Sports
UMass basketball: Rahsool Diggins pours in career-high 26 points, newcomers also shine as Minutemen rout UNH in season opener 103-74
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — It can be a difficult task for college basketball fans to learn the players on the teams they root for year in and year out. Every season, programs across the country are gutted and rebuilt.UMass men’s hoops fans got quite the introduction...
Boys soccer: Jack Mandeville pitches shutout as Belchertown edges Watertown for spot in Div. 3 Sweet 16 (PHOTOS)
By RYAN AMES
WILBRAHAM – Jack Mandeville backstopped the Belchertown boys soccer team to a 1-0 win over Watertown on Monday during the first round of the MIAA Div. 3 state tournament at Minnechaug Regional High School.The No. 16 Orioles scored less than three...
MIAA tourneys: Milton strikes twice, eliminates Northampton boys soccer in Div. 2 Round of 32
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton boys soccer team was able to control the majority of possession in its MIAA Division 2 Round of 32 showdown against 20th-seeded Milton on Monday, but two mistakes from the 13th-seeded Blue Devils in the first half did...
Local briefs: Second Annual 5K Roadtown Turkey Trot set for Nov. 23 in Shutesbury
The Second Annual 5K Roadtown Turkey Trot takes place on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Shutesbury. The family-friendly event starts at Shutesbury Elementary School (23 West Pelham Road). The timed 5K run/walk, which winds through the scenic roads of rural...
Fit to Play with Jim Johnson: Light Meat or Dark Meat?
Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I’m ready to carve the turkey. White meat or dark meat? I go for the white but I always remember my grandfather; he said the neck was the best part. I have yet to eat a neck, but one does wonder why turkeys have two...
Girls soccer: Late goal lifts Smith Vocational past Franklin Tech, into MIAA Div. 5 Round of 32 (PHOTOS)
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
NORTHAMPTON — Smith Vocational goalkeeper Maggie Lauder was expected to reach a major milestone on Monday, entering the Vikings’ MIAA Div. 5 preliminary round contest against Franklin Tech sitting at 399 career saves. Thanks to the play of the Vikings...
MIAA tourneys: Smith Academy, Granby boys advance in Div. 5 tourney
Two goals from Cajun Benson helped the Smith Academy boys soccer team advance in the MIAA Division 5 Tournament on Sunday.Benson tallied twice, and assisted on another as the 29th-seeded Falcons notched a 4-0 win over No. 36 Upper Cape Cod Tech in a...
UMass basketball: New-look Minutemen eye opener with UNH to kick off final Atlantic 10 season
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — They always say to save the best for last, right?Frank Martin’s crew is certainly hoping so, as the third-year UMass men’s basketball head coach leads the Minutemen into what will be their final season in the Atlantic 10 – a conference in...
UMass basketball: Minutewomen turn to new, familiar faces in hopes of taking big step forward
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — There’s no way to sugarcoat it, last year was a disappointment for head coach Mike Leflar in his first season leading the UMass women’s basketball team. The expectations weren’t necessarily through the roof after Tory Verdi left Amherst for...
UMass football: Minutemen lead 10-0 after one quarter before Mississippi State charges back for 45-20 win
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
Through one quarter in Starkville, things were looking good for the UMass football team. The Minutemen came out and played one of their better quarters of the season to open Saturday’s road game against SEC foe Mississippi State, holding a 10-0 lead...
UMass hockey: Big first period propels Minutemen past AIC, 4-3
The UMass hockey team was ready to go from the opening faceoff against AIC on Saturday. The Minutemen scored three goals in the first period before holding off a late Yellow Jackets rally to walk away with a 4-3 non-conference victory at the...
Football: Smith Voc runs past Pathfinder 40-8, secures share of Tri-County League title
By MIKE MORAN
EASTHAMPTON — The Smith Vocational senior class combined for four touchdowns as the Vikings blitzed Pathfinder, 40-8, Friday at Mountain View Middle School.“The senior class has been here all four years, and we really wanted it,” running back Jared...
Class B girls soccer: Belchertown blanks rival South Hadley 2-0 to claim WMass title (PHOTOS)
By GARRETT COTE
LUDLOW — It wouldn’t feel right if the Belchertown and South Hadley girls soccer programs didn’t meet in a Western Mass. final. And on Friday, for the fourth consecutive year, the two teams battled it out in the Class B playoffs – the third time in...
Class D girls soccer: Mabel Carillon’s game-winning PK lifts Granby past Hopkins for WMass championship (PHOTOS)
By GARRETT COTE
LUDLOW — Mabel Carillon stood at midfield and hesitated before making the long walk to the penalty stripe. A make would crown the No. 1 Granby girls soccer team as Western Mass. Class D champions, a miss would allow No. 2 Hopkins Academy a chance to...
High Schools: South Hadley volleyball defeats Saint Paul Diocesan in five-set thriller to advance in MIAA Div. 4 tourney
It was an expected battle in Worcester on Friday between the 33rd-seeded South Hadley volleyball team and 32nd-seeded Saint Paul Diocesan in the preliminary round of the MIAA Div. 4 state tournament. The match went all five sets, with the Tigers...
UMass football: Minutemen need to rise to the occasion to compete with Mississippi State
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — If there was ever a time for the UMass football team to do the improbable, it feels like Saturday would be that time.The Minutemen have struggled to win games in 2024, and although their two wins – the second coming last weekend – are both...
On The Run with John Stifler: Busy race weekend across western Massachusetts
The cusp between colorful early autumn and chilly later autumn footraces is loaded with activity. This Sunday, for Valley runners who aren’t in New York for the marathon, the local running calendar offers four different races in the space of three...
Judge rules in favor of Northampton boys, girls soccer teams; forfeits in sectionals overturned
By GARRETT COTE
NORTHAMPTON — The boys and girls soccer teams at Northampton High School will not be docked for forfeits in the PVIAC Western Mass. tournament after Northampton Public Schools won an emergency motion against the MIAA on Thursday afternoon.The decision...
UMass hockey: Minutemen head to Springfield to face AIC Saturday
By THOMAS JOHNSTON
The UMass hockey team is making its shortest road trip of the season on Saturday. After a foray into Hockey East action this past weekend — where the Minutemen walked away with a shootout win and a loss against UConn — UMass will make the short trip...
High schools: Belchertown boys edged by Pope Francis in Class B semifinals
A matchup with the top-ranked team in the state didn’t prove too daunting for the Belchertown boys soccer team on Wednesday.Top-seeded Pope Francis, ranked No. 1 in the most recent MIAA Division 4 power ranking, managed to keep its unbeaten season...
Your Daily Puzzles

An approachable redesign to a classic. Explore our "hints."

A quick daily flip. Finally, someone cracked the code on digital jigsaw puzzles.

Chess but with chaos: Every day is a unique, wacky board.

Word search but as a strategy game. Clearing the board feels really good.

Align the letters in just the right way to spell a word. And then more words.