AM Rumble: Anthony Mason gets honorary street, a possible Briles return, more

A look around a few interesting sports stories, after a weekend of news that could only be called “depressing.”

>> Anthony Mason Way!

Anthony Mason, Jr. has found a new way to honor his father, legendary Knick talent and enforcer Anthony Mason, who died in 2015 of a heart attack.

The former St. John’s player joined former Knicks teammate John Starks for the renaming of a street to “Anthony Mason Way” in southeast Queens.

Since it’s not yet on Google Maps, we’ve taken a moment to highlight it for you. It’s near Baisley Pond Park.

>>Shamorie Ponds named to USA U18 Training Camp

As mentioned earlier, St. John’s signee Shamorie Ponds was named to the training camp roster for the June 14-18 player camp.

There will be a second training camp in July (11-15), and the full 12-member squad will be named before the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship in Chile in late July.

Ponds, ranked in the top 50 and a McDonald’s All American, has a chance to make the roster, but will have to earn a spot over more highly-rated players.

>>We Live in International Times

The 6’5” wing Terrance Ferguson is an elite shooter who committed to Arizona. But knowing that the NCAA may not deem him eligible, Ferguson’s backup plan is in Australia. The Arizona Daily Star reports that he might have a deal with the Adelaide 36ers, based on reporting from the Adelaide newspaper.

Ferguson would follow in the footsteps of Emmanuel Mudiay, who, coming out of the same high school with eligibility concerns, chose to play in China for a year before coming to the NBA Draft. He is represented by Under Armour, and Ferguson is expected to be represented by Under Armour as well once he knows he will not be eligible.

>>We Live in Times of Change

Former Yale basketball captain Jack Montague is suing the University over his expulsion after sexual assault charges. CBS takes a look at how the atmosphere around Yale has changed even in the past five years about sexual abuse, and why Montague’s defense may or may not be relevant.

>>We Live in Times of Cash Rules Everything Around Baylor

Uh, what? WHAT?

In a battle of who is more valuable to donors, “winning football coach” trumps “school president.” Art Briles is the former Baylor coach who was ousted after reports of systemically ignoring sexual assault accusations. Ken Starr is the former Baylor President and Chancellor who was ousted for the same. But boosters are interested in, instead, giving Briles a one-year suspension and bringing the winning coach back.

Those members of the BU leadership who say Briles should have been spared while Starr should have been the fall guy for the scandal are getting a lot of pressure from big-money donors who say they'll stop giving to the university if Briles isn't brought back as coach in 2017, sources said.

Starr, incidentally, commissioned the report that found evidence of the mishandling of assault complaints. All information from the report was delivered orally - so there’s no paper trail to find by reporters, apparently.

>>We Live in Antagonistic Times

Meanwhile, the EURO 2016 tournament in France is a great event with the best European footballers... and violence. Not from terrorists as was initially feared, but from supporters of teams. England and Russia had fans involved in violent skirmishes, and one Russian official encouraged the Russian fans, saying they were defending the honor of their motherland.

The 2018 World Cup is in Russia, by the way.