The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Lyon roars into the spotlight
Here’s a helpful tip to the New York Mets: a few minutes before the first inning is about to begin, ask the players to form a line in the dugout. Tell them to look at the guy standing in front of them. Remind them that person is the one they’ll be batting after for the whole game.
It’s a simple trick that worked wonders for our tee-ball team. Just be sure the line of players in the dugout matches your lineup card.
No one said coaching baseball is easy.
⏩ Alex Lyon has spent most of his hockey career doing remarkable things that didn’t always get him the recognition he deserved, but led to bigger and better things.
As a teenager in Minnesota he was snubbed by the Elite League, a prestigious showcase for top players in the upper Midwest. So he remained at his tiny high school, with an enrollment of 25 boys —15 of whom played on the hockey team — and was named the top goalie in the hockey-mad state.
As a junior at Yale he wasn’t named first-team All-ECAC by the league’s media despite leading the country in goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for the second successive season. He signed an NHL contract and left a year early.
Earlier this spring he was banished back to the minors by the Philadelphia Flyers, who’ve been reluctant to put much trust in Lyon even though he’s established himself as the organization’s most reliable and consistent goalie.
Lyon continues to flourish for the organization’s AHL affiliate. In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Lehigh Valley captured a five-overtime playoff win, the longest game in league history, thanks to Lyon stopping an astounding 94 of 95 shots.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime performance that’s gained national attention.
The Flyers, sans Lyon, were bounced in the first round by Pittsburgh. Lehigh Valley was a win away from advancing to the AHL’s Eastern Conference finals.
Lyon becomes a restricted free agent in the offseason. Perhaps the Flyers will finally consider him for a permanent NHL job. Or maybe he’ll go on to bigger and better things elsewhere.
⏩ The Raptors fired head coach Dwayne Casey two days after being named the NBA’s coach of the year because his team couldn’t beat LeBron James in the playoffs. What ownership in Toronto doesn’t realize is that only six coaches have ever beaten James in a playoff series. Twenty-one have failed to do so, including five of the six that had previously beaten him. Coaching, good or bad, does little against the greatest basketball player who ever lived.
⏩ But if any NBA coach can figure out how to contain James, it’s Boston’s Brad Stevens, who didn’t receive a single vote for coach of the year with an injury-depleted roster.
⏩ Matt Harvey thought taking a demotion to Triple-A was rock bottom. And then he got traded to the Reds.
⏩ David Price’s video game habits caused enough of a kerfuffle in the media that he vowed to quite playing in the clubhouse. It’s unlikely the gaming caused the mild carpal tunnel syndrome that forced him from his last start. But it’s a nice addition to baseball’s ever-evolving history of clubhouse “scandals” through the decades.
There was Joe Pepitone’s hairdryer in the 60s; the wife-swapping Yankees of the 70s; Don Mattingly’s long mullet in the 80s; Mark McGwire storing steroids in his locker in the 90s and the Red Sox pitching staff gorging nightly on chicken and beer in the 2000s.
No one ever said baseball players don’t know how to keep up with the times.
⏩ Joe Tessitore is the new voice of Monday Night Football, talking over the lead role from Sean McDonough this fall. Tessitore spent eight years as sports anchor at WFSB Channel 3 in Hartford before moving on to ESPN, where he’s flourished as one of the top play-by-play men in the business.
⏩ Sonny Gray might want to think about placing his personal catcher behind the outfield walls at Yankee Stadium. There’s more action out there every time he pitches.
⏩ Yale baseball clinched its second straight Ivy League regular season title on Friday, meaning it will play host to the league’s championship series at Yale Field next weekend. There’s also strong sentiment that the Bulldogs, should they take the bestof-3 series, could be placed in an NCAA regional hosted by UConn in Norwich.
⏩ One more tip for the struggling Mets: for a little added incentive, try postgame Munchkins and juice boxes for everyone.
⏩ The Amity Regional family lost a legend when Bill Johnson passed away earlier this week at age 87. Johnson coached Amity to perhaps its greatest athletic achievement, a stunning upset of Ansonia for the 1978 Class LL title, which earned the school’s its lone football state championship and No. 1 ranking in the Register state poll.
He was a beloved figure in the Amity community and a positive influence who encouraged countless students over the years, including this one. Rest in peace, coach.
⏩ Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. We love you. Enjoy the day.