Welcome back to Keeping Score, our Friday column that highlights the personalities, teams and games that sports fans are talking about — by the numbers.
5
Seasons since Syracuse University qualified for the NCAA's men's basketball tournament
The Syracuse Orange's men's basketball slump might be having an effect outside the Carrier Dome*. According to the Wall Street Journal, Syracuse University is now facing a 1.5% budget shortfall and significant enrollment and financial challenges, as more students favor large state schools with good weather and international enrollment in US universities declines. The storied basketball program has been adrift since Coach Jim Boeheim retired in 2023, and the Orange haven’t participated in March Madness since 2021.
Saving a 156-year-old university is a lot of pressure for new Syracuse basketball coach Gerry McNamara, but he's delivered for his school in important moments before. G-Mac played with Carmelo Anthony on Syracuse's 2003 National Championship team and he led the Orange to four wins in four days at the 2006 Big East Tournament.
*Known today as the JMA Wireless Dome
75%
Success rate for field goals by visiting teams to the New England Patriots' Gillette Stadium, the lowest in the league
The New England Patriots under Coach Bill Belichick were masters of the dark arts, from Spygate to Deflategate. This week, former Philadelphia Eagles analytics expert Ryan Paganetti revealed that the Patriots even use the Jumbotron to their advantage. During opponents’ field goals, the Patriots show a live reverse-view of the goal posts on the Jumbotron directly behind the actual uprights, so the visiting kicker sees four yellow uprights, not two. When the Patriots kick field goals, the Jumbotron shows a static image.
The ploy is completely legal, and it works. According to the New York Times, road teams have made 75% of field goal attempts at Gillette Stadium, while Patriots kickers have an impressive 84% success rate, considering the outdoor field and Northeastern winters. The average field-goal success rate for NFL away teams is 82.5%.
4
Goats kept on the grounds of Ireland's Lahinch Golf Club, the site of this week's Walker Cup
Apologies to Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, but these are golf's real goats. Lahinch Golf Club on the west coast of Ireland keeps four goats that are free to wander the course. The tradition harkens back to the club's beginnings, when locals would bring their donkeys, sheep and goats to graze on the golf course. A Lahinch caddie in the 1920s and '30s named Tommy Walsh lived behind the third tee box and he let his goats graze on the course during his loops. After Walsh died, the goats remained. The ruminants will be on the scene this weekend when Lahinch hosts the Walker Cup, a team match-play tournament featuring the top amateur men in the US, the UK and Ireland.
40
English soccer clubs with American ownership
When wealthy American sports fans start following soccer, they buy more than a jersey. According to Bloomberg, 40 of the 92 professional clubs in English soccer have some American ownership, including historic clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, but also lower division clubs like Sheffield Wednesday.
For many American investors, English football clubs look inexpensive relative to sports franchises in the US, and the promotion/relegation system creates opportunity for risk takers. Jeff Bezos (Liverpool) and Tom Brady (Birmingham City) are already in.
But the most successful novice owners aren't hedge-fund wizards, tech titans or football legends. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the small Welsh club Wrexham in 2021 for $2.7 million. The savvy Hollywood stars then created the hit Hulu show Welcome to Wrexham, and the club has climbed the pyramid of English football to the doorstep of the Premier League. Wrexham AFC is now valued as high as $475 million.
96
Temperature in degrees during the USC-San Jose football game at the LA Coliseum
In college football, last weekend was known as Week 0, and the number of USC fans who came out to watch the Trojans' first home game wasn't much higher. USC announced attendance at 51,144, but pictures of empty seats indicate that estimate may be generous.
The culprit wasn't Southern California fan indifference, but LA's stifling late August heat wave. The noon kickoff meant game-time temperatures were in the 90s, and one fan said the seats were like "hot plates." The 14th-ranked Trojans won the game 42-26, and they play again at the Coliseum on Friday with a more comfortable 6 p.m. start.
13
Minutes after midnight that Venus Williams’ first-round US Open match started, the latest-ever start in women's tennis
For US Open fans, the most popular drink is the $23 Honey Deuce cocktail, but the players probably favor a double espresso. Late-night finishes have become the norm at Flushing Meadows because the tournament splits match days into day and night sessions. Evening tennis doesn't begin until 7 p.m., and a long first match can send the second match into the witching hour.
That's what happened to Venus Williams. Her first-round match against Sofia Kenin followed Novak Djokovic's five-set defeat to Mariano Navone in a match that lasted more than four hours. So Williams and Kenin couldn't start their match at Arthur Ashe Stadium until 12:13 a.m. Williams, who has won seven majors in her career, including two US Opens, lost to Kenin 6-2, 7-6 (6).
“It's not ideal,” Williams said after the match. “I just don’t know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there’s room for improvement there.”
100,000
Number of three-point shots Damian Lillard made during his rehab from ACL surgery
Malcolm Gladwell famously posited that people need 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery of a complex field or skill. Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard agrees. Lillard has made 100,000 three-point shots since last August after undergoing ACL surgery during the 2025 NBA playoffs. The Trail Blazers analytics staff says that Lillard makes between 80%-85% of the three-pointers he takes in practice, regardless of the drill, and in some sessions, he makes as many as 94%.
Lillard's former teammate Nik Stauskas reposted one of Lillard's practice videos on social media: “I’ve always said if it wasn’t for Steph we’d talk about him different. Easily the best player & shooter I’ve ever played with.”
55%
Average increase of initiation fees for private golf clubs since 2020
Golf is still in the midst of its Covid era boom, with more than 500 million rounds played in the US in 2025. This demand is affecting private club fees, too. According to Golf Digest, initiation fees at private golf clubs have increased 55% since 2020, and Private Club Marketing says the average cost to join a private club in the US is now $60,000.
Of course, money alone won't get you into the most exclusive clubs like Augusta National, Seminole, Pine Valley, Cypress Point and Shinnecock Hills. Status, connections and playing ability matter, too. But money never hurts, as Augusta National members Warren Buffett and Bill Gates could tell you.
10
Minute-mark when every Argentine soccer game will pause this weekend to honor Lionel Messi
Our hero's long goodbye starts this weekend. Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international soccer this week, via a handwritten note in Spanish posted on Instagram. “I gave it my all; I have nothing left to give,” Messi wrote.
In response, the Argentine Football Association will stop every game played this weekend at the 10-minute mark, in honor of Messi's number, to give time for fans to express their appreciation for Messi's international career.
Of course, Messi is not retiring from soccer. After leading Argentina to the World Cup final this summer, he's returned to Inter Miami, where he recently scored four goals in a 7-1 win over CF Montreal. Messi's still-spectacular play even has Real Madrid manager and noted soccer snob José Mourinho watching MLS.
“It’s difficult to talk about Messi, there are no words for Leo,” Mourinho said. “We need to watch MLS games to enjoy his last years, even if I don’t like them!”
96.3%
Portion of the moon obscured during the Aug. 27-28 deep partial lunar eclipse, narrated by play-by-play announcer Al Michaels during a Thursday Night Football preseason game
Play-by-play announcer Al Michaels is always at his best when the drama is the highest. The most famous example is Michaels' "Do you believe in miracles?" call that echoes through sports history.
So when a partial lunar eclipse occurred during the Thursday Night Football preseason game between the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns, Michaels rose to the occasion.
“This is a partial lunar eclipse,” Michaels told Amazon Prime viewers. “Might be less impressive than a total eclipse. But the eclipse tonight, anything but ordinary. The moon won't be completely eclipsed. So, this is not technically a blood moon. But much of the lunar surface is expected to take on a reddish hue, with just a thin sliver remaining brightly illuminated. Yes, sir. Here it is.” 🌙
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