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Middletown, Central Falls to meet for Division III volleyball title

Central Falls players Natalia Szulc, left, and Alba Vargas go for the ball during the team's match tonight agianst Hope.

Middletown swept Shea while Central Falls beat Hope, also 3-0, tonight to set up the championship match in Division III girls volleyball. The Islanders and the Warriors will meet for the title at 1 p.m. Saturday in Keaney Gym. Check HSGametime tomorrow for photo galleries from the matches as well as coverage from our writers.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Bruins throttle Maple Leafs

Milan Lucic squares off with Toronto's Mark Bell during the first period tonight.

The Boston Bruins won their second consecutive game, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2, tonight at TDBanknorth Garden. Left wing Peter Schaefer scored two goals for the Bruins, both in the third period, while Tim Thomas made 34 saves. Click here to see the box score from projo Stats.

The Bruins visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:32 PM to Bruins | Permalink | Comments 0

Bonds indicted in wake of steroid probe

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds was indicted today for perjury and obstruction of justice, charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.

If convicted on all five counts, baseball's home run king could go to prison for up to 30 years.

"During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes," the indictment read.

In August, the 43-year-old Bonds passed Hank Aaron to become baseball's career home run leader. Late in the season, the San Francisco Giants told the seven-time National League MVP they didn't want him back next year.

Bonds finished the year with 762 homers, seven more than Aaron, and is currently a free agent. In 2001, he set the season record with 73 home runs.

The indictment culminated a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes.

John Burris, one of Bonds' attorneys, did not know of the indictment before being alerted by The Associated Press. He said he would immediately call Bonds to notify him.

More from The Associated Press...

Extra: Read the full indictment against Bonds.

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 6:31 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

PC charges back to beat Temple in opener

AP photo / Andres Leighton
Geoff McDermott dunks for the Friars during the second half of today's game.

After trailing 62-52 with just under six minutes left, Providence College roared back to nip Temple, 66-64, today at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

The Friars closed the game on a 14-2 run to win. This was a game the Friars had little chance of winning but some tight man-to-man defense down the stretch got the job done.

Check the College Hoops Blog tonight for more from Kevin McNamara in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Until then, click here to see the box score from projo Stats.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 5:16 PM to PC basketball | Permalink | Comments 0

Celtics draw highest TV rating in 10 years

The Celtics win last night over the New Jersey Nets delivered a 5.4 household rating, the highest-rated regular season game for the Celtics since the 1997-98 season, according to Comcast SportsNet, the station that broadcasts the team's games.

The station said the game was viewed in 124,200 households. For the final 15 minutes of the broadcast, the rating peaked at 7.7, or 177,100 households.

Comcast SportsNet says its ratings for the season are up 76 percent year-over-year from last season.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:53 PM to Celtics | Permalink | Comments 0

Bruins recall Rask to replace Fernandez

BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Bruins have recalled Tuukka Rask from Providence of the AHL to replace injured goalie Manny Fernandez.

The team placed Fernandez on injured reserve on Nov. 9 with a left knee strain. There's no timetable for his return.

Fernandez hurt his knee during practice on Oct. 30. It's the same knee he injured last year with the Wild, eventually knocking him out for the season.

Rask, 20, has a 7-1 record with a 1.98 goals against average for Providence this season. A native of Finland, Rask was the 21st overall pick by Toronto in the 2005 draft and was traded to Boston in June 2006 in exchange for goalie Andrew Raycroft.

Rask was recalled by Boston between Nov. 5 and Nov. 11, but did not play.

Fernandez was acquired from Minnesota in July for forward Petr Kalus and a fourth-round draft pick. He has a 2-2 record and a 3.93 goals-against average in four games this season.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:44 PM to Bruins | Permalink | Comments 0

NE-10 Honors Bryant's Granatell, Fine; AIC's Parent

The Northeast-10 Conference today named Bryant quarterback Charlie Granatell its offensive player of the year, Marty Fine its coach of the year and American International College quarterback Rob Parent of West Warwick a co-freshman of the year.
Granatell, a senior, led the Bulldogs to an 8-2 record, their first outright conference championship and their second consecutive NCAA Division II tournament berth. He completed 148 of 243 passes (60.9 percent) for 1,789 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was also named second-team all-conference quarterback. Steve Armstrong of Southern Connecticut, the league's most valuable player, is the first-team QB.
Fine has directed Bryant to three winning seasons and two championships in his four years as head coach.
Parent finished sixth in passing yards with 1,992 and tied for fourth with 13 touchdown throws. The freshman of the week four times this season, he completed 128 of 236 passes (54.2 percent) and was intercepted only eight times. He helped AIC to a 7-3 record overall, 7-2 in the conference. AIC tied Southern Connecticut for second place behind Bryant.
Bryant will play at Southern Connecticut Saturday in the first round of the Division II tournament.

Posted by Mike Szostak  at 11:33 AM to College Sports | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young: Back to the pursuit of perfection

Head to the PatsBlog to listen to this week's edition of projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young, and read excerpts from the conversation. The topics: players coming off the bye week, lingering media hype, Wes Welker on the injury report, Buffalo's surprisingly successful season, the injury to running back Marshawn Lynch, the Patriots' outstanding record against J.P. Losman, and snow in the weekend forecast for Buffalo.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Horgan returns to course

Patrick Horgan has returned to competitive golf. And the Newport native and former PGA Tour player has picked one of the most demanding events of all to do so.

Horgan is competing this week in the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School at the Hombre Golf Club in Panama City Beach, Fla. He fired a 2-over 73 in yesterday’s opening round to tie for 53rd. Horgan played on the tour for nearly a decade, but has missed most of the last five years with various health issues, most recently eye surgery. He was exempt through the first stage because of his previous performances.

Also at Hombre, Crestwood’s Greg Sampson birdied his last three holes to shoot 68 and tie for 11th. Geoff Sisk of Marshfield, Mass., had 70 and Potowomut’s Rodney Butcher a 71. Point Judith’s Jeff Martin shot himself out of it with an 85 that included a nine on a par-4 hole.

Hombre is one of six sites for second-stage qualifying this week. Among other results:

At Lake Jovita in Dade City, Fla., Worcester’s Fran Quinn opened with a sparkling 65 and is tied for fifth; fellow Bay Stater Kevin Johnson had 67 to tie for 10th, URI grad Michael Sims a 69 to tie for 19th, Cape Cod’s Jason Caron a 72 to tie for 52nd and Attleboro’s Jim Renner a 74 to tie for 67th.

At TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Tex., Connecticut’s Jeff Curl, who won the New England Pro Tour event at Cranston Country Club three years ago, had 73 to tie for 45th.

At The Woodlands in Kingwood, Tex., New Bedford’s Kevin Silva had 73 and is tied for 35th.

The Champions Tour is holding its finals this week at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla., and the leader there is former Major League pitcher Rick Rhoden. He is at 6-under 138 through two rounds. Worcester’s Rick Karbowski is in excellent shape at 141, in a tie for fourth, and former Rhode Island Open champion Kirk Hanefeld of Bolton, Mass., tied for 19th at 144.

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 10:40 AM to Paul Kenyon on Golf | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Sean McAdam examines the Red Sox' decision to begin their season in Japan, and what it means for the 2008 season. Also, Paul Kenyon writes on Rhode Island's win at the Pizzitola center, and Bill Reynolds profiles Hendricken grad Matt Sherry, who might have a future in the NFL.

Download a copy of the page in PDF format

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments 0