Blogs
Per the Pawtucket Red Sox ...
The International League announced Tuesday that former pitcher Dave Eiland, former manager Bill Evers, and current club executive Mike Tamburro will be inducted into the circuit's Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2012. The three men comprise the second Class elected to the IL Hall by a vote of current Hall of Fame members, longtime executives, broadcasters, and members of the media.
By BRENDAN McGAIR
Sports writer
A little of this, a little of that …
– Prior to the start of Tuesday’s game at league unbeaten West Warwick, an inquiring mind (me) went up to Shea head coach Matt Pita and asked if he was planning to start transfer Michael Neal, who was finally eligible after sitting out the first nine league games. Pita offered a slight grin as he said no before this reporter took the subject a step further, joking that Pita was probably going to wait for 30 seconds to go by before inserting the 6-foot-6 Neal.
By BRENDAN McGAIR
Sports writer
Sunday in Southern New England saw Jack Frost get the last laugh with temperatures in some parts barely climbing above 20 degrees. Certainly a cold day doesn’t make one anxious to head outside to shag fly balls and perform baseball-related exercises geared toward maintaining sharpness.
By BRENDAN McGAIR
Sports writer
As explained earlier this week, relief pitchers Michael Bowden and Scott Atchison stand on the threshold of an interesting 2012 season. Both are out of options, which can be seen as a double-edged sword. (Disclaimer: please read this – http://pawtuckettimes.com/content/out-options-whats-next-atchison-bowden – before continuing on.)
We examined the Charles Correa vs. Kris Dunn matchup in Thursday’s edition, which also appeared online at pawtuckettimes.com. Here’s the link in case you missed it: http://pawtuckettimes.com/content/sra-hoopsters-eye-showdown-vs-new-london.
A little of this, a little of that …
The beauty of this profession is that you can write something one day only to revisit said subject matter(s) a few days later with some additional thoughts/reflections. Disclaimer: both articles subject to further review appeared in Saturday’s print edition.
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Per the PawSox ...
PAWTUCKET - The Pawtucket Red Sox have named Aaron Goldsmith as their new radio broadcaster for the 2012 season. Aaron will join partner Steve Hyder, who returns for his ninth season, in broadcasting all 144 PawSox games on 920 WHJJ and the 12-station PawSox Radio Network. Goldsmith was chosen among more than 150 nationwide applicants to replace Dan Hoard who this fall became the radio voice of the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL.
PROVIDENCE - It was announced Monday that Providence College men's basketball
freshman forward LaDontae Henton (Lansing, Mich.) was named BIG EAST Rookie of the
Week for the second consecutive week. Henton leads the Friars in rebounding (8.5
rpg) and ranks fourth on the squad in scoring (13.7 ppg). He ranks in the top two
in the BIG EAST in scoring amongst rookies and leads all freshman in the league in
rebounding.
Last week, Henton helped pace the Friars to three wins as he averaged 17.7 points,
9.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in a 3-0 week. Henton shot 51.2 percent (22-43) from
PROVIDENCE – Providence is up 30-21 after one half based in large part to attempting 26 free throws. By comparison, PC’s opponent, Southern (La.) University, went to the line two times.
The only reason why the Jaguars, picked to finish last in the SWAC, went to the charity stripe was when PC freshman Brice Kofane was called for a questionable intentional foul. Otherwise it was Southern that felt the wrath of the officials as the visiting Jaguars were called for 15 fouls.
PROVIDENCE – Providence got a head start on Thanksgiving by feasting on an undermanned and overwhelmed Florida A&M squad, 87-65, before 6,052 at The Dunk. The Friars improve to 3-0 on the young season with the next game set for Tuesday at The Dunk against Southern. That game, like the one Saturday, is also part of the San Padre Invitational.
“I love playing at home,” noted Cooley, who encouraged the fans to shower the Friars with support during a first-half timeout. “To me there’s no greater place to play than The Dunk.”
PROVIDENCE – The Providence Friars are taking it to the Florida A&M Rattlers, 39-19, after 20 minutes at The Dunk. The most eye-popping stat is the 14 turnovers the Friars forced, resulting in 20 points.
Florida A&M, which was picked to finish last in the MEAC preseason poll, shot just 27 percent. For the Friars, Bryce Cotton continues to score at a high clip. The sophomore guard notched the team’s first seven points on his way to ending the half with 13.
Per the PC athletic department:
Providence College Athletics, Cox Sports and Coast to Coast Promotional Products To Host 15th Anniversary Celebration Of The 1997 Elite Eight Men’s Basketball Team
The celebration will take place on May 12, 2012.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Providence College Athletics, along with presenting sponsors Cox Sports and Coast to Coast Promotional Products, are pleased to announce that on May 12, 2012, they will hold a 15-year anniversary celebration of the 1997 Elite Eight men’s basketball team.
By BRENDAN McGAIR
A wrap up of Pawtucket's 4-3 win over Rochester on Sunday night ...
PAWTUCKET – As the fireworks drummed away at McCoy Stadium on Sunday, two PawSox players were busy shoving their belongings into bags, as infielder Nate Spears and Kyle Weiland will join the Red Sox in Toronto on Monday.
Everyone should breath a major sigh of relief that basketball wunderkind Ricky Ledo will not verbalize his choice of college at a Providence bar, which appeared to be the plan as recently as this past weekend.
Tuesday morning saw word come down that Bruce Gammell is leaving his athletic director post at St. Raphael Academy. The news comes just one day after the official start of fall practice for sports besides football.
Gammell was at the helm when SRA capped off an undefeated varsity football season with a Division I championship in 2007. Last winter saw St. Raphael capture the boys’ basketball state championship under the 16-team open tournament format that was introduced for the 2010-11 season.
By TERRY NAU
Former Pawtucket resident Mason Williams, a 2010 fourth-round draft pick of the New York Yankees, is hitting .338 for Staten Island this summer.
ESPN.com baseball analyst Keith Law said some favorable things about Williams -- son of former Patriots wide receiver Derwin Williams -- on his weekly chat. Here's a link. Go down to 12:36 p.m. and a question from Jared.
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/39485/mlb-insider-keith-law
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No matter how teams fare on Wednesday, they will return to action on Thursday. Such clarification was learned Wednesday afternoon, just a few hours before the opening round of the double-elimination, four-team regional tournaments were scheduled to get underway.
Here’s how the playoff schedule shakes down from Wednesday until the conclusion of the first round:
Thursday: Winners play at higher seed; loser play at higher seed.
Friday: Team that won 2 games is off. Teams remaining play at higher seed.
Saturday: Team that is undefeated is home team vs. Team with 1 loss.
The brackets for the first round of Division I & II tournaments – the format being double elimination spread over four four-team subdivisions – were released Monday night. The Blackstone Valley is represented with three teams in Div. I – Lincoln, St. Raphael, East Providence – and three from Div. II – Woonsocket, Tolman, North Smithfield.
It should be noted that East Providence was awarded the 16th and final seed in Division I, which saw the Townies along with Cumberland, Mount St. Charles, Toll Gate all finish the regular season at 7-10.
PROVIDENCE - We won't know the complete rundown of the 2011-12 Providence College men's basketball schedule until later this summer, but it was revealed Thursday that PC will travel to South Carolina on Thursday, Dec. 1 as part of the first-ever Big East/SEC Challenge. This ESPN-driven event will be shown on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
PAWTUCKET -- Ryan Kalish's all-out style resulted in the outfielder leaving Thursday's game with an apparent elbow injury. Playing center field, Kalish dove to take a base hit away from Syracuse's Michael Aubrey in the top of the second inning. The injury seemed to occur when Kalish's right elbow hit the turf just as he made the catch.
Kalish stayed on the ground for several seconds as every PawSox player ran out to the outfield to see what the extent of the injury was. He walked off the field under the assistance of PawSox trainer Jon Jochim, holding his elbow.
