The Black Knights of the Hudson have a dynamic new leader.

Missy Traversi, inspiring others to give more effort through her example.

The text message came during the middle of the afternoon Sunday, as I was returning home from a quick drive to Cape Cod. It was alerting me to a phone call to come a little later.

Immediately, I knew what it was. Missy Traversi had a new job. I just didn't know where yet.

About an hour later, I received that call. It was Missy, driving somewhere, as she always seems to be in the midst of accomplishing one of the many tasks she puts on her agenda on any given day. So I didn't waste her time by feigning surprise at the news she was about to tell me. "So where's the new job," I asked.

"Army!" she exclaimed.

"So are they going to give you a commission? Are you now a lieutenant colonel?"

She laughed. No, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point does not bestow an officer's commission upon its coaches. And that's too bad, in a way, because the cadets that will come under her tutelage in the years to come will come to regard the new head women's basketball coach as one of the finest leaders they will ever know.

Traversi as a player at Bishop Feehan.

I have known Melissa Traversi for close to a quarter-century -- first as yet another athlete to come through the doors of Bishop Feehan High School, then as friend and confidant as she advanced into adulthood and started to climb the rungs of the ladder to success -- collegiate basketball star, high school coach at three different stops, founder and director of a dynamic camp and AAU organization, and on into the college ranks, making things happen positively at both of her head-coaching stops.

Now, it's on to the NCAA Division I ranks for Missy. She's ready. She's been ready for a while, in fact.

It's not that she was unhappy at Adelphi University and itching to leave Long Island. In fact, she loved coaching Adelphi's Panthers and they loved her. I visited her at Adelphi early in 2020 and did a podcast from her office, and I could tell from the attitude of those I met within the Athletic Department offices that they considered Missy to be an inspirational leader in their midst. 

She had three winning seasons out of four at Adelphi, the only exception being her second year, when her own recruits were brand new and they almost made it over .500. In 2019-20, a team completely of her making finished 27-3 in the tough Northeast-10 Conference and had earned the top seed in the NCAA regionals, which Adelphi was going to host.

Then came COVID-19, which forced the cancellation of all NCAA tournaments. And the virus hung around long to prompt the NE-10 to cancel its entire 2020-21 season, which was a crushing blow to the hard-working veterans of the previous year's team. They had been in the gym for months, observing all the protocols they could while still trying to prepare themselves to defend their league title, and hoping to get another crack at the tournament opportunity that had been denied them the previous March.

Traversi in action at the University of Maine.

It was devastating news to Traversi and her players. They were just days short of opening a new season when the NE-10 decision came down. It was even more emotional for the athletes from our area on her team -- Emily Miccile and Julia Strachan of Bishop Feehan and Attleboro respectively, who had been with Missy from the start, and Sarah Deyo of Attleboro, whose basketball career started under Missy at AHS and who used her last year of eligibility to depart from Southern New Hampshire University and join the Panthers.

No doubt, Missy had already proved herself at Adelphi. But I still wonder what further heights might have been reached if not for the intervention of COVID-19.

Now, it's time for a new challenge. Army plays in the Patriot League, which includes Holy Cross and Boston University. It's had success there during the 15-year tenure of Dave Magarity, including two berths apiece in the NCAA Tournament and the WNIT. There are miles of difference between Army's level of competition and that of Connecticut, Baylor or the other top-tier D1 schools, but that's not even on the bucket list right now.

The toughest challenge will be recruiting. West Point accepts only the cream of the crop of potential academic achievers and future leaders, and it comes with an automatic five-year military commitment. But while the next Paige Bueckers may be out of Missy's reach, she believes that the athletes she will get will be supremely motivated, of impeccable character, and ready to offer the hard work she will expect of them.

Besides, it's not as if playing at Army means an instant tour of duty in Afghanistan or Iraq upon graduation. A West Point graduate is by definition a leader of men and women, able to choose from among many different post-college disciplines that not only serve the country, but also serve as further preparation for leadership positions in the private sector once the tour is over.

Personally, I can't think of an individual more suited to dovetail with the mission of West Point than Missy Traversi. She is supremely organized. She has unquenchable energy. Even when she's exhausted, she still has reserves that kick in and keep her going. And she is unfailingly loyal -- to her friends, to her co-workers, and most of all, to her athletes. 

Traversi will bring joy to basketball at West Point.

She won't be R. Lee Ermey's iconic drill instructor in "Full Metal Jacket," but she will be an authority figure to her athletes. They will be spending their days and nights under the yoke of strong authority figures at West Point, and Missy will be another, but there will be a difference with her. There will be an inspiring quality to it, because Missy has always been able to coach with joy and enthusiasm at the root of everything she does.

Years ago, when she was coaching at Attleboro High, we would meet at Capron Park and just walk, following a circular path around the large grassy field you can see from County Street while driving by. Here's a kid that ran the Boston Marathon to prove to herself that she could, but she was satisfied to walk at a slow pace around the park with the hope that it might be beneficial for the health of her chubby and aging buddy.

Yeah, it was a struggle for me at times. But I kept going because she inspired me to do it. When Missy first started what became her MT Elite camps and AAU teams, she billed it as "an inspiring brand of basketball." And it was true. She got the most out of the athletes that played for her because her inner joy of competition became an outward expression. And it's infectious.

I've seen that twinkle in her eye ever since I first saw her running up and down the Bishop Feehan hardcourt. Pardon the pop culture analogy, but you could tell that the Force was strong with this one. It remains just as strong now, which will benefit those that will don the Army basketball uniform on her watch.

The Black Knights of the Hudson have a dynamic new leader -- and I'll be eager to follow their progress. So eager, in fact, I've already ordered my official Army polo shirt.

Traversi named new head coach of Army women's basketball.

Former Bishop Feehan star Missy Traversi takes the reins at Army.

Missy Traversi is moving up another rung on the NCAA women’s basketball coaching ladder.

The former Bishop Feehan High School three-sport standout has been named the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., bringing her into the NCAA Division 1 coaching ranks after four seasons and five years at Division II Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y.

Traversi, 38, was announced as Army’s new head coach via a news release Monday. She will succeed Dave Magarity, 71, who retired after serving as Army’s head coach for the past 15 years and coaching in the college ranks for 47 years.

"We are excited to welcome Missy Traversi to the West Point women's basketball family," said Army athletic director Mike Buddie in the news release. "Her experience both as a player and a coach at all levels made her a standout candidate for this position. She clearly embraces our pillars of Duty, Honor and Country and we can't wait to watch her lead our women's basketball cadet-athletes into this new era at West Point."

"I am honored to be named the head women's basketball coach at Army West Point," Traversi said in the release. "What a privilege it will be to work alongside impressive cadet-athletes as they develop into future officers and leaders in the world. I believe my brand of coaching is tailored to the core values of the type of female athlete that is built for West Point. I will recruit and develop fiercely competitive individuals with high integrity who value team above self.

"As the world's preeminent leadership institution, the United States Military Academy embodies sacrifice, discipline, and excellence. I am proud to be associated with this special team and am eager to hit the ground running," she added.

Traversi on the sidelines at Adelphi University.

Traversi, the former girls’ basketball head coach at Attleboro High School and two-time Sun Chronicle coach of the year, turned Adelphi University’s program into a consistent winner over her four seasons at the helm. Her Panthers were 83-37 on her watch, winning two Northeast-10 Conference divisional titles and qualifying for the NCAA Division II Tournament twice. She also had the additional responsibilities as assistant athletic director at Adelphi.

Her 2019-20 team finished the regular season and conference tournament at 27-3, ranked as high as No. 8 in the WBCA Division II Top 25 Poll. Adelphi had earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II regionals when the outbreak of COVID-19 prompted the NCAA to cancel all of its postseason tournaments on short notice.

The ongoing pandemic also forced Adelphi and the rest of the NE-10 to cancel the entire 2020-21 season just days before it was to begin.

Traversi also brought three local athletes into the fold at Adelphi. Bishop Feehan’s Emily Miccile and Attleboro’s Julia Strachan were major contributors to the Panthers’ success in 2019-20, and former Attleboro High standout Sarah Deyo was to have joined Adelphi for the canceled 2020-21 season after transferring from Southern New Hampshire University.

Prior to taking the Adelphi job in 2016, Traversi spent two seasons as the head coach at Division III Wheelock College in Boston. The Attleboro native completely rebuilt the program during that span, leading Wheelock to the most wins in a single season in the program's history in consecutive years, including the first winning season in the school's history in 2015-16 (18-7).

Traversi coaching at Attleboro High.

Traversi was also the driving force in turning around the fortunes of the Attleboro High School girls’ basketball team during her three seasons at the helm. She was 33-36 in three seasons but 29-18 in her last two, earning Sun Chronicle coach of the year honors in 2013 and 2014.

Prior to her tenure at AHS, Traversi spend one season on the coaching staff at Harvard University under legendary coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. She was also head girls’ coach at Dover-Sherborn Regional High (where she was named Tri-Valley League coach of the year in 2009) and at Brookline High School between her two stints in professional basketball overseas.

Traversi, who competed in swimming, basketball and tennis at Bishop Feehan, finished with 1,113 career points in three seasons. She went on to play Division 1 basketball at the University of Maine under coach Sharon Versyp, helping to lead the Black Bears to an 86-35 overall record, 58-10 in America East, as well as three America East regular-season championships, one America East Tournament Championship, and three postseason berths, including one NCAA Tournament appearance. A 2004-05 first team All-Conference selection, Traversi scored over 1,000 points in her career at Maine.

Traversi at her WNBA tryout.

She continued her playing career overseas, where she averaged 23.5 points per game for Brahe Basket in Sweden during the 2005-06 season before returning to the country as a player and assistant coach for Jamtland Basket in 2007-08. Traversi was also an invitee to the training camp of the WNBA's Chicago Sky in 2006.

Traversi also helped mold the futures of some of the area’s top female basketball players through her owned-and-operated MT Elite Basketball Training company. Founding the organization in 2006, she managed and recruited players for the MT Elite AAU basketball program, which consisted of 12 teams and over 300 athletes. She also led a team of 12 coaches and ran summer basketball camps throughout Massachusetts.

Traversi was a 2014 inductee into Bishop Feehan High School's Hall of Fame. She earned her bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in public relations from Maine in 2005 and a master’s degree in athletic administration from Ohio University in 2013, and briefly served as an assistant athletic director at Needham High School.

"For the past five years, it has been my distinct privilege to be the head women's basketball coach at Adelphi University," Traversi said in the release. "I want to personally thank President (Christine) Riordan and Athletic Director Danny McCabe for giving me the opportunity to coach such remarkable young women at Adelphi University.  I will forever cherish the staff and faculty I've worked with, the student-athletes I've coached, and the memories created along the way. As I transition into this exciting new chapter of my life, I want to express gratitude for all those who supported me on my journey."

Magarity was an assistant on the Army coaching staff in 2006 when head coach Maggie Dixon died suddenly of arrhythmia. He went on to post a 266-183 record, the Black Knights having earned four postseason berths with a pair of NCAA Tournament and WNIT appearances under his direction.

Magarity also became the first coach in NCAA history to coach against his own daughter, when Army faced Holy Cross in Patriot League competition. Maggie Magarity, in her first season at Holy Cross after a stint at the University of New Hampshire, defeated her father in three of the four games played between the teams this year.

Got some news coming.

I know a story, and I know it before anyone else. And it's killing me.

So I won't say anything here -- yet. 

I made a promise to keep something under wraps for a little while, and I will follow through with that. I don't see it as being a crime against my former role as a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, since I'm no longer a working journalist. But just keep an eye on this space and I'll be able to fill in all the details shortly.

Yeah, I hate someone that drops hints, too. But there are no hints here.

Talk to you soon.

The Owner's Box After Dark, Ep. 42.

Call it "sugar and spice" or "sweet and sour," but I definitely take the latest episode of the After Dark franchise in two different directions.

To start, I talk about how enjoyable it has been to be back behind the microphone in this "Fall II" season, doing King Philip Regional High School football and volleyball (including clips!). But after the commercial break, I get serious -- big time.

You may have heard that the Duxbury High School football team used anti-Semitic language as the codes for its audible calls in a recent game. Players and coaches from the opposing team brought this offensive language to the public's attention, and since then, the coach has been suspended for at least one game, the game this weekend has ben canceled, and anti-defamation groups are calling for an investigation.

No doubt, this is one of the worst examples of immature and stupid behavior for a high school athletic team that I've heard in quite some time -- and as you will hear, I'm not bashful about what I suggest for penalties.

There is absolutely no room for such hate speech in football, and EVERYONE in Duxbury needs to be held accountable for this sort of behavior from their young athletes -- and especially the adults that supervise them.

(UPDATE: Just after this podcast was completed and posted, the Duxbury school system announced that it had severed its ties with head football coach Dave Maimaron, which was one of the penalties I suggested during my commentary.)

It's all in Episode 42 of the best little video podcast to come out of the heart of Mansfield.

Ponderous thoughts I was pondering ...

The men (left) got a full weight room; the women got barbells and some yoga mats.

Ponderous thoughts I was pondering while trying my damnedest to stay awake during the four-hour torture that was "Zack Snyder's Justice League" ...

** You have probably seen the posts by players and coaches alike that illustrate the great discrepancies in how the NCAA set up its tournament "bubbles" for the Division 1 tournaments, the men in Indianapolis and the women in San Antonio.

You've probably seen the comparison in weight-training rooms that were set up -- the men having all the latest equipment anyone could want, and the women given one set of hand barbells and an adjustable bench. You've seen the vast differences in the goodies packed in the individual swag bags, or the tales of hot buffet meals for the men and pre-packaged cold sandwiches for the women. 

And it goes beyond all of that. It's basically the NCAA shamelessly promoting the men's tournament in a disparate manner than how it is promoting the women's tournament -- and while the usual gauges of interest would indicate the men's tournament is more popular with the general public, it's not the NCAA's job to operate its tournaments according to perceived interest. The NCAA should be providing equally to all its participants.

That's never been more true than a time when both tournaments are being conducted in their entirety with single host cities. If there was any hint whatsoever that San Antonio intended to shortchange the women athletes that were going to be playing there, there's no way the NCAA should have signed off on it. 

It's not a matter of the men bringing in more revenue for their tournament. The NCAA can more than afford equaling the expenditures for both. And while this may not be a Title IX violation because the NCAA is not subject to the equality statute that is contained within the Education Amendments of 1972, all of the educational institutions that participate are subject to Title IX -- and if they knowingly sent their female athletes to a tournament that was not to be conducted in an equal manner as the men's tournament, perhaps they might be at risk of having legal action taken against them for violating Title IX.

I'll watch both tournaments this week. I may watch the men more than the women, because the coverage is different. But anyone that has read me since the 1970s knows where I stand on the issue. Women athletes deserve equal opportunity and are entitled to it BY LAW, and there isn't a knuckle-dragging asshole on earth that can dispute that fact.

Of course, the knuckle-draggers are quick to offer their comments on social media, and most are thoroughly nauseating in their misogyny. So, I've developed a strategy to combat it.

When I do respond, and I don't often, I choose one of the most insulting comments I can find and offer just one sentence: "And you have a small penis."

Maybe not the most dignified thing I can say, I suppose, but I just love triggering those fools.

By the way, I saw a post on social media that was very encouraging. A group of franchised locations of Dick's Sporting Goods is prepared to donate a full weight-room worth of equipment to the women's "bubble," no strings attached, because it's the right thing to do.

If this comes to pass, I will definitely be making my next sporting goods purchase at the nearest Dick's Sporting Goods store, which is in North Attleboro. I encourage you all to do likewise.

With pressure mounting, the NCAA took notice and apparently is taking action. Senior VP Dan Gavitt said on a Zoom call Friday that the NCAA did indeed drop the ball in preparation for the two tournaments, and would fix the inequities for the women by this weekend. Other issues, such as the uneven number of qualifiers (the men get 68, the women 64) and funding for the women's NIT, will have to be taken up by members later.

I'd say "it's a start," but the start came in 1972. Time to move it along faster.

** The Hockomock League is coming to the aid of Sharon High in this "Fall II" football season by providing playing locations for Sharon's home games while its home field is being renovated. Oliver Ames and Mansfield have stepped forward so far, although the results haven't been to the Eagles' liking -- a 49-7 loss to Foxboro and a 48-7 loss to North Attleboro, respectively.

Sharon does not have another home game scheduled for the rest of the way, but it's good to see the league taking care of its own like this.

North TV's Glen Farley

** Quirky as this short season is, it's quirky for announcers, too. As King Philip is on the road for three straight weeks starting with Saturday's game at Attleboro, Glen Farley and I don't have another game to telecast for North TV until the final game of the season, April 23 at home against Franklin. But that could change.

There are two open dates in April on the Warriors' schedule, and AD Gary Brown said it's KP's intention to fill both. One will be an official crossover game with the team in the Davenport Division that corresponds in the standings with KP's location in the Kelley-Rex Division. But Brown said he expects the other date to be filled with a Davenport team as well, an opening created because King Philip and Franklin are playing only once in the "regular season" instead of twice as they would in a normal season.

At least one of those games should be a home game, Brown said -- and since COVID-19 restrictions still keep us from covering road games, that might be the next opportunity for Glen and I to call a KP game this year.

Me at Super Bowl XLIX media day.

** I made an important decision this week. I retired from my part-time position with the Associated Press as a football stringer, bringing to an official end my career of covering the New England Patriots.

I covered three games in 1971 for the Mansfield News (including the Schaefer Stadium opener), one in 1976 for the Westfield Evening News, the full seasons of 1977-86 for The Sun Chronicle, parts of 1987-89 for The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, all of the regular seasons from 1989-2017 for The Sun Chronicle, the 2018 training camp for The Sun Chronicle and parts of the 2018 and 2019 seasons for the AP. I also served as a football stringer for the AP in an unbroken period from 1982 through 2003.

As the pandemic eliminated almost all work for AP stringers last year and is almost certain to cut into the opportunity for 2021, I figured the time was best for me to just move on. It’s been a fun run, but the further removed I became from daily coverage of the team, the less it interested me. I have other pursuits to entertain me in retirement, and the mobility issues I have from knee surgery last August might prove daunting if I were to return, as a considerable amount of walking up and down the stadium stands and standing around for hours is required to cover a training camp.

I’m 67 and not getting any younger. Time to turn over the reins to younger and hungrier souls. I’ll always be appreciative to the AP for giving me a few extra bucks, a wider audience and the opportunity to see my name and byline on the websites of some of the best newspapers in the nation. And no, I’m not considering a move to work for the Tampa bureau.

So, with thanks to Howard Ulman and Jimmy Golen for giving me the opportunity, I bid the Associated Press adieu -- as well as the Patriots. 

Catch you all soon.

The Owner's Box After Dark, Ep. 41.

Kristen McDonnell guests for the first time on the "After Dark" video podcast.

It's double-barreled fun on the latest episode of the best video podcast coming out of downtown Mansfield.

First, we talk to Norwood High School boys' basketball coach Kristen McDonnell, who chats about how she and her Mustangs overcame the obstacles wrought by a COVID-challenged season to post a 9-2 record and continue the progress made by the program in the second year of her coaching tenure. It's a 27-minute sample of the hour-long conversation that appeared on The Owner's Box, our long-running audio podcast, and if you like what you hear and want to hear more, you can find a link to the 33rd episode of The Owner's Box elsewhere in this blog.

Then I joyfully announce to the world that I have become part of eventual herd immunity. I received my dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Saturday, so I have no more tangles in my hair, experienced no tears, and have to be only 33 percent lucky going forward as I continue to avoid COVID-19 infection.

Watch this episode by hitting the link below, and I guarantee you will be hungry for more. That's where the audio podcast comes in handy!

A moment left uncaptured in time.

Foxboro coach Lisa Downs (right) hugs Shakirah Ketant at the 2020 postseason banquet.

Before I post a link to another episode of The Owner's Box After Dark (coming shortly!), I thought I'd make note of an anniversary of sorts. Today was the day one year ago when members of the Foxboro High girls' basketball team gathered at Norton Country Club to celebrate their just-concluded season -- but it was concluded one game short of how long it was supposed to extend.

On March 14 of last year, the Warriors were supposed to play Taconic Regional High School of Pittsfield for the state Division 2 basketball championship. But that game, scheduled for the DCU Center in Worcester, was canceled with about a day's notice because of the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Just a few days earlier, the Warriors had put the finishing touches on a relatively easy win over North Reading at the TD Garden to earn the right to play for the state title -- their second title game in three years, in fact. While they were indeed happy to have won the state semifinal, there was still a sense of unfinished business among the players, and that was evident in their responses to me as I conducted post-game interviews in the Will McDonough Press Room for Foxboro Cable Access.

Little did they, or Coach Lisa Downs, know that there would be a nagging fear in the back of their minds after they returned home, got a good night's sleep, and returned to their preparations for the last game of the season on the next day.

All over the nation, a sense of panic arose over this strange and hitherto-unknown virus called COVID-19. But it really hit home with the news that one of the members of the Utah Jazz that played in a game against the Celtics a few nights earlier, Rudy Gobert, had tested positive for the virus -- and that was the domino that fell and prompted the NBA to suspend its season. 

It made me wonder -- had I been infected because I had been in a press room where an infected NBA player may have given a post-game interview? Had the Foxboro players been exposed, or the crowds from Foxboro and Mansfield that had attended the two state semifinal games on consecutive nights? Was the whole building teeming with coronavirus? 

Truth is, nobody really knew anything about COVID-19 at that juncture, except that it was dangerous. All of the major leagues stopped play. The NCAA canceled its tournaments at all levels. And suddenly, the nation was locked down as tight as a drum for the first time since the second decade of the 20th century.

Katelyn Mollica (11) won two state titles in her career.

Given the lack of concrete information about the virus, it's not surprising that the Warriors wanted desperately to get in their game despite the growing trend to shut everything down. They probably could have played in an empty gym far off the beaten path, without the benefit of fan support, but the MIAA opted to err on the side of caution for all of its basketball and hockey title games. All of the teams that were denied their final games had the title of "co-champions" bestowed upon them, and high school sports followed the rest of the nation into lockdown.

They haven't played a normal game or season since.

When the Warriors and their parents convened on March 15 at Norton Country Club, they did so on a day in which Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker would later make an emergency decree limiting public gatherings to 10 persons. The banquet could have been similar to a funeral in tone, given the virus fears and the deep disappointment felt by the players and their families over not being able to complete the season. But Downs, her staff and the players refused to let the emotions and fears get the best of them.

Before the awards presentations began, Foxboro Cable Access rigged up a widescreen TV and showed the Warriors' comeback victory over Hingham for the Division 2-South title. The players watched with joy as they tracked the progress of their rally from an 11-point deficit in the second half. And the thrill of seeing their resolve bear fruit set the tone for a day of celebration.

None of us knew what we were in for over the next 12 months. Lives were changed. Personal habits were altered. Some of us actually became ill. And in a few cases locally, loved ones were lost -- a sad reminder that as of today, more than 540,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19.

Now, one year into this pandemic, newspapers are marking the anniversary with retrospective stories illustrating how the world changed in the second week of March 2020. The local daily newspaper for which I worked for 41 years before my layoff on August 2018 has also done so. In the main story, the Foxboro girls' basketball team rated a fleeting reference in one sentence. In a lengthy column by a part-time writer that appeared in the sports section, there is no mention whatsoever of how a local team was denied the opportunity to win a state championship by the coronavirus -- and that is an egregious omission.

It's been suggested that if I am critical of the newspaper for which I once worked, it's an indication that I'm just a bitter and angry old man that should mind my own business. But I've moved on. I had fully intended to retire on March 17, 2019, regardless of what the future might have held. I'm enjoying retirement, and I thoroughly enjoy my new role as a play-by-play announcer for three local cable TV systems. I also see no reason why I, as part of the audience the newspaper serves, can't call out the stumbling efforts of the penny-pinching ownership that has gutted its staff and is struggling to present relevant news coverage to an area that was once served by a robust and vibrant daily newspaper.

Aside from the indefatigable Peter Gobis, who soldiers on and skips from event to event to event on any given day despite approaching his 70th birthday, there is no one else on that staff capable of presenting a truly local historical perspective to its readers, especially where sports are concerned. And it shows.

But I have not forgotten -- and that's why this blog and my podcasts exist. 

The Foxboro girls and all of the athletes that followed them -- through the lost 2019 spring season, then fall and winter and now on to the "Fall II" season -- have done what they had to do. They played through the restrictions, and the rules changes, and the mask-wearing, and they did not complain. They just played on, grateful for the opportunity. 

Their memories will be different than those that preceded them, and probably different those that will follow, at least eventually. And for their efforts, they deserve to be remembered and honored far better than just with one line within the entire content of the daily newspaper that was once entrusted with the task of providing them with lasting memories of their accomplishments.

 

The Owner's Box, Ep. 33.

Kristen McDonnell had her Norwood High boys' hoop team rolling this year.

One of my favorite podcast guests returns to The Owner's Box today as Norwood High School boys' basketball coach Kristen McDonnell joins me for the latest episode of the O.G. of podcasts.

McDonnell, who won four state championships as the head coach of the Braintree High girls' basketball team, got her Mustangs going in the right direction in the recently-concluded, pandemic-shortened basketball season. They finished 9-2 (8-2 against teams from the Tri-Valley League's large school division), and if there were any doubters left whether a woman could successfully coach a boys' team, they were few and far between.

Kristen and I talk about how our hopes that basketball would be conducted normally this year were dashed as the pandemic lingered, how she and her Mustangs adapted to the changes, how she believes she can maintain the momentum going into another offseason, and she even weighs in on some potential rules changes for when the sport returns to normal.

Our last podcast together was almost a full year ago, so we had a lot to talk about and we often diverted from the script. Kristen's knowledge of the sport and her commitment to excellence are second to none, so I heartily recommend giving a listen to this 70-minute edition of the best podcast coming out of downtown Mansfield.

North Attleboro's Anthony Sherman retires from NFL.

North Attleboro's Anthony Sherman called it a career after 10 NFL seasons.

Anthony Sherman, the former North Attleboro High School and University of Connecticut fullback, retired from pro football today after 10 seasons, eight of them with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sherman, originally a fifth-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals, was traded to Kansas City two years into his career and carved out a specific niche for himself under Andy Reid's guidance as a blocking fullback, occasional pass receiver and special-teams captain, the latter where he made his greatest and most lasting contributions to the Chiefs' success.

The day of his trade was one I remember well, because it illustrated the loyalty he had to his home area.

I heard of the trade as I was leaving the office late one afternoon, and I quickly called his cell-phone number to see if I could get a comment. Normally I'd go through a team's media relations department, but I figured I could skirt that restriction as he was leaving one team and heading for another. But before I had finished my 10-mile drive to my home, my phone was ringing. It was Sherman, calling me from the departure gate at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport as he waited to board a plane that would take him to his new football home.

I pulled over and quickly started jotting notes, the conversation lasting almost 20 minutes before his boarding call came. I thanked him profusely, and your favorite Blue Ribbon Daily had a fresh story in the next day's editions as a result.

For more on Sherman's retirement, here's a link to a story in the Kansas City Star:

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article249704713.html