Sports

Meet Tonja Stelly, the mother of the only NBA-NHL brother tandem

Published

6 months ago

May 11, 2024

Meet Tonja Stelly, the mother of the only NBA-NHL brother tandem

On Jan. 9, Tonja Stelly had to be in two places at once. That’s nothing new to her. It’s become a tradition over the past three years, whenever the NBA and NHL schedules collide in just the right way.

The Knicks were playing the Portland Trail Blazers inside the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, that Tuesday. Her son Quentin Grimes, a guard with the Knicks at the time and currently with the Detroit Pistons, had a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. Twenty miles to the east, her son Tyler Myers, a defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks, had a game at the same time, against the New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.

So Tonja and her husband, Ken, along with her brother and his family, hopped on a flight from Texas to New York. Tonja and Ken went to UBS Arena to watch Tyler, spending two hours bending their necks between the action in front of them and the cell phone on her lap, which featured the Knicks game. Her brother and his family were doing the same thing at MSG, with the sounds of a basketball kissing the hardwood and the Canucks-Islanders game on a tiny screen nestled in front of them.

“The people sitting around us, of course, were like, ‘Wow! You’re really into sports,’” Tonja said. “We were like, ‘Yes, yes we are.’”

Everyone knows about Donna Kelce, the mother of NFL players Travis and Jason Kelce. Most people are familiar with Sonya Curry, the mother of NBA players Stephen and Seth Curry. Very few, though, are familiar with Tonja Stelly, the mother of the only NBA-NHL brother tandem in history.

She’s a sports mom and former athlete herself, having played basketball at Fort Hays State University back in her home state of Kansas. Quentin and Tyler are her only children, and from October to April, she travels around the country, bouncing between packed basketball arenas and frigid hockey arenas to see them compete.

She gave birth to both in Houston 10 years apart — Tyler on Feb. 1, 1990, and Quentin on May 8, 2000 — but they have different fathers. As a result, they grew up apart in separate households, seeing one another only a few times a year, if that.

“I was like a single child,” Quentin said, recalling his upbringing.

Three months after Quentin was born, Tyler moved to Calgary with his father, Paul, who was in the oil and gas business, and that’s where the hockey took hold. He had already started playing the sport in Texas — around age 7 — but the sport’s ubiquity in Canada helped him dive deeper into the game, which set him on a path to the NHL.

In the summers, and sometimes during spring break, Tyler would travel back to Texas to spend time with his mom and his little brother. Tonja would take them out to play tennis or basketball, swim or take ride bikes. They’d take annual 22-hour round-trip car rides to go see Tonja’s side of the family in Kansas. She did everything she could to make sure her sons had a relationship, even though they lived, essentially, a country away from one another.

(Photos courtesy of Tonja Stelly)

“It was very difficult when you’ve only got six to eight weeks during the summer to put that together,” she said. “But we would do things as a family unit and individually.”

Things like letting them play video games together and take turns on choosing where to eat dinner.

“They would pick different things being that Quentin was 4 and 5 and then Tyler was 14 and 15,” she said.

As Tyler entered his teenage years, the demands of junior hockey kept him away longer. But Tonja and Quentin would venture to Kelowna, B.C., to watch him play in junior and did the same when he broke into the NHL. Quentin was 8 when the Buffalo Sabres selected Tyler 12th in the 2008 NHL Draft. At 6 feet 8 inches, he became one of the tallest players in NHL history and quickly made an impact for the Sabres, who made the playoffs his rookie season. Shortly after Quentin turned 10, Tyler won the Calder Trophy for the league’s best rookie. He finished in the top 20 for the Norris Trophy, which honors the league’s best all-around defenseman, in each of his first two seasons.

The Sabres playoff series spurred Quentin’s appreciation for the sport for more than his association to it via Tyler.

“I remember seeing that atmosphere, and I think I took more interest than the regular Texan watching hockey,” he said. “I tell people all the time, with playoff hockey, I don’t think there’s a better atmosphere — banging on the glass, shoving, pushing, hip-checking, it’s super fast-paced, people throw stuff on the ice. They’re not doing that at a basketball game.” (Well, unless they’re Jamal Murray, but we digress.)

Around 9, Quentin began playing AAU basketball, and like his older brother, quickly stood out among his peers. By high school, it was apparent he’d follow in the footsteps of his basketball-playing parents. Tonja Nuss was a 5-10 guard on the 1985-86 Fort Hays team that went 18-12. His father, Marshall Grimes, was a 6-foot guard for Santa Clara and Louisiana-Lafayette in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

As a five-star recruit, Quentin initially played at Kansas before transferring to Houston after his freshman season. There, he blossomed into the leading scorer on the Cougars’ 2021 Final Four team, leading to him being selected 25th by the Knicks in the NBA Draft.

Only so many people know what it takes to be a professional athlete. And luckily for Quentin, his brother is one of them. Tyler could share how to train like a professional athlete, and how to eat like one. But he also wanted to let Quentin “carve his own path.”

“As an athlete, I know I don’t want to bombard him with too much advice or too much that might overwhelm him, but certainly little things here and there I’ll throw at him,” Tyler said. “Even last month, I was reading this book and I forwarded him what it was all about and told him to check it out. Just little things like that here and there, that I think can help him out, and anything that I’ve gone through along the way.”

The NBA and NHL schedules don’t overlap in an easy way for Tyler and Quentin to see each other play live. “We kind of have to keep tabs on each other from afar,” Tyler said.

But Quentin playing in New York to begin his career helped when the Canucks would swing through the city to play the Rangers, Islanders and Devils in succession. Tyler attended one of Quentin’s home games a couple of years ago, and they shared a couple of dinners together.

“As you see them mature into adults and find their way, especially since Tyler was gone at such a young age, to see that circle back to them now as adults is pretty special,” Tonja said while fighting back tears. “Pretty special.”

(Photos courtesy of Tonja Stelly)

When Tyler spoke by phone earlier this week, he was already excited for his mom and brother to come to Vancouver this week for the Canucks’ second-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers.

Equally as exciting in the days leading up to Mother’s Day, Quentin will get to meet Tyler’s three children (Tristan, Skylar and Tatum) for the first time.

“It’ll be awesome,” Tyler said in advance of the visit. “The kids will get to meet their uncle, and it’ll be great for them to connect.”

For Tonja, who helped raise two boys with different cultural backgrounds, interests and upbringings, “It’s a pretty special weekend.”

What could be more special?

Well, Quentin has one year left on his contract with the Pistons at $4.2 million and could potentially re-sign long term. Tyler is pulling in $6 million this season and is set to become a free agent July 1.

A lot would have to line up, but it’s awfully tempting to wonder if Tonja’s sons could one day call the same arena and the same city home. After all, the Detroit Red Wings could potentially be in the market for a right-handed defenseman this summer.

“I think they (could use one), too,” Tonja said with a laugh. “That would be so awesome.”

(Photo illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photos courtesy of Tonja Stelly )

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Sports

Disney, ESPN to air Mickey Mouse alt-cast for Knicks-Spurs on Christmas

Published

2 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Disney, ESPN to air Mickey Mouse alt-cast for Knicks-Spurs on Christmas

It will be a Mickey Mouse production for the NBA on ESPN.

On Christmas Day, the network and the league will continue the trend of presenting alternative broadcasts when the New York Knicks face the San Antonio Spurs at noon, Disney announced Wednesday.

While the traditional broadcast will be available on places like ESPN and ABC, ESPN2 will have what is being dubbed as “Dunk The Halls,” the first animated game in NBA history. Both versions will be available on the streaming services, ESPN+ and Disney+.

The presentation will utilize Sony’s “Beyond Sports Technology” by recreating the game action of stars like Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson on Magic Kingdom’s “Main Street USA.” Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy and Chip and Dale will cheer on the players and deliver pretend pre-game and half-time speeches.

At intermission, the Disney characters will compete in a slam dunk contest.

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After a long night of work, Santa’s helpers have been contracted to operate the cameras, while Santa, himself, will work ESPN’s “SkyCam” during the game.

Drew Carter, Monica McNutt and sideline reporter Daisy Duck will be the trio on the broadcast. The traditional telecast will feature Ryan Ruocco and Corey Alexander with Cassidy Hubbarth on the sideline.

ESPN said in its release that fans will also find out if snow will fall on “Main Street,” though it is doubtful any betting sites will take wagers (a white Christmas is a strong favorite, nonetheless). If that is not enough to entice viewers, Goofy will see how many churros he can eat.

The telecast continues the trend of alternative broadcasts. In 2021, the NBA and ESPN teamed up with Disney Marvel characters for an alt-cast.

Required reading

(Photo: Courtesy of ESPN)

Sports

Legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma sets NCAA all-time wins record

Published

3 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma sets NCAA all-time wins record

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Legendary UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma made history Wednesday night with the Huskies’ victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Auriemma became the all-time wins leader in college basketball history for both men and women, collecting his 1,217th victory to pass Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Cardinal coach.

More than 60 former players were at Gampel Pavilion as part of a sellout crowd to watch the Huskies take down the Knights, 85-41. Despite UConn being a heavy favorite in this matchup, Auriemma went about coaching like the 1,216 wins before it, until the final buzzer sounded.

Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma reacts in the first quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the semifinals of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)

The game was also a celebration of Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Dailey’s 40th season leading the Huskies. It was part of a celebration that included a goat petting zoo near the arena during a fan fest, a reference to Auriemma being the greatest of all-time.

While the night was meant to honor Auriemma and Dailey, the win to set the new record led to reflection on just how dominant his program has been at UConn all these years.

GENO AURIEMMA TIES DIVISION I COACHING RECORD AS NO. 2 UCONN BEATS NO. 14 UNC 69-58

The Huskies are 11-time national champions with 23 Final Four appearances, including 15 in the last 16 years.

Auriemma’s .882 win percentage for his career remains an NCAA record as well.

“At the beginning, we really just had our vision and each other to say, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’” Dailey said Tuesday, via ESPN. “And we were able to convince enough people to believe that same dream. And, eventually, 40 years later, a lot more has happened than what we ever thought would have.”

Paige Bueckers and head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies during the first half against the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Moda Center March 30, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Auriemma has only coached at one school, building his squad in Storrs to the point it was nationally recognized as a powerhouse for decades. After the team’s first national title under Auriemma in 1995, UConn was, and still remains, a powerhouse every season.

Auriemma, 70, still wants to coach the Huskies despite admitting to feeling at times it was the right move to walk away.

“As long as I’m here, and I walk in this building, and I see the players here, and I see the people that work in my little world and how we all kind of motivate each other, there’s no other place I would want to be,” he said.

Head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies celebrates after his team’s 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament at Moda Center April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (Soobum Im/Getty Images)

UConn remains unbeaten at 4-0 to start the 2024-25 campaign.

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Sports

Sebastian Mack makes his presence felt in UCLA's win over Idaho State

Published

3 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Sebastian Mack makes his presence felt in UCLA's win over Idaho State

In case anyone had forgotten about him amid all the newcomers dotting UCLA’s roster, Sebastian Mack provided a reminder with every foray toward the basket Wednesday night.

He’s still here. Dismiss him at your own risk.

On a night that the frontcourt duo of Tyler Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr. continued to provide a smorgasbord of offense for the Bruins, Mack was their leading scorer on the way to an 84-70 victory over Idaho State at Pauley Pavilion.

Mack contributed 21 points off the bench on the strength of 15 free throws for the Bruins (4-1), who have won three consecutive games in convincing fashion since their setback against New Mexico earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Bilodeau and Dailey continued to carry a group of starters that hasn’t gotten much offensive production from the guards. It was a similar story Wednesday, with Kobe Johnson, Lazar Stefanovic and Skyy Clark combining for just 10 points.

Bilodeau single-handedly doubled that output with 20 points on eight-for-14 shooting, including four of four from three-point range for a team that made nine of 14 shots from beyond the arc. Dailey added 16 points while making seven of nine shots to go with seven rebounds.

Their efficiency prevented defenders from sagging off to contest UCLA’s most prolific offensive weapon, who continually drove the open lanes that invited a Mack attack. The Bengals kept fouling the sophomore guard and sending him to the free-throw line, where he made 15 of 16 attempts.

Mack’s presence alone could be considered a victory for the Bruins. He could have joined several teammates who departed in the offseason amid the influx of six transfers. He stuck it out, heeding his coach’s advice.

UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau dribbles with his back to the basket, working to get an open shot against Idaho State Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“The last thing you should do,” Mick Cronin said, repeating what he told Mack. “You should stay here, let me coach the hell out of you and get everything out of you that you need to get out of you so you can become who you want to become. Choose hard. It works for people. Choose hard. Don’t choose easy.”

Mack said he trusted his coach’s promise to make him a more complete player.

“Just be able to guard, shoot, score whenever I look at my teammates,” Mack said of the things he’s working on, “just all around, pretty much.”

Mack displayed unselfishness in the first half with a lob to forward William Kyle III for a thunderous dunk that enlivened the crowd.

After using a small lineup in the season’s early going, Cronin said he would eventually like to play the 6-foot-9 Kyle alongside the 6-foot-9 Bilodeau and 6-foot-8 Dailey to combat the larger bodies he expects to face in the Big Ten.

“When those bigger teams come,” Bilodeau said, “we’re definitely going to need the size and the strength in there.”

One possible snag is the lack of a reliable backup big man. Cronin hasn’t been happy with the performance of center Aday Mara, who had two turnovers in as many minutes Wednesday.

“Aday’s got to play better,” Cronin said, “so then we’ve got a sub.”

Since infuriating their coach with a lack of toughness against New Mexico, the Bruins have pleased him with improved competitiveness and defensive intensity.

Next on Cronin’s to-do list? Get better at rebounding, reducing turnovers and making shots.

There was some progress Wednesday in that the Bruins made 27 of 47 shots (a season-high 57.4%) and committed a reasonable 11 turnovers. But they gave up 10 offensive rebounds after putting a lid on the basket in practice this week to emphasize boxing out.

UCLA also exhibited some defensive slippage, particularly over the final 10 minutes, after holding its three previous opponents to 50 points or fewer at home this season.

Idaho State may not have much name recognition, but the Bengals have a proud history against UCLA. Some might say they ended the Bruins basketball dynasty with a 76-75 upset over a Marques Johnson-led team in the second round of the 1977 NCAA tournament.

John Wooden was already gone, you say? True, but the Bruins had extended their run of Final Fours the year after he retired in 1975, only for the team’s streak of 10 consecutive trips to college basketball’s biggest stage to end thanks to a flurry of points and rebounds from Idaho State’s Steve Hayes.

Senior forward Isaiah Griffin looked like he might reprise that role while scoring Idaho State’s first 12 points Wednesday. At that point, the Bengals (2-4) held a 12-10 lead and appeared like they might have a chance for a breakthrough after single-digit losses to Arizona State, USC and Cal State Fullerton.

But Bilodeau and Dailey countered with back-to-back three-pointers to spark a 10-0 run, and Mack kept attacking.