Just Take A Minute: July 13-17, 2009

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   Friday, July 17

Big night in lacrosse as UMass All-Americans Kevin Leveille and Chris Fiore helped the "Old School" team beat the "Young Guns" in an amazing 22-21 overtime thriller at Denver's Invesco Field on Thursday, on ESPN2. JTAM has news on Tony Gaffney back in action with the Lakers and even starting last night along with Stephane Lasme's game with the Spurs. Also news on softball recruit Christine Della Vecchia and the football team.

UMass alum Kevin Leveille had two goals and an assist for "Old School" in the MLL All-Star Game. The Box Score can be found here. Additional coverage from Inside Lacrosse with their in-game blog.

On Saturday, a big match-up of UMass lacrosse alums takes place at Harvard Stadium, as the Chicago Machine with Kevin Leveille and Jake Deane travel to the Boston Cannons featuring Sean Morris and Jack Reid. Check out the game preview.

In the NBA Summer League, UMass' Tony Gaffney returned to action after missing a game with a bruised tailbone. Gaffney started for the L.A. Lakers in their 92-77 win over Houston. Gaffney had six points and five rebounds in 28 minutes. For the San Antonio Spurs, Stephane Lasme had five points and a rebounds in 10 minutes as the Spurs beat the Thunder, 85-76.

The Fall River Herald News had a snipet on Gaffney and his return to the court on Thursday.

The Springfield Republican has a basketball story on the possibility of UMass playing Drexel and former coach Bruiser Flint next season as part of the Legends Classic.

The Stratford Star has a story softball recruit Christine Della Vecchia. She signed with UMass back in November.

The website MidMajorMadness has a preview of the UMass football season and picks the Minutemen to go 7-4 in 2009.

Fresh off starting the Double A All-Star Game, UMass alum Matt Torra starts for the Mobile BayBears tonight as they take on the Birningham Barons.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: Be on the look out for the new re-designed UMassAthletics.com debuting in six days, next Thursday, July 23.

Don't Miss This: Over the weekend, check out the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Gary Forbes will be in action on Friday night with the D-League Select Team.

   Thursday, July 16

Be sure to catch former UMass lacrosse All-Americans Chris Fiore and Kevin Leveille in action tonight in the Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game. The game airs live on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. from Denver. Find out when you can see former UMass star goalie Jon Quick in his only Bay State appearance during the 2009-10 NHL season. JTAM also has an update on Gary Forbes, who had 17 points in the NBA Summer League last night.

The MLL All-Star Game takes place tonight with UMass' Chris Fiore and Kevin Leveille playing for the "Old School" Team against the "Young Guns." On the MLL website, Leveille is among the players picked to be the game's MVP.

The NHL released its 2009-10 schedule on Wednesday and former UMass star goalie Jon Quick will be in Boston on January 30, 2010 as his L.A. Kings take on the Boston Bruins. The entire Kings' schedule can be found here L.A. makes an early eastern swing to the New York Islanders and Rangers in mid-October as well.

With the NHL schedule out, the Boston Bruins will be hosting the Winter Classic at Fenway Park on Jan. 1, 2010 against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Boston Globe story mentions Flyers boss Peter Luukko and UMass alum, who was on hand for the press conference.

Gary Forbes continued to impress in the NBA Summer League with his D-League Select Team. The squad of stars posted a 105-89 win over the Sacramento Kings. Forbes had 17 points and four rebounds in 26 minutes. In two games, he is scoring 18.5 PPG.

Checking on on recent UMass grad and draftee, Mitchell Clegg has been stellar with the Short-Season Vermont Lake Monsters. In five games, spanning 19 innings Clegg has a 0.95 ERA with a 1-1 record. In those 19 innings, he has allowed just one walk, giving up 16 hits with 12 strikeouts. He has allowed runs in just one of his five games.

In Thursday's Summer League action, Tony Gaffney and the Los Angeles Lakers play at 6 p.m. against the Houston Rockets while Stephane Lasme and the San Antonio Spurs take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at 8:30 p.m.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: Be on the look out for the new re-designed UMassAthletics.com debuting one week from today, next Thursday, July 23.

Don't Miss This: UMass alums Kevin Leveille and Chris Fiore play in the Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game on tonight on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET.

   Wednesday, July 15

Welcome back and Happy Wednesday! The American League extended its dominance in the baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday night with a 4-3 win. The AL is 12-0-1 since 1996. Several UMass baseball players are involved in minor league and summer league all-star events. Also in basketball news, Stephane Lasme had a strong game with the Spurs last night in the NBA Summer League. JTAM also has an update on Brandice Balschmiter in her pro softball career.

In the San Antonio Spurs's 78-76 win over the Denver Nuggets, Stephane Lasme came off the bench and had seven points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes. In the Lakers' 74-68 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tony Gaffney didn't play, sidelined with an injury.

In the Springfield Republican Ron Chimelis has a brief on UMass' alums in action from Monday led by Gary Forbes' 20 points for the D-League Select Team. On Wednesday, Forbes will be in action again at 8:30 p.m. as his squad takes on the Sacramento Kings.

Former UMass Player of the Year Marcus Camby might be getting ready for a reunion with a longtime rival and teammate with the L.A. Clippers. Allen Iverson is eyeing the Clippers. Camby, Iverson's former teammate in Denver, said he'd welcome a reunion. "Anytime you can add a future Hall of Famer on your team, it can only help," Camby told Fanhouse.com at the Clippers' summer league game Monday in Vegas. "I still feel there's a lot left in his tank, despite everything that transpired with him last season in Detroit.

In pro softball, UMass' Brandice Balschmiter has pitched 23.1 innings with a 2.12 ERA with a 2-0 record and a save for the Chicago Bandits.

Kansas State football, which hosts UMass in the 2009 opener, has sold out its "K-State Pledge" season tickets. That first game is called the K-State Family Reunion as Bill Snyder returns as coach of the Wildcats.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: If you missed ESPN's College Football Live featuring the state of Massachusetts which aired Tuesday. All of the UMass segments are featured on the front page video player on the site.

Don't Miss This: Speaking of All-Star Games, UMass alums Kevin Leveille and Chris Fiore play in the Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game on Thursday night on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET. Also on Wednesday night, check out the newest MTV Real World featuring former UMass All-American punter CJ Koegel. Its on at 10 p.m. ET.

   Tuesday, July 14

Big day on tap today as far as references to UMass. First off, be sure to catch ESPN's College Football Live at 3:30 p.m., as the Worldwide Leader in Sports continues its tour of the 50 States with a look at Massachusetts. There will be several references to UMass football on the show. You can still vote for UMass' Greg Landry and Mark Whipple in the SportsNation polls. Two UMass baseball players have been named as summer league all-stars. Also, former Minutemen hoop stars Gary Forbes and Tony Gaffney were in action in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas yesterday.

In his first game in Las Vegas, Gary Forbes tied for a team high with 20 points as his D-League Select All-Stars beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 96-91. In No. 1 pick Blake Griffin's summer debut, the L.A. Clippers downed the L.A. Lakers, 93-82. UMass' Tony Gaffney had three points and a rebound for the Lakers.

On Tuesday, Gaffney and Lakers play the Oklahoma City Thunder at 8:30 p.m. Also, UMass alum Stephane Lasme and the San Antonio Spurs play the Denver Nuggets at 10 p.m.

Speaking of Gaffney, ABC40 has a nice video piece on the 2009 A-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Check it out.

Also on Gaffney, Dime Magazine has an interesting article which looks at summer league role players who can help win an NBA title. The UMass star is listed with the following synopsis: A high intensity forward that can immediately help on the defensive end with weak side blocks/steals and will grab rebounds with the best of them despite his lack of strength. He will also leave it all on the floor every possession which will make him a fan favorite, as he will dive on the floor for a loose ball or jump over players to make a block (i.e. Birdman).

Mike Gedman has been named to the Northwoods League All-Star team. With the Brainerd Area Lunkers, Gedman has a 3-1 record and 2.53 ERA. The lefty has walked only seven and struck out 32 in a team-high 46.1 innings pitched. He is tied for second on the team with his three victories.

Fellow baseball player Nick Serino has been named to the NECBL All-Star team after a great start with the Lowell All-Americans. The game takes place on Saturday in Holyoke at 3 p.m.

Here's a story on UMass football's first opponent of the year, Kansas State which has a look at new beginnings for the Wildcats with a familiar face at the helm in Bill Snyder. Also of note there will be discounted tickets for the opener vs. the Minutemen on Sept. 5. According to the story: Snyder began his resurrection of Kansas State's long-moribund program in 1989 and tickets that year cost $9. So, Currie announced, there will be 1,989 tickets go on sale for $9 for the Sept. 5 home opener against Massachusetts, a game Kansas State has dubbed a "K-State family reunion" in a drive to sell out Bill Snyder Family Stadium and welcome him back to the sidelines.

In the Hartford Courant, UMass great Marcus Camby is quoted about NBA No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet and his transition to the pro league.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: The UMass football roster has been updated with new bios for the 2009 season.

Don't Miss This: Watch ESPN at 3:30 p.m. to see where UMass football stacks up in the history of the state of Massachusetts.

   Monday, July 13

Good morning UMass fans! Exciting improvements are happening all across campus during these quiet summer months, including a new press box at Garber Field! Today's edition of Just Take A Minute is stocked full of men's basketball news and also has some updates on two former Minutemen baseball standouts along with news on a current hockey team member.

The National Hall of Fame Invitational took place in Springfield this past weekend, drawing scores of AAU players to the area. In Ron Chimelis' latest column, he catches up with Derek Kellogg and talks to the UMass frontman about recruiting and what he looks for in a recruit.

In other basketball news, former hoopsters Gary Forbes, Tony Gaffney and Stephane Lasme were in action this weekend in the NBA Summer League. The Springfield Republican recaps Gaffney's performance on Friday, while Philadunkia.com and NBA.com recaps Forbes' final game of the Orlando Pro Summer League. Forbes had 19 off the bench for the Nets/Sixers squad in a loss to the Celtics.

Mitchell Clegg continues to roll along in his young minor league career as the southpaw allowed just two hits and threw five scoreless innings in his start against the Lowell Spinners on Sunday. Clegg did not get the decision, but his Vermont team went on to a 3-1 win.

After spending a few weeks on the disabled list, Chad Paronto is back to dominating out of the bullpen for the Round Rock Express. Paronto picked up his 15th save of the season in a 3-0 shutout of the Nashville Sounds on Friday night.

Speaking of Nashville, UMass hockey standout Casey Wellman was at the recently-completed Nashville Predators Development Camp. Wellman, who will be a sophomore this fall, was a free-agent invite to the camp. Since he was not selected by any NHL teams when he was draft eligible, Wellman has the ability to sign with any team when he decides to turn pro.

The Foxboro reporter had this nice piece on field hockey midfielder Mary Shea who was named the MVP for the Minutewomen after a stellar senior campaign.

Former Minuteman Kevin Leveille was selected by the Boston Blazers of the National Lacrosse League in the Portland Lumberjax dispersal draft last week. Leveille will join several other former UMass players on the Blazers this upcoming indoor season: Jack Reid, Sean Morris and Paul Manesis.

Don't Miss This: Be sure to watch for updates on Forbes, Gaffney and Lasme as the NBA Summer League action continues in Vegas this week.

Look Back To The Week Of: July 6-10 | June 29-July 3 | June 22-26 | June 15-19 | June 8-12 | June 1-5 | May 25-29 | May 18-22 | May 11-15 | May 4-8 | April 27-May 1 | April 20-24 | April 13-17 | April 6-10 | March 30 -Apr. 3 | March 23-27 | March 16-20 | March 9-13 | Mar. 2-6 | Feb. 23-27 | Feb. 16-20 | Feb. 9-13 | Feb. 2-6 | Jan. 26-30 | Jan. 19-23 | Jan. 12-16 | Jan. 5-9 | Dec. 29, 2008-Jan. 2, 2009 | Dec. 22-26 | Dec. 15- 19 | Dec. 8-12 | Dec. 1-5 | Nov. 24-28 | Nov. 17-21 | Nov. 10-14 | Nov. 3-7 | Oct. 27-31 | Oct. 20-24, 2008 | Oct. 13-17, 2008 | Oct. 6-10, 2008 | Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2008 | Sept. 22-26, 2008 | Sept. 15-19, 2008 | Sept. 8-12, 2008 | Sept. 1-5, 2008 | Aug. 25-29, 2008 | Aug. 18-22, 2008

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