Westport billionaire is considering a bid to buy the Connecticut Sun.
Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while enjoying the Red Sox pursuit of the American League East pennant.
American Legion baseball
Waterford Post 161 captured the American Legion baseball 19U state championship with an 8-1 victory over Zone 3 champion South Windsor on Wednesday night at Palmer Field in Middletown. The Zone 6 champions capped an impressive 7-0 state tourney run, which included a pair of victories over two-time defending state champion West Hartford.
Post 161 also won a state title in 2008.
Waterford’s Trace Morales was voted the tournament MVP, while teammate Matt Shampine was selected the tournament’s most outstanding pitcher.
Waterford (31-3) won all 17 of their Zone 6 games this summer en route to their fifth straight league title.
I got a chance to see Waterford a couple of times. Waterford GM and head coach Joe Mariani assembled a terrific team that reminded me of Rich Balzano’s legendary Branford squads that made four World Series appearances and Jay Hickey’s amazing RCP (Rocky Hill, Cromwell, Portland) teams that went to consecutive World Series in 2014 and 2015. All of those teams fielded lineups with a mixture of post-graduate college players and talented high schoolers from numerous schools and towns. Besides Waterford High, Post 161’s roster included players from East Lyme, Fitch, Stonington, Montville, and St. Bernard.
Of course, what Branford, RCP, and Waterford also had in common were lights out pitching, hitting up and down the lineup (future major leaguer Mike Olt batted eighth on Branford’s 2005 World Series team), and sensational defense. Yup, it takes a team with no weaknesses to win American Legion state and Northeast titles and go on to Shelby, North Carolina for the World Series.
I’m wishing Waterford all the best in next week’s Northeast Regional tournament at Holy Cross’ Fitton Field in Worcester. The tourney begins on August 6 and features state champions from Maine, Rhode Island, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and host Shrewsbury Post 387.
Sun risings
Just one week after the Connecticut Sun announced that they will play at the Mohegan Sun Arena in 2026, Sportico, a sports business website, reported that Westport billionaire Marc Lasry is considering a bid to buy the team. Lasry recently sold his 25 percent stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.
According to the report, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who told reporters earlier this month that he’d support a bid to keep the Sun in the Nutmeg State, would like to see the Sun play games at the Peoples Bank Arena in Hartford. Formerly known as the Hartford Civic Center, the arena is going through a $145 million renovation, with $118 million in funding from the state.
I can’t see the Sun playing home games in both Hartford and Uncasville. Might as well add Gampel Pavilion in Storrs and the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport.
The Sun belong in Boston and New Balance’s state-of-the-art Auerbach Center practice facility.
College hoops
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the schedule for the 2025 Invesco QQQ Women’s Showcase, taking place on Friday, November 21 and Sunday, November 23 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. FOX Sports will showcase all four matchups across their channels. Friday’s matchups are Syracuse versus Utah (5 p.m., FS2) and UConn versus Michigan (8 p.m., FOX), while Sunday’s matchups feature Michigan versus Syracuse (12 p.m., FS1) and UConn versus Utah (2:30 p.m., FS1).
Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 5, via Tickemaster and on sale at the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office starting Saturday, September 6.
Memo to Orange, Utes, and Wolverine women’s basketball fans: UConn is 45-1 all-time at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Another record for Clark
I couldn’t help but notice this small item from USA Today reporter Scooby Axson. According to Axson, an autographed 2024 Panini WNBA Rookie Royalty Flawless patch autographed one-of-one rookie card featuring Clark sold for a record $660,000 through Fanatics Collect’s July Premier auction on July 24. It is the highest ever paid for a card featuring a female athlete. It broke the previous record in March when someone paid $366,000 through Goldin Auctions for Clark’s C 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl autograph rookie card.
Yup, Clark is still the GOAT.
Comments and Observations …
- NESN will be in Norwich on Thursday, August 7 to broadcast the rivalry game between the Norwich Sea Unicorns and New Britain Bees. The first pitch from Dodd Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. With eight games remaining in the regular season, the Sea Unicorns are battling New Britain and Nashua for the final two Futures League playoff spots.
- The Billy Joel documentary “And So It Goes” on HBO Max is must-see TV. The two-part, five-hour series examines the extreme ups and downs of Joel’s life and music like we’ve never seen before. Above everything, Joel was a virtuoso. His live performances are the stuff of legend. After watching the series, I rifled through my box of concert ticket stubs and found this gem: “Billy Joel. March 26, 1984. Monday. 7:30 p.m. Boston Garden. Sec. 15. Row 9. Seat 8. Loge $15.00.” This was the “An Innocent Man” tour. The blockbuster album featured the songs “Tell Her About It”, “The Longest Time”, “Keeping The Faith”, “An Innocent Man”, and “Uptown Girl.” On the back of the ticket I wrote, “With Christine Brinkley.” Yup, wearing a red dress and sitting in the front rows was Joel’s girlfriend, supermodel Christie Brinkley. They were married a year later.
- Nomar Garciaparra? Jeff Bagwell? Curt Shilling and Brady Anderson? The MLB trading deadline can be one heck of a roller coaster ride for Boston Red Sox fans. Alas, we'll always have Heathcliff Slocumb for Curse of the Bambino busters Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe.
Stuck in the '70s
On Aug. 2, 1975, Boston’s mighty J. Geils Band, along with the Atlanta Rhythm Section and Rufus, opened for the Rolling Stones at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Following their fifth album, Nightmares…and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle, which featured their first big hit single “Must of Got Lost,” the J. Geils Band started playing in bigger arenas around the country during the Summer of ‘75.
On that same day in Boston, the Red Sox walloped the Detroit Tigers, 7-2, before 27,188 fans at Fenway Park. Denny Doyle went 3-for-5, while Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, and Rico Petrocelli each had two hits. Yaz and Lynn also had two RBI’s apiece.
Rick Wise pitched seven strong innings to earn the win. Dick Drago notched the save. The Red Sox led the American League East by eight-and-a-half games.
Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at, [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Zanor column: Waterford captures American Legion state crown
Category: General Sports
