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While We're Young Ideas

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | July 30

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Issue of Name, Image and Likeness Created Unrealistic Congressional P.O.V.

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – This week saw two – count ‘em – TWO – Congressional bills to create oversight on the issue of Name, Imagine and Likeness for College athletics. Those two bills, will be added to a previous submission by Senator Lindsay Graham and a host of other lawmakers – Fed and State – have made for a “4th Down and Long” in addressing the entire foundation of the NIL concept.

With the latest, call it the third whiff, the United States House and Senate should be out!

On March 29, 2023, Congress held a hearing which came less than a month after former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker had assumed the position as President of the NCAA. It also came about a month after the NCAA had its first ruling in an NIL infraction case.

In early February, 2023 Congressman Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the “Collegiate Athlete Economic Freedom Act,” a bill co-sponsored by Massachusetts Congressional Rep Lori Trahan (D-MA) who is a former NCAA volleyball athlete from Georgetown University.

The Murphy/Trahan bill did not have specific language pertaining to an employee-employer relationship, a key legal designation that has all of the college athletics stakeholders concerned about that relationship and its influence on future legal maneuvers. Murphy’s bill also advocated athletes should receive a portion of athletic department revenues. Some of that language is included in the “College Athletes Bill of Rights” filed in December of 2022 by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

On May 19, Senator Lindsey Graham drafted and introduced the “College Sports NIL Clearinghouse Act of 2023.”

“The purpose behind the NIL clearinghouse would be to monitor compliance, establish and enforce penalties and provide educational information to athletes. The legislation provides some protections to athletes, including prohibiting institutions from limiting playing time or making changes to scholarships as retaliation for an NIL deal. Yet, universities would have the power to prohibit their athletes from entering into agreements that would violate state law or the student conduct code.

“Institutions would also have the right to, “provide each enrolled student-athlete a list of entities” athletes would be prohibited from entering business relationships with. The clearinghouse would provide any information to the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice or the attorney general of any state.”

Graham’s draft also called for third party oversight of Name, Image and Likeness for college athletics, removing the NCAA office and Baker from the equation, a proposal that would further place the NCAA in a position of weakness. The shifting power in collegiate sports has moved greatly to the College Football Playoffs and to the individual college conferences – all playing games of musical chairs to fight over worthy college football programs to hoist from one conference to another (see: Colorado, UConn and the constantly swirling rumors of expansion to the BIG 12).

The most recent Congressional take was the “Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act of 2023,” which contrasts with previously submitted “The College Athlete Economic Freedom Act.” The recent take, introduced by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) and Joe Manchin, (D-West Virgina), includes more protection to the NCAA and its member universities and colleges.

It had the backing, as you might expect, from Baker who issued a statement saying, “This important legislation is a major step in the right direction to ensure the health and safety of student-athletes, includes key measures to increase consumer protections and transparency in the NIL market, and aims to protect women’s and Olympic sports.” (Note: Olympic sports is an easy way for colleges to say – NOT College Football).

At issue as the Federal legislators play dueling bills is the fact individual States are getting into the act, usually with input from their local institutions all looking out for their own small world and short-term success.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban addressed key issues when he did a lengthy interview with the online publication that used to look like Sports Illustrated. Touching on all aspects of the NIL craze, Saban said, “I’m not trying to spearhead a solution. I talk to (SEC Commissioner) Greg Sankey a lot. I talk to [SEC associate commissioner] William King. I hear the other coaches in our meetings. I’m just trying to help provide information to [the United States Senators] so they know what the issues really are. I’m trying to also direct them to people I think can input the solution, like Greg Sankey and those kinds of people. Everybody needs to look at the issue from 1,000 feet. I don’t want to take opportunities away from players. I just think the mechanisms around how they get those opportunities need to be more standard for everyone.”

Saban speaks from a lofty position at the top of the power base pyramid of college football, but he notes the quagmire (awkward, complex and hazardous position) created as the introduction of NIL collides with college athletics.

“I think one of the things is everybody having a different state law,” said Saban. “A lot of people blame the NCAA for a lot of this, but the NCAA sometimes gets caught. … Because of the changes we’ve had in what’s legal and not, they can’t enforce their own rules and they’re in a little bit of a dilemma, too.”

Ya think, Nick?

As previous typing here at WWYI, the main issue the NCAA, the schools, the Feds and the States all seem to miss is the fact NIL now means “Now, It’s Legal,” for all the friends of the programs, the boosters (aka very wealthy alum), the local businesses supporting colleges, the former athletes who’ve struck it rich in the professional ranks, and “want to give back” to the place where they started their careers.

The Tuberville-Manchin bill proclaims, ““Student athletes should be able to take advantage of NIL promotional activities without impacting their ability to play collegiate sports,” said Tuberville, the former college football coach. “But we need to ensure the integrity of our higher education system, remain focused on education, and keep the playing field level.”

Yet, it’s first line of defense is a colossally unrealistic – let’s call it stupid – statement of the proposed law, noting:

INDUCEMENTS—

1) IN GENERAL—An individual, booster, or third party may not offer or provide a prospective student athlete or a student athlete with any compensation or benefit that is intended to induce the prospective student athlete or student athlete to enroll in or transfer to a particular institution of higher education.

Yeah, right!

Where does that gem leave the issue?

What sayith the wisdom of WWYI? – “The lethal Bouillabaisse of NIL (Now, It’s Legal) consists of desperate and disparate worlds, all with their own specific agendas. They all stir the nasty ingredients put forth by State legislation, Federal legislation, the NCAA, the Colleges and Universities, the so-called Student-Athletes who play Football and Basketball, the Student-Athletes who do not play Football and Basketball, the TV networks, the wealthy boosters/former athletes, the Conferences, the Conference Commissioners, individual school Athletic Directors, and the “Collectives” – business groups trying to make a buck by brokering NIL deals often graced by the University but not necessarily in the best interest of the individual athletes.

Many of the issues are confronted each and every day by professional sports entities who pay players on the table, as opposed to the old-school ways of under-the-table. The league/franchise owners and the players’ unions sit down and negotiate a “Collective Bargaining Agreement” that addresses every issue of league/sport operation – from regular season compensation to playoff shares, from schedules to travel regulations, from per diem to mandatory appearances, from marketing rights to use of IP (trademarks) and more.

The more the NCAA and its member schools, along with the Feds and States, try to avoid the pro model, the deeper they fall into the NIL rabbit hole.

Sooner, rather than later, there will be no way out.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The artist formerly known as The New York Times Sports section, aka The Athletic, created a FAN-Tastic take-out highlighting the work of Boston Celtics tv play-by-play man and Gowdy Award Hall-of-Famer Mike Gorman. The Athletic’s Jared Weiss did the reporting and typing and, quite frankly, deserves consideration for the annual Pro Basketball Writers Association awards for his work.

The story is a must-read and it was brought to WWYI’s attention by column-consumer and now contributor Rich Hussey, an NBC Sports Hall-of-Famer in his own right.

Back to the Athletic – the article highlighted Gorman’s entire career, his relationship with the late Tommy Heinsohn – his TV sidekick for 40 years (2,800+ broadcasts) and his plans to retire after this season.

One thing, well make it two things are for sure. Mike Gorman and the late Tommy Heinsohn will never be replaced. Never.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 23

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on a Busy Week in Sports

BOSTON – Last week, we enjoyed a fake dateline and a fake British Open golf preview to show the open-ended dangers of trusting AI too much, especially before it’s ready for primetime. This week, we’re posting just as the final round of The Open begins at Royal Liverpool, in England.

The Open is being played a few miles from Penny Lane (which doubles as the name of our dog). Royal Liverpool last hosted The Open in 2014 when Rory McIlroy held on to win with a two-stroke cushion, despite his own (71) or (-1) in the final round. That Sunday, McIlroy’s competitors shot: T-2 Rickie Fowler (67); T-2 Sergio Garcia (66); 4th Jim Furyk (65), all in a mad dash to catch the 54-hole leader.

This week, it’s been a blast to listen to “The Open Radio” as background music while attending to other duties. Just to state the obvious: There is no better broadcast in the world of sports, maybe the world of everything. The infectious “Mrs. Doubtfire” approach to calling a 72-hole endurance test is a treasure to behold.

United States’ broadcasters and viewers think the world of Jim Nantz’s efforts on the PGA Tour, especially at The Masters. The Open broadcast makes Nantz’s famous, “Hello Friends,” or catch-phrase “a tradition unlike any other,” seem like locker room profanity.

Instead, let us present:

  • Marcus Buckland
  • Sue Thearle
  • Ron Jones
  • Matt Adams
  • Sophie Walker
  • Raymond Burns
  • Alison Walker
  • Paul Eales
  • Harry Ewing
  • SiriusXM’s Maureen Madill and Carl Paulson

Maureen Elizabeth Jane Madill is the gem. Her married name is Garner and she was born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Madill won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship in 1979 and the British Ladies Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 1980. She turned pro but didn’t have much success and turned to broadcasting where she’s worked for the British Broadcasting Company (BBC Sport) calling the Scottish Open, the PGA Championship, and of course, The Open.

Here’s a glimpse of Ms. Madill’s typical delivery:

“We were stationed in front of the telly watching the lengthy playoff for the Made in Himmerland title in Denmark between Spaniard Nacho Elvira and home hero Rasmus Hojgaard. We had no particular favourite for the trophy but acknowledged how fabulous it would be for Rasmus and the partisan galleries if the Dane could manage to pull it off. Elvira had ascended the 18th tee in the final round with a one-shot lead but was relieved to hole a nasty little one for bogey to fall back into a playoff with Rasmus, who’d shot 64 and been finished for ages.

The 18th was a bit of a brute of a hole with a very testing tee shot, trouble lurking everywhere. The pair shared pars on five occasions before Elvira finally came unstuck on the sixth time of asking and the title was won by a Dane for the first time in its history.”

Her go-to line is that a player is approaching “a tricky hole,” and her overall descriptions never fail.

The other killer phrases are when a player has to “Tidy-Up” to get his par or when the commentators wonder about Scottie Scheffler’s “Schh-edule” (schedule).

THE BUSY WEEKEND IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER: It’s been a busy week in sports and it’s getting busier by the day.

  • Major League Soccer held its All-Star break and fell to mighty Arsenal, 0-5. The Premier League power dominated the MLS stars, even though Arsenal is in its preseason preparations. The MLS Stars, coached by former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, were outshot 16-7 overall.
  • The Open is fully underway at Royal Liverpool, as noted above. It is the last of professional golf’s majors for 2023.
  • The United States Women’s National Team is in the preliminary round of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, being staged in Australia and New Zealand. The USA pool includes:
  • United States
  • Netherlands
  • Portugal
  • Viet Nam – the USA claimed a victory over Viet Nam, 3-0. That’s something that could not be said in 1975.
  1. Baseball is Back in Full Action after the MLB All-Star Break.
  2. The Premier Lacrosse League All-Star Game
  3. NFL Training Camps are opening with most clubs having had their rookies report July 18 and the veterans this coming Tuesday, Jul;y 25.
  4. SlamBall Returns. (You’ve read all about it here)!

HERE NOW THE NOTES: NBA Legend, LA Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, UCLA and Power Memorial champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is making as much impact in 2023 as he did in 1968 (when he changed his name from Lew Alcindor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Noble, Powerful Servant ) or 1971 (when he won his first NBA title along with Oscar Robertson and the Milwaukee Bucks) or from 1975-1989 when, as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, he was “Sky-Hooking” his way to become one of – if not the – greatest player in National Basketball Association history.

Your dedicated columnist worked with KAJ from 1981 through 1989 but very little beyond. On the other hand, at times my former employer allowed for work far beyond the years a player competed on the court. Up until his retirement in 1989, KAJ was “a bit of a handful.” He was quite aloof in terms of his association with the people who promoted the NBA Players as a whole and NBA teams and the league with all systems on “full speed ahead.”

To be clear, KAJ performed on the court as well as any player in history and he lived-up to his obligations to do interviews, especially at tough times during the NBA Playoffs or Finals. But, he did so grudgingly – the complete opposite of many of his peers, such as Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Wes Unseld, Willis Reed or Walt Frazier.

The latter group set an important tone in their respective team locker rooms and forged an air of cooperation that brought the NBA from the doldrums of tape-delayed NBA Finals games to global dominance in the sports world. In a pregame open locker, media availability session, KAJ would very often be at his locker, but he would be totally engrossed in a book he was reading – sending a “Please Do NOT Disturb” message to all passers-by, near and far.

At one point during the 2009 NBA Finals, the retired KAJ was traveling with his team and situated in a quiet Lakers team locker room, in his usual pose of reading a book off in a corner. This reporter was, coincidentally, in the locker at the same time, but there to see a dear friend – LA Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti – who had a few seconds of down time as the entire team was out on the court and warming up for that night’s game.

Seeing KAJ and in no way in need of his time, I felt it important to let him know that the parent of his friend and longtime Lakers PR man, Josh Rosenfeld, had just passed away after an extended illness. KAJ was well aware of the situation but not the death.

As only the great Rosenfeld could do, he had inserted a line of very dry humor in the death notice issued to his closest friends. I took the liberty of reading it to KAJ as he sat quietly and extended his sincere condolences to our mutual friend. It read in part, “In lieu of flowers, please send job offers.”

Kareem laughed out loud with a deep, “Har, Har”– as he looked me in the eye knowing how loyal a friend I was to his former colleague, and world traveling companion through Lakers’ trips all over the USA, all of his championships and NBA exhibitions and functions all over the world.

Upon returning to the other side of the locker to bid good-bye as a few players returned to the locker, Vitti and a small group of assist athletic trainers, equipment managers and video room techs gazed in amazement, asking, “What did you say to him? We haven’t seen ‘Capt’ laugh like that in 10 years.”

Now 76 years old and still a dozen years older than yours truly, KAJ has turned to this same platform (Substack) to share his point of view in a way very few writers have ever had the talent to do so.

Quite frankly, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s column is the best of its kind – maybe the best writing of any kind on any platform or publication available today.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 16

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By TERRY LYONS

HOYLAKE – So sorry, dear readers – I just couldn’t help myself. The promise for the WWYI column was great sports notes, some breaking news and analyzing the latest sports happenings with some true perspective. Fake news be damned.

Right after typing the fake dateline of HOYLAKE, a town on the outskirts of Liverpool, this column went right to the dark side of the Internet and called up CHAT GPT (Open AI). There’s a simple assignment to lead the column this week, so I asked Mr. Chat GPT if he/she/it could help the cause and generate a preview for this week’s Open, the major golf tournament played each year in the U.K..

Upon review, Mr Chat GPT Open AI must’ve been sipping from the Claret Jug all night, as it spit-out the following preview, complete with its own headline and the creation of sections to nicely break-up the copy. [Comments will be added by yours truly and in brackets].

Here we go:

2023 Open Championship: A Battle of Golf’s Finest on Historic Grounds

Preview:

The 2023 Open Championship is set to captivate the golfing world as the finest players from across the globe gather to compete on the prestigious and historic grounds. As one of the four major championships in professional golf, the Open Championship carries with it a rich legacy and a sense of tradition that makes it a highly anticipated event every year.

[Not terrible, but rather vague]

Venue:

This year, the Open Championship returns to the iconic Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Known for its challenging links-style course, Royal St George’s has hosted the championship on 14 occasions, with the last edition taking place in 2011. Players will face unpredictable weather conditions, undulating fairways, and treacherous bunkers, making it a true test of their skills and resilience.

[Oh boy, BIG trouble. It’s nice to read about Royal St. George’s in Sandwich but the 151st Open Championship is being played at Royal Liverpool, a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England, founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the “Royal” designation in 1871 due to the patronage of Prince Arthur the Duke of Connaught, one of Queen Victoria’s younger sons.]

[The mistakes of the wrong YEAR and VENUE are about as serious as one could make, except for the old “Change all the Armys to Navy” line about the hungover scribe calling into his newspaper to check copy on the football game he’d just covered at the Air Force Academy. AI screwed up. Hugelywith a distance almost as far as you can get in England, some 300+ miles and a five hour, 46 minutes trip by car, or six hours by train, which would include some walking.]

Let’s see what else Mr. ChatBot GPT has in store.

Contenders:

The Chat-man says: “The field is stacked with the world’s top golfers, each vying for the coveted Claret Jug. Defending champion Collin Morikawa will face fierce competition from a host of formidable contenders. The likes of Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, and Justin Thomas will be eager to claim their first Open Championship title, while seasoned veterans such as Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, and Jordan Spieth will be looking to add another major to their impressive resumes.

[A very nice listing of contenders, except for the fact that Cameron Smithwon the 2022 Open at St. Andrews while Morikawa won the 2021 Open at St. Andrews.]

[While Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas are, indeed, seeking their first Open championships, all three can add another Major to their impressive resumes.]

More trouble …

Dark Horses:

The Open Championship often produces surprise winners, and this year promises no less. Talented golfers like Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, and Matthew Wolff have been making waves in recent years and could emerge as dark horses in the tournament. Their young, fearless playing styles could prove to be an advantage on the demanding course.

[It’s great to embrace ambiguity unless it’s within a specific sports preview. A statement that The Open “often produced surprise winners” is far from the truth. You might think Francisco Molinari was a surprise winner in 2018, but he was among Europe’s best and was ranked No. 1 for Ryder Cup team qualification that year. You’d have to turn the clock back to 2003 – 20 years ago – to find a real surprise winner in Ben Curtis at the 132nd Open held at Royal St. George’s.]

Not to beat the dead horse, here, but …

Storylines to Watch:

As the tournament unfolds, several intriguing storylines will undoubtedly capture the attention of fans and media alike. The battle for the world number one No. 1 ranking between Dustin Johnson [Scottie Scheffler] and Jon Rahm could intensify, adding an extra layer of excitement to their head-to-head encounters. Additionally, the resurgence of Jordan Spieth, who won the Open Championship in 2017, will be closely followed as he seeks to recapture his winning form on the grand stage.

[Spieth has missed the cut in three of his last six tournaments, including the U.S. Open held on June 18th.]

Historic Moments:

Royal St George’s has witnessed its fair share of historic moments in Open Championship history. From Sir Henry Cotton’s triumph in 1934 to Ben Curtis’s stunning victory in 2003, the course has a reputation for delivering surprises and creating indelible memories. Players will strive to etch their names alongside the legends of the game who have conquered this revered course.

[Royal Liverpool was the site of Rory McIlroy’s first and only Open championship back in 2014. McIlroy (-17) outlasted two rivals in Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia (each two strokes back) to take the title.]

Conclusion:

The 2023 Open Championship promises to be a captivating event, featuring fierce competition, unpredictable weather, and a challenging course that demands precision and strategy. As the world’s top golfers descend upon Royal St George’s Royal Liverpool, fans can expect a tournament filled with thrilling moments, dramatic storylines, and ultimately, a worthy champion who will join the pantheon of golfing greats.

WWYI comment? – [That’s about as vague a conclusion as any writer could be. The “fans can expect a tournament filled with thrilling moments,” had me heading to British Air to book the next JFK to LPL I could find].

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: There are “Bad Beats” and simply “Bad Bets.”Anyone gambling on the Special Olympics has a special place reserved for them in the afterlife. The New York Post reported, “It doesn’t pay to bet on the Special Olympics. Unregulated offshore sports book BetOnline began offering betting markets this year on the Special Olympics, recently staged in Berlin from June 17-25, but the controversial enterprise turned into a disaster of confusing results and stalled payouts. … Noted the NYP: “The problematic rollout raised bigger-picture questions about whether an event such as the Special Olympics, which is meant to provide a platform and supportive environment for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, should have gambling.” … Special Olympics bettors said they were left high and dry on winning bets for several weeks, and some bets were graded as losers before the competitors even had a chance to perform. … One weightlifting event in particular caused issues: “In question for many bettors was which of the listed group would lift the most weight. Lifter Bobby Hillinitially was listed as the winner by the oddsmakers, with 70kgs lifted, while his opponent, Ryan Kealey, was marked as a losing bet despite the Canadian lifting nearly double, at 135kgs. … “Multiple days before Ryan Kealey even competed, BetOnline graded the bet as a loss,” one bettor told The Post in a direct message. … What says WWYI? … Let’s not jump to conclusions on the relatively new legal gambling in many USA States after the SCOTUS bagged PASPA and the States began to regulate sports gambling in their own jurisdiction. The underworld was shopping some pretty dark gambling exercises long, long ago. The newfound scrutiny, because of the ubiquitous advertising efforts of Draft Kings and the like, is good for those who want a legal playing field when it comes to wagering on sports. The more scrutiny, the better for the bettor.”

HEY NINETEEN! Yes, Steely Dan is on tour, opening for The Eagles, but more importantly, the United States’ Women’s U-19 squad has begun the preliminary round in the FIBA U-19 World Cup. In the opening round of the tournament, being staged at the Jorge Garbajosa Arena in Madrid, Spain, the USA defeated Mali 85-66 behind Cotie McMahon’s team-high 15 points which were accompanied by four assists and seven rebounds in 25 minutes of PT. … According to USA Basketball’s news release, Kiki Rice excelled on both sides of the ball, scoring 10 points while pulling down five rebounds in 20 minutes of action. (Full disclosure: Kiki is the daughter of this reporter’s former NBA colleague, John Rice, and the niece of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice. … McMahon is headed to The Ohio State University while the 19-year old Rice just completed her first year at U.C.L.A … By the way, Kiki’s grandfather, Emmet John Rice, served as a Tuskegee Airman, so Air Kiki just might be the right moniker.

HERE COMES THE SUN (and the Mercury): The Phoenix Suns are moving forward with their free-to-air TV broadcast deal, which has been held up in a legal battle with Diamond Sports Holdings. Suns new team owner Mat Ishbia said in a statement that he was “excited to be able to deliver” the deal with Gray Television, which was previously paused after a bankruptcy judge said the Suns had to satisfy contractual obligations with Diamond Sports Net Arizona. … “I am proud that we are at the forefront of this shift to make the game more accessible, which not only serves our fan base, but also helps to build future NBA and WNBA fans,” Ishbia said in the statement. … Editorial comment: “If we all had a dime for every time a quote (any sport, any business, any descipline) started with a sentence with the word “excited” inlcuded. … The Suns and Mercury (planet closest to the Sun) are shopping their broadcast deals in unison. (Smart move). Sports Biz juggernaut Sportico was the first to report on the Suns moves.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 9

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Covers the Notes

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – In recent weeks, the readers have been the recipients of some breaking sports news (SlamBall!) and some motion picture musings (Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford). WWYI ran some music insights, from Billy Joel to The Beatles and Stones to Bruce Springsteen and his introspective thoughts through the “Last Man Standing.” The Notes always finish with a closing musical memory in the popular section tagged, “Parting Words & Music.”

Throughout, reader and writer have shared laughs and tears (for fears), talked sports, chatted-up trends in society while trying very hard to avoid politics and the terrible news of the day/week/month.

Today?

We have Notes. Just Notes.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Did you catch this news item? Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady lost millions in the collapse of cryptocurrency company FTX, for which he served as an ambassador, The New York Times reported Friday. Under an agreement the retired NFL quarterback made with FTX in 2021, he received $30 million in now-worthless stock for his work pitching the company in television ads and at its conference. In step with him at the time was his then-wife, Gisele Bundchen, who received $18 million in stock, per the report.

DRIBBLED IT OUT: USA Basketball tried to slip one by us on Thursday at 5pm (ET). New USA head-honcho Grant Hill named the players on the 2023 USA World Cup senior national team scheduled to compete in the 2023 FIBA World Cup tournament August 25-September 10, (a.k.a) The Thriller in Manila.

The 2023 USA Men’s National Team will include Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Josh Hart (Knicks), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans),Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Cam Johnson (Brooklyn Nets), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks) and Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers).

In past years, Nike has spent beaucoup de bucks on glitzy announcements with day-long twitter feeds, NYC/Statue of Liberty photo shoots, team clinics for kids and global media days. This year, it was a simple news release (5pm ET) on Thursday with a follow-up with new USA national team managing director Grant Hill.

PERTH: The NBA G League Ignite will once again host a premiere international program for a pair of preseason games with the inaugural NBA G League Fall Invitational featuring the Perth Wildcats of Australia. The Ignite will welcomes the Wildcats to the Dollar Loan Center on Wednesday, Sept. 6 and Friday, Sept. 8 when the matchup spotlights top 2024+ NBA Draft prospects among both teams. McDonald’s All-Americans Matas Buzelis andRon Holland, who are projected as Top 10 picks in the 2024 NBA Draft highlight Ignite’s 2023-24 roster, while the Wildcats feature top international talent including National Basketball League (NBL) Next Stars participant Alexandre Sarr, a projected Top 20 selection in next year’s NBA Draft. … Remember! If there’s a logo, it must be important.

NIKKI – RIP: Amongst the saddest news item to report, former USA Basketball women’s team gold medalist and proud Olympian Nikki McCray-Penson, also a former WNBA star and immortal member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, died at the age of 51.

McCray-Penson, who spent nine years in the WNBA and led the U.S. Olympic Team to a gold medal in 1996, spent this past basketball season as an assistant coach at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Rutgers confirmed the report of Ms. McCray’s passing on Friday.

“Today is deeply sad and emotional day for everyone who knew and loved Nikki,” Rutgets head coach of the women’s team Coquese Washington said in a prepared statement. “Nikki had a big smile and an even bigger heart. She was full of life, energy, and was so much fun to be around. Nikki touched the lives of many because she made it her mission to uplift others and help them achieve whatever dreams and goals they expressed.”

McCray-Penson had been diagnosed with breast cancer years ago (2013), but the initial reports of her passing did not state a cause of death, but Nikki’s friend, South Carolina head coach and former USAB Olympic Games teammate Dawn Staley did.

$AUDI MONEY: Mucho controversy was made of the Private Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia paying the freight for LIV Golf in the summers of 2022 and 2023. The Saudi fund -valued at $650 billion – will branch-out with new fund-holders to arrange a new, multibillion-dollar entity, dedicated solely to sports, according to the Financial Times.

Accused by many – especially the families of 9/11 United – as using the funds to “Sportswash” in an attempt to cover-up human rights violations and murder committed by Saudi nationals. As time passes, the concept now calls for mainstream investments into leagues, teams, new franchises, start-ups in addition to LIV Golf. … Meanwhile, the rival to the PGA Tour, makes its way through St. Albans, England and London LIV where the LIV players will soon meet-up with their PGA Tour brethren to participate in The Open.

Current Saudi sports investments include:

  • At least $2 billion of funding to back LIV Golf
  • Purchased majority ownership of Newcastle United ($409 million purchase)
  • Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix
  • Purchased 16.7% stake in Aston Martin F1 team
  • Saudi Pro League (Soccer) ($75 million annual contract for Cristiano Ronaldo)
  • The PIF made news in sports all year, most notably the massive but cryptic announcment with the PGA Tour to stake a place in men’s professional golf.
  • Tennis was also a target for the PIF, which has reportedly had talks with the ATP Tour and WTA Tour.
  • It’s been previously reported, the PIF and other Middle East minority investments are being made in USA/North American-based professional teams. That’s clearly a part of the strategy for the new Saudi sports company.
  • The Qatar Investment Authority purchased a roughly 5% stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Wash DC) and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver publicly stated the league has not ruled out accepting investments from the PIF and other entities.
  • The NBA will be playing preseason games in UAE this fall and USA Basketball (repped by the NBA) will play exhibition games in Abu Dhabi on August 18-20.

IT’S OFFICIAL: Although there were plenty of leaks a week or two ago, the NBA formally announced the addition of the long-awaited “In-Season Tournament.” The NBA In-Season Tournament, a new annual competition for all 30 teams that will debut in the 2023-24 regular season, will tip off on Friday, Nov. 3 in NBA team markets and culminate with the playing of the Semifinals (Thursday, Dec. 7) and Championship (Saturday, Dec. 9) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“The NBA In-Season Tournament is an opportunity to further enhance and innovate around our season structure,” said Joe Dumars, NBA Executive Vice President, and the Head of Basketball Operations. “With the addition of this new marquee event on the NBA calendar, we are focused on providing players and teams with another competition to win, engaging fans in a different way and driving further interest in the early portion of the regular-season schedule,” added Dumars.

The In-Season Tournament will consist of two stages: Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.

  • Group Play:  All 30 teams have been randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2022-23 regular season.  Each team will play four designated Group Play games – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road – on “Tournament Nights,” which will take place every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3-28 (with the exception of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when no games will be played).  The only NBA games played on Tournament Nights will be Group Play games.
  • Knockout Rounds:  Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds:  The team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and two “wild cards” (the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group).  The Knockout Rounds will consist of single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals (played in NBA team markets on Monday, Dec. 4 and Tuesday, Dec. 5) and Semifinals and Championship (played in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9, respectively).  The Knockout teams will compete for a prize pool and the new In-Season Tournament trophy, the NBA Cup.

The 67 games played in both stages of the In-Season Tournament will count toward the regular-season standings except the Championship.  Each team will continue to play 82 regular-season games in the 2023-24 season, including those games that are part of Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.

TOURNAMENT GROUPS:

West Group A

Memphis Phoenix L.A. Lakers Utah Portland

West Group B

Denver LA Clippers New Orleans Dallas Houston

West Group C

Sacramento Golden State Minnesota Oklahoma City San Antonio

East Group A

Philadelphia Cleveland Atlanta Indiana Detroit

Eastern Conference

East Group B

Milwaukee New York Miami Washington Charlotte

East Group C

Boston Brooklyn Toronto Chicago Orlando

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 2

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on Indy, Star Wars and More

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – I first met Harrison Ford in 1973. He was 31 and I was only 14. He was on the Silver Screen, portraying Bob Falfa in American Graffiti, an incredible hit motion picture directed by a guy named George Lucas and produced by another familiar name in – oh – Francis Ford Coppola. I was sitting in a theatre chair, watching him, Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howardwhile enjoying the picture and listening to one of the great sound tracks in Hollywood history.

A few years went by, my high school years, and I met-up with Ford again in 1977, except he was going by the name Han Solo in a sci-fi film named, Star Wars. What’a guy!

A few years later, we crossed paths once again. I was graduating from college (‘81) and he had changed his name and was hanging around with Hollywood characters working with Lucas. The new crew were writer Lawrence Kasdan and a new director named Steven Spielberg. They called Ford, “Indy,” as in Indiana Jones, professor of archaeology, and we followed his every move, his every trip in search of “Lost Arks” or to “Temples of Doom” or to battle the Nazi criminals or to India to free enslaved children.

Ford, errr, Indiana Jones, errr, Han Solo (by then, quite a wise-guy) and his new friends would change lives all around the world, teaming up with Mark Hamill (a young adventurer), Carrie Fisher (a princess), and Alec Guinness(wise old man). Add in the fabulous works of composer and conductor of music, John Williams, and it was the perfect formula – a motion picture soundtrack of our lives – some of it always heard in America on the 4th of July. They earned a place in our minds and souls from that Summer of ‘81 until this very day.

Ford had the thrill to go back and forth between the roles of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and his films grossed some $5.4 billion in North America and $9.3 billion worldwide.

Ole’ Indy, (Ford is now 80 years old), is back for another go round in the summertime release of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” in theaters now and getting very positive reviews.

Ford played other great roles, too. His Jack Ryan in “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger,” two blockbusters. And, who could forget his role as “Dr. Richard Kimble” in 1993’s “The Fugitive,” or his role as President of the United States in 1997’s “Air Force One?”

This all brings us to the point of this column, usually focused on sports but often on media. TV anchor, reporter and newly crowned host of CNN’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” a masterful show of one-on-one interviews being aired weekly on the cable news outlet.

In every instance, the talented media personality formed a team within his/her organization. Just like Han teamed-up with Chewy, his trusty sidekick, and bonded with Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and his two friendly and trusty droids – R2D2 and C3PO, and they welcomed the input from the likes of Alec Guinness in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

You can compare the team of the motion picture director, producer, casting director, cast and crew to a team in a live sports remote broadcast or to a team competing on the field of play. In each case, you place your trust in your co-worker’s hands and he/she does to you. You rely on your coach, the scouts, the athletic trainer and team doctor and everyone in the front office to help sell some tickets.

It’s much the same when preparing for an interview or shooting a movie.

The Wallace and Ford interview aired about a week ago, in large part of promote the release of the most recent piece of the Indiana Jones saga.

Wallace is not the first TV journalist to do a series of interesting interviews. CBS’ Anthony Mason does a great job on both the evening, morning and weekend news but he excels when he’s digging in deeply with a rock n’ roll, country music or any legendary musician, many previewing the annual Kennedy Awards, aired on CBS.

Last week, Mason had the legendary Paul Simon speaking on his new Seven Psalms and a few years ago, one of Mason’s gems was a sit-down with The Boss, Bruce Springsteen (in a MUST WATCH)..

From CNN’s Mike Wallace interviewing Harrison Ford to CBS’ Anthony Mason sitting down with Mr. “Born in the USA,” Bruce Springsteen, a logical next step might be to recognize Dan Rather and his Big Interview TV Serieson AXS-TV.

The show all other’s are based upon has to be James Tipton, the executive producer and host of Inside the Actor’s Studio on Bravo. Tipton set the bar so very high, all others strive to meet his professionalism, depth, humor and intensity. Born in 1926, Tipton passed away in March, 2020 with reports noting cause of death as bladder cancer. He was 93 years old and in those many years, from radio to TV soaps to his own show, there was no better episode as his interview with singer, songwriter, composer and Long Islander, Billy Joel.

Why all the fuss this week on some of the best journalists to ever interview actors and icons? It’s a simple reminder of how important the media are in our lives. The toxic B.S. of the political theatre has cast the media in such a negative light. We forget about the media in the arts, in religion, in investigative work (see Spotlight) and in sports. If there’s one take-away, it’s to never cast single broad stroke when you’re thinking of or speaking about “the media.”

There are as many different kinds of media as there are breeds of dogs. Some are better than others. Some breeds are smarter, others meaner, while others might be more trustworthy and show more loyalty.

If you’re casting broad strokes at the media – in general – they owe you one thing. The truth.

The problem with that? People lie to your face and tell you it’s the truth, not caring if it’s taped or live airtime.

When it’s not live, every word has to be checked, double-checked and triple-checked. In many ways, the story has two sides and each point-of-view must be sought out.

In the cases cited here – on music – each journalist has earned his stripes and the respect of his peers and his interview subjects, alike. That is the goal to strive for in any realm of the journalism industry, print, online, TV or radio.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: A new professional hockey league, featuring the world’s best women’s players, will launch in January 2024. … The new league is a venture by business and philanthropic leaders Mark and Kimbra Walter, sports icon Billie Jean King, and Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) Governors Johanna and John Boynton. The league will be supported financially by the Walters and led by board members including King, sports executive Ilana Kloss, and Los Angeles Dodgers President Stan Kasten, one-time head of the Atlanta Hawks and Turner Broadcasting.

The new league acquired assets of the PHF and has spent months negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). These actions will enable the new league to move forward while undertaking a thorough and equitable process to ensure it features the best women’s hockey players in the world.

“I have always believed that professional sports should bring the highest levels of performance and organization, and this new league will have the backing and resources it needs to represent the very best of women’s hockey,” said Mark Walter, who is the controlling owner of the Dodgers and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, co-general partner of the ownership group of the Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club and holder of a significant interest in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to advance women’s sports,” said King. “I have no doubt that this league can capture the imagination of fans and a new generation of players. I want to thank Mark and Kimbra Walter for their vision and commitment to investing in women’s sports.”

“This is another step forward for the women who play professional hockey and the girls who dream of it every day,” Johanna Boynton said. “The PHF has been a game-changer and catalyst for growth in the women’s professional game. This announcement builds on the established foundation, represents a shared vision for one new league, and reaffirms our belief that collective and collaborative leadership is in the best interest of women’s professional hockey.”

“I celebrate this transformational moment for women’s professional hockey,” said Kasten, who represented the Walters in both transactions. “I thank Jayna Hefford, Kendall Coyne Schofield and the PWHPA player bargaining committee, Johanna and John Boynton and their partners at the PHF, and PHF Commissioner Reagan Carey for their essential roles in this historic accomplishment.”

“This new league will be unlike anything we’ve seen in women’s hockey,” said Hockey Hall of Famer and PWHPA lead, Jayna Hefford. “I am inspired by this generation of players who are redefining the sport. We will create dreams and opportunities for girls and women around the world for decades to come.”

Although the Boston Pride competed in the prior pro hockey league, there’s been no mention on whether they will continue to be a local sports franchise or will fold.

SLAMBALL ART: SlamBall, the fast-paced that combines elements of basketball, football, hockey and trampolines, revealed its eight team names, logos, coaches and seven-man rosters for the league’s upcoming season. The mix of standout athletes with basketball, football and track backgrounds will be led by veteran coaching staffs in SlamBall League: Series 6, opening on ESPN July 21 at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. … Three legacy teams – the Mob, Rumble and Slashers – will be joined by five new clubs, namely the Buzzsaw, Gryphons, Lava, Ozone and Wrath. Each squad is guided by a former SlamBall player or coach, including Ken Carter, the inspiration for the acclaimed film Coach Carter, who is back with the Rumble, the team that he led to a championship in the initial 2002 SlamBall campaign.

When we look at top picks like Bryce and Bryan, they represent high level basketball talent and high caliber football talent coming together in SlamBall, where basketball and football cultures collide,” said Mason Gordon, the Co-Founder of SlamBall. “We were incredibly gratified to see that on draft night.”

The SlamBall league and team logos and color schemes were designed by Gameplan Creative, the Chicago-based branding team headed by Tom O’that has been instrumental in creating designs for a host of teams, leagues and organizations, including the WNBA and eight of its teams and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

“The team names and logos are a nod to our history, with the Mob, Rumble and Slashers mirroring the original franchises, and also a reflection of the sport’s exciting future,” added Gordon.

SlamBall recently announced an exclusive, two-year national broadcast partnership with ESPN for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The partnership begins on Opening Night 2023, when SlamBall relaunches on ESPN live from Las Vegas on July 21 from 7-99pm (ET) ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+ will combine to air more than 30 hours of live SlamBall programming across five weekends, culminating August 17-19 with the SlamBall Playoffs and SlamBall Championship Game.

For a full Sunday Note column, Visit “While We’re Young (Ideas) and consider becoming a paying subscriber to help fund Digital Sports Desk.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – June 25

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on the PGA Tour Travelers Championship and the NBA Draft

The following story appeared here on Digital Sports Desk earlier this week. Your trusty columnist and editor thought it worthy of sharing to those who might’ve missed it).

By TERRY LYONS

CROMWELL, Conn – Sixty-two might be a typical score registered by the St. John’s University Red Storm in a mid-winter BIG EAST basketball game, but Keegan Bradley, an alum of the basketball-centric school currently undergoing a massive overhaul, was thrilled with a score of 62 posted today in the opening round at the Travelers Championship.

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It stood as the clubhouse lead until Denny McCarthy carded a (60) in the afternoon and Australian Adam Scott recorded a (62) in the afternoon to equal Bradley.

The story at day’s end was the New England kid played well.

Bradley flaunts his Northeast upbringing with a badge of honor. From his Vermont roots to his formative days in Hopkinton, Mass to his collegiate experience as sports management major in Jamaica Estates, graduating from his beloved St. John’s in 2008, Bradley eats-up the Travelers as a “home game.” With the loss of the Deutsche Bank – Northern Trust at TPC Boston, it’s his only “real” home game of the year, unless you count the tournaments in Westchester County, NY.

The nephew of LPGA superstar Pat Bradley, the St. John’s guy had an early wake-up call for his 7:25am tee-time, and he saddled up with Emiliano Grilloof Argentina and PGA Tour star Xander Shauffele of San Diego for a start off the 10th tee this morning.

Shauffele was coming off an impressive T-10 at last weekend’s U.S. Open while Grillo (+5) and Bradley (+6) each missed the cut at the Los Angeles Country Club.

“I just played so awful last week,” said Bradley, ” and I was able to get out of there (LA) and I got here early and flew my coach, Darren Mahan, out here and we got some great work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It really helped,” he added.

“It was better for me to miss the cut, honestly, and get here and feel better about my swing. It helped a lot, said the Thursday morning clubhouse leader.

Just what did that extra work and maybe a little rest in familiar surroundings do for Bradley?

He went out with five birdies being etched to his scorecard from No. 10-to-14. Then, made a shot that even St. John’s Dream-Teamer, Chris Mullin couldn’t hit – Bradley drained a 74-foot birdie putt on No. 17 which combined with a par four on No. 18, gave him an impressive (29) score on his first nine holes.

“I can’t believe how hard I hit that putt (on No.17),” noted Bradley. “As soon as I hit it, I couldn’t believe it. A lot of times on those putts you’re begging for it to hit the flag. It’ll just miss or bang off, and (this putt) just hit perfectly in the center and dropped down.

“It was at least – probably – a two-shot swing. Instead of walking off that green at 6-under, I’m (might’ve been) minus-4, maybe minus-3. It’s a huge swing.”

Even flirting with the idea of a Jim Furyk-esque (58) is a dream in itself, but Bradley went on to birdie two of his first three holes on his back nine, holes No. 2 and 3.

“Well, when I made that really long putt on 17 and it was — it could have gone in the water. I don’t know, (59) crossed my mind. I wasn’t thinking about it a lot, but I certainly was going to try to do it.

“And, I thought about it hardly. You know, I got enough on my hands when I play out here,” he said.

“So, I mean, it popped into my mind for a second. For the most part I was trying to execute the shots and do what we’ve been trying to do out here, and it was fun to match up a good ball striking and putting day,” Bradley noted on his complete round, the best of his 2023 PGA Tour season.

He and his caddie (Scott Veil) came back down to earth when Bradley bogeyed No. 5, to drop his score from (-8) to (-7) and a stroke closer to the wild pack of PGA Tour hyenas chasing him from hole-to-hole at TPC River Highlands in the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut – the insurance capital of the world.

But while Bradley was enjoying his round, he and Veil had a little fun along the way, carrying on with a superstition unlike any other.

“I don’t know,” Bradley paused before admitting, “we bow to the putter. When it’s working, that’s our God.”

That thought of joy brought Bradley to speak about his real priorities and his support group, a difficult circumstance for a Northeastern (and Florida, too) based golfer jetting all over the States and the world.

“This is a special week,” he said. “I don’t get to have my family out here a lot anymore with school, and having them out here is an advantage for me. It’s really special to see my son out in the crowd watching, cheering. It’s just really great.”

Does his son “get” the whole PGA Tour and intense competition?

“He’s five, and I would say over the last six months, eight months he’s getting it now and he loves to come out and watch. He likes to cheer and clap and it’s really special.

“I’ve grown up watching the veteran guys have their kids out here and seeing them grow up on the Tour, so it’s really fun to have my boys out here now, too.”

As Bradley exited from his interview duties, it seemed to be the right time to ask if he’s kept up on the St. John’s University basketball drama with the school making the bold hire of Rick Pitino, and Pitino’s summertime overhaul of all but one player from a year ago in center Joel Soriano.

With such a question, coming out of the blue, Bradley’s eyes lit up like the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center.

“Yeah, I’ve been following it,” he said as a PGA Tour official ushered him towards the player’s-only area of the clubhouse. The tour marshall wasn’t quick enough, though, as Bradley turned back a second later.

“I’m REALLY excited,” he said.

Let’s see if Bradley can hold a spot high on the leaderboard to the afternoon today and if the St. John’s faithful turn out at TPC River Highlands for a weekend of golf within 100 miles of (Lou) Carnesseca Arena, as the golf ball flies. On Saturday, Bradley remained high on the leaderboard at the last “elevated event” of the Tour season, meaning there’s $20 million in the kitty and a winner’s share of $3.6 million awaiting the best player of this well-run tournament.

After all, the new St. John’s basketball coach lives on the famed Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, NY, a place both Bradley and Pitino are sure to be when Bradley wants to play a round or two to practice long before he takes another shot at another U.S. Open, for that event is at Winged Foot in 2028.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Boston Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers has been in and out and back in batting slumps since May when he was leading the majors in Home Runs. On Friday night Devers hits a two-run HR 434-feet at 110.1 mph to extend his season long RBI total to (60), tops in the big leagues. Despite his intermittent struggles, Devers hit five home runs in 13 games after going 27 of his previous 28 contests without a homer. … Boston’s Sunday game will end a streak of 23 games in 23 days with one rain-out tucked in there.

SLAMBALL, the fast-paced, gravity-defying sport that combines elements of basketball, football, hockey, man-to-man combat and gymnastics trampolines, announced an exclusive, two-year national broadcast partnership with ESPN for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The partnership will begin on SlamBall’s opening night, as the popular sport of yesteryear re-launches live from Las Vegas on July 21 from 7-9 p.m. EDT.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+ will combine to air more than 30 hours of live SlamBall programming during five dog-days of summer weekends, culminating August 17-19 with the SlamBall Playoffs and SlamBall Championship Game. All games will be played at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, the same site that hosts part of the NBA Summer League.

SUMMER LEAGUE: Speaking of which, the NBA announced the game and broadcast schedules for its NBA 2K24 Summer League 2023, which will take place July 7-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

All 76 games of the 11-day competition will air live on television somewhere as the ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews) air a bunch and NBA TV sweeps up a few more. Every game will also be available to stream on the ESPN App or NBA App.

Now in its 18th NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, all 30 NBA teams will play at least five games each. Each team will play four games from July 7-14. Winners advance to the playoffs, July 16-17. SlamBall will move in right afterward.

Top picks from the 2023 NBA Draft are expected to play. ESPN will televise potential matchups between both the No. 1 and No. 2 picks and the No. 3 and No. 4 picks from this week’s Draft. No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama is set to lead the San Antonio Spurs against No. 2 pick Brandon Miller and the Charlotte Hornets at 9pm ET. Earlier in the day, No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson and the defending NBA Summer League champion Portland Trail Blazers are scheduled to face No. 4 pick Amen Thompsonand the Houston Rockets at 7pm ET.

A head-to-head matchup between the Thompson Twins (see note below), pitting Amen Thompson and his twin brother, No. 5 pick Ausar Thompsonof the Detroit Pistons, is set for Sunday, July 9 at 6pm ET on ESPN2.

TIDBITS: Buzz on the Bill Walton 30-for-30 on ESPN continues to build. This columnist has yet to see the three-part documentary but has it high on the list of priorities and will report here very soon without any spoilers.

The worldwide publicity and anticipation to see France’s Victor Wembanyama at the NBA Draft. The rookie-to-be enjoyed his whirlwind tour in New York City which included a trip to Yankee Stadium on the NYC Subway system. Wembanyama was quite complimentary of the ragged and aging subway cars, noting he could “stand-up” in the car, as opposed to the smaller cars in Paris’ “Metro.” … Wembanyama tossed a baseball for the first time in his life and his large hands completely covered the baseball, making his “first pitch” from the mound of the most famous baseball stadium in the world – well – a ball.

Asked about the rookie’s impact to the NBA Europe’s Tom Marchesi who has seen it all, from Basketball without Borders magic to the rise of Tony Parkerto the Greek Freak, he said: “Difficult to put into words but his athleticism and skill is matched only by his maturity. It’s quite something,” said multi-lingual Marchesi so eloquently.

MEET THE THOMPSON TWINS: As noted just a paragraph above, this week’s NBA Draft was full of intrigue as France’s Victor Wembanyama – the 7-foot-3 bundle of energy, personality, joy and – most importantly – game wowed a global audience tuned into the annual NBA poker game to distributed its burgeoning talent pool.

Wembanyama’s meet and greet with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was the most-watched NBA Draft ever on any network, according to Nielsen company, the monitor of ratings and determining factor for NBA ad sales and money. The first round of the annual Draft averaged 4,928,000 viewers across ESPN and ABC, up 24 percent from last year’s first round on both platforms. It peaked with 6,085,000 viewers in the 8 p.m. ET quarter hour. Disney decided to broadcast two different feeds of the event, one with the knowledgeable Jay Bilas and one without.

Overall, the NBA Draft averaged 3,743,000 viewers across ESPN (both rounds) and ABC (first round-only). The average audience was up 23 percent from last year. The NBA Draft started airing on both ESPN and ABC in 2021.

Putting the French Fantastique and his wingspan the width of a Boeing 747 aside, NBA Draft night unfolded with a second plot when Commissioner Silver announced brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson as back-to-back draft picks in the first five selections. Amen went to the Houston Rockets at No. 4 and Ausar followed when the Detroit Pistons grabbed him at No. 5.

The Thompson Twins became the hottest siblings since Hamilton the Musical’s “The Schuyler Sisters” and they came similarly dressed in the subplot, both basketball and Fashion Show.

The twins, who played in the non-college non-NBA G-League “Overtime Ignite” program, joined Lonzo and LaMelo Ball as the only brothers to both go in the top 5 in a draft in the modern era.

Regardless of the accolades and the trivia, the same sentiment for success in the NBA is for all to “Work, work!”

Father’s Day – June 17th, 2001

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook – June 18, 2023

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Asks All to Remember Our Guys

By TERRY LYONS

NEW YORK – This columnist often wonders how the three of them would’ve fared on September 11, 2001. The odds were terrible for firefighters from the outer boroughs. The odds were terrible for everyone anywhere near the World Trade Center that terrible September day, a day that began with postcard blue skies and a day when the polls opened at 6am for both Democratic and Republican primaries in NYC.

It had rained cats & dogs the night before, a Monday night when the Broncos beat the New York Giants, 31-20, on Monday Night Football. I can’t remember a thing about the game because I was stuck on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport after nearly a day of flying back from Brisbane, Australia and the 2001 Goodwill Games.

The next day, the game didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered, except to mourn the victims of a terrorist attack on United States soil – murder at its worst – at the Trade Centers, at the Pentagon and out in Somerset County, Pennsylvania where the closest town was Shanksville, PA – population 175.

Spin the calendar back a few months. Eighty-six days separated two dates of disaster for the FDNY in 2001. The date of September 11th is obvious to most, but many forget a date we promised three guys that we’d never forget. That – call it “other” – terrible date was 22 years ago to the exact date of this column being written.

June 17, 2001 was the date of the “Father’s Day Fire,” a five alarm blaze that engulfed a hardware store in Queens.

The fire began when two young boys were playing and knocked over a gasoline container at the rear of the store. The gas leaked under a backdoor and was eventually ignited by a hot water heater with its pilot light glowing so innocently. One thing led to another, as fires in hardware stores often do, and propane tanks and dozens of gallon-sized paint cans started exploding.

It was 2:20pm on a beautiful, lazy day Sunday. When the fire fighters arrived and began their dangerous work by 2:40pm, all hell was breaking loose in a pair of two story buildings built in the 1930s. Smoke was billowing and the men who run into the burning buildings were doing what they were trained to do.

A massive explosion did the unspeakable damage, trapping three firefighters in rubble and debris in the back of the store while blowing other FDNY clear across the street in the front of the buildings. Reports showed 48-90 firefighters and a couple of civilians injured.

“What was a quiet Sunday turned into a terrible tragedy very quickly,” fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen told the Associated Press that terrible afternoon.

Firefighters Harry Ford, 50, and John Downing, 40, were outside the building opening windows to ventilate it when the explosion occurred. They were crushed to death when the roof and facade tumbled onto them.

Firefighter Brian Fahey, 46, was inside the store. He fell into the burning basement and was trapped for hours, officials said. Dozens of firefighters, some wielding pick axes and chain saws, cut through the rubble but Fahey died before they could reach him. It took some four hours to recover his body and soul.

Ford, a father of three, was a 27-year veteran who was decorated nine times for bravery. Downing was an 11-year veteran and father of two. Fahey, a father of three, was a 14-year veteran.

These deaths were not because of rookie mistakes. There was a combined 52 YEARS of experience. Then, so suddenly, there were eight children without their fathers.

  • Harry Ford, 50, from Rescue 4: Ford joined FDNY in 1974. He received the Thomas Crimmins Medal, and learned to rollerblade and snowboard because of his children.
  • Lt. John Downing, 40, Ladder 163: Downing joined FDNY in 1989. He enjoyed barbecuing, telling and listening to jokes, home improvement and was a sports fan.
  • Brian D. Fahey, 46, Rescue 4: Fahey joined FDNY in 1987. He was a volunteer with the Hempstead Fire Department Engine Co. 4 and a deputy chief instructor with the Nassau Fire Service Academy. In his spare time, he taught others how to fight fires.

Aside from the devastation of the loss of three brave public servants who I think of often for the last 22 years, just what was my personal bond with three men I never met and did not know anything about before they perished?

My children were born in 1997 and 1999. They were still toddlers on June 17, 2001, as they learned about the tradition of Father’s Day, and they loved the idea so much. I was relating to the fallen lads as a Father, not just a fellow New Yorker. We didn’t watch the TV news that June night, but eighty-six days later, living on the UES of Manhattan, the devastation of 9/11 was inescapable.

On June 17th, I bonded – spiritually – with three guys – father-to-father – and mourned the loss of the brave men and women who protect us all.

On September 11th, I wondered what a terrible world we had brought forth for my two daughters to live their lives.

I still wonder. And on Father’s Day, I’ll remember them once again with a prayer of Rest in Peace and hope for their families as they’ve carried on for 22 years.

Note: What can you do? A prayer for the Firefighters and their Families is appropriate or maybe a donation. If you’d like to do something for the FDNY or the Boston FD (Marathon domestic terror attack), you can show your support HERE or HERE.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The hammer came down on Memphis Grizzlies All-Star guard Ja Morant and it fell hard and to the tune of a 25-game suspension without pay which estimates to a $7.5 million on his 2023-24 contract of $33.5 million. … In case you didn’t hear about the incident resulting in the suspension, Morant posed with a firearm in a car during a live-streamed video on May 13, less than two months after he was suspended eight games without pay for the live streaming of a video on March 4 in which he displayed a firearm while in an intoxicated state at a Denver area nightclub. Morant received an eight-game suspension in March,

On the more recent infraction, the NBA League Office’s investigation found that, on May 13, Morant intentionally and prominently displayed a gun while in a car with several other individuals as they were leaving a social gathering in Memphis. Morant wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded and that the recording was being live streamed on Instagram Live, despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined. On May 16, Morant issued a statement taking full accountability for his actions.

Morant’s suspension begins immediately and will remain in effect through the first 25 games of the 2023-24 NBA regular season for which he is otherwise eligible and able to play. He’ll be required to meet certain conditions before he returns to play and will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including summer league and preseason games, during the course of his suspension.

“Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.

“For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”

Silver is a staunch advocate of the league working with its players on the players’ mental health as he recognizes the pressure and stress placed upon the league’s players, young and older. Silver addressed the situations in depth at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in 2022.

Not surprisingly, the head of the NBA Players Association balked at the length and severity of the suspension.

“Ja has expressed his remorse and accepted responsibility for his actions, and we support him unequivocally as he does whatever is necessary to represent himself, our players and our league in the best possible light,” NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said in a statement as reported by multiple media outlets. “As to the discipline imposed … we believe it is excessive and inappropriate for a number of reasons, including the facts involved in this particular incident, and that it is not fair and consistent with past discipline in our league.”

The NBPA said it would explore “all options and next steps” with Morant.

Recognizing that the Players’ union must back-up its membership, the larger issue to the NBPA is the damage done to their own player marketing efforts, as the Union took back rights from the NBA years ago and formed Think450, an agency headed by Que Gaskins, noted rep of former NBA All-Star and MVP Allen Iverson.

In addition, former New Jersey Nets All-Star forward Jayson Williams served a 27-month sentence for accidentally wielding a 12-gauge shotgun and killing his limo driver, Costas “Gus” Christofi, on February 14, 2002. Williams was indicted for aggravated manslaughter and witness and evidence tampering, among other charges.

After issues with the trial and a hung jury, Williams pled guilty to aggravated assault in February 2010 and was sentenced to a five-year term, serving time only until April of 2012.

The NBA has repeatedly addressed the issues of gun violence and weapon safety in its longstanding Rookie and Player orientation program, dating back to 1987 when Boston Celtics great Tom “Satch” Sanders was asked to head-up the new department by the late NBA Commissioner David Stern.

TID-BITS: Former Charlotte Hornets team owner George Shinn scraped together $32.5 million dollars to secure the expansion team in 1988. On Friday, NBA legend Michael Jordan sold his majority shares in the club to fellow shareholders Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall with the franchise value at $3 billion. That a cool $2.968 billion increase in value over 35 years in the NBA. … Think Shinn should’ve kept hold of his asset?

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 28th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Thank-You to TNT, Tara and T.K

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The Eastern Conference Finals will come to a close on Monday with what could be a history-making series for the Boston Celtics or an epic march to the NBA Finals for the Miami Heat. One thing is for sure, with the final game of the Eastern finals, the crew at TNT will turnover the reigns of the NBA Playoffs to ABC/ESPN, the broadcast rights holders for the 2023 NBA Finals.

It doesn’t seem that long ago when NBA Commissioner David Stern informed us that the NBA on TBS (Turner Sports’ “Superstation,” would be passing the torch for the NBA and many sports to its new sister station, a station nobody had heard of and no cable system carried at the time.

Memories of giving the late NBA Commish a hard time upon checking into an Orlando Omni hotel and – No TNT. “Don’t worry, said Stern, “it’ll come,” as he added “Go complain to the front desk and ask them to get TNT.”

Wouldn’t you know? One of the latest reports shows TNT in some 89.573 million U.S. households and it is the jewel of Turner Sports. (See more thoughts on TNT and the Inside the NBA crew below). Stern was very rarely wrong when it came to predicting where Cable TV and the media industry, in general, were going and he knew it long before anyone else.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: A couple weeks ago, the spotlight was on Michael Jordan’s ‘92 Olympic Gold Medal Ceremony jacket, now it’s a multi-million dollar bid for MJ’s game-worn Olympic uniform.

One of Michael Jordan’s autographed jersey from the Barcelona Olympic Games, featuring the famed “Dream Team,” sold for $3.030,000. The jersey was part of a collection consigned by Dream Team member Karl Malone, with Jordan writing on the jersey, ‘To Karl, Good Luck, Michael Jordan #9.”

Goldin Auctions, orchestrating the deals, said other Dream Teamers’ jerseys sold from the collection included Larry Bird ($360,000), Magic Johnson ($336,000) Charles , Barkley ($230,400), David Robinson ($116,400), Clyde Drexler ($91,200), Scottie Pippen ($80,400), Malone ($58,800), John Stockton ($55,200), Patrick Ewing ($39,600), then-collegian Christian Laettner ($39,600) and Chris Mullin ($37,200).

Jordan’s Olympic medal ceremony jacket is part of a Sotheby’s auction and is on display and online this month until the auction takes place in late June.

KOEPKA’s COACH STRIKES BACK: Claude Harmon III, the golf coach of recently crowned PGA Champion Brooks Koepka got into quite a pissing match with former PGA Tour player and current Golf Channel anchor Brandel Chamblee in the last two weeks.

When discussing the upcoming Ryder Cup, Chamblee had made it clear that he doesn’t believe that Koepka or other players on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour should be on the team.

“Brandel is a paid actor by NBC and Golf Channel. All he’s trying to do is get his lines and shows for the Golf Channel,” Harmon III said. “He’s just trying to get lines for Brandel … And I mean, I love him, I think Eamon is a fantastic writer, but for Eamon Lynch and Brandel Chamblee, who worked for NBC to utter the words ‘sports washing’ when the company they work for televised the last two Winter Olympics in Russia and China with the same leaders that they’ve had. It’s not like they were good leaders back then. It’s not like Putin was a good guy, right?”

Chamblee countered with a very lengthy post on Twitter that read:

“The farrago of what-about-isms that inevitably accompanies any discussion on sports washing, attempts, in answering a condemnation with an accusation, to impugn the credibility of the accuser and to distract from having to deal with the complexities of the question. Much like sports washing, its sole goal is to obfuscate. Of course it is usually accompanied by an ad hominem attack most notably by calling someone a hypocrite or most recently as directed at me, a paid actor to recite my lines.

The accusation that I am just a proxy for the opinion of my employer is a curious one to me, and while the natural back and forth with colleagues certainly informs my opinion, no one for whom I work with or for has ever tried to influence what I am going to say. I’d like to think that they trust whatever opinion I have, whether it agrees with their’s or not, I’ve done the research to back it up. Which is more than I can say for those who suggest that because there is evil everywhere, all evil is relativized and unless all of it can be addressed at the same time and in the same way, it should all be ignored.

Especially, as in the case of the person who called me a paid actor, if they can somehow profit from the evil. This is where the debate crashes headfirst into the nexus of politics, sports and narcissistic greed. Where those who want to escape it most often cloy at what-about-isms, to stop the discussion with a pejorative accusation because they don’t want their motives to be discovered.

And we must impute motives to see the evils clearly.

To raise the question whether LIV has been good for the PGA Tour is to miss the very human and most important point of the whole issue of sports washing. It is bad for the people who continue to be oppressed by the man who funds LIV Golf. And as I have said many times, like the pollution that hangs over our biggest cities, its darkness is better seen from a distance and its stench is too easily dismissed as the smell of commerce. It poisons and dulls our sensibilities making it easy to forget that many a bad movement owes its greater success to the apathy of conformism.

So while Brooks Koepka’s win at the PGA Championship was impressive, it should not distract us from the simple fact that LIV players are being used for the benefit of some very bad people and to the detriment of a great many more good people. That LIV Golf, with its inability to develop stars and seeking to buy them like high performance cars, is undermining the dignity intrinsic in golf.

Dignity that was most profound in watching the play of Michael Block, the club professional who stole the show at the PGA Championship with his gratitude and joy and of course with his incredibly sharp game. He was a stark reminder of what is missing in LIV Golf and even what will be missing in the PGA Tour’s no cut, small field, designated events next year.

Because golf has always been and hopefully will always be, more about hope than heroes.”

WHAT’s AHEAD: As a competitor, it’s always a good idea to “stay in the moment,” and not look nor regret the past while never worrying about an uncertain future. That’s also sage advice for every coach on the planet. “The Next Play” is of concern, not the previous two or three when the team didn’t execute, took terrible shots, remained scoreless or turned the ball over.

For fans in the sports world, it’s smart to look ahead and circle some important dates on your calendar from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Let’s call it:

The Sports Highlights of the Summer of ‘23.

May 28: Indianapolis 500
May 28: At Noon, Boston College will take on No. 1 seeded Northwestern in the women’s NCAA lacrosse National Championship game in Cary, NC.
May 28 – June 11: French Open
May 29: At 1pm (ET), No. 1 Duke will face-off against No. 3 Notre Dame in the men’s lacrosse National Championship game at The Linc in Philly.
June 1: Start of NBA Finals
June 8: Start of Stanley Cup Finals
June 10: The Belmont Stakes
June 10: UEFA Championship (Final) – (Greece)
June 15-18: U.S. Open (Golf) – (Winged Foot, Westchester, NY)
June 18: Last possible date (Game 7) of NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals
June 22: NBA Draft (Brooklyn)
June 24-25: MLB London Series – Cubs vs. Cardinals
July 1-23: Tour de France
July 3-18: Wimbledon
July 9-11: MLB Draft (Seattle)
July 10 – August 20: Women’s World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)
July 10: MLB Home Run Derby (Seattle)
July 11: MLB All-Star Game (Seattle)
July 16-23: The Open (Royal Liverpool)
July 23: Baseball Hall of Fame Induction (Cooperstown, NY)
August 1: MLB Trading Deadline
August 3-6: Enshrinement Week at Pro Football Hall of Fame (Canton, OH)
August 11-14: FedEx St. Jude Championship (1st Round FedEx Cup Playoffs)
August 12: Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductions (Springfield, MA)
August 18-21: BMW Championship (Wilmington, DE) – 2nd Round FedEx Cup
August 19-27: IAAF World Championships (Budapest, Hungary)
August 25-28: Tour Championship (Atlanta) – FedEx Cup Championship
August 25 – September 10: FIBA World Cup (Asia)
August 28 – September 10: U.S. Open (tennis) – (Flushing Meadow, NY)

Notes: The last day of the regular season for MLB Baseball is October 1 and the 2023 Ryder Cup for golf is September 29-October 1st.

TID-BITS: Isn’t it (Curtis) strange that the (Charles Schwab Challenge) at Colonial is staged over Memorial Day weekend, but The Memorial is staged the weekend afterward? … The Memorial, founded and hosted each year by Jack Nicklaus at his Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, could take a page from the PGA Tour/FedEx Cup Playoffs days of yesteryear and start The Memorial on the Friday before the national holiday and finish on Memorial Day. … That worked great when the Deutsche Bank Championship held down the Labor Day weekend here in Boston. … Just sayin’ …

SBJ AWARDS: Ready for even more awards? The great team at the Sports Business Journal held their annual awards dinner and presented the “ABE-Ys” (pronounced ABE-EEZE), a fictional tribute to the highly competent leader of SBJ, Abe Madkour. Here are the results:

  • Deal of the Year — Michele Kang’s acquisition of the Washington Spirit
  • Best in Sports Betting — FanDuel
  • Best in Sports Social Media — Bleacher Report: Hero Ball
  • Best Talent Representation — Wasserman
  • Sports Event of the Year — U.S. Open Tennis Championship
  • Athletic Director of the Year — J.D. Wicker, San Diego State
  • Best in Sports Media — Fox Sports
  • Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services — Elevate
  • Sports Sponsor of the Year — T-Mobile U.S.
  • Sports Facility of the Year — Fenway Park
  • Sports Breakthrough of the Year — NHL Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards
  • Best in Agency Creativity and Innovation — MKTG Sports + Entertainment
  • Sports Team of the Year — Angel City FC
  • Sports Executive of the Year — Eric Shanks, Fox Sports
  • Sports League of the Year — NFL
  • NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman received SBJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Actor Jon Hamm, a St. Louis native and lifelong hockey fan, presented the award

Notables include the honor of Facility of the Year in Boston’s own Fenway Park, America’s Most Beloved Ballpark. While not the jewel of MLB in terms of State of the Art tech and a brand new look, Fenway Park never fails to amaze fans. It’s a treasure to be savored like a fine red wine. … A surprising result was Fan Duel’s win over Boston-based Draft Kings. … Let the competition begin for the 2024 version of that award. May the most lucrative bookie win.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | May 21st

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on PGA/LIV; NCAA Crisis

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – With apologies to the late Ian Fleming, the famed British writer who created the wonderful and exciting series of James Bond (books and subsequent movies) and the great Sir Paul McCartney of The Beatles, this column will start with take-off of Fleming’s second novel but will be slightly edited to state: LIV and Let Die.

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This weekend, the best of the best golfers in the world traveled to Rochester, NY to play the 105th PGA Championship. When it was time to tee-off Thursday morning at the Oak Hill Country Club, there was the welcome site of Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson who – among others – were eligible for the PGA Championship alongside the best-of-the-best from the PGA Tour.

The players as a whole voiced their tidings of joy and happiness as they renewed old friendships with those who chose to leave the PGA Tour grab gobs of LIV money. For two LIV golfers, the Saudi-based payoff placed them on Forbes’ List of the Top 10 moneymakers in the sports world.

Forbes Magazine The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes in 2023

$136m – Cristiano Ronaldo
$130m – Lionel Messi
$120m – Kylian Mbappe
$119.5 – LeBron James
$110m – Camillo Alvarez
$107m – Dustin Johnson ($102m of $107m bonus plus on golf course)
$106m – Phil Mickelson ($104m of $106m bonus plus on golf course)
$100.4 – Steph Curry
$95.1m – Roger Federer ($95m off the court)
$89.1m – Kevin Durant

When LIV golf began play in June 2022, the organization attempted to tossed aside initial criticism – much from the families of 9/11 victims bridging the Saudi Public Investment Fund money with 15 of the 19 September 11th terrorist attackers hailing from Saudi Arabia. LIV Golf failed to secure a big-time TV network right fee and played in obscurity much of the season. LIV settled for streaming tournaments on Facebook and YouTube, along with their own site.

While the tournaments were well organized and competitive, crowds were sparse and patrons seemed more interested in post golf concerts than the names on the leaderboard. Meanwhile LIV Golf communications, public and media relations were double-bogeying every hole at every tournament. They triple-bogeyed the lead up to their first-ever event in London, England.

This week, there was more of the same as the organization stopped making public its TV ratings on the CW Network, a desperate time buy on the little-known USA-based TV network. According to multiple reports, including the highly respected Sports Business Journal, LIV “quietly stopped publicly reporting its TV ratings, reversing course on an early-season strategy,” and a “sign that the league could be struggling to generate sufficient viewer interest,” according to James Colgan of GOLF.

PR 101 teaches “if you want them to cover the ‘good news and positive stuff,’ you’d better be transparent and accessible when facing the bad news.”

The people who run LIV Golf, including Greg Norman, its Commissioner, consistently fail by turning a blind-eye to their dilemmas as they fumble one PR crisis after another.

The CW broadcasts suffered mightily when the LIV Tour made its way to Australia and Singapore, and will suffer again in June and July when the LIV golfers play in Spain and England. But, consistency and ‘“facing the music” is as much about professional sports as the X’s and O’s of each game played.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is “in the news” once again. Here’s The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill to explain:

“In an apology statement on Tuesday after his latest suspension for apparently brandishing a gun on social media, the NBA star Ja Morant declared, “My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”

The Memphis Grizzlies point guard is right: His promises can’t be trusted. On Saturday, an Instagram Live video appeared to show Morant recklessly waving a firearm while riding in a vehicle’s passenger seat. In response, the Grizzlies indefinitely suspended him on Sunday from all team activities. In March, after another Instagram Live video showed Morant holding up a gun inside a Denver-area nightclub, the NBA suspended Morant for eight games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league.”

Said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to ESPN’s Malika Andrews during the league’s annual Draft Lottery broadcast:

“The consequences there, an eight-game suspension, was pretty serious and something that he — at least to me — seemed to take incredibly seriously in that time. I mean, we spoke for a long time about not just the consequences that could have on his career but the safety issues around it. [He] could have injured, maimed, killed himself, someone else with an act like that. And also the acknowledgment that … he’s a star, he has an incredibly huge following, and my concern — and I thought he shared with me — that millions, if not tens of millions, of kids globally would see him as having done something that was celebrating in a way that act of sort of using a firearm in that fashion. And so I at least was left with the sense that he was taking this incredibly seriously.

“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video,” Silver added. “Now, we’re in the process of investigating it, and we’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can. Again, the video’s a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst. But we’ll figure out exactly what happened there.”

A number of media reports defended Morant’s rights to own a gun and brandish it any way he chooses, citing Constitutional rights. However, the Second Amendment addresses a USA citizen’s rights to bear arms with no Government interference so that defense does not apply to Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies franchise not the NBA, which is a joint venture partnership – certainly not the Government.

“Those guys are just, they’re just freaking idiots,” Charles Barkley said Wednesday on TNT of the Morant defenders in the media. “I only say ‘freaking’ because y’all won’t let me say what I want to say.

“Man, when you’re making $100 million a year to play sports, your life changes,” Barkley noted. “There are certain rules and regulations you have to live by, plain and simple. You can’t do stupid stuff. That’s the trade-off. Now, if you want to do all that stuff and give the money back, more power to you.”

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It IS important to note, Morant did not break any laws, according to Tennessee and Colorado local state law as reported by several media outlets. But, his employment as a player in the NBA and the uniform player contract he signed (as Kenny Smith pointed out on TNT’s award-winning Inside the NBA this past Wednesday night) holds him to higher standards which were Collectively Bargained by the National Basketball Player’s Association.

And, that is the question once again. Where is the NBA Player’s Association on this?

There’s been little or no word spoken publicly on the issue from NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio. No word from the head of the NBPA licensing arm – THINK450 – Que Gaskins.

Morant has done just as much damage to the NBA Player’s version of Name, Image and Likeness marketing as he has to the league as a whole. The NBPA and THINK450 should be taking more action – not punitive – but in publicly calling out the action(s) of Morant and offering counseling and safety advice.

That advice might come from a former NBA player, Jayson Williams, who, in 2002, was fooling around with a shotgun at his posh New Jersey home when it discharged a round and killed Williams’ limo driver, Gus Christofi. Williams served time for attempting to cover-up the shooting and he also pled guilty to aggravated assault when the case went to court in February 2010 and was sentenced to an 18-month prison term he served until April 2012.

“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morantsaid in a statement. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”

TIDBITS: This week, the NLRB issued a complaint against the NCAA, Pac-12 and USC, alleging they have unlawfully misclassified college athletes as student-athletes rather than employees in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, according to USA Today. … What does that mean? The NCAA, Pac-12 Conference and the University of Southern California will go before an administrative law judge on November 7. At that hearing, according to USAT, the “NLRB’s general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo will be seeking an order requiring those three entities to ‘reclassify the Players as employees rather than as ‘student-athletes’ in their files, including, but not limited to, their handbooks and rules, and notify all current Players that they have done so,’” according to the complaint.

Concludes USAT, this formal complaint was inevitable once the Regional NLRB Director found merit to the unfair labor practice charge back in December. Unless USC had settled the case (which was highly unlikely), this complaint was coming.

WWYI questions, why draw the line at football, men’s and women’s basketball?

On 3 – the self proclaimed “Bloomberg” of College Sports noted ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips on the need for a Federal Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) standard: “As it relates to name, image and likeness, there has to be agent registration. There has to be a standardized contract. There has to be a registry. And then four there has to be education on campus. And that should just be open, that should be — that should be available for schools to see. Each other, etc. And I think it allows at least a little bit of disclosure that we’re not seeing in that space. The standardized contract, again, just everybody fills out the same thing whether it’s a $500 name, image and likeness opportunity or a $500K name, image and likeness opportunity. So, that’s part of it.” Phillips added, “Student athletes should absolutely be able to monetize their [NIL]. But at the end of the day, if you’re going to have intra and interstate competition, there has to be some level playing fields on that.” On the tampering that has reportedly pervaded the space, Phillips remarks: “We all know that [NIL] was never meant to be an inducement. It was really meant to be a serious and an honest way for young people that have great talents and a likeness and an image, that they could monetize it. That they’d be able to do that. But the two have been connected like a magnet, which is disappointing. And so that’s going on all across the country.”

Newly employed NCAA President and former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has his hands full on these issues and more. The influence of major college football still rules, limiting the influence of the NCAA office. … On another financial front, multiple college/athletic department marketing partner LEARFIELD was forced to renegotiate terms of marketing deals with six of its multimedia rights partners as the company deals with $1.1B in debt maturing this year, according to Sportico. … Adding it all up, college athletics are under siege and there doesn’t seem to be a simple solution to solve the major issues. Why? The very make-up of college athletics doesn’t allow for any one entity (or person) to take charge and do what’s best for everyone. The schools – all different sizes, in different Divisions (Div I, II… and so on), in different locales (States), in different Conferences – some with their own lucrative Network deals, others with nothing – have no interest nor desire to do what’s good for the others. Each sport provides the NCAA with different opportunities and challenges with the revenue-producing sports at the top of the pecking order because of the multi-million – make that multi-billion dollar rights fees being tossed about by ESPN, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and so on.

Here’s the latest: Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, drafted new legislation titled the “College Sports NIL Clearinghouse Act of 2023.” The draft has been circulated to the various stakeholders of collegiate athletics and, of course, it was leaked. The draft calls for another version of the NCAA to oversee the name, image and likeness activity in all of collegiate athletics, further limiting the powers college athletics’ governing body. … The clearing house would act more like an enforcement agency (see NCAA compliance department). The essence of the bill is to return some power to the college conferences, and to a lesser extent the schools with the purpose to undercut the business agencies and the NIL collectives popping-up all over the country.

It’s not pretty and the legal battles to be fought, beginning this winter, might further complicate the issues and set the NCAA back 50 years.

LAX is LIFE: If NCAA Women’s Lacrosse were to be compared to NCAA Men’s Basketball in consecutive Final Four appearances, only John Wooden’s legendary UCLA teams (1967-1976) would rank ahead of the Boston College Eagles. This week, in Newton, Mass., BC clinched its SIXTHconsecutive trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four after their 20-6 shellacking of Notre Dame. BC will advance to beautiful Cary, North Carolina (25 minutes from Duke (Durham) and 40 minutes from Wake Forest, NC. No. 3 ranked Boston College will play No. 2 Syracuse in a national semifinal and be joined by No. 1 ranked Northwestern vs. No. 5 Denver, in the other semi.

Among the many storylines is Boston College grad student Melanie Welchwho is the captain of the BC lacrosse team and winner of the Welles Crowther award. Welch was a walk-on at BC but suffered and rehabbed through two ACL injuries and stuck it out to play lacrosse while enduring the setbacks of the global pandemic but also earning two graduate degrees and while honored as an Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic team member.

Before her days at The Heights, Welch played midfield for Academy of the Holy Angels (Demarest, NJ) not far from her hometown of Pearl River, NY. Welch returned to Chestnut Hill this year as a second year Grad student to play defense in all 21 games of the (18-3) Eagles’ 2023 season.

At the Final Four, there’s a curve in the story as Melanie’s sister Kathryn is a freshman at top-rated Northwestern. Kathryn was recruited to play lacrosse at Northwestern after never playing the sport in high school and prep school. Kathryn was a standout ice hockey player but the NW coaches saw her play, knew her background and offered her a scholarship believing she would transition into a solid lacrosse player. As a first year, Kathryn has played in only seven of Northwestern’s 20 games (19-1) with their only loss coming in their opening game against Syracuse on February 11th.

Parents, Len and Kelly Welch, who follow both their daughters all season long, can enjoy their Saturday rooting for each of their favorite teams. Should both BC and Northwestern advance to the National Final, there’s potentially a choice to made on Monday night.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 7th

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While We’re Young Ideas Provides Some Key Advice to Saudi Hoops

BOSTON – Earlier this week Yahoo’s Jay Hart wrote an interesting but fictional premonition of the near future. It read:

“The year is 2030, and the Saudi Basketball League is experiencing a boom. Thanks to the cash poured in from the Saudi Investment Fund to lure Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, the league is as popular as it’s ever been since its founding in 1976.‌

But throwing ridiculous money at aging superstars who’ve postponed retirement for nine-figure per-year paychecks can only earn the league so much credibility. To gain real cred, they need the best players now, not the best players of a decade ago. So they set their sights on Victor Wembanyama, who since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2023 has won three NBA MVPs, two titles and emerged as the most popular player in the world.

‌Their pitch: 5 years, $2 billion, or about $1.5 billion more than the NBA’s supermax contract allows… All of this is a massive hypothetical, of course, but it’s not unrealistic,” said Hart in an interesting column.

BACK to REALITY: As we know and have seen from the inner workings and past history of LIV Golf Tour, that’s NOT the way to get it done.

What is the way for Saudi Arabia to make a mark on the basketball world?

Here’s some free advice, as the end game is building awareness and participation in the sport by men, women, boys and girls:

  1. Begin working with Euroleague Basketball to form both coaching clinics and player clinics, much like the way the NBA proved highly effective with the NBA Coaches World Tour in the early ‘90s and then with Basketball without Borders, beginning in 2001. (To refresh memories, the Nba sent the likes of the late, great Dr. Jack Ramsay, and former players like Bill Walton, Calvin Murphy and dozens of others to events which coincided with a local basketball championship or tournament which attracted hundreds of youth and pro coaches).
  2. Sponsor global basketball events much like the way Turkish Airlines sponsors the EuroLeague and sponsored and advertised at the 2002 FIBA Worlds in Indianapolis.
  3. Participate in existing regional (Middle East and Asia Region) tournaments at youth and senior levels. Potentially host a regional tournament or eventually a qualification tournament
  4. Invest in and build a state of the art facility – designed with perfection to play in and host major basketball tournaments and other sporting events. As we know, an Arena can act like a giant Town Hall to modernize an entire segment of a city.
  5. Potentially include the Sports Facility in Neom, a futuristic international economic center – already visualized – and being constructed in the temperate Northwest of Saudi Arabia.
  6. Host the NBA/FIBA “Basketball without Borders” event to make a statement about Saudi Arabia-Europe-Middle-East-Israel-Asia-Africa investments and better diplomatic and business relations.
  7. Eventually bid for and host EuroLeague regular season games, NBA preseason and a Euro Final Four or Regional Olympic or Worlds qualifying tournament.
  8. Continue to train local players and pro teams to improve towards world class level of play, seeking the “next” version of Yao Ming, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: In case you didn’t notice, the Boston Red Sox have won a season-high eight consecutive games, MLB’s longest active winning streak. The Sox are on their longest winning streak since 6/25-7/2/21 (8 games). … The Red Sox (20-14, .588) own the 5th-best record in MLB. … The Red Sox are 16-6 in their last 22 games, dating back to April 14. Only the AL East’s Baltimore Orioles are better in that span. … After concluding their set with the Philadelphia Phillies (which coincides with Boston vs Philly in the NBA Eastern Semis), the Sox will be 8-3 in series play and 6-1 in their last seven series. … Reliever/closer Kenley Jansen last night recorded his 399th career save, recently surpassing Craig Kimbrel for most among active pitchers and 7th most in MLB history. … The Red Sox have two rookies with active on-base streaks of 15+ games (Triston Casas and Yoshida) … It’s just the 2nd time in club history the Red Sox have concurrent on-base streaks of 15+ games by rookies with the other being Jacoby Ellsbury (26 games) and Dustin Pedroia (19) in 2007 (source: Elias). … Triston Casas’ 17 game on-base streak is the 2nd longest in the AL, trailing only Houston’s Yordan Alvarez (26). … Both Casas and Yoshida earned a day off yesterday when the Sox defeated the Phils, 7-4.

Speaking of Phils or maybe Two Phil’s – Mage, a 15-1 mid-to-long shot, crossed the finish line to win the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Mage overtook Two Phil’s down the stretch to win the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. For the effort, Mage was able to dip the aching hooves in Palmolive. … Humans were rewarded, too, as those with winning betting slips earned some hefty returns. … Mage paid $32.42, $14.58 and $9.08. Two Phil’s returned $10.44 and $6.52 at 9-1 odds. Angel of Empire paid $4.70 to show. … A $2 exacta paid $330.44 and a Superfecta paid $15,643.65 for a $1 bet.

TIDBITS: Our friends at Sportico recently posted the 20 most valuable soccer clubs. Here’s the Top 5 – (you’ll have to subscribe to Sportico for the other 15).

Top 5 Most Valuable Soccer Clubs (according to Sportico) (in billions)

  1. Manchester United – $5.95b
  2. Real Madrid – $5.23b
  3. FC Barcelona – $4.95b
  4. Liverpool – $4.71b
  5. Bayern Munich – $4.46b

In terms of the USA-based Major League Soccer (MLS), the Los Angeles FC rated as No. 16 with a value of $900m. The LA Galaxy weren’t far behind with a value of $865.

On the latest Sports Business Journal’s SBJ Live, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told SBJ’s Austin Karp that expansion is a high priority and the league has narrowed a list of a hundred potential cities “down to 20 or so.” … That’s 100 cities – as in one hundred – vying for a WNBA franchise! … By comparison, as my mind recalls, the most the NBA saw was about a dozen legitimate requests in 1986 when the league began expansion planning to what would become four additional franchises: Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota and Orlando.

TO RICK PITINO: “Bronny James ain’t coming through that door!” … LeBron James’ heralded son, Bronny, made public his plans to attend USC and wrote a letter of intent. … Aunt Becky (Lori Loughlin) was not involved in the decision nor transaction. … A Rick Pitino signing of Bronny to headline St. John’s at Madison Square Garden would’ve earned the troubled coach his stripes on his new and latest gig.

TL