Why do high school sports in Rhode Island exist today? To win championships? To groom athletes for college scholarships? To build rivalries? To produce All-Staters and Gatorade Players of the Year? To continue Thanksgiving football traditions? Or do high school sports still exist to give kids a reason to attend school? To provide them an […]
On Sports
Former Providence Journal sports reporter Mike Szostak writes news and analysis about sports in the region.
Posted inLocal, On Sports
After a record-setting year, great expectations for URI football in 2025
Great Expectations. Charles Dickens wrote about them in 1861. Jim Fleming harbors them in 2025. So do Fleming’s University of Rhode Island football players and coaches. Plus, administrators, students, alums, boosters and fans. Nine months after their historic 11-3, championship playoff season — their first since 1985 — the Rams return with bigger goals: another […]
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Scott Sloan of Barrington is a Division III national champion
Scott Sloan was having a bad day in May at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Rain, wind, and heavy air made for poor conditions, and the Wheaton College freshman just wasn’t throwing the javelin well. After his first attempt he was 20th out of 22 competitors, […]
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Two Narragansett Boat Club crews win youth national championships
They came. They saw. They conquered. Never mind that they came from the smallest state and one of the smallest rowing centers in the nation. At the end of the day, having left some of America’s finest youth rowers in their wake, 10 young women from the Narragansett Boat Club in Providence stood atop the […]
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It’s a new pay-for-play era in college sports. Here’s how R.I. colleges are adapting
Big-time college sports changed forever today. As of midnight on July 1, Division I schools could pay their athletes directly. And pay them a lot. As much as $20.5 million per school for 2025-2026, thanks to the settlement of the class action lawsuit House v. NCAA. Most terms of the agreement — participation, revenue sharing, […]
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Rhode Island high school grads shine in sports, leadership and legacy in Class of 2025
Graduation season is ending, and with it the many stories of heartwarming success written by the Class of 2025. Here are a few to carry us to beach season. THE SAPOLSKY SUCCESSION Barrington High School boys tennis capped its second consecutive undefeated season and state championship on June 1 with its 4-2 triumph over East […]
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From one Rhody track star to two others: Trust the process
Rhode Island high school track stars Xenia and Lisa Raye are preparing to run away with gold for the last time. All eyes will be on the sisters from West Warwick when they lead the Wizards into Brown Stadium for the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Outdoor Track and Field State Championships June 7. For three […]
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Former Mount Pleasant athlete completes homecoming journey by coaching Brown softball to Ivy League title, NCAA Tournament
Spring athletes are the ignored stepchildren in the college sports family here in the Northeast. But first, why call them spring sports? Bryant played its first baseball game on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, at Davidson in North Carolina. Last time I checked, February was still winter. Second, when spring weather finally arrives in early May, […]
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Farewell to Jay Fluck, a giant for Brown Rugby
Jay Fluck was so average in physical stature that you would not have given this Brown University alumnus a second glance if you passed him on the downtown streets in Providence, where he worked in commercial real estate. But in the world of rugby extending far beyond College Hill, Jay Fluck — pronounced fluke — […]
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Longtime Providence sports scribe Kevin McNamara gets called to the Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame
Veteran sportswriter Kevin McNamara is heading to San Antonio this weekend for the NCAA Final Four and his induction into the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame. That’s right. Our own Kevin Mac — Providence Journal alum, website content producer and local sports talk radio host — is joining outstanding sports reporters who for […]
