It has been a good summer for Vermont in their cross river series of senior All-Star games with New Hampshire ... but the biggest challenge for the Green Mountain State comes this afternoon. They will kick off the 59th annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl football game at 2:30 at Memorial Field at Dartmouth College in Hanover. NH leads the series 43-13-2 and the Granite State has won eleven in a row. If Vermont has a shot they are going to have to get yeoman work from local kids. Hartford High in White River is just across the Connecticut from Hanover and there are nine graduated Hartford Hurricanes on the VT squad. All nine of them will start, including seven on defense. But even that home town advantage likely won't be enough today. NH has brought together their usual stable of quick, talented and big athletes. I just don't see Vermont being able to match their depth. Hope I am wrong but the prediction here is 34-14 NH. Jack Healey gets to call the game on this afternoon on the Shrine Radio Network.

UVM grad Courtnay Pilypaitis put up 14 points, pulled down three rebounds and dished three assists yesterday as Canada's women's basketball team picked up a key 79-73 win over Brazil at the Olympics in London. The win gets the Canadians into the medal round. They play their final opening round game against a very good Austrailian team on Sunday, and then are likely to match up with Team U-S-A in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Tough start for the South Burlington Little League All Stars in the New England Regionals in Connecticut. The Vermont champs gave up ten runs late and fell 13-5 to NH in their first game. They get the Connecticut champs next.

Great crowd ... disappointing result last night at Centennial Field ... 3,379 fans on hand saw the VT Lake Monsters fall 2-0 to Mahoning Valley ... four Monsters pitchers combined on a five hitter, but in a losing cause. Batavia comes into Burlington for a three game series atarting tonight.
Meanwhile the Vermont Mountaineers need to keep repeating a simple mantra ... "It was just one game". The Mountaineers got blasted on the road by the Keene Swamp Bats 22-0 last night in the opening game of their NECBL opening round playoff series. But it will be 0-0 tonight at 6:30 when they play game two at Montpelier Rec Field.