Archive - Sports Article
March 1st, 2013
PROVIDENCE — As if on cue, God Shammgod started talking about Ricky Ledo’s situation.
Mind you, there wasn’t a lead-in question posed to Shammgod with the intent of correlating his two-year playing stint at Providence College to the same temptations of leaving school prematurely that Ledo will deal with soon enough. Sitting in Alumni Hall’s cafeteria the other day, the conversation with the now 36-year-old Shammgod began with how much he’s enjoyed being back on PC’s campus as an undergrad student and a member of Ed Cooley’s basketball staff.
February 27th
PAWTUCKET – During a practice session on Tuesday afternoon, St. Raphael Academy head coach Fred Saunders had a little chat with sophomore guard Kaylee Oliver, who transferred from Swansea's Case High before this academic year.
PAWTUCKET — You could say Henry Coleman goes above and beyond the call of duty. Then again, when you have a zest for leaving no stone unturned and the passion is vehemently apparent, it’s never perceived as work.
CUMBERLAND — Basketball-wise, Tom Lazaras, Mitchell Baxter and Trent Vasey weren’t going to teach Ben Bradley, Dylan Boisclair, Rob Reedy and Greg Joubert anything new. Yet in order to reach the championship destination that Cumberland High’s basketball camp dropped anchor upon last weekend, the first group of Clipper triplets had to do some gardening.
February 25th
After the four, four-team regions that comprise the R.I. boys’ basketball open tournament were revealed, clever minds declared Region IV “The Blackstone Valley Invitational.”
The folks at The Prout School may feel slighted with such a bold declaration, but look at the rest of the region’s participants. Here you have two of the three division champions in Cumberland and North Smithfield along with Shea.
In other words, the moniker fits.
February 24th
PROVIDENCE — Winning has become contagious for Cumberland High’s athletic department, spreading from one season to the next.
With the fall producing a Super Bowl champion along with the state’s top male cross-country runner (Trevor Crawley), the pressure fell squarely on the Clippers’ winter sports’ entries to keep the good times flowing. Crawley kept up his end of the bargain when the swift 12th grader captured the 3,000-meter run at the R.I. Indoor Track & Field Championships two weekends ago.
PROVIDENCE – Immediately after Lincoln High senior quad-captain Nik Zicuis had posted a 10-5 triumph over La Salle Academy senior John Georges in the 220-pound weight class, he hustled to the opposing coaches' corner and accepted congratulatory handshakes.
He then sprinted to the opposite side and leaped into head coach Mike Tuorto's arms; while hugging him and grinning at able assistant Anthony Turchetta, Zicuis threw his fist into the air, index finger pointing skyward.
February 22nd
PROVIDENCE — While this may appear to fall under the category of “much ado about nothing,” the idea of late night college basketball excursions and the effect they have on the participants seems a subject worthy of exploration.
February 21st
BURRILLVILLE — With the Division III playoffs a weekend away and teams across the division trying to play their best hockey down the stretch, Tolman could ill afford to put forth the performance it did against Ponaganset on Thursday afternoon.
The Tigers struggled with penalties throughout the first period and took just 17 shots on the Chieftains en route to a 3-1 loss at Levy Arena that finalized the league’s postseason picture.
JOHNSTON — Its star player might have been lost to a head injury in the early stages of the game, but that didn’t prevent Lincoln from giving one of the Division II’s best teams a hard-fought battle to the end on Thursday night.
Host Johnston celebrated its Senior Night with a victory over the Lions in the Division II-North regular-season finale for both playoff teams, but the Lions turned in strong games defensively and on the glass and gave the Panthers a run for their money before winding up with a 36-34 loss.
CUMBERLAND – As far as Cumberland High head coach Steve Gordon is concerned, the beauty of the Rhode Island Interscholastic Wrestling Championships is that anything can happen at any given moment; that you can toss all conventional wisdom aside due to the glory at stake.
February 20th
PAWTUCKET — Conducting a job interview via Skype didn’t impede Jeff Levering in the slightest.
Staring into a screen that contained the faces of Pawtucket Red Sox President Mike Tamburro, General Manager Lou Schwechheimer and Vice President of Public Relations Bill Wanless, Levering regaled the panel with tales of a teenage Dustin Pedroia. Picture two 16-year-olds playing on the same summertime baseball team and the lifelong memories that were forged.
WAKEFIELD — They're called “bunnies” for a reason.
Shea High had a lot of elementary looks at the bucket in the initial half of this R.I. Division II Tournament quarterfinal tilt against North Providence on Wednesday night, but not many tickled the twine.
And, while the Raiders' frustration was obvious, head coach Matt Pita gave them a more-than-positive outlook after heading into their locker room behind, 28-24, at the break.
February 19th
PROVIDENCE — There’s no need for Lee Goldsbrough to conceal his true emotions. For the first time in his Providence College tenure, basketball is fun.
PROVIDENCE --- St. Raphael Academy picked a bad time to endure its worst offensive performance of the season.
Needing a victory over Moses Brown on Tuesday night in order to clinch sole possession of the Division II-Central crown, the Saints found themselves struggling with their shot from start to finish and left the Quakers’ Waughtel-Howe Field House with an ugly 47-40 defeat.
February 18th
PROVIDENCE — Cumberland High senior co-captain Andrew Bauer took a specific but incredibly-optimistic plan into these R.I. Boys Swimming Championships on Monday night.
It was his lofty goal to break his own school mark in the 200-yard freestyle, then set new CHS marks at the 500 distance, not to mention the 50 and 100 freestyles.
EXETER — It was a mighty difficult end to Tolman High's post-season hopes. The Tigers surrendered a game-high 26 points to Exeter/West Greenwich standout Jack Livsey, who notched 22 in the final and overtime stanzas, and the Scarlet Knights eked out an 87-84 win in a R.I. Division II preliminary playoff on Monday.
February 17th
PROVIDENCE — Erik Mateo understands the tradition he upheld Saturday, his winning leap of 6 feet, 2 inches ensuring that the boys’ indoor high jump title will remain property of the Central Falls track program for another 12 months.
PROVIDENCE — Out with the “old,” in with the new.
For Cumberland High senior co-captain Courtney Kent, she couldn't have fathomed a better way to close her interscholastic career at the R.I. Girls Swimming Championships, held Saturday afternoon at the recently-finished Brown University natatorium.
Really, who would argue with two individual crowns, not to mention a relay title and a runner-up in another?
February 14th
WARWICK — It was supposed to be a wild free-for-all, unbeaten Cumberland High battling flawless Bishop Hendricken for bragging rights in the state's top division.
Instead, the Hawks strung together seven straight triumphs between 160 pounds and 106 to sail to a stellar 47-9 dual-meet beatdown of the Clippers at the hosts' gymnasium on Thursday night.
