Two UMass legends will be recognized this weekend at the College Football Hall of Fame Festival Coach Dick MacPherson and the late Milt Morin will be inducted into the Hall on Saturday night after a weekend of events. JTAM also has some updates on current Minuteman baseball players and alum Ron Villone.
The College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement takes place this weekend with a pair of UMass legends set to be inducted. Coach Dick MacPherson and the late Milt Morin will be inducted on Saturday night. There are various stories mentioning the induction: San Diego Union Tribune, Chronicle Telegram and the Alamogordo.
The South Bend Tribune has a great feature story on Coach Mac, who led the Redmen and then Minutemen from 1971-77.
The Boston Globe mentions UMass
product Vladimir Ducasse and his battle to start for the New York Jets after being a second-round draft pick.
BASEBALL
The Eagle-Tribune has a story mentioning a pair of UMass pitchers from Eastern Mass. Haverhill's Leif Sorenson, who left UVM when it disbanded the program, ended up at UMass. The Catamounts' demise was good news for the Minutemen. The sophomore righthander went 2-1 and led the staff in ERA (3.94), appearances (19) and saves (5). He fanned 14 and walked eight in 29.2 innings. Freshman pitcher Dennis Torres of Lawrence made the team at UMass. He never played varsity ball at Central.
UMass Hall of Famer Ron Villone pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Syracuse Chiefs vs. the Pawtucket Red Sox and fellow alum Chad Paronto. The PawSox won the game though, 8-2 on Thursday. Villone has 5.97 ERA for Syracuse.
BASKETBALL
Looking back at Gary Forbes Summer League action with the Houston Rockets. Forbes played in four games averaging 3.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 10.5 minutes of action.
Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: Our Facebook Page is being updated more often, be sure to check it out!
Big news coming out of Foxboro, general tickets for the UMass vs. New Hampshire game will go on sale to the public on Tuesday, July 20 via Ticketmaster. So get those fingers ready to type in a lock in your plans for October 23. If you are looking for Club-Level seats in the UMass section, please call 1-866-UMASS-TIX to get in on the advance ticket sale. JTAM has an update on the women's hoops program.
UMass' alums in Triple-A had the last few days off with the All-Star Break. In the Triple-A All-Star Game, the International League topped the Pacific Coast League, 2-1 in Allentown, Pa.
BASKETBALL
Catch up with new women's basketball coach Sharon Dawley. Check out the video.
With the Houston Rockets, Gary Forbes had a solid game in limited time. He racked up seven points and four rebounds in nine minutes vs. the Denver Nuggets in an 82-75 win on Wednesday.
Good day to UMass Nation! How about the National League finally getting a win in the All-Star Game last night? Today in JTAM we bring you updates on various alums including hurler Nick Serino, hoopsters Tony Gaffney and Gary Forbes, snapper Jeremy Cain, stopper Zowie Tucker and scorer Kevin Leveille.
BASEBALL
Nick Serino continues his scoreless streak with the GCL Nationals. Last night in a 9-2 win over the GCL Astros , he threw two innings and struck out two to lower his ERA to 3.24. He has not allowed a run in his last four outings out of the bullpen.
BASKETBALL
Watch Masslive.com's video from Ron Chimelis' interview with Tony Gaffney following the Orlando Summer League.
In NBA Summer League Action, Gary Forbes had his best game in three outings with the Houston Rockets. He had six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes as the Rockets fell 100-91 to the Raptors.
Jaguars.com has a feature story on UMass alum and former All-American Jeremy Cain, who enters his second seasons as the Jags long snapper. Cain made tackles, nine of them to be exact. Only Rich Griffith in 1999 totaled more tackles as a Jaguars long snapper. Nine tackles doesn't seem like a lot but remember the snapper has to get ball to the punter and block before thinking about getting downfield.
The Worcester Telegram has a story on Milt Morin, a native of Leominster, passing away. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder was not only a standout tight end at UMass, catching passes from future NFL star Greg Landry of Nashua, N.H., but also played defense and was the team's placekicker. He also earned varsity letters in lacrosse and wrestling, winning the New England heavyweight title in 1965.
HOCKEY
Foe Quinnipiac has announced its 2010-11 schedule with a match-up vs. UMass. Check it out on New Haven Register.
LACROSSE
Major League Lacrosse posted a highlight video from the Long Island Lizards' 17-15 win over the Chicago Machine last Sunday. Alum Kevin Leveille had two goals for Chicago.
No student-athlete birthdays today.
Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: The UMass Women's Basketball Record Book has been updated and completed. It features all the info you could ever need including lifetime stats for every player in program history.
Don't Miss This: Check out the ESPY Awards tonight as several UMass opponents are nominated for awards including Fordham baseball. Check out the "Fordham Flip" here.
Ron Chimelis of the Springfield Republican has a great story on Tony Gaffney and his chances of making the Boston Celtics for the 2010-11 season after playing for the C's during the summer league. The Cleveland Plain-Dealer has a nice tribute story on the passing of legendary end Milt Morin. JTAM also has some news on opponents Harvard men's lacrosse and Indiana field hockey.
Must read: Ron Chimelis' column in the Springfield Republican and his performance in the NBA Summer League with his hometown Boston Celtics.
The high school coach of UMass great Rashaun Freeman has resigned. CBS6 in Albany has a story on Mark Sausville stepping down as Schenectady HS Head Coach. Several of Sausville's players went on to play college Division I basketball, including Jason McKrieth at Rice, and Freeman.
FOOTBALL
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer has a story on the passing Milt Morin. Morin was the Browns' first-round pick in 1966, and played 10 years for the team. He was set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this weekend. "He could have played tight end in this era," said Paul Warfield, recently retiring as a Browns consultant. "He'd be worth his weight in gold because most teams have a tight end who can catch, or a tight end who can block. Milt was such a good blocker, we ran Leroy Kelly's sweeps around his end. He could run precise patterns, and he could blow you off the ball with his blocks."
The Bleacher Report has a story on the Top 25 NFL Rookies that will make an impact this season. Heading the list is UMass product Vladimir Ducasse. The site writes: "Ducasse will become an instant contributor after the Jets released guard Alan Faneca. Ducasse is a physical player who will do well in the Jets smashmouth offense. Ducasse will be brought along slowly."
WOMEN'S SOCCER
The New England Mutiny's WPSL Season came to end with a 3-4-3 record on Saturday with a 2-1 loss to Boston. Several Minutewomen played for the Mutiny this season with Therese Smith heading the group with two goals for four points. Sydney Stoll played in two games while alum Vanessa Patry played in six games.
LACROSSE
UMass lacrosse will face a new head coach when the Minutemen play Harvard in 2011. Chris Wojick was named the Crimson's new coach on Monday. Wojcik, a former Harvard player and assistant coach, has been hired to replace John Tillman as the Crimson's head coach, the university announced Monday.
FIELD HOCKEY
One of UMass' opening weekend opponents, Indiana, will play on the Big Ten Network twice this season. The Hoosiers open the regular season against Boston College on Saturday, Aug. 28, at 2 p.m., in Amherst, Mass. The Hoosiers conclude their season-opening road trip against UMass on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2 p.m.
Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: Two Auctions end today an autographed baseball from Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis and an autographed pair of shorts from Marcus Camby.
Don't Miss This: The Major League Baseball All-Star Game takes place tonight in Anaheim. That's the only game to watch.
The Boston Globe has a blog entry on UMass Hall of Famer Al Skinner and how he hasn't talked to with the defending Eastern Conference champions. "I haven't talked to them," Skinner said. "I wouldn't mind talking to them. But I haven't talked to them."
In the NBA Summer League, UMass alum Gary Forbes is on the roster for the Houston Rockets. He has played in two games. In the Rockets' 87-78 win over the Dallas Mavericks, Forbes had two points and two rebounds on Saturday. In a 100-82 win over Phoenix on Friday, he didn't score but had three boards. Houston is back in action against Toronto on Tuesday.
With the Reno Aces, Matt Torra had a rough outing last night as his squad fell 6-4 to Colorado Springs. Torra (5-6) surrendered the season-high 13 hits, but blasted a two-run, go-ahead home run in the sixth inning to give the Aces a 4-3 lead.
Springfield native and UMass alum Nick Gorneault blasted a three-tun home run for the Salt Lake Bees in a 9-8 loss to Las Vegas on Friday. It was his third homer of the year.
Checking in on Bryan Leigh with the Pulaski Mariners, the rookie pro has a 1.23 ERA in 7.1 innings with the Appalachian League squad, all in relief.
Nick Serino pitched a perfect two-thirds of an inning for the GCL Nationals on Sunday. He has lowered his ERA to 4.26 after a tough start to his pro career. He has not allowed a run in his last three outings.
LACROSSE
In MLL action, UMass alums met up on Saturday as Long Island topped Chicago, 17-15. With the Lizards, Chris Fiore didn't score. With the Machine, Kevin Leveille had two goals while Brett Garber had an assist.
Boston beat the Bayhawks 16-10 as Jack Reid had four groundballs for the Cannons.
FOOTBALL
Vladimir Ducasse is mentioned in this story on the Bleacher Report when it comes to the New York Jets and positional battles for 2010.
The CFL had its second week of action with the BC Lions falling to Saskatchewan 36-18. On defense, UMass alums Anton McKenzie (1 tackle) and Keron Williams played for BC.
In the Arena Football League. UMass product Brandon Freeman is third on the Arizona Rattlers with 51 tackles through 11 games. He also has three interceptions. In Saturday's 55-50 loss to the Chicago Rush, Freeman led the Rattlers with seven tackles.
Last week, UMass alum Tracy Belton was named the AFL Defensive Player of the Week with the Milwaukee Iron. Belton was all over the Utah offense in Milwaukee's 82-56 win over the Blaze. Belton tallied 8 unassisted and 2 assisted tackles, a tackle for loss, one pass break up and an interception ran back for 12 yards. Belton is averaging the eight most tackles per game in the league with 6.9. The Milwaukee victory brought the Iron to 8-5 on the season, just behind division leader Chicago (9-4).
No student-athlete birthdays today.
Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: Two new Auctions run through July 13 including an autographed baseball from Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis.
Don't Miss This: The travel packages for the UMass at Michigan game end today. Get on board now!
