Good morning!
Nobody researches local high school sports like Turners Falls’ Mike Cadran, aka The Tabulator. Cadran’s latest effort reveals the top five winningest schoolboy basketball coaches. 

The all-time wins leader according to Cadran is South Deerfield’s Marty Sanderson. The Mike Krzyzewski of local hoops coaches amassed 353 wins from 1985 to 2010 at Frontier (190), Hampshire (126) and Hopkins (37).

Turners Falls coach Gary Mullins is hot on Sanderson’s heels with 331 wins, followed by Athol’s Chris Sullivan (319) and Greenfield’s Dan Dyer (304). Meanwhile, Northfield’s Scott Thayer recently registered his 300th win after the Panthers vanquished Mt. Greylock. Thayer had 193 wins at GHS and the balance of his victories have been at Pioneer.

“No others close to 300 V’s,” emailed Cadran.

Thayer and Mullins will continue to rack up wins, and The Tabulator will continue to keep counting. Anyone who wants to dispute his findings can contact him directly at Yo Mama’s House.

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The Amherst College hockey team faced off against Hamilton College at Orr Rink Friday night. The Mammoths (5-4-0; 9-5-0) were seeking their seventh win in nine games, and the two points would move them past the Continentals into fourth place in the 10-team New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). 

“We’re still trying to figure some things out, but our talent level’s pretty good if we do,” said coach Jack Arena, who was seeking his 524th career win. Assistant coach Cam MacDonald knows NESCAC, having scored 33 goals in 103 games at Colby College, and Deerfield native Matt Lindsay joined the staff last summer.

The Mammoths have nine games in four weeks and Arena wants them hitting on all cylinders come playoff time. Senior Ryan Tucker is NESCAC’s second leading scorer with eight goals, and sophomore Josh Burke is tied for third in points (14) and is second in shots (58).

Lindsay has had coaching stops at Utica, Hobart, Robert Morris, Princeton and UMass, but the bulk of his career was at Penn State where he helped the Nittany Lions win two Big Ten titles.

“Matt has been great,” said Arena. “He’s excellent at evaluating talent and has a contact network that we haven't had before. His skill set is beyond that of a typical D-III assistant and we want to benefit from that for as long as he wants to be a part of the program.”

The Mammoths’ next home game is next Saturday at 3 p.m. against first place Trinity at 3 p.m. Admission is free.

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Going into Saturday’s game at Northeastern, the UMass hockey team is 3-3-2 since the end of November. Last weekend coach Greg Carvel used Michael Hrabal between the pipes for both games against Merrimack.

Hrabal, who turns 19 Sunday, had played six games in 10 days at the World Juniors in Sweden and was yanked after allowing two goals on five shots in the bronze medal game against Finland.

Hrabal gave up seven goals and had a lackluster .887 save percentage during the weekend split. He might be a second round pick, but he’s young and needs to be handled with care.

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The year’s first graded Kentucky Derby prep race goes off Saturday at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans where a field of eight will be sent off in the $200,000 LeComte Stakes at a mile-and-sixteenth. Front-running speedster Track Phantom, saddled by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Joel Rosario is the 9/5 morning line favorite. A pair of Brad Cox steeds, Nash under Florent Geroux and Ethan Energy ridden by Lui Saez are listed at 5-2 and 4-1 respectively.

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Remember Michigan’s nailbiter against Alabama? Nobody looked happier than 6-2, 339-pound Kenneth Grant after the Wolverines stopped the Tide on 4th-and-goal. The big nose tackle from Mississippi got off the pile and sprinted down the field with both arms in the air, a la Willie McGinest after the Patriots stopped the Colts at the goal line during the Brady-Manning era. 

Ah yes, those were the good old days. It’ll be a while before we see signs saying, In Jerod We Trust.  

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One year ago yesterday, former Denver Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe stalked a 200-pound mountain lion that had killed two of his neighbor’s dogs. Wolfe tracked his quarry up and over a mountain and used a Hoyt Highline with a Sevr broadhead to drop the big cat out of a snow covered evergreen tree. 

Wolfe told Alice Jones Webb of Free Range American that he sent the meat off to be pro cessed and the hide to a taxidermist. “I made a really good shot, an ethical shot,” said Wolfe. “I did everything right, everything legal. Hunters are conservationists. We love animals and we want them to be around for generations.”

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SQUIBBERS: Mike Francesca on Jets coach Robert Saleh: “As soon as anything goes positive he starts talking like he’s a star. He’s been a bum for three years. His record screams inept.” … MLB’s over/unders for the 2024 season: Dodgers 104.5 wins; Yankees 93.5; Rangers 89.5; Orioles 87.5; Mets 82.5; Tigers 79.5; Red Sox 79.5.  … Oregon opened with an 81-7 win against Portland State, ended with a 45-6 win against Liberty, and their place kicker Camden Lewis was a perfect 70-for-70 on extra points. … Boston’s newly minted 40-40 club: infielder Vaughn Grissom made 48 errors in the minors and pitcher Lucas Giolito has allowed 161 home runs in the majors, including 41 last year. Oh yeah, Fenway Park was made for him. … After Michigan cornerback Josh Wallace forced Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe out of bounds in the CFP semifinal, ESPN’s Chris Fowler said: “His 53rd game, most of them at UMass.” If Wallace had stayed, UMass probably would’ve been in a bowl game of its own. … Joe Castiglione to Ryan Spilborghs on golfing with Jackie Bradley Jr.: “Typical athlete, he got into golfing three years ago and he’s got a four handicap.” … Texans radio voice Marc Vandemeer did UMass hoops during the Calipari years. His signature call was “Book it!” … Local harness racing legend Richie Redmond passed away last month at age 85. Redmond and his brothers Fran and Bernie ran the Candlelight Restaurant (now Magic Wings) and their French fries were the hit of the Franklin County Fair. … The two Mikes, Milbury and Vrabel, have similar makeups, both are big and surly  … According to a Cowboys statistician, there’s been one successful onside kick in 32 attempts this season. The NFL has banned kicking teams from getting a running start. … The Voice of the Cowboys, Brad Sham, summing up the wild card loss to Green Bay: “Maybelline doesn’t have enough lipstick to put on this pig.” … “I kinda miss Belichick already,” said the SportsHub’s Michael Felger. “He had juice. He was a story.” Pats fans, welcome to Panthers Nation.

Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@icloud.com