanced to the WNBA Finals and they await the other semifinal winner – either the New York Liberty or the Connecticut Sun. NY’s Breanna Stewart scored 25 points as the Liberty beat Sun, 92-81, to take 2-1 lead in WNBA semifinal series. … The WNBA Finals will begin October 8 in Las Vegas. … The league might take a page of its own history and revert to a Memorial Day to Labor Day schedule. October 8 brings stiff comp from the NFL and the MLB Postseason.

THE NHL: Opening night for the NHL 2023-24 season is Tuesday, October 10th – adding to the crush on the WNBA Finals. On October 10th, the Vegas Knights will hoist their Stanley Cup banner to the rafters, the night before WNBA Finals Game 2.

THE NBA: League staff has already departed to prep for preseason games in the Middle East. The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 will feature the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves playing two preseason games at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The Games are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 7.

TRICK OR TREAT: The next thing you know, Halloween candy will be on sale. Oh? That happened two months ago.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | Sept 24

September 24, 2023 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) on Ryder Cup, Best/Worst of NFL

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The Opening Ceremony of the 2023 Ryder Cup will take place this Thursday at 10:00am ET. The foursomes and four-ball competition starts this Friday, September 29th with first tee time at 1:35 AM (ET) and the Ryder Cup will be presented to the winning team on Sunday, Oct 1, 2023 – a week from today.

Embed from Getty Images

TV coverage of the biennial match play golf tournament will be provided by a combination of USA Network and its parent company, NBC Sports. Streaming is available via NBC’s Peacock Network and the Ryder Cup (www.rydercup.com) and the Ryder Cup app.

The TEAMS:

🇺🇸 The visiting USA Team will feature:

Scottie Scheffler
Wyndham Clark
Patrick Cantlay
Brian Harman
Max Homa
Xander Schaufele
Sam Burns
Rickie Fowler
Brooks Koepka
Collin Morakawa
Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas
Captain: Zach Johnson

🇪🇺 The European host team will feature:

Rory McIlroy
Jon Rahm
Viktor Hovland
Tyrrell Hatton
Matt Fitzpatrick
Robert MacIntyre
Justin Rose
Tommy Fleetwood
Shane Lowry
Ludvig Aberg
Sepp Straka
Nicolai Hojgaard
Captain: Luke Donald

FUN FACTS: The USA has NOT won on European soil since 1993 at The Belfry. … In 2021, the USA won the Ryder Cup at Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits, marking a record of a 10-point victory, the largest since the USA and Europe (not the UK) squared off in 1979. … The USA has No. 1 rankedScottie Scheffler but Europe can claim No. 2-5 with N. Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, Spain’s Jon Rahm and Norway’s Viktor Hovland. … If you place Hovland at the No. 1 slot because of his 2023 FedEx Cup victory and Erling Haaland as the No. 1 footballer in the world, playing for Man City, you’ll note Norway has the top two athloetes in teh world. Add Germany as the FIBA World Cup champion, and Serbia’s Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets as the MVP of the NBA Finals, you get the picture on the marvelous results being registered by European athletes.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: After this weekend’s three game set with the Chicago White Sox, the Boston Red Sox will have only two more games at Fenway Park before the turf plays host to some Thanksgiving high school football games. The Red Sox face the Tampa Bay Rays (2 games) and the Baltimore Orioles (4-games at Camden Yards) to close out the year against two of the American League’s very best.

Saturday, September 23rd, also known as Week 4 of the College Football season, is really Game 1 for a lot of teams as they face conference competition across the nation. There’s some great non-Conference battles, too, as in Ohio State playing Notre Dame in South Bend.

The “Instant Classic” of the weekend was the Florida State at Clemsongame, won by Florida St., 31-24 in overtime.

There were so many great college football games on TV that my remote threatened to join the United Auto Workers’ picket lines. … The remote was so worn out that it asked for seven days off and an all expenses paid vacation trip to Aruba. … There were so many great games going on at the same time that a friend in New York City walked 8,700 steps as he went from screen-to-screen inside a Sports Bar.

The losers in the deal? How about LIV Golf, being televised by the CW Network facing big-time college football comp on ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2 and everything on ESPN+, FOX, the ACC Network, the Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Net, and so on.

Wouldn’t LIV Golf be better off basing its September tournaments in Europe where they could play to an early morning audience in the USA, say 7:00am to 11:00am ET?

THE BEST AND WORST OF THE NFL: Frequently, there are despicable acts of violence by NFL fans at stadiums across the country. This week? It was too much as a fan in Buffalo was apprehended as the USA Todayheadline read: An unidentified football fan who was naked and “covered in human excrement” was discovered in a construction site hole near the Buffalo Bills home opener on Sunday. The extent of his injuries was a cut on his forehead.

Believe it or not, it got worse. Much worse.

Dale Mooney, a 53-year-old New England Patriots’ fan and New Hampshire resident, fell unconscious in the fourth quarter of New England’s Sunday Night Football game against the Miami Dolphins, falling unconscious in the upper deck of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and could not be revived.

He was punched by a Miami Dolphins fan and fell down, witnesses said, but the blow might not have been the cause of Mooney’s death.

“Preliminary autopsy results did not suggest traumatic injury, but did identify a medical issue,” according to a statement Wednesday from the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. “Cause and manner of death remain undetermined pending further testing.”

The fact of the matter is that a drunken Patriots fan jawed throughout the game and then confronted a rival Miami supporter. There’s been no formal or final determination by the authorities and the incident remains under investigation.

The incidents this week prompt a listing of the worst fans (and best fans) in the NFL:

WORST FANS:

Worst – J.E.T.S. – Jets, Jets, Jets ✈️

2nd – J.E.T.S. – Jets, Jets, Jets ✈️

3rd – J.E.T.S. – Jets, Jets, Jets ✈️

That’s no typo!

4. Eagles 🦅

5. Raiders 🍂

6. Dolphins 🐬

7. Cowboys 🤠

8. Patriots 🇬🇧 —> 🇺🇸

9. Bengals 🐅 (lethargic/front runners)

10. Steelers ⚒️

BEST and MOST LOYAL NFL FANS:

1. Packers

2. Giants

3. Bills

4. Da Bears

5. Broncos

6. Cowboys

7. Seahawks

8. Chiefs

9. DC Commanders

10. Lions

TIDBITS: While We’re Young (Ideas) is NOT a gossip column. It’s not Page 6. It’s not even TMZ. But, the Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce dating “thing” is just too much to let pass by without mention. Rumors began circulating that Kelce and Swift were dating weeks ago, about the time Kelce suffered a bone bruise in practice two days before the Chiefs’ 21-20 season-opening loss to the Detroit Lions.

Kelce missed that game – his first DNP since 2013 – but returned for NFL Week 2 when he scored a touchdown in a 17-9 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While Kelce and Swift have remained silent, friends of Swift and the brother of Kelce have been feeding the frenzy.

“It’s hilarious how much traction this has gotten,” said Jason Kelce, the KC tight end’s brother. “Right now, it’s like that old game in school called ‘telephone’ where everyone is whispering in everyone’s ear and hearing random stuff. No one actually knows what’s going on, especially when you’ve got Jason Kelce on live television telling people both sides … The guy can’t stay out of the frickin’ headlines.”

“I try to keep his business kind of his business, stay out of that world. But having said that, I think he’s doing great, and I think it’s all 100% true,” J. Kelce added.

Sources with a Swift insider resume also broke silence and commented on her behalf.

“She and Travis have hung out twice, and it’s nothing serious. She thinks he is very charming, and they have been texting this last week,” said the Swifty exclusively to The Messenger. “He is a little embarrassed at how much attention they are getting, but he has told her he would love to continue seeing her.”

“They are seeing where things go.” However, the football star has some stiff competition for the singer’s attention. “Her friends are always playfully suggesting people to set her up with,” the source continues.

Calling Tom Brady?

Nah.

SOCCER HUB: The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced that Boston was awarded expansion rights for the league’s 15th team. Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSC), an all-female core ownership group led by a diverse and dynamic leadership team, will head-up the venture. The new club is set to kick-off in the 2026 season, bringing world-class women’s soccer back to the country’s No. 9 media market to play in a region with a championship legacy for a fan base that has earned a reputation as one of the most passionate in all of sports.

The announcement follows the addition of two other NWSL expansion teams earlier this year, Utah Royals FC and Bay Area FC, which are both slated to begin play in 2024.

RIP DENNIS D’AGOSTINO: A week after writing a memorial tribute to the NBA’s Bruni Gill, it’s another sad day to recognize the sudden passing of New York Mets, New York Knicks and our NBA Finals/All-Star Game media relations cohort Dennis D’Agostino. … Dennis’ upbeat attitude, a hard work ethic to always get the job done right and a unique personality and sense of humor that was loved and appreciated by everyone he came in contact with over his many years in sports. D’Agostino most recently re-located from his native New York (Whitestone) by way of Fordham University in the Bronx to Los Angeles where he and his bride, Helene Elliott of the LA Times, enjoyed their lives together in a grand way. … This columnist has fond memories of D’Agostino at the Mets, Knicks and at LA Dodgers games but also from the many New York Knicks media trips to Saratoga Race Course. Etched in my mind is the day he inserted a VHS tape of “Day at the Races” – the Marx Brothers’ classic – into a player for a long bus ride from The Garden to Saratoga Race Course for a summertime Knicks’ media outing! … We laughed and laughed and -zip – we were in Saratoga! D’Agostino’s memorial service will be held in New Jersey on September 30.

PARTING WORDS AND MUSIC: While considering a post highlighting the recent stadium concerts performed by Taylor Swift, there’s absolutely no chance this week’s column isn’t going to plug the “Garden-to-Garden” pair of concerts by the Tedeschi Trucks Band to be played this week.

We’ll start off at TD Boston Garden on Wednesday, September 27 and conclude Friday, September 29 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the World’s Most Famous Arena.

Derek Trucks’ cohort as lead guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes, will sit-in at the Boston show, while Phish phenom Trey Anastasioand Norah Jones will each make appearances with TTB at NYC’s Garden.

It’ll be great.

Here’s a sampling of the Tedeschi Trucks Band doing “Anyhow” and Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues,” performed at the most beautiful, striking and astonishing concert venues in the world, at Red Rocks outside of Denver, Colorado.

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