News by Tom Barton
News by Tom Barton on South Shore Press
The Beginning of Something Meaningful
This is the first year for the Unified Program at Center Moriches High School and their unified basketball team has already created a buzz with the students and around the community. The team is coming off of a nice victory against Riverhead 47-38, but this is about much more than just wins and losses.
The Voice of a Generation Changes
John Sterling, who has been a fixture as the voice of the New York Yankees for 36 years, has retired. The 85 year old Sterling retired quickly, but has said he is "very happy" and his decision was not based on a health scare. In recent years he had begun to miss road games after decades of not missing a single call. Sterling called 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 to July 2019, which included every at bat and every pitch of Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, to name just a few.
The Ducks Bolster The Pen
You might call this a complete overhaul of the pen as all three pitchers will be in their first season with the Ducks. Although it's only the first season with Long Island, that doesn't mean they are inexperienced arms. Bettencourt is entering his seventh season in professional baseball and both Delaplane and Marquez will be starting their sixth.
Stony Brook's New Direction
Athletic Director Shawn Heilbron made note of the extensive search that they went through before deciding on McCorvey and said "I am beyond excited to welcome Joy to the Stony Brook family as our new women's basketball coach. She rose to the top of an incredibly strong group of candidates and is uniquely poised to lead our program forward."
Coach Cal Moves Lines
That has already impacted the betting future odds for both teams and in a generation of NIL deals and the transfer portal we should all expect more movement as the season gets closer. With that said, there could still be some value picks with the early lines released.
No No for Longwood
While it's still early in the high school baseball season there was a pivotal matchup waged this week between first place William Floyd and second place Longwood. The early season series was circled in the preseason as a battle for first place and that is exactly the kind of game that was delivered. After the dust had settled William Floyd might have remained at the top of the standings, but it was Longwood who stole the headlines, or rather CJ Foreman.
Shutout City for Commack
The 2024 high school baseball season in Suffolk county is only a few weeks into the season and we already have very few teams with an unblemished record. The Commack Cougars are one of them that remain. Commack put on a pitching display this week that will have people turning their heads and taking notice of their unbeaten record and what might be on the horizon for this team.
And Then There Was One
As the Suffolk baseball calendar entered last week there were a few teams who had yet to endure their first loss of the season. All of that changed as teams got deeper into their schedules and heading into the new week there is now just one team standing that is perfect. The Comsewogue Warriors absolutely crushed Deer Park on the way to their 8-0 record.
Ben Brown's Big Debut
Ben Brown was as good as advertised as he made his major league debut this past week, and that comes as no surprise for anyone who watched him excel at Ward Melville just a few years ago. Brown was just what the doctor ordered, or in this case what his head coach Craig Counsell needed. After blowing an eight run lead the night before, Brown shut down the San Diego Padres in his first big-league start for 4 2/3 shutout innings at Petco Park. The Padres managed just three hits, one walk and struck out five times against the East Setauket native.
Spallina is Splendid
Senior day is always a special time for players and coaches alike, but this season there was a little extra something special for the Stony Brook women's lacrosse team. Head coach Joe Spallina won his 200th game as head coach of the SeaWolves, and doing it on senior day was just the icing on the cake. Spallina led the Stony Brook women's lacrosse to a decisive victory over Delaware, 17-4. The Seawolves were led by Kaitlyn Clark, who scored a career-high seven goals, six of which came in the first half of play.
Trump Earns Hall of Fame Endorsement
The greatest closer of all time just closed all speculation about who he will be supporting for president. Ex-Yankee Mariano Rivera told radio host Sid Rosenberg that he will be backing Donald Trump for president.
The Ducks Will Honor Our Heroes
The Long Island Ducks are bringing back one of their most cherished traditions this season. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, in partnership with Legislator Nick Caracappa, the Long Island Ducks, Flagstar Bank and the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency, announced the return of the Heroes of the Game program for the 2024 season to honor local veterans and active-duty personnel.
Ducks Adds International Flavor
The Long Island Ducks are still adding to their roster as opening day closes in. This week the Ducks added some international flavor to the roster when they signed first baseman Rixon Wingrove and catcher Aaron Antonini. Wingrove hails from Australia while Antonini is originally from Venezuela. While both players are entering their first season with the Ducks they are not new to professional baseball. WIngrove has five seasons under his belt while Antonini will be starting his fifth.
Are the Jets The Team To Beat?
As we now begin to look at 2024 there isn't as much hype surrounding this Jets team, but maybe there should be. A bettor could have taken the Jets at more than 3 to 1 odds just a few weeks ago to win their own division, not the Super Bowl this season. They remain at just about +250 odds in most sports books across the country and that number looks like a steal after seeing what has happened to the division. This week the Buffalo Bills lost their star wide receiver in Stefon Diggs. While there will be Bills fans who can argue that he was a 'headcase' and 'distraction', his loss certainly will be felt throughout an offense that now has no true #1 receiving option. This team also lost Gabe Davis their #2 receiver earlier this season and they have had massive losses on the defensive end.
Clutch O'Connell
This weekend New York was well represented in the Final Four. Perhaps not by regular standards because there are no Stony Brook, Hofstra, St. John's or any local teams playing in the Final Four, but there certainly are key players across the teams making contributions.
There's No Place Like Home
Being born and raised in Medford, Marcus Stroman certainly understands the aura and grandeur that comes with opening day at Yankee Stadium. When Gerritt Cole went down with an injury the coaching staff asked Stroman if he would rearrange his normal pitching schedule to pitch on opening day. Stroman declined, because he wanted opening day at the stadium and boy did he deliver.
Long Island AD Moving North
Long Island University's athletic director Ryan Kelly is set to become the new Senior Associate AD for Football at Syracuse University. Kelly joined LIU in 2021 and has since led the department to what they call 'unprecedented heights'.
A Champion Arrives on Long Island
The Long Island Ducks have signed former major leaguer Jackie Bradley Jr. to a contract. Bradley was a 2018 World Series Champion and played for the Red Sox, Brewers, Blue Jays, and Royals over his 11 year career. The 2016 All Star was known for his glove and won a Rawlings Gold Glove for his efforts. Bradley is regarded as one of the best defensive center fielders of his era and those skills are what the Ducks are banking on. His bat was always more contact, rather than power, but his doubles power will make him a dual threat.
Going Streaking
The Stony Brook baseball team completed a much needed three game series sweep this weekend over the Elon Phoenix. With the win Stony Brook was able to even their record to 15-15 on the season and have now won 2 of their last 3 series.
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Stony Brook students blend fitness and ecology in 3K EcoWalk
Stony Brook University students participated in the "Running Wild 3K EcoWalk," a new Earthstock event conducted on April 21 at the Ashley Schiff Preserve.
Stony Brook Ronald McDonald House seeking designers
Interior designers can now donate their services as part of the development of the Ronald McDonald House at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. Applications to participate in Stony Brook’s build for a great cause are due by Nov. 30th.
Omaha coming to Huntington, courtesy of IRL Movie Club
Tickets for the October 12 screening are $18 for the general public and $11 for CAC members. IRL members will only have to pay $5.