Minutemen need points in race to Hockey East postseason

After last weekend's two losses, the University of Massachusetts hockey team urgently needs some points to stay in the Hockey East playoff picture.

The Minutemen will play Northeastern tonight at Matthews Arena in Boston and are at home against Merrimack Saturday. Both games are at 7 p.m.

Marilyn Higgins remembered in Belchertown as coach, teacher

Marilyn Higgins was a teacher in every sense of the word.

Higgins taught in the Belchertown school system for over 25 years, and coached at the high school for over 40 seasons and she impacted the lives around her daily.

Frankie Weir, Nate Ghareeb pile up wins for Hampshire Regional wrestling

WESTHAMPTON - Frankie Weir has already wrestled his way into the 100-win club at Hampshire Regional. With a strong postseason, teammate Nate Ghareeb can do the same.

Northampton native Dr. Russell Warren has treated New York Giants for 30 years

INDIANAPOLIS - Russell Warren never made it to the NFL as a player. But Sunday evening at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Dr. Russell Warren will be participating in his fifth Super Bowl. The 1958 graduate of Northampton High School is the team doctor for the New York Giants. They take on the Patriots in Super Bowl 46, a matchup between the franchise Warren tried out for 50 years ago against the franchise that was in its infancy when he was a teenager growing up in western Massachusetts.

• Related story: Victor Cruz inspires Paterson, N.J.

Thursday's high school basketball: South Hadley boys win to qualify for tourney

The South Hadley boys basketball team's 65-61 win over Sabis Thursday night put it one game under .500, but still clinched a playoff spot.

Luis Agrait's 17 points headlined three players in double figures as the Tigers (6-7, 2-1 Central) qualified for the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament via the 70 percent rule.

Former coach Ron Lashway 'immensely proud' of Patriots safety James Ihedigbo

Of all the Patriots fans hoping for a Super Bowl victory on Sunday night, there will be at least one spectator in Amherst with a personal connection to the field. Former Amherst Regional football coach Ron Lashway has kept track of the professional career of New England safety James Ihedigbo, who starred for the Hurricanes from 1999 through 2002. "I'm just so immensely proud of James and everything he's accomplished," Lashway said. "He's never given up fighting for his dream, and now he's playing in the Super Bowl."

• Related story: Rob Gronkowski limits practice

Local take-out joints gird for Sunday's Super Bowl 'Christmas' in February

For most football fans, preparing for Super Bowl Sunday means ordering a pizza, cracking open a cold one and grabbing the remote. But for the local establishments that provide the essential game day grub, the Super Bowl means weeks of preparation, from ordering thousands of pounds of extra ingredients to making the call for all hands on deck, like it or not.For Harold Tramazzo, owner of Wings Over Amherst at the Hangar and other "Wings Over" locations, it sometimes means working through the night to ensure that customers' orders for more than a ton of chicken wings will be ready to go by kickoff.

• Related story: Amherst, UMass police prepare