Welcome back to Keeping Score, our Friday column that highlights the personalities, teams and games that sports fans are talking about—by the numbers.
$140
How much former NBA all-star Blake Griffin had to pay to watch his own son play basketball.
Former Clipper Blake Griffin was a six-time NBA all-star, but he always had his eye on the entertainment industry, with guest appearances on TV shows and even a stint as a stand-up comedian. So it's not surprising that Griffin is hosting his own talk show, The Stepback With Blake Griffin, on Amazon Prime. What's more surprising is that he's using this platform to raise concerns about the nefarious effect money is having on youth sports.
In a Stepback monologue this week, Griffin shared that he recently spent $140 to watch his son’s basketball game, $80 for a wristband ticket and $60 to park. He also devoted a segment on his show to criticizing the growth of private equity in youth sports. Citing a 2025 New York Times article, Griffin noted that revenue from youth sports is $40 billion, nearly twice what the NFL makes.
"Youth sports is generating more money than the pros off of kids that will most likely never go pro," Griffin said. "But for parents, there's nowhere else to go because private equity firms are buying up all the places kids play."
46
Catholic universities in the US with NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball programs. The 2026-2027 season tipped off this week with a game between Villanova and Notre Dame in Rome.
Pope Leo had a busy week. He was the first Pope to vote in an American election, via mail-in ballot. He exchanged gifts with Bob Dylan. He also dribbled a golden basketball and met with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball teams from Villanova and Notre Dame at the Vatican the day before the Eternal City Tip Off at Rome’s Palazzo dello Sport.
The papal audience included 6,000 fans, alumni and athletes in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. Pope Leo, formerly Father Robert Prevost, is a Chicagoan who earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova, and he joked with fans about which team he’d be supporting, according to The Catholic Standard.
“Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, we oftentimes heard, ‘Go Irish!’” Pope Leo said. “But, as you all know, Prevost graduated from Villanova. So the Pope doesn’t take sides. Prevost has another opinion, but we won’t do that now.”
The connection between Catholic universities and basketball runs deep, with Georgetown, Marquette and Gonzaga all having renowned programs. The last Catholic university to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship was Villanova in 2018, led by Jalen Brunson. Notre Dame won the NCAA women’s basketball championship in 2018 as well.
4
Goals the Winnipeg Jets scored in the final 2 minutes and 40 seconds of their game against the Montreal Canadiens, the greatest comeback in the NHL’s 109-year history.
This game made the Patriots’ 28-3 comeback against the Falcons look routine.
