The last competitor of the 2009-10 season in UMass Athletics will be in action this morning as Lisa Wilson competes in the NCAA East Regional in Greensboro, N.C. She will compete in the hammer throw with the event getting underway at 11 a.m. Follow the Live Video and Live Results. Just Take A Minute will take a break over Memorial Day Weekend and returns with the start of a new month on Tuesday as June arrives. JTAM also has stories on the passing of former Athletic Director Frank McInerney.
In the Springfield Republican, Ron Chimelis has a story on the passing of former Athletic Director Frank McInerney at the age of 84. He was the man responsible for hiring John Calipari.
Big news out of Ann Arbor, Michigan is that the UMass game on Sept. 18 will be a 12 p.m., kickoff and televised on the Big Ten Network. This gametime nearly completes all the times for the 2010 UMass Football Schedule. Earlier in the week, it was announced that the game at Towson on Oct. 4 will be a 7 p.m., start and the season finale at Rhode Island will kickoff at 12:30 p.m. JTAM also has some basketball tidbits on a light news day.
FOOTBALL
Michigan has announced the football game vs. UMass on Sept. 18 will kickoff at Noon and televised by the Big Ten Network. Add to this, the recent time announcements from Towson (at 7 p.m.) and Rhode Island (12:30 p.m.,) and the only gametime unknown is for the Sept, 25 game at Stony Brook, which is expected to be in the evening.
WNST has a blog which mentions UMass alum Matt Lawrence and how he has been dealing with a knee injury in OTAs with the Baltimore Ravens.
BASKETBALL
The Boston Celtics and UMass' Tony Gaffney failed to lock up the Eastern Conference Championship, falling to the Orlando Magic, 113-92 last night in Orlando. The C's will try to secure a berth in the NBA Finals on Friday.
The Associated Press has a nice feature story on UMass alum Tony Barbee, the new head coach at Auburn. Among the items in the story is the following bit of information that will be of interest to UMass fans: "His wife, Holly, will join him in Auburn after their two kids finish the school year on Friday. Wednesday, the only personal touches in his office were the UMass alumni magazine still unopened on his desk and a large iced coffee from McDonald's that is a staple since Auburn doesn't have a branch of his favorite doughnut shop."
There are no student-athlete birthdays today.
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Another UMass product has claimed a championship. Hockey's Will Ortiz played a key role for the Cincinnati Cyclones, who won the ECHL Championship, the Kelly Cup over the weekend. Also in today's in Just Take A Minute, check out more updates on UMass alums in minor league baseball including Matt Torra, who pitched eight scoreless innings for Reno last night.
HOCKEY
The Cincinnati Cyclones have captured the ECHL Championship, winning the Kelly Cup with UMass' Will Ortiz playing a key role. Here the recap of the game-five win over Idaho over the weekend. After playing just one regular-season game, Ortiz played in 12 postseason contests and had a goal and five assists.
BASKETBALL
Masslive has a story on UMass product Tony Gaffney and his interesting role with the Boston Celtics as they seek to win the Eastern Conference tonight. Erik Gallant writes this piece based on the Boston Globe story from a few days ago.
BASEBALL
Matt Torra moved to 3-2 with the Reno Aces last night.
With the Reno AcesMatt Torra threw eight scoreless innings to earn a 3-0 win over Albuquerque on Tuesday night. Torra (3-2) scattered 10 hits, walking one and striking out five batters in a spotless 104-pitch effort.
The Boston Globe has a very interesting story on system-sister school UMass Boston, which has made the Division III NCAA Tournament despite some amazing obstacles.
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Don't Miss This:Tony Gaffney and his Boston Celtics will look at wrap up the Eastern Conference Championship tonight against the Orlando Magic. Watch it on ESPN.
Hello Tuesday! Time to take a look at UMass alums in minor league baseball as well as in Major League Lacrosse. Check out 2009 alum Mitchell Clegg, who is now 5-0, with Single-A Hagerstown. Just Take A Minute also has a nice story on Vladimir Ducasse in the Newark Star-Ledger as the UMass product is drawing high praise from Jets coach Rex Ryan.
FOOTBALL
The Newark Star-Ledger has a sensational feature on Vladimir Ducasse. Check out this quote from Rex Ryan: "I have a funny feeling that he's going to be a terrific player for us, I really do."
Also on Ducasse, RotoWorld has an update on the Jets new starting left guard.
Here is some footage of Ducasse in action in camp with the Jets this spring.
BASEBALL
Mitchell Clegg is a perfect 5-0 with the Hagerstown Suns -- tied for second in the South Atlantic League in wins. He picked up his second win as a starter on Sunday. Clegg threw six innings of six-hit ball allowing just one run. As a starter Clegg is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA. Overall, he has a 3.65 ERA along with two saves.
With the Reno Aces, UMass product Matt Torra is 2-2 with a 3.42 ERA in seven starts. He is slated to start again tonight at Albuquerque.
With the Pawtucket Red Sox, Chad Paronto is now 2-2 after earning the win against the Durham Bulls 1-0 on Monday. The righty threw four innings of one-hit ball. On the year, he has a 3.95 ERA in 16 appearances out of the bullpen.
Take a look back at UMass baseball's senior day highlights.
LACROSSE
Major League Lacrosse is done with two weeks of action. Here's a look at this weekend's game and UMass' connections.
In a match-up pitting UMass alums at Harvard Stadium, the Boston Cannons beat the Chicago Machine 17-15. 2003 grad Kevin Leveille had two goals and two assists while 2007 grad Brett Garber had a goal and assist for the Machine. Jack Reid played defense for the Cannons, but didn't have any stats.
In Denver, the Long Island Lizards lost to the home Outlaws 13-10. 2003 alum Chris Fiore had a goal for Long Island.
The Chesapeake Bayhawks downed the Toronto Nationals, 25-12. 2009 grad Doc Schneider made 15 saves for the Nationals, but suffered the defeat in a game that was televised on ESPN2.
SOFTBALL
The Eagle-Tribune has a blurb on some Salem area successes. After former Salem High standout Katie Bettencourt of UMass was selected as Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, she received hearty congratulations from Whitney Mollica, who had received the same honor at UMass four years previously. "She came up to me and gave me a big hug and thanked me for representing New Hampshire so well," said Bettencourt. "It was really nice."
BASKETBALL
The Hartford Courant has a fascinating story on college basketball coaches' contracts including UMass' Derek Kellogg. Check it out.
ROWING
The Daily Collegian has a recap of UMass' event this past weekend in New Jersey.
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Don't Miss This: Looking ahead to the weekend, Lisa Wilson will be in action in the NCAA East Regional.
The 2010 softball and baseball seasons came to an end for UMass on Saturday. The Minutewomen suffered their second loss in the NCAA Regional, to BU and wrapped up an impressive season at 42-10-1. The baseball squad won 2-of-3 vs. La Salle this weekend, but finished just short of the A-10 Tournament. JTAM has all the news on these teams and plenty of alums in action in soccer, track & field and more.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette has a notebook leading off with the end of the career for seven UMass seniors.
UMass sophomore pitcher Sara Plourde, who was battling a hip injury in the Minutewomen's two losses during the NCAA Tournament, struck out two in one inning Saturday before being relieved by Sanders. Plourde finished the season with 556 strikeouts, the ninth best single-season total in Division I history. Only four pitchers have ever struck out more and three did it more than once.
BASEBALL
The baseball team had a positive weekend, as the Minutemen won 2-of-3 from La Salle in their final action of the campaign, but UMass' season ended just short of the A-10 Tournament. The Springfield Republican, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Daily Collegian and The Examiner have a look back at the weekend series with the Explorers.
NBC22 has a feature on several bigname coaches running a clinic here in Western Mass. UMass coach Derek Kellogg, Indiana coach Tom Crean, former New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank and Boston College coach Steve Donahoe were some of the coaches on hand at Central High School.
UMass product Tony Gaffney continues to garner attention as the Celtics look to return to the NBA Finals. Here are a few stories mentioning the 2009 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year: Worcester Telegram.
In the Berkshire Eagle, Howard Herman has mentions of two UMass stars who earned their degrees last weekend at graduation. Vladimir Ducasse and Ricky Harris both deserve your praise and respect, wrote Herman.
Ducasse, who was the New York Jets' second-round pick in last month's NFL draft, and former basketball star Ricky Harris both marched with the Class of 2010 at the University of Massachusetts a week ago. I saw Harris on the field at McGuirk Alumni Stadium last week when UMass held its commencement ceremonies and he looked positively pleased in his cap and gown.
SOCCER
The Springfield Republican has the story on the Western Mass Pioneers. Goalie Shane Curran-Hays (who plays for the Minutemen) stopped five shots for his second straight shutout, and four players scored goals in the Pioneers' 4-0 win over Vermont on Saturday.
In women's action, the New England Mutiny also picked up a shutout win aided by UMass products. The Springfield Republican has the story as Therese Smith had a goal in the win.
TRACK & FIELD
Natick's Matt Ely, who was a college runner at UMass, emerged from a field sprinkled with former NCAA All-Americans and professional athletes to capture his second Trav's Trail Run title on Sunday morning in Newburyport. Ely, who also won the race in 2008, finished in 15:01, an average of 5:01 per mile. He edged out professional runner Thomas Morgan of Zap Fitness, who finished in 15:07 -- 1:40 slower than his fastest 5K time (13:27).
FOOTBALL
The Union Leader in New Hampshire has a mention of the UMass-UNH football game and also info on how UNH will not be playing Boston College in the near future.
ROWING
In system-campus news, the Boston Globe has a story on UMass-Lowell elevating its rowing program to varsity status.
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Don't Miss This:Tony Gaffney and his Celtics try to sweep the Orlando Magic, tonight on ESPN. Check out the former UMass star on the bench tonight as the C's seek a sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals.
