Assistant Prof. of Sports Management @ElmiraCollege; Adjunct for @CanisiusMSA; @SABR member; 15 yrs. on NCAA staff; Attorney; @NotreDame and @UBSchoolofLaw alum
Vestal, NY
Joined February 2021
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Stephen Clar retweeted
A guy got kicked out of an NBA game Wednesday night for throwing the ball back to the ref.
He used a chest pass, the same one your gym teacher taught you in fourth grade.
The ref he threw it to is 6'1" and played college basketball.
Her name is Chelisa Painter, and this is her rookie season as a full-time NBA official. She played at George Washington and Old Dominion, then signed a pro contract to play in Ireland. After that she spent seven years reffing Division I games and five seasons in the G League, 215 games in all, before the NBA hired her full-time this year.
She's caught a chest pass or two in her life, she just wasn't expecting one from a guy in the front row, and it got her on the arm.
So why'd he get tossed? Because of one line in the NBA's fan code of conduct. If you throw an object, you're out, immediately. The rule doesn't say anything about how hard you threw it or whether it was the game ball you were handing back, which means once that ball touches a ref, the security guy walking over has nothing left to decide. And per the code, you leave without a refund, and the team can take your season tickets and keep you out of future games.
The NBA made it that strict on purpose. Back in the 2018-19 season, the number of fans thrown out of courtside seats more than doubled, so the league started watching several rows deep instead of just the people with their feet on the floor. If you're sitting courtside now, you're sitting right where security is paying the most attention.
And then you've got the guy who flagged it.
That was Luka. He's hit 16 technicals in three different seasons, which is supposed to mean an automatic one-game suspension, and every single time the league went back and took the 16th one away. In April 2025 he got ejected in Oklahoma City because a ref thought the trash talk he was yelling at a fan was meant for him.
So he knows better than almost anyone how fast a misread split second turns into you walking to the locker room.
The league has wiped Luka's 16th technical off his record three separate times so he wouldn't miss a game, and on Wednesday night he got to be the one deciding a fan's chest pass was too much.
Stephen Clar retweeted
A new hire showed up Monday. No laptop. IT was "working on it."
Day 2: Still nothing.
Day 4: She resigned.
Stephen Clar retweeted
Tuesday's election has big stakes on a wide range of topics, and they include sports. The Protect College Sports Act, player donations and sports betting are among the issues that could be affected by the results. @novy_williams, @JustBirny and I discuss: sportico.com/business/sports….
Stephen Clar retweeted
Want to spend the summer in Cooperstown? Applications are now open for the 2027 Steele Internship Program! ➡️ baseballhall.org/intern
ALT Steele Interns pose for a photograph with Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
Stephen Clar retweeted
David Hansen needed a playoff to make the JV high school golf team as a senior. He couldn't break 100.
He didn't play college golf.
And on Monday he qualified for the KFT event at age 32.
One of the most unlikely Monday Q stories I've ever covered. ⬇️
mondayq.com/story/long-road-…
Stephen Clar retweeted
The Corning Classic is back. One of the longest-running events in LPGA history – 31 years –will return to the tour’s schedule in 2027 after an 18-year absence.
It will be the same town, same course, same sponsor – only different.
“This is not your grandmother’s Corning,” said Corning executive Lewis Steverson.
Forget cookware; today’s Corning develops everything from cell phone cover glass that won’t scratch or break to the optical fiber that’s delivering the call.
“We are at the epicenter of doing AI from an infrastructure standpoint,” said Steverson.
As Corning celebrates 175 years, the company has decided to get back into the business of hosting the best players in the world in Corning, New York. The event, now simply called “The Classic,” will be held May 27-30 and feature a stout purse of $5 million purse, among the highest of non-major events.
Full story below:
Stephen Clar retweeted
On this date in 1979, Rickey Henderson made his dashing big league debut with the @Athletics.
In a sign of things to come, the 20-year-old went 2-for-4 with a stolen base – the first of his record 1,406. ow.ly/mZi050ZgfHF
ALT Black and white head and shoulders portrait of Rickey Henderson wearing an Athletics cap. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
Stephen Clar retweeted
I’m officially entering the NCAA transfer portal as a Graduate Student out of Elmira College.
6’5 200 lb. RHP: in 3 full seasons I’ve posted 43 appearances and 53 Innings
Phone: 865-292-4423
Email: [email protected]
#tranferportal #redshirt #portal #ncaabaseball
Stephen Clar retweeted
From The Beer Skate to the iconic US Open Honey Deuce, collectible cups are the hottest trend in sports memorabilia.
A Sodexo Live exec told @FOS: “Sometimes, these things are even more exclusive than things you can get at the merch store.”
More ⬇️
frontofficesports.com/collec…
Stephen Clar retweeted
There was a moment during @uswomensopen media day at Riviera when Mike Whan listed the next 10 venues for the championship and said you could put it up against any event in the world.
He's right.
2027 Inverness
2028 Oakmont
2029 Pinehurst No. 2
2030 Interlachen
2031 Oakland Hills
2032 LACC
2033 Chicago Golf Club
2034 Merion Golf Club
2035 Pebble Beach
2036 Shinnecock
Stephen Clar retweeted
Former EMU DB Freddie McGee III was outside the Lions facility this morning holding a sign, hoping to earn an NFL opportunity
He doesn’t have an agent, but says he’s in the best shape of his life. “God put it on my heart. I’ve had this goal since I was 5,” 🔥
Stephen Clar retweeted
The college sports roadmap that seemed clear yesterday becomes even a little clearer: four rival, commercial conferences, each with independent rule making. Congress isn’t needed. They never were. Nor, in the commercial space, is the NCAA.
The Ivy League wins at the Second Circuit, with the Court upholding the dismissal of the antitrust lawsuit over no athletic scholarships.
The ruling has legal significance for other conferences, as court reaffirms that conferences can do as they wish: sportico.com/law/analysis/20….
Stephen Clar retweeted
Here's a crazy youth sports stat...
More than 8 million families spend $500 or more each year at Dick's Sporting Goods, accounting for 50% of the company's total sales.
Dick's stock is up 140% over the last 5 years.
Stephen Clar retweeted
NEW: UNC women's tennis star Reese Brantmeier and NCAA have reached an agreement on class action lawsuit over tennis players being able to receive prize money. Parties have asked for 60-day delay to finalize agreement.
Stephen Clar retweeted
Banned tennis pro Tara Moore is suing the WTA for $20 million, claiming her positive doping tests were due to consuming contaminated meat.
She claims the WTA was aware of the potential contaminated meat but failed to "warn athletes about that risk."
frontofficesports.com/tennis…
Stephen Clar retweeted
Sunday Night Baseball will be replaced by WNBA & NWSL games in what ESPN is dubbing "Women's Sports Sundays'"
Stephen Clar retweeted
"Like so many other instances, the goalposts always seem to be pushed back when Black people succeed."
The excuses behind why Black head coaches weren't hired this year are played out and the NFL's biased hiring process is exposed once again.
bit.ly/3Zfgb0r
Stephen Clar retweeted
The A's come up short—so far—at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for registering Las Vegas Athletics and Vegas Athletics, but they haven't yet lost and they have a number of options at their disposal.
My @Sportico legal take: sportico.com/law/analysis/20….
Stephen Clar retweeted
NASCAR's antitrust lawsuit has been settled.
23XI and Front Row will retain their charters, and all team charters will now become permanent — a massive win for NASCAR team owners.
"I didn't want to have to tear [NASCAR] down...we reached a compromise," MJ said outside court.
Michael Jordan's antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR has revealed stunning financial details:
• MJ has invested $40M in 23XI racing
• 75% of NASCAR teams lose money
• Front Row Motorsports has lost $100M
Today's newsletter breaks it all down.
READ: huddleup.substack.com/p/mich…
