“He spoke not a word and went straight to his work.” – Clement Clarke Moore (or Bill Belichick?)
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By TERRY LYONS
BOSTON – When there’s 52+ weeks of Sunday notebooks to review, there are plenty of topics, notes, tidbits and remembrances to point out as we look back at the strange year of 2021 and look forward to (hopefully) better days ahead in 2022.
Upon quick review, here’s a list of the most prominent items in TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | While We’re Young (Ideas) over the past 52 weeks:
January 2021:
Big Story: Alabama defeated Ohio State, 52-24, in College Football Playoffs National Championship game
- A Few of My Favorite Things
- Diggies: Outstanding TV Ads and Hard Knocks NFL Jinx
- Tons of NFL Talent (Unfortunately, many were hurt in 2021)
- Hank Aaron Tribute
- Sekou Smith Tribute
February 2021:
Big Story: QB Tom Brady and Tampa Bay defeated Kansas City, 31-9, in Super Bowl LVI
- Super Bowl | Salute to Tom Brady
- Baseball Spring Training | Red Sox Equipment Truck Heads South
- Second Chances in Life, Sports | Alex Cora
- NBA Logo | Great Logos and Branding
March 2021:
Big Story: Justin Thomas shot four-under (68) in the final round for 274 (−14) to win his first PGA Tour Players Championship, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lee Westwood, the 54-hole leader.
- NBA All-Star Notes | International Players | Zion was an All-Star
- The Concept of TIME | Precious TIME of a sporting career
- 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 | March Madness Brackets
- March Madness without Duke and Kentucky
- Sportico News: NBA Franchise Valuations; Fanatics $ Merch
April 2021:
Big Story: Baylor defeated Gonzaga, 86-70, in nCAA Final four Championship game
- MLB Opening Day Brings Excitement, Joy | Underrated Events
- The Masters | Rick Welts Announced retirement from GS Warriors
- MLB’s Jackie Robinson Day | Mark “The Bird” Fidrych
- European Super League Futbol Flop
May 2021:
Big Story: Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby, giving his trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh win in the race and jockey John Velazquez his fourth Derby win. However, the horse tested positive for betamethasone after the race.
- Must Win Time in NHL and NBA | Kentucky Derby
- NFL Franchise Valuations | IVY League Sports Comeback
- Basketball: Hall of Fame | WNBA 25th | Africa League
- ATL: Us Against the World and NBA
- Fan Behavior | Mark Eaton RIP
June 2021:
Big Story: In the 121st U.S. Open golf tournament, Jon Rahm made a birdie on each of the final two holes to become the first U.S. Open champion from Spain and win his first major championship.
- Fragile Nature of Sports | Sports Perfection
- The Sports Window of Opportunity | PGA Tour : The Travelers
- Father’s Day | USA Swimming/Nick Fink
- Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia Tribute
July 2021:
Big Story: The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games with the decisive contest played on July 20th.
- Name, Image, Likeness | #SportsBiz
- NBA/ESPN Reporter Bickering | Olympics on Horizon
- The Open
- Memories of Olympic Games Past
August 2021:
Big Story; MLB stole the show with its first-ever regular season game at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, a site popularized by the 1989 baseball motion picture.
- More Great Olympic Games Memories
- Modified Stableford Scoring for Hoops
- PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs
- Northern Trust = No Pro Golf in Boston
September 2021:
Big Story: Daniil Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic in the final, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 to win the men’s singles tennis title at the 2021 U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows. On the women’s side, Britain’s Emma Raducanu defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the final, 6–4, 6–3 to win the women’s singles tennis title at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu became the first qualifier, male or female, to reach a major final and win a major title, as well as the first singles qualifier to reach the semifinals at the US Open.
- The Most Wonderful Time of the Year for Sports
- US Open Tennis: 18-year old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain defeated 19-year old Leylah Fernandez of Canada
- Ryder Cup Golf and Hard Knocks NFL
- More Ryder Cup Golf | Hope for BC Eagles Football
October 2021:
Big Story: The Chicago Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury in four straight games to win the 2021 WNBA title.
- NBA at 75 Tip-Off
- The people behind the NBA at 75 Impact: Off the Court
- NBA at 75 | Final List | #SportsBiz Sports Gambling Update
- Preseason College Basketball Preview
November 2021:
Big Story: The Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros in six games to win the 2021 MLB World Series.
- 30 Year Look-Back at Earvin “Magic” Johnson
- Best Sports Towns in America
- Olympic Boycotts – Athletes & Diplomats
- Paying Thanks on Thanksgiving Day 2021
December 2021:
Big Story: New York City FC defeated the Portland Timbers (1-1) in penalty kicks after a scoreless overtime. It was NYC FC’s first MLS Cup title.
- A Look at Deep, Dark December | NFL Power Rankings
- #Sports – The Land of Confusion | Bill Russell Auction
- Dreaming of a “Wilt” Christmas | NBA Christmas Day Preview
- 2021 Year-End Review
January 2022: As you can see from the photo up top, the lads are welcoming in a New Year with hopes for a much better 2022 than was experienced in 2020 and 2021.
Overall, it’s somewhat daunting to look back at the year in sports. So many things happened – good and bad – in such challenging circumstances, yet again. It’s even harder to look back at the year in news. The “real world” headlines of 2021 absolutely drops us to our knees, especially the way the year started out on January 6th. Nevertheless, we must move on and move forward. And, with that in mind:
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Despite the fact this is being written before the NFL games of December 25, now is the time for TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | While We’re Young (Ideas) to do its second installment of NFL Power Rankings. A reminder of my last list (dated December 4):
- Buffalo Bills
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Dallas Cowboys
- Arizona Cardinals
- Green Bay Packers
- Baltimore Ravens
- New England Patriots
- Tennessee Titans
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Tampa Bay/SF 49ers/Washington/Miami/Others
Here’s the current Digital Sports Desk Power Rankings of the NFL’s Top 10 (dated December 24):
- Kansas City Chiefs: Both on offense and – surprisingly on defense, the KC Chiefs have stepped-up.
- Green Bay Packers: The (11-3) Pack are healthy and have Aaron Rodgers primed for a playoff run, most likely with a much-needed first round bye.
- Buffalo Bills: The Bills can prove they’ve earned this high ranking on Sunday when they face the New England Patriots at Foxborough. Let’s see where each club ends up?
- Dallas Cowboys: Quarterback Dak Prescott and the ‘Boys are lurking, and in good position to do some damage in the NFC Playoffs.
- Tennessee Titans: The Thursday night win over the epic collapse of QB Jimmy Garappolo and the San Francisco 49ers placed Tennessee (10-5) in prime position for the AFC Playoffs. A loss would’ve been trouble.
- Indianapolis Colts: The Colts (8-6) won a huge game last weekend over the New England Patriots and it thrust Indiana into contention.
- Arizona Cardinals: At (10-4), the Cards remain a team no other wants to see in the NFC Playoffs. The question? Can QB Kyler Murray, RBsJames Conner/Chase Edmonds/WR AJ Green remain healthy?
- New England Patriots: As the NBA’s great Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich once said, “Don’t EVER underestimate the heart of a champion.” … The question is whether that champion is on the sidelines in Foxborough, Mass or at QB in Tampa?
- Cincinnati Bengals: After dropping two important games (Chargers and 49ers), the Bengals bounced back with a 15-10 win over Denver last week. They’re in MUST win territory with their next two games (Ravens and Chiefs). The AFC North is up for grabs and is in the midst of the tightest NFL divisional race in 44 years.
- Everyone Else, including the LA Chargers, Rams, SF 49ers.
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G-LEAGUE PUSH BACK: With dozens of NBA teams signing players to 10-day contracts to fill-out rosters, the G-League was forced to delay their season. The league noted in a statement of December 24: «The NBA G League will delay its regular season, originally scheduled to tip-off on Dec. 27, will now begin on Jan. 5, 2022. The delay will give teams an opportunity to safely return players to market after the Christmas holiday and to replenish their rosters following NBA call-ups. Information regarding games originally scheduled between Dec. 27 and Jan. 4 will be provided at a later date.»
NO HAWAI’I in HAWAI’I BOWL? – The lone sporting event of December 24 was abruptly cancelled when the powers that be cancelled the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl. The University of Hawai’i could not play in the game due to players and staff with COVID-19+ test results. Hawaii’s college football bowl opponent, Memphis, had travelled to Honolulu for the game. … “The health and safety of our student-athletes is the most important part of this decision,” David Matlin, Hawaii AD, said in a statement. “The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has forced us to not participate in the game.”
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REVERSE DECISION: The BIG EAST Conference modified its game cancellation policy for men’s and women’s basketball for the 2021-22 season. The adjustment was the result of the recent sudden and significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases nationally and within BIG EAST programs due to the spread of the Omicron variant. … Under the modified policy, a Conference game will be canceled in the event a school has fewer than seven scholarship players and one countable coach available for a game. The BIG EAST conference office will attempt to reschedule any such game(s) in accordance with parameters approved by BIG EAST Directors of Athletics. … In the event the rescheduling parameters cannot be fulfilled, the canceled game(s) will be designated as a no contest.
To date, four BIG EAST men’s Conference games had been designated as forfeitures under the previous COVID-19 game cancellation policy. The forfeiture classification will be removed from these games, and efforts are now underway to reschedule them at a later date. (Since then, two other games were scrapped: St. John’s and Butler in Jamaica Estates, Queens; and Georgetown at Creighton. No women’s games to date have been designated as forfeitures. … The new ruling seems much more in line with the rest of the sporting world, all doing the most to get complete season scheduled played in their entirety.
NHL BUYS ANOTHER DAY: From a formal statement released December 24/Christmas Eve, the National Hockey League said its regular-season schedule will not resume prior to Tuesday, Dec. 28. The league had planned to resume its schedule on Dec. 27, but in order to allow adequate time to analyze league-wide testing results and to assess clubs’ readiness to play, the target date for resumption of game play will be pushed back an additional day. Teams will return to practice on Dec. 26 and it is expected that the league will provide an update on its return to play plans by the end of day on Sunday.
The league plans to stage its annual outdoor Winter Classic on January 1 at 6pm ET with the St. Louis Blues visiting the Minnesota Wild at Target Field.
BOOKS CLOSED ON THE STAPLES CENTER: The Los Angeles sports scene will now watch concerts, conventions and sporting events at the Crypto.com Arena, after cryptocurrency website Crypto.com purchased the naming rights to the arena, formerly known as The STAPLES Center.
Official photographer Andrew D. Bernstein recalled nine of his favorite memories of the original, going first with opening night with the great Bruce Springsteen.
1: Bruce Springsteen opens the arena 1999
2: Lakers championship 2000
3: Democratic National Convention 2000
4: LA Sparks WNBA championship 2001
5: Michael Jackson Memorial 2009
6: Blake Griffin Slam-Dunk at NBA All Star 2011
7: Grammys 2012
8: LA Kings first Stanley Cup 2012
9: Kobe’s final game 2016
10: LeBron James 2020
Check out Andy’s series of podcasts at Legends of Sport: HERE
CLOCK RUNNING on DECEMBER 2021 but THE OFFER IS STILL GOOD:
- NOTES, NOTES, AND MORE NOTES: A year-long subscription to TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – While We’re Young (Ideas) is a perfect way to have the sports fan in your life look forward to an old-fashioned, weekly, notebook full of sports insights. All Year Long! Sign-up for this special offer: HERE
- PGA TOUR BRUNCH AS CHAMPIONS RETURN OF THE TOUR:Plans are on-going to re-launch the popular PGA Tour Brunchnewsletter when the pros tee-it-up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (January 5-9, 2022) at The Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii.
SIGN-UP HERE FOR PGA TOUR BRUNCH
Parting Words & Music:
In Excelsis Deo: On this Christmas night of 2021, I give you the genius of Aaron Sorkin and his work on the television drama – The West Wing – from 1999. Whether you were a fan/viewer of the show or not, I simply ask you to view this scene and the detail of every single word, every single cut, every single edit and every single decision made to produce the poignant scene.
The assembly of The West Wing cast at the White House, each viewing the choir celebration, is striking. Only one other character asked Tobias”Toby” Ziegler (played by Richard Schiff) to accompany him to Arlington National Cemetery and that was dear Mrs. Delores Landingham, the President’s executive assistant. This episode was one of the first when actress Kathryn Joosten’s character became such a focal part of a scene.
Earlier in the episode, Presidential aide/body man Charlie Young (played by Dulé Hill) had asked why Mrs. Landingham was feeling “down,” and she opened up to him that she had “lost her two twin boys” in the Viet Nam war. (They died as medics in a fire-fight at Da Nang on Christmas Eve 1970).
The West Wing and Sorkin, in general, just ace the art of character development and this clip shows you one small reason why. In Excelsis Deoand Two Cathedrals are the two most powerful episodes in the entire drama series.
In Excelsis Deo’s most dramatic scene:
The West Wing won Emmy Awards for:
Outstanding Writing of a Drama Show – Aaron Sorkin and Rick Clevelandsingled out for this episode.
Outstanding Single Camera Editing
Schiff won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Sound Mixing in a Drama Series
Sorkin and Cleveland won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama at the 53rd Writers Guild of America Awards
Merry Christmas everyone.
TL