Sarni's Scrolls: Melrose Will Be Missed

By Jim Sarni

Hockey will never be the same.

Former NHL coach and player Barry Melrose, who has been an Emmy Award-winning hockey analyst for ESPN since 1996, has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and is retiring, he announced Tuesday.

"I've had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching and analyzing the world's greatest game. It's now time to hang up my skates and focus on my health, my family, including my supportive wife Cindy, and whatever comes next," Melrose, 67, said in a statement.

Parkinson's disease is an age-related degenerative brain condition.

Melrose is beloved in the hockey world.

"He's bigger than any team," said hockey great Wayne Gretzky in a video tribute for ESPN.

"For decades, he's been suiting up — and I mean suiting up — for the game, for the sport, for hockey. ... You see, hockey is more than a game, it's a community — a finely tuned orchestra — and Barry was our conductor."

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Flag football may soon be an Olympic sport.

The organizing committee for the Los Angeles Games will propose adding flag football to the Olympic program for 2028, in addition to three other new sports: Cricket, lacrosse and squash. The organizing committee is also hoping to bring back baseball and softball, which have been off-and-on sports at the Summer Games.

The International Olympic Committee is expected to consider, and almost certainly approve, the proposed new sports at its session in Mumbai, India over the next week.

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Mild Wild Card

MLB recorded an 18% decline in average viewership for the wild card round, as the four two-game sweeps on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 collectively averaged 2.25 million viewers, down from last year’s average of 2.73 million.

Besides this initial lack of drama, viewership also suffered from the heavy slate of midweek day games, as the quadruple-headers held last Tuesday and Wednesday featured two p.m. ET starts and two at p.m

.Last year’s wild card round was primarily played on a Friday and Saturday — and included a winner-take-all Sunday night primetime game.

Division Series: One sweep as the Texas Rangers eliminated the Baltimore Orioles 1-2-3 on Tuesday... The Arizona Diamondbacks can complete a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday... Three games today. ***

Lexi Thompson will become the seventh LPGA Tour pro to play on the PGA Tour when she tees off this week at the Shriners Children’s Open

.As of yet, no LPGA Tour pro has managed to make the weekend at a PGA Tour event, but there’s reason for optimism that Thompson could buck the trend, having come off a 5th-place finish last week on the LPGA Tour.Superbook has priced Thompson at +1500 (15/1) to make the cut and -5000 (1/50) to miss.***QUICKIES Game 1 of the WNBA finals between the Aces and Liberty was the most-watched in history. Game 2 is Wednesday at 9 on ESPN. The Aces (1-0) are 5-point favorites...Iowa's Caitlin Clark joins State Farm as the first college athlete on its star-studded roster...The average NHL team is worth $1B for the first time ever...NFL byes begin this week: the Packers and Steelers are off...Not so fast, LeBron. Shaquille O'Neal is also interested in owning a NBA expansion team in Las Vegas...Rapper Earl Sweatshirt features a sample from legendary broadcaster Vin Scully on his album "Voir Dire" with the Alchemist. The song: Vin Skully...Former Dodgers star and Republican Steve Garvey entered the U.S. Senate race in California...NBA Rookie of the Year odds from Caesars Sportsbook: Victor Wembanyama, Spurs -190, Scoot Henderson, Trail Blazers +225, Chet Holmgren, Thunder +275...Lionel Messi is the star of an animated series with Sony. Storyline: A 12-year-old Messi confronts various obstacles while traveling a video game on a quest to get home...LeBron James is 19-8 the past two weeks on his NFL picks on IG Live... The Bills named an audible after the NBA star..."SNL" returns Saturday with host Pete Davidson and musical guest Ice Spice. Bad Bunny is booked on Oct. 21.

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They Said It

"Calling all @NFL guys, let's bring one home." -- Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill on the prospect of flag football being added to the 2028 Olympic Games

."It's about effing time you showed up." -- Aces star Kelsey Plum to minority owner Tom Brady at the WNBA Finals."New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the state liquor authority to allow bars to serve alcohol as early as 8 a.m. for the Buffalo Bills game in London yesterday... Not only that, during the Giants game, she temporarily legalized heroin." -- Seth Meyers.

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Jim Sarni, BC Class of '69, is a former sportswriter for The Boston Globe and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He resides in Fort Lauderdale and watches a lot of television.