Jon Lester will be on the bump Friday for the Boston Red Sox! (Photo Credit: Chowdaheadz.com)

By NoontimeSports.com 

Happy Friday to everyone, and welcome into the final Daily Noontime of the week! Let’s kick-off Memorial Day Weekend with some news and headlines!

* The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays will begin their three-game series on Friday at Fenway Park – Jon Lester opposes Alex Cobb – first pitch is scheduled for 7:10PM.

* According to various reports – Bobby Valentine strongly believes that if the Sox continue to play the way they’ve played the past 20 games, they’ll win the championship. Boston is 18-12 since blowing a nine run lead to the New York Yankees on April 21, which is the third best record in the American League behind Baltimore (20-10) and Tampa Bay (19-11).  If the Sox continue on this particular path, they’d finish their current campaign with 93 wins.

* The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will conclude their Eastern Conference semi-final series on Saturday at 8PM at the TD Garden. Boston has won three of five meetings against Philadelphia in the seventh game dating back to 1965.

* Sources confirmed on Thursday that Avery Bradley will need shoulder surgery to repair “small tears that have compromised the structure of his ailing left shoulder.”

By NoontimeSports.com

Memorial Day weekend is vastly approaching, which means a majority of the college sports teams in Massachusetts have either concluded their seasons or in the process of wrapping up their spring campaigns. Some schools concluded their year with National Championships, while others fell short.

Here are a few links from the Div. III college sports scene in Massachusetts.   

* The Williams College women’s tennis team earned its fifth consecutive championship on Wednesday against University of Chicago in Cary, North Carolina. Three Ephs seniors, (Kristin Alotta, Caroline Capute and Taylor French) concluded their careers with their fourth consecutive championships.

* Three members of the Amherst College men’s lacrosse team earned USILA and NEILA honors. Sophomore Devin Acton and junior Danny Gold were named to the NEILA Div. III 2nd Team, while senior Evan Redwood earned his third-straight USILA All-American honorable mention.

* Wheaton College freshman Apollinar De la Cruz was named the D3baseball.com’s National Rookie of the Year on Wednesday, and was also placed on the Honorable Mention Team.

* Babson College senior Joe Young capped off his final golf season with the Beavers by being named the 2012 PING Div. III All-Northeast Region Team.

* Nichols College sophomore Tyler Shute was named on Wednesday to the second annual Worcester Area Baseball All-Star Team.

* Williams College junior Bryan Chow was named the winner of the NCAA Elite 89 Award in the men’s tennis championship.

Once again, Boston failed to earn an important road win on Wednesday in Philadelphia! (Photo Credit: Boston Herald)

By NoontimeSports.com 

Happy Thursday to everyone, and welcome into yet another outstanding edition of the Daily Noontime! Let’s kickstart the second to last workweek day with some news and headlines.

* Philadelphia outscored Boston, 49-39 during the final two frames, as the 76ers claimed Game No. 6, 82-75. Boston and Philadelphia will conclude their series on Saturday at the TD Garden.

* In the sixth game — Kevin Garnett tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Paul Pierce poured in 24 points and 10 rebounds. Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo each registered nine points, and combined for seven turnovers in the loss.

* After Wednesday’s game concluded, Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins told reporters, “I want more. I want more.” Collins has stated some bizarre comments throughout this particular series, but apparently is confident that the sixth game will fuel him and his team.

* The Red Sox bats produced six runs and 13 hits in a span of nine innings on Wednesday, which helped Boston defeat Baltimore, 6-5. Daniel Bard picked up his fourth win of the season, while Daniel Nava hit his second home run and 11th RBI of the season.

* Boston is now 22-22, and has won nine of their last 12 contests. The Sox will attempt to earn their 23rd victory of the season on Friday when they welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to Fenway Park.

Tufts had six players named to the USILA 2012 Div. III All-American team on Wednesday! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

By Matt Noonan 

On Wednesday, the United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association unveiled its 2012 All-American Div. III team. 15 players from the state of Massachusetts were selected to this particular team, and their names have been provided below:

Kevin McCormick (Tufts University)

Matt Callahan (Tufts University)

Nick Rhoads (Tufts University)

Pat White (Western New England College)

Beau Wood (Tufts University)

Corey Johnson (Western New England College)

Sean Kirwan (Tufts University)

Evan Redwood (Amherst College)

Mike Delia (Springfield College)

Shane Ferguson (Springfield College)

Sam Diss (Tufts University)

Aaron Harris (Western New England College)

Sam Ozycz (Endicott College)

Brewster Knowlten (Western New England College)

Robert Maher (Springfield College)

Kevin Youkilis cranked his third home run of the season on Tuesday, which wasn’t enough to spark Boston’s bats! (Photo Credit: Sawxblog.com)

By NoontimeSports.com 

Happy “hump day” to everyone! The rain seems to be subsiding, which means sunny days are here again, right? OK… OK… here are some headlines and news from the city of Boston.

* Baltimore jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings, and never looked back, as their lead ballooned into a 4-1 victory on Tuesday evening against Boston. Kevin Youkilis hit his third home run of the season, along with his 10th RBI, while Adrian Gonzalez registered one hit.

* Boston and Baltimore will conclude their three-game series on Wednesday at 12:35PM – Daniel Bard opposes Jake Arrieta.

* According to reports – Cody Ross could miss six to eight weeks with a fractured bone in his left foot. Ross injured his foot last Friday after he fouled a ball off his foot, and is now the seventh Sox outfielder to be placed on the disabled list.

* Boston will attempt to close out their second round series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday at 8PM. The Celtics currently lead the series, 3-2.

* Philadelphia is 4-0 this postseason after a loss, and 4-1 at home. There only loss at the Wells Fargo Center came against Boston in Game No. 3 of this particular Eastern Conference series.

* Finally, former UMass men’s ice hockey goaltender Jonathan Quick recorded 38 saves in a span of 77:42 on Tuesday for Los Angles, which helped the Kings eliminate the Phoenix Coyotes from the NHL Western Conference Finals.

Brandon Bass recorded 18 of 27 points in the third quarter on Monday, which helped Boston defeat Philadelphia in Game No. 5! (Photo Credit: Sporting News)

By NoontimeSports.com 

Happy Tuesday to everyone, and welcome into yet another edition of the Daily Noontime! Let’s kickstart the day with some news, headlines and more news from the city of Boston.

* Paced by Brandon Bass, who deposited 27 points, Boston defeated Philadelphia, 101-85 on Monday in Game No. 5 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Boston now leads the series, 3-2, and will attempt to conclude the series on Wednesday when both squads return to the hardwood in Philadelphia for an 8PM match.

* Excluding Bass, Kevin Garnett poured in 20 points, Rajon Rondo added 13 points and dished out 14 assists, and Paul Pierce finished the contest with 16 points and four defensive rebounds.

* According to the NBA stat crew, Bass netted 18 of his 27 points in the third quarter, which is the highest point total during this particular NBA postseason in one quarter. LeBron James tallied 17 points against the New York Knicks in his team’s first round series, but that particular statistic has officially been erased.

* Trailing Baltimore late in the game, Boston’s bats sparked a three-run rally — two in the seventh, one in the eighth — to earn an 8-6 victory against the first place Orioles on Monday. David Ortiz hit his 10th home run of the season, while Mike Aviles recorded his 28th RBI in the win.

* The Sox have now won four of their last five contests, and will look to earn their 22nd win of the season on Tuesday when Felix Doubront pitches against Brian Matusz at 7:05PM.

Mike Aviles cranked his eighth home run of the season on Sunday, as Boston defeated Philadelphia, 5-1! (Photo Credit: Zimbio.com)

By NoontimeSports.com 

It’s Monday, which means a brand new week has officially started! Let’s get things rolling with some news and headlines from the city of Boston, and state of Massachusetts.

* The Boston Red Sox concluded their weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies with a 5-1 victory. Boston defeated Philadelphia two out of three times, and are now 20-21 overall.

* Against Cliff Lee on Sunday, Boston’s bats recorded five runs on nine hits. Mike Aviles cranked his eighth home run of the season, and also recorded his 27th RBI. Jarrod Saltalamacchia finished the day 1 for 4, and hit a home run and drove in three runs.

* Boston will continue its current road trip on Monday when they travel to Baltimore to face the Orioles at 7:05PM – Clay Buchholz faces Tommy Hunter on the bump.

* According to the Boston Globe — if the Sox record a sweep against the Orioles, they’d be able to “tighten things up” in the American League East. Also, don’t expect Daisuke Matsuzaka to return to the rotation anytime soon, as the right-hander is currently dealing with “pain in his right trapezius muscle.”

* The Boston Celtics will return to the TD Garden on Monday for Game No. 5 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Philadelphia 76ers. The series is tied, 2-2, and Boston has only won one game at home this series, and one in Philadelphia.

* The Celtics squandered a golden opportunity to earn a two-game cushion on Friday, and know that this particular match is critical, especially after an “idle weekend.”

The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Final Four is scheduled to commence on Saturday, May 26, and conclude on Monday, May 28 at Gillette Stadium! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan for NoontimeSports.com)

By Matt Noonan 

All of Sunday’s men’s lacrosse games have concluded, which means eight teams punched their ticket to the Memorial Day Final Four weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Four Div. I teams – Duke, Loyola, Maryland and Notre Dame – will compete on Saturday, May 26, in the semi-finals. Both winners will then advance to Monday’s, (May 28) championship round, which will commence at 1PM.

On Sunday, May 27, the Div. II and III championships will be played. Dowling will face-off against Limestone at 1PM, while Salisbury will tangle with SUNY Cortland at 4PM.

For more information on the NCAA championships – CLICK HERE.

‘Andy Lindberg rambles about the Red Sox and slightly more on this week’s podcast.

Tufts University’s softball team concluded their season on Sunday against Linfield College, as the Wildcats defeated the Jumbos, 4-1.

The Wildcats clinched the victory with three solo home runs, and some solid pitching by sophomore Karina Paavola, who earned her 24th win on the bump. The Jumbos recorded their only run of the afternoon in the bottom of the seventh when freshman and pinch runner Bri Keenan crossed home plate with two outs. Tufts recorded seven hits in this particular contest, but struggled to drive in runs.

Tufts earned a spot in the College Softball World Series after winning their region on Sunday, May 13. They did manage to muster two wins in the Div. III tournament against Roanoke and Plattsburgh State.

For more on this particular contest — CLICK HERE.