James Ihedigbo vs. Victor Cruz in Super Bowl end of an era for Minutemen

The next Victor Cruz might come from Maine or Northern Iowa. The next James Ihedigbo might list McNeese State or Montana as his alma mater. The dueling improbable stories with roots in Amherst coincidentally mark the end of an era for the University of Massachusetts, because going from the Minutemen to the NFL likely won't be an unusual occurrence anymore.

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Super Bowl 46 shapes up to be a thriller

Hadley, South Hadley players on Cathedral hockey team that skated at Fenway

The 100th anniversary of Fenway Park is coming up this April, but the most vivid memories of the fabled ballpark for four local hockey players will be of sticks and pucks rather than bats and balls.

Amherst girls basketball team turned doubters into believers

Many good teams use the 'nobody believed in us' mantra to fire themselves up.

Most of the time, it's just a ploy.

But for the 2010-11 Amherst Regional girls basketball team, it was legitimate.

Bruins give fans new Stanley Cup stories

Hanging in my bedroom growing up was a picture of the famous Bobby Orr goal. Every hockey fan and almost every New England resident knows exactly the picture I'm referring to - the one where Orr floats through the air after scoring the game-winning goal that gave the Bruins the 1970 Stanley Cup.

Aftermath of brawl in Cincinnati shows need for policing by NCAA

There have been plenty of people complaining about the punishments handed down following the brawl at the end of the Saturday's crosstown shootout between Xavier and Cincinnati. Media in Cincinnati and nationally have accused the suspensions - which range from one to six games -- of having very little teeth. But the bigger issue isn't who was suspended and for how long, but who is in charge of determining those penalties. The suspensions of the players involved were determined by their respective schools and endorsed by their respective conferences, not the NCAA.