Sports
UMass football: Amid coaching search, pair of blunders has athletic department in the spotlight
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — In the midst of trying to hire a new head football coach, the University of Massachusetts athletic department can’t seem to get out of its own way.While Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford hasn’t addressed the fanbase since firing former head...
Bulletin board: Day 1 of the Massachusetts Shotgun Deer Hunting Season
Sunny skies and cool temperatures greeted local hunters for opening day of the 2024 Massachusetts Shotgun Deer Hunting Season on Monday.Area checking stations were steady, highlighted by 32 deer reported at Gould’s Sugarhouse in Shelburne.The largest...
Fit to Play with Jim Johnson: Lessons of the playground
There was a vacant lot on the corner of 10th Street and Avenue H. I learned to play there, meeting up daily with other children in the neighborhood after school. There is something irreplaceable about unsupervised play; many lessons are learned. We...
UMass soccer: Minutemen continue Cinderella NCAA tourney run with 1-0 win over Virginia in Sweet 16
Three up, three down for the UMass men’s soccer team in the NCAA Division I tournament.The Minutemen’s Cinderella season continued as they defeated No. 11-ranked Virginia 1-0 in the Sweet 16 for their third win of the big dance.UMass (13-3-5) applied...
Chad Chatlos of TurnkeyZRG talks UMass football head coaching search: “If you get it right, this is a five, six, seven, eight-year type decision”
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — With Saturday’s 47-42 loss to UConn at McGuirk Alumni Stadium concluding the 2024 UMass football season, all eyes – if they weren’t already – now turn to the Minutemen’s head-coaching vacancy.And helping UMass Director of Athletics Ryan...
UMass football: Minutemen offense puts up season-high in points but UConn holds on for 47-42 win in finale
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Oh, so close.That has certainly been the theme for this year’s UMass football team. And it was again, one final time on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium as the Minutemen fell 47-42 to UConn – which played spoiler to UMass’ senior...
UMass hockey: Minutemen take care of business in 3-1 win over Army
By RYAN AMES
AMHERST – The UMass hockey team used a pair of second-period power play goals to propel past Army in its 3-1 win on Friday at the Mullins Center.Cole O'Hara and Daniel Jencko each notched man-advantage strikes less than five minutes apart during the...
UMass football: Minutemen have one last shot to get first win over FBS program in finale against UConn
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Although the UMass football team didn’t win either of its last two contests, it put together arguably its best eight consecutive quarters all season long. The Minutemen dropped a crushing 35-34 overtime game to Liberty two weeks ago before...
UMass soccer: Minutemen looking to keep magical run alive in Sweet 16 against Virginia
By RYAN AMES
The UMass men's soccer team will look to keep its impressive postseason run going when it matches up against No. 11 Virginia during the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division 1 tournament Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.The Minutemen (12-3-5) took down...
Keeping Score with Chip Ainsworth: UMass football blame pie
Good morning!My friend John Kennedy thinks I’m too hard on UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford. True, Bamford deserves credit for overseeing successful men’s and women’s soccer teams and the field hockey team that reached the NCAA Final Four and,...
Pioneer to host Celebration of Life Saturday to honor former AD Bill Messer, who died at age 101 last week
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
There aren’t many who had a bigger impact on the Northfield-Bernardston community than Bill Messer. Messer, born in Bernardston in 1923, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II before attending Springfield College, later getting a job at...
Thanksgiving football: Hot start more than enough to propel Athol past rival Mahar, 26-0 (PHOTOS)
By GEORGE MILLER
ORANGE — The lessons learned the first time around served Athol very well indeed during Thursday's Thanksgiving rematch.Three first-quarter touchdown passes set the tone early for the Bears and the ground game helped do the rest, along without a stout...
UMass hockey: Minutemen welcome Army for Black Friday matinee
By RYAN AMES
The UMass hockey team only has one game on the docket this week as it’ll welcome Army to the Mullins Center for a Black Friday matinee.The Minutemen (6-6-2) are coming off an up-and-down weekend – first with a win against Harvard before a loss to...
Thanksgiving football: Smith Vocational knocks off Franklin Tech for the first time since 2018 following 16-8 OT win
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
EASTHAMPTON — It was true late November football in New England at Mountain View School on Thursday. Smith Vocational hosted Franklin Tech for the sixth Turkey Day showdown between the two rivals, and with driving rain coming down throughout the...
UMass basketball: Second half spurt helps Minutemen take down Harvard, halt 5-game losing streak
By GARRETT COTE
It may not have been the prettiest of games by the UMass men’s basketball team, which headed into halftime tied with Harvard 24-24 as neither team playing exactly inspired. But the Minutemen woke up in the second half and dominated the glass en route...
Thanksgiving Football: One of state’s oldest rivalries, Athol-Mahar to meet for 88th Turkey Day contest
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
It wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving without an Athol-Mahar showdown on the gridiron. A tradition dating back to 1894, the Bears and Senators will square off for the 88th time on Turkey Day in what is one of the oldest Thanksgiving rivalries in the...
Thanksgiving Football: Rising programs Franklin Tech, Smith Vocational gear up for 6th Turkey Day showdown
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
While Thanksgiving football games are largely diminishing around the state, there’s one new Turkey Day rivalry that’s growing each year. Franklin Tech and Smith Vocational began playing on Thanksgiving in 2018 and since that time, both programs are on...
High school basketball: Pioneer’s Scott Thayer, Mahar’s Chad Softic receive 2024 MBCA Coach of the Year awards
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
A pair of impressive runs to the MIAA Division 5 Final Four a season ago earned a pair of longtime local boys basketball coaches some hardware. Pioneer boys basketball coach Scott Thayer and Mahar boys basketball coach Chad Softic were both awarded...
Bulletin Board: Gill CC Woodworking wins Greenfield Touch Football League title following 12-0 win over the Titans
Pat Viencek threw touchdown passes to Adam Bastarache and Cody Underwood on Sunday in the Greenfield Touch Football League championship game, leading Gill CC Woodworking to the title with a 12-0 victory over the Titans. Jaylen Sanders, Alex Bourassa...
UMass AD Ryan Bamford speaks on football coach Don Brown’s firing: “We just didn’t feel like we were able to turn the corner competitively”
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Perhaps the passionate followers of the UMass football team weren’t necessarily surprised when news hit last week that Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford had fired former Minutemen head coach Don Brown after a 6-28 record with the team; it...
Your Daily Puzzles
An approachable redesign to a classic. Explore our "hints."
A quick daily flip. Finally, someone cracked the code on digital jigsaw puzzles.
Chess but with chaos: Every day is a unique, wacky board.
Word search but as a strategy game. Clearing the board feels really good.
Align the letters in just the right way to spell a word. And then more words.