From the Press Box
Sweet Sixteen
By: Jim Lederman
The month of June means more than just warm weather. I am reminded we have to install the air conditioners! I watched a documentary on the 1986 World Champion Boston Celtics and the one memory of the ‘old’ Boston Garden was – no air conditioning in the old legendary building.
I was a Boston Celtics season ticket holder (Loge 24 – 4 seats) in 1986. Do you have Garden memories? Perhaps you watched the 1976 Vikings win the Division One State Hockey Championship! The undefeated (26-0-1) Vikings, with the state’s leading scorer – Bobby Mac – Bobby McDonald (57 goals).
Were you at the last high school basketball game played in the ‘old Garden’ – in 1995? Winthrop’s thrilling overtime victory over Cohasset, before they tore down, demolished the ‘Garden’ to build the new Fleet Center a.k.a. – the T.D. Garden. I had many memories of watching games in the ‘the Garden’ – in 1957 I watched the Celtics win their first of 17 World Championships.
My favorite team – the 1986 Celtics winning their 16th – NBA title 1 ‘Sweet Sixteen.’
The coach was K.C. Jones – he played with Bill Russell, Sam Jones and Bob Cousy (the Cuz – just turned 90 years old!).
I watched the special on the 1986 Celtics – they won the title in June in a building without ‘air conditioning’, the temp felt like 100 degrees – We turned the ‘air conditioning’ on today in our car when the temp was 75 degrees – Remember when we did not use air conditioning?
In 1981 – my first season with season tickets – Bill Fitch was the Celtics head coach – Larry Bird won the first of his three NBA championships (1981, 1984, 1986). I had the thrill of meeting Larry Bird in the Celtics office. My wife’s aunt – ‘Aunt Millie’ was the secretary to seven Celtics coaches.
The original ‘Big Three’ Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and ‘The Chief’ – Robert Parish, was of the greatest Celtics team (41-1 record at home). Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer was backup center on this elite team. The backcourt had DJ – Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge. Bill Walton won the ‘NBA Sixth Man’ Award in 1986. The roster had Jerry Sighting (Ohio State) Scott Wedman, Greg Kite, Rick Carlise, and Sam Vincent.
In 1986 I watched Michael Jordan score (61 NBA playoff record) the Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks, before defeating the Houston Rockets (coached by Bill Fitch) en-route to their 16th title.
How can I watch – LeBron James play in his seventh NBA title series?
I have to install the air conditioners, and I will have to call (NBA trivia expert Charles ‘Chuck’ Mullane) for some more trivia!
Sweet Sixteen!
Great Memories!
Let the Games Begin!
Boston Sports Tonight
The sports shows on local television are first-rate, the programming starts at 6 p.m. and continues until midnight.
The month of May featured the exciting NBA playoffs with the Celtics and Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors in the NBA version of the ‘Final Four.’
At 6 p.m. you can watch ‘Early Edition.’
At 9 a.m. through midnight Tom E. Curran, Tom Giles and Michael Holley are excellent and give you the latest scores, updates and controversy.
My favorite sports anchor is former Swampscott and Harvard University quarterback Mike Lynch on WCVB- Channel 5.
The National Basketball programming features Paul ‘The truth’ Pierce, Kenny ‘the Jet’ Smith and Shaq O’Neal. Former Celtic Kevin McHale on TNT.
I enjoy the controversial Michael Felger and Tony Massarotti on Friday 98.5 radio and ‘Felgermaz’ daily 2-6 p.m.
If you are a Red Sox fan and you can’t stay up till 1 a.m. when the Sox are in the West Coast, ESPN TV all night – all day, keep you updated on your favorite team.
Stay Tuned!
Enjoy the Sox and Celtics!
Let the Games Begin!
Tourney Time
The Vikings have four teams competing in the MIAA Tourney this week (weather permitting).
The boys Lacrosse team is in Division 3 North. Coach Brian Donnelly’s young team is the sixth seed with a (13-5) record. The Vikings had a match with Northeast Regional (12-4) at Miller Field on Monday.
Coach Ben Cimmino’s girls Lacrosse team finished with an impressive (14-5) record. The Lady Vikings play Lynnfield (11-7) on Tuesday at Miller Field. Coach Marie Finn’s boys tennis team (7-7) played Ipswich (11-5) at the Tigers home court on Tuesday.
The Vikings boys Lacrosse team defeated Northeast Regional (13-6) on Monday night at Miller Field. Donnelly and Company advance to play Austin Prep at Reading, Thursday afternoon.
Raise the Stix!
Go Vikings!
Let the Games Begin!
Extra Points
I am cheering for Golden State to win the NBA Championship they talk about a ‘dynasty’ if the Warriors win. How about the Boston Celtics record of 17 NBA titles. That is a ‘Dynasty’!
The sad ending to the Dwight Clark story in last week’s Transcript. Dwight passed away on Monday at age 61, from ALS.
The Red Sox have the most wins in baseball as of Monday! Can the injuries derail the Red Sox Express?
Let the Games Begin!
WHS sports roundup
Boys lacrosse advances,girls fall in state tourney
The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the North Sectional of the MIAA Division 3 state lacrosse tournament with a 13-6 victory over Northeast Regional Vocational School Tuesday evening at Miller Field.
The Vikings entered the fray as the seventh seed in the D-3 North with a 13-5 record. Northeast was the 10th seed among the 14 teams in the D-3 North with a 12-4 mark.
Winthrop now will meet the second seed, Austin Prep (14-2), this evening (Thursday) at Austin Prep. The opening draw is set for 5 p.m.
The WHS girls team dropped its first round contest with Lynnfield Monday evening by a score of 13-4 at Miller. The Lady Vikings compiled a 14-5 record during the regular season and were seeded eighth in the Division 2 North. The Lady Pioneers came into the tourney at 11-7 and were the ninth seed.
“This wasn’t the ending we were hoping for, but the girls played their hearts out for 50 minutes,” said WHS head coach Ben Cimmino. “I couldn’t be prouder of our group and our record-breaking season. I’m excited for what the future holds for this young team.”
WHS baseball, softball teams ready for tourney
Both the Winthrop High baseball and softball teams were scheduled to open play in the North Sectionals of the MIAA state tournament.
The Viking diamondmen, the 16th seed in the Division 4 North Sectional with a 4-15 record, travel to Lowell Catholic today (Thursday) for a 4 p.m. encounter. Coach Frank DeMarco’s squad will face a stiff challenge. Lowell Catholic is the number one seed in the D-4 North with 16-4 record.
If Winthrop prevails, the Vikings will advance to the quarterfinal round to meet the winner of the Matignon vs. Georgetown game on June 11 at 4 p.m.
The WHS softball team plays at Watertown tomorrow (Friday) at 4:00 in a preliminary round encounter. The Lady Vikings finished the regular season with a 5-14 record and are seeded 21st in the D-3 North. Watertown is the 12th seed with a 12-8 record.
The winner earns the right to advance to the first round against fifth-seeded East Boston (13-6). The date and location of that contest have not been determined.
Winthrop qualified for the tourney with a victory over Greater Lowell, 10-7, in the first half of a doubleheader last Saturday.
“We are very excited to play in the tournament for the 17th year in a row,” said WHS head coach Dave Guffey. “We will return all 11 varsity players for next year, so the tournament will be valuable experience for us.
“It should be a good game,” Guffey added. “They have a hard-throwing pitcher and a solid defense. Winthrop will counter will some excellent athletes who will compete until the final out.”
The Lady Vikings will be led into the tournament by Bella Perrotti, the team’s leading hitter with a .400 average. Stephanie Strangie was next with a .365 average.
Sofia Vitale led Winthrop in innings pitched and wins. Sofia won five of the team’s six games and had 33 strikeouts.
Bike Winthrop Hits the Streets
By Kate Anslinger
Ingleside Park was filled with bikers ready to cruise through the Winthrop neighborhoods for the second riding event hosted by “Bike Winthrop.” Before hitting the streets, riders were encouraged to decorate their bikes with colorful flowers provided by Julia Wallerce, founder of the community organization.
Lime Bike representative Steven Ho was in attendance to give a demonstration of the new-to-Winthrop dockless bike program, which enables residents to travel around town in an affordable and convenient way while also ridding the area of harmful pollutants caused by passenger vehicles.
Following the ride, guests were invited to reconvene at Ingleside Park for pizza, and entertainment provided by DJ Cuzzi.
“Our goal right now is to create opportunities for the community to come together to have fun outside while also building a culture of appreciation for biking both for transportation and for recreation,” said Wallerce. “Eventually we will need to work with the Town government to make our streets and intersections safer and more accessible, particularly given that there will be hundreds of dockless bikes around town starting this summer.”
Join Bike Winthrop for a short ride around the Point during the “Ha-Bah Day” festival on Tuesday, June 12, starting at 6:30 pm. Please see Bike Winthrop on Facebook, for more details.