News sports 2008-04-29 Andanh.com

Weary Sox starting to make excuses Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:06:00 EDT
It is certainly true that the Boston Red Sox have had a tough schedule to start the season. Boston had a shortened spring training due to its opening series in Japan. The Red Sox, for obvious reasons, have been playing matinee games after night games on getaway days. They have had short series with the Indians and Yankees. They've played 20 consecutive games in this stretch, leading into yesterday's second off day of the season.

Guttenplan: Inconsistency is the problem at Triton Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:06:00 EDT
Dan Guttenplan
The ever-growing level of distrust surrounding the Triton Regional High athletic department has many interested parties awaiting the next hiring.
Triton's interview committee recently narrowed the search for a new football coach down to two candidates; Triton athletic director David Dempsey would not confirm the name of either candidate yesterday.

Local sports briefs Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:06:00 EDT
Fitness
The annual Peak Performance Speed/Conditioning clinic will run June 25 to Aug. 18 for male and female athletes in grades 6-12. The clinic will be held at various locations including Newburyport, Amesbury and Triton. Strength and conditioning coach Jason Beauparlant will run the clinic, which is designed to increase an athlete's speed, change of direction, explosiveness, and flexibility and prevent injury. For more information visit peakperformancecamp.net or e-mail jason@peakperformancecamp.net.

Local schedule Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:05:00 EDT
Today
BASEBALL: North Andover at Newburyport (3:45 p.m.); Wilmington at Amesbury (3:45 p.m.); Triton at Notre Dame (6:30 p.m.); Georgetown at Ipswich (3:45 p.m.); Masconomet at Pentucket (3:45 p.m.)

Johnson scores 35, Hawks surprise Celtics again 97-92 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:05:00 EDT
ATLANTA — Forget about a Boston sweep. The Hawks are headed back to Beantown all tied up with the mighty Celtics.
Joe Johnson scored 35 points — 20 in the fourth quarter — and Josh Smith added 28 points and seven blocks for Atlanta, which surprised the Celtics again 97-92 last night to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

Biron strong again to lift Flyers to 3-2 Game 3 win Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:03:00 EDT
PHILADELPHIA — Derian Hatcher was like all the other Flyers fans who watched the last 15 minutes on TV. He did it in the locker room, feeling sick, stressed and helpless as the lead nearly slipped away.

Policy change Triton takes different course of action when hiring coaches Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:32:00 EDT
In the wake of Triton's third coaching change under first-year athletic director David Dempsey, the school's hiring and firing practices have come under question.
Comparing Triton's policies with two other River Rival schools — Amesbury and Georgetown — Triton has glaring differences.

Statement game: Georgetown bests Kneeland, Triton Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:26:00 EDT
GEORGETOWN — Cam Kneeland's torrid start was perhaps the biggest factor in the Triton baseball team's 4-0 record leading into the school's April vacation last week.
But the Vikings senior, who leads all River Rival players in home runs and batting average, wasn't able to prevent his squad from completing April vacation with a three-game losing streak Saturday.

Clancy, Holmes lead Clippers back to .500 mark Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:24:00 EDT
Baseball
Newburyport 2, Rockport 1
Joe Clancy earned the victory in his pitching debut for the Clippers (5-5 overall, 3-1 Cape Ann League). Kevin Holmes earned a two-inning save. Holmes also had three hits, three stolen bases and a run scored. Clancy had two hits, including a game-winning single in the fifth inning. DJ Grabowski scored the game-winning run. Richie Burke had two hits and two stolen bases.

Grounded in Atlanta Tuesday April 29, 2008
ATLANTA - As far as Paul Pierce was concerned, there was no reason for the Celtics to be concerned. The Celtics captain chalked up their Game 3 playoff loss to Atlanta as an aberration.

Numbers add up to trouble for Sox Tuesday April 29, 2008
Projecting season stats on four weeks of work is dicey business.

Riley calls it quits on coaching career Tuesday April 29, 2008
MIAMI - Pat Riley's worst season as coach of the Miami Heat will be his last.

Ron Perry Jr. tops at HC Tuesday April 29, 2008
Sports Street has been asked to settle a friendly McCarthy "family feud." J.P. McCarthy and his wife, Pat, both graduates of Holy Cross, differ on who was HC's greatest athlete. "Names we came up with include Bill Osmanski, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Togo Palazzi, Gordie Lockbaum, Louis Sockalexis, Ron Perry Sr. and Jr.," J.P. said

Mussina helps Yanks get split Tuesday April 29, 2008
Mike Mussina earned his 253rd win, tying Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell on the career list, and New York made the most of its five hits in a victory over host Cleveland last night.

Magic advance behind Howard Tuesday April 29, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. - Dwight Howard had 21 points and 21 rebounds and the Orlando Magic advanced to second round of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, beating the Toronto Raptors, 102-92, last night to close out their series in five games.

Pierce may appeal fine Tuesday April 29, 2008
ATLANTA - Celtics captain Paul Pierce was fined $25,000 yesterday by the NBA for making "menacing gestures" during Game 3 Saturday here at Philips Arena, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he expects him to appeal the fine and have it rescinded.

LaChapelle honor is overdue Tuesday April 29, 2008
It was never really a case of if Ken LaChapelle would be inducted into the Hall of Fame, just a matter of when.

Telegram & Gazette Central Mass. Media Poll Tuesday April 29, 2008
The Telegram & Gazette Central Mass. media baseball and softball polls (with record, last week's final ranking, first-place votes and total points; points are tabulated on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis):

Fantastic only word to describe spring fishing Tuesday April 29, 2008
There is only one word to describe a spring fishing season that has fishermen weighing in impressive catches of multiple species before April 30 - fantastic.

Biron's 32 saves lift Philly past the Habs Tuesday April 29, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - "Mar-ty! "Mar-ty!" "Mar-ty!"

Change is not on BCS horizon Tuesday April 29, 2008
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - As they kicked off three days of meetings at an oceanfront resort, the Bowl Championship Series overseers appear to have a better chance of getting a sunburn than making any major changes in the controversial system.

TV, Radio Tuesday April 29, 2008

The Week Ahead Tuesday April 29, 2008

Johnson haunts old team; Hawks tie series at 2 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

ATLANTA — Forget about a Boston sweep. The Hawks are headed back to Boston all tied up with the mighty Celtics.

Stewart has plenty of reasons to walk Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If winning really and truly is the most important thing to Tony Stewart, then he'll be hard pressed to find an acceptable reason to leave Joe Gibbs Racing.

Seekonk Speedway set to open season Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

Seekonk Speedway will hold its third and final practice sussion Saturday, and then kick its 63rd season off for real on Sunday.

UMASS DARTMOUTH: Offense a must for men's lacrosse team Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

DARTMOUTH — Kevin Mahoney wants his UMass Dartmouth men's lacrosse team to take its shots today against Plymouth State University.

UMASS DARTMOUTH: Spang, Corsairs set to make strong run in LEC lacrosse tourney Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

DARTMOUTH — Marie Spang is always on the move.

H.S. NOTEBOOK: Heacox holds court at ORR Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

It was expected of Regis Chang to deliver singles victories on a regular basis to the Old Rochester boys tennis team. The same wasn't expected on Courts 2 and 3, where the graduations of Jordan Sattelmair and Matt Lawrence took big bites out of the...

H.S. ROUNDUP: Nogueira's big day propels NBH girls lacrosse Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

Drea Nogueira had a hand in 10 goals as the New Bedford girls lacrosse team posted a 13-6 win at Quincy on Monday.

Report: Clemens had decade-long affair with country music star Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

NEW YORK — Roger Clemens had a decade-long relationship with country star Mindy McCready that began when she was a 15-year-old aspiring singer and the pitcher was the Red Sox ace, the Daily News reported.

Derby still a dirt-y business Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The dirt will be flying when 20 horses stampede around the first turn at the Kentucky Derby, and more than 150,000 fans will hear the thundering of hooves down the stretch to the finish line.

Major BCS changes unlikely Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — As they kicked off three days of meetings at an oceanfront resort, the Bowl Championship Series overseers appear to have a better chance of getting a sunburn than making any major changes in the controversial system.

Former Pats punter Patrick dies at 55 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

FOXBORO — Former Patriots punter Mike Patrick has died. He was 55.

Hawks get even with Celtics Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

ATLANTA — Forget about a Boston sweep. The Hawks are headed back to Beantown all tied up with the mighty Celtics.

College notes: Falmouth's McNee a big hit at WPI Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

Not until his recent power surge had Scott McNee ever hit more than one home run in a single game. Not in Little League, high school, American Legion baseball or even at Worcester Polytechnic Institute had he ever gone deep twice in one contest.

Sox open Fenway series with Jays Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

BOSTON — Through thick and thin, sickness and in health, the Red Sox played 20 straight games before yesterday's scheduled off day.

School roundup: Boys lacrosse, boys volleyball Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00 EST

HARWICH — Mike Aiesi scored three goals to lead the Cape Tech Regional High boys lacrosse team to a 9-7 victory over Northeast Voke Tech yesterday.

The week ahead in Game of the Week land Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:26:00 UTC

With the wet weather finally upon us, I've been a bit forced to move my Game of the Week schedule around. Don't fear, though, Western Mass. sports fans. We'll still have plenty of action for you.

Here's what to watch for the next 10 days:

Friday, May 2: Westfield vs. Longmeadow boys lacrosse, 3:30 p.m.

Monday, May 5: Longmeadow vs. Minnechaug girls lacrosse, 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 7: Cathedral vs. Westfield baseball, 4:00 p.m.

Keep an eye right here on The Varsity Voice for previews of these games, followed by our usual extensive coverage!

SPORTS BRIEF: Rookie Wrestler Wins Position at FILAWorld Team Trials in May Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:24:20 GMT
Freshman Corey Jantzen has the chance to translate his strong performance at the end of the college season onto the international stage.

SPORTS BRIEF: Dallas Cowboys Draft Harvard Senior Brecher in Weekend Draft Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:22:58 GMT
One year after the likes of Clifton Dawson, Matt Farbotko, and Mike Berg found themselves fighting for spots on NFL rosters, senior offensive tackle Andrew Brecher joined the ranks by signing with the Dallas Cowboys following the weekend’s draft.

Athlete of the Week: Christensen Lands on Top at Penn Relays Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:08:03 GMT
While junior Becky Christensen was busy last week getting old injuries examined, the Penn Relays were the farthest thing from her mind. But when doctors said her foot was cleared for jumping, she decided at the last minute to head off to Pennsylvania to compete with some of the best high jumpers in the country.

Crimson Sails Ahead to Championships Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:06:14 GMT
Harvard hit the waters hard in Geneva, N.Y. last weekend, hoping to finish in the top nine at the ICSA Coed Dinghy National Semifinals and claim a spot at the National Championships in June. Despite poor conditions, the squad nabbed seventh with 112, finishing just behind Stanford.

Harvard Secures Ivy Title As Team Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:04:37 GMT
As a reporter, I’ve learned that all coaches and players like to give you the whole “it was a team effort” speech. They like to throw out words like “chemistry,” “teamwork,” and “hard work.” Win or lose, they want to make clear that they do it as a team. So it came as no surprise when, after the Harvard women’s golf team won the Ivy League championship last weekend, coach Kevin Rhoads stressed the fact that the victory could be attributed to his entire squad.

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