Boston, MA
No. 1 Taunton keeps rolling
TAUNTON – Taunton once again showed why they are the team to beat in Div. 1 as well as the Hockomock League with yet another impressive victory at home Monday night.
After battling early, Texas Tech commit Sam Lincoln and the Tigers had more than enough to blank King Philip 4-0 at Jack Tripp Field to win the Hockomock Kelley-Rex outright.
“King Philip is always a tough team competition for us, so to come out on top just solidifies that the girls are working hard and to keep pushing” said Tigers coach Michelle Raposo about the win. “They never let things get them down or some adversity to bother them. It’s great to come out on top.”
It was Lincoln who battled through a pair of runners in the first to keep King Philip (16-3) off the board as she struck out a pair in the frame.
She then hit a batter each in the second and third before settling in and retiring the final 12 batters, including striking out eight of the final nine for a total of 14.
“She is working with a new catcher and they’re still trying to work out the kinks of that,” Raposo said about the early innings with Aniyah Bailey catching. “A lot of her curveballs, the outside pitches, she’s not getting those calls. So, we are working on making the adjustments catching and trying to get a little more of those calls outside.”
Taunton (17-0) got on the board first as junior Brooke Aldrich led off with a double and scored on a King Philip error to make it 1-0 after four.
The Tigers weren’t done as they got three more runs in the fifth as Bailey cranked a two-run double to score sophomore Mia Torres and freshman Bella Bourque to push the lead to 3-0. Bailey scored one batter later on a hit for Aldrich.
“It felt great,” Lincoln said about getting those additional runs of support. “Only one run is not much, to be honest. One hit could score a run. So, having the extra runs just made me feel ten times more confident.”
Next up, Taunton will host Tewksbury on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. King Philip will be at Foxboro Wednesday at 3:45 p.m.
FIFA World Cup host cities lay out security plans ahead of matches
Host cities ramp up security and anti-human trafficking efforts ahead of FIFA World Cup matches across the U.S.
The FIFA World Cup is coming to Massachusetts, and when it comes to having a place for people to hang out together, there will be a free fan zone where everyone can celebrate the big event.
Seven World Cup matches will take place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA this summer, and the first one is right around the corner, to be played on June 13, with Scotland taking on Haiti.
Fan Zones are a public space to watch the game for people who don’t have tickets to the actual game. Held in public places, they broadcast the mach on giant screens to offer an immersive experience to watch the game, according to FIFA>
“At the heart of FIFA Fan Festival Boston, (a) Cultural Showcase will ignite the stage with a vibrant celebration of the spirit, creativity, and cultural heartbeat of Boston and communities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” FIFA said.
Where will the fan zone be located when the World Cup games start in just 11 days?
Where is the World Cup fan zone going to be in Massachusetts?
The official FIFA Fan Festival for the 2026 World Cup in Boston will be located at Boston City Hall Plaza at 1 City Hall Sq. Boston, MA.
“The festival will run daily from June 12 through June 27, offering live match broadcasts, cultural showcases, food vendors, and entertainment,” according to FIFA.
The fan zone will open between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and will stay open until after dark, between 8:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. according to reports.
Activities at the fan zone
Here are some of the offerings at the fan zone in Boston, according to the FIFA website:
- Live broadcasts: Giant outdoor screens that broadcast tournament matches in high-definition.
- Entertainment & music: Live concerts, DJ sets, and performances celebrating global culture.
- Interactive activations: Skills challenges, mini-pitches, inflatable games, and sponsor booths.
- Food & merch: International food stalls, local beverage offerings, and official tournament merchandise.
How to go to the fan zone
While the game is free, you do need to register in advance.
“You can select which days and matches you plan to attend through the FIFA World Cup Boston 2026 website or the Meet Boston events page. Up to six people can register on a single application,” the World Cup Boston website says.
So you’re saying there’s a chance? Despite an abysmal start to the 2026 season, the Boston Red Sox remain in the mix for a playoff spot. At least according to FanGraphs, who gives the club a 27.1% chance of reaching the postseason.
Boston’s likely path to October means winning the wild card. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox a 26.1% chance of winning an American League wild card. The team currently sits threes games back of the third and final wild card, despite a record of 25-33.
Don’t look for a division title this year in Beantown. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox a 1% chance of winning the AL East. Which makes sense, since the team currently sits in last place, 11.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
But SI’s Tom Verducci and Will Laws thinks Boston has a much tougher chance of making the playoffs. In their deep dive of the postseason, the pair came up with what they call the “Line of Doom.” According to their research, a team that starts “no better than 23–31 and your season is almost over only one-third of the way through the schedule.” Here’s why.
“In the wild card era (since 1995), only one team made the postseason starting with less than 22 wins in the first 54 games, the 2005 Astros (20–34). Of the 231 teams to start 23–31 or worse, only seven made the playoffs—once every 33 times,” Verducci and Laws note.
“Since the postseason field expanded in 2022, 31 teams began 23–31 or worse. Only one, the 2024 Mets (22–32), made the playoffs. That leaves such slow starters with a 1 in 31 chance—virtually the same as the larger sample size,” the pair add.
“The fact is one-third of the season does a good job separating pretenders from contenders. And as the calendar flips to June, understand that the playoff spots won’t change very much. In the four seasons with 12 playoff spots up for grabs, teams in playoff position when May ended kept a playoff spot 73% of the time—35 of 48 teams,” Verducci and Laws conclude.
So what does this have to do with the Red Sox, you ask? It’s Boston’s record after 54 games: 23-31. The “Line of Doom.”
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