Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh banned from final 3 regular-season games over sign-stealing allegations

By RALPH D. RUSSO

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The Big Ten Conference banned Jim Harbaugh from coaching at Michigan’s three remaining regular-season games on Friday, defying a warning from the second-ranked Wolverines in an extraordinary confrontation over an alleged...

Local roundup: Athol football team reaches several milestones in win over Chicopee

After falling in the opening round of the MIAA Division 8 state tournament, the Athol football team got back in the win column on Thursday. Taking on Chicopee in a non-playoff game at O’Brien Field, the Bears raced out to a 26-0 lead at the end of the...

Cross country: Div. 3 state qualifier meet set for Saturday at Northfield Mountain

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

The top Division 3 high school cross country runners in the Commonwealth will travel to Northfield Mountain Recreation Center on Saturday to compete in the MIAA Div. 3 state qualifier. The meet will be contested with three boys and three girls waves,...

Mahar Boosters want to name concession stand after longtime member

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE – If the Mahar School Committee votes in affirmative on Jan. 11, spectators at Senators football games next year might buy their hot dogs and candy at the Larry Fisher Snack Shack.Booster Club President Charles “Joey” Verhey approached the...

Div. 5 volleyball: Turners Falls sweeps Hopedale, punches Final Four ticket (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

TURNERS FALLS — After years of knocking on the door of the semifinals, dropping matches in the state quarters the last two seasons, the Turners Falls volleyball team wasn’t going to be denied this time around. Hosting No. 11 Hopedale in the MIAA Div....

UMass basketball: Minutewomen fall short at Northeastern, 78-74

A late surge by the Massachusetts women's basketball team wasn’t enough against Northeastern on Thursday. The Minutewomen trailed 70-65 with 3:05 to play when the Huskies ripped off five straight points to take a commanding 75-65 lead with 45 seconds...

Div. 4 volleyball: Frontier advances to third straight Final Four via 3-1 win over Joseph Case

By GEORGE MILLER

SOUTH DEERFIELD — If 2023 is in fact his final season at the helm of Frontier girls’ volleyball, Sean MacDonald isn’t about to disembark the postseason train.“That’s OK with me. I paid full fare, so I might as well take the ride,” said MacDonald,...

UMass hockey: Minutemen welcome Vermont for weekend pair at the Mullins Center

By HANNAH BEVIS

After the high of an overtime win against Northeastern and the rest from a long weekend has worn off, the UMass ice hockey team is back and ready to rumble against Hockey East foe Vermont this weekend. On paper, this should be a pair of very winnable...

Boys soccer: Late goal lifts Monomoy past Frontier in Div. 4 Round of 16 (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Monomoy boys soccer team wasn’t going to go away easily against Frontier. The ninth-seeded Sharks made the long bus ride from Harwich to South Deerfield to take on the eight-seeded Redhawks in the MIAA Div. 4 Round of 16 on...

MIAA tourneys: Ashley Taylor’s double overtime goal lifts Frontier field hockey past Joseph Case, into state quarterfinals

By JEFF LAJOIE

With a penalty shootout looming in hostile territory, Ashley Taylor and the Frontier field hockey team took matters into their own hands on Wednesday.Taylor buried the game-winning goal with just three minutes remaining in double overtime, lifting the...

Local roundup: Greenfield's Racquel Provost heading to NCAA Tournament with Assumption field hockey team

Greenfield’s Racquel Provost has her field hockey career at Assumption University off and running on a high note this fall. Provost, who started at Greenfield High School before graduating from Northfield Mount Hermon last spring, got on the field...

Through the Maroon: Amherst’s Dwayne Killings returns with Albany 

By GARRETT COTE, TOM JOHNSTON and HANNAH BEVIS

Garrett CoteFor the second time in as many seasons, Albany men’s basketball head coach Dwayne Killings visited the Mullins Center to match up against a Minutemen team he once suited up for in the early 2000s.Killings, an Amherst native, grew up going...

UMass basketball: Josh Cohen, Minutemen rout Albany in season-opening win

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Josh Cohen’s second three-pointer of the night splashed through the hoop to put the UMass men’s basketball team ahead by 28 points midway through the second half. He turned and smiled while nodding his head, holding three fingers up in the...

Div. 4 field hockey: OT goal sinks Greenfield in Round of 16 state tournament loss to Sutton

Come the latter rounds of the state tournament, margins between opponents are razor-thin.Such was the case in central Mass. on Tuesday, as the 13th-seeded Greenfield field hockey team saw the 2023 season reach its conclusion in overtime. Host Sutton,...

UMass basketball: Minutewomen get by Saint Peter’s for season-opening 56-44 victory

By HANNAH BEVIS

AMHERST – The UMass women’s basketball team put away its first win of the season in convincing fashion over Saint Peter’s Monday night, picking up a 56-44 non-conference victory at the Mullins Center. Junior Stefanie Kulesza put on a show for the...

H.S. Roundup: Mahar boys soccer flips script on Ware to earn spot in Round of 16

After falling to Ware 5-0 in the semifinals of the Western Mass. Class C tournament, Mahar boys soccer coach Dan Guertin had to decide whether to shake things up or run things back when No. 17 Ware came to Orange to take on the 16th-seeded Senators in...

Div. 4 volleyball: Frontier sweeps Lowell Catholic to advance to MIAA quarterfinals (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Frontier girls volleyball coach Sean MacDonald knew Lowell Catholic, the Redhawks’ opponent in the MIAA Div. 4 Round of 16, was a scrappy group that wasn’t going to allow his side to cruise into the quarterfinals.It played out...

UMass football: Minutemen relish their first two-game winning streak since 2018

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — The largest crowd at McGuirk Alumni Stadium in at least the last two seasons was treated to a second straight UMass football victory for the first time in five years. The Minutemen started slowly, trailing 7-0, but ripped off the game’s next...

Fit to Play with Jim Johnson: Achievement by proxy

In my October column I wrote about raising athletic children. Parenting is a big job and we all know that it is not easy. Certainly, it is normal for parents to take pride in their child’s success. Parents routinely make the effort for their child to...

Jartavius Martin’s late interception helps Commanders stun Patriots 20-17

By KYLE HIGHTOWER

FOXBOROUGH — Sam Howell passed for 325 yards and a touchdown and Jartavius Martin had a late interception to help the Washington Commanders hold on and beat the New England Patriots 20-17 on Sunday. It marked the first time in Howell’s career he...