Vermont Mountaineers

Tonight at Holyoke for Game 2 of this Best of 3 NECBL Western Division Championship Series; following last night's 7-1 Game 1 victory.

(The Vermont Mountaineers are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Montpelier, Vermont. The team, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, plays their home games at Montpelier Recreation Field.

The team's name was chosen from more than 300 entries after the franchise was awarded to Vermont by the NECBL in 2003. The team has seen substantial success since their inaugural season, winning three division championships and two league championships. John Russo has been with the team throughout its existence and has served as manager since 2004. Brian Gallagher has been the team's general manager since the formation of the franchise.

As of June 2009, there are 19 former Mountaineers in professional baseball, led by Robert Delaney (Rochester Red Wings) now playing AAA-level baseball. In total 47 ex-Mountaineers have gone on to play baseball professionally. [1]

The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 12-team amateur wooden bat summer baseball league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 42-game schedule during June and July, with a playoff in early August. Like the Cape Cod Baseball League and other amateur leagues, the NECBL is a showcase for top college-level players, giving professional baseball scouts a chance to see prospective pros playing against each other. It is considered one of the top summer leagues in the country.

Founded in 1993, the NECBL began its direction under George Foster, former Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets All-Star and Major League Baseball home run leader, and Emmy Award-winning television producer/director Joseph Consentino. Play started in 1994 and today the NECBL has become a strong twelve-team league that plays in all six New England states. It recruits players attending U.S. colleges from New England, the other 44 states, and foreign countries, provided that they come from NCAA-sanctioned colleges or universities, are in good academic standing, have completed at least one year of athletic eligibility, and have at least one year of eligibility remaining.[1] )*

courtesy of Wikipedia*

BoSox need proverbial 'Mr. Clutch'

So many missed opportunities vs Tampa ... HUGE 4 games in NY.

Joe Castiglione

Castiglione joined the Red Sox broadcast team in 1983, teamed with Ken Coleman. He admitted not being in the booth when the ball rolled through Bill Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series, as he was in the clubhouse covering Red Sox' seemingly-impending victory celebration. After Coleman's retirement in 1989, Bob Starr became the lead announcer for the Red Sox. After Starr's departure at the end of the 1991 season, Castiglione became the team's lead radio announcer along with Jerry Trupiano. Castiglione became nationally known when the team won the 2004 World Series, with his broadcast of the end of the game. During the 2007 season he shared announcing duties with a rotating duo of Dave O'Brien and Glenn Geffner. With Glenn Geffner leaving for the Florida Marlins broadcast booth, Castiglione shared the booth with Dave O'Brien, Dale Arnold or Jon Rish in 2008. Dave O'Brien and Jon Rish are his partners for 2009.

Castiglione claims to have been a New York Yankees fan as a kid. He said in his autobiography that he then closely followed the Pittsburgh Pirates because they were the closest to Youngstown, and likewise became an Indians fan after moving to Cleveland.

Castiglione is currently a Lecturer in the department of Communication Studies at Northeastern University, where he teaches a course on Sports Broadcasting. Current Red Sox play-by-play announcers Don Orsillo and Uri Berenguer were among his students and broadcast booth interns. He has also taught at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire.

In 2004, Castiglione published a book called Broadcast Rites and Sites: I Saw It on the Radio with the Boston Red Sox. The book is a collection of stories from his days covering the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. It was updated in 2006 to include material on the 2004 World Series.

(courtesy of Wikipedia)

Another terrific program.

Thanks again to Kevin Hartman and Buster Olney for appearing on my sports rant and talk show. Special thanks to the stations of Radio Vermont who exclusively air my program, live every Sunday night, 9-midnight.

Next week, Boston vs. New York on WDeV FM & AM!