Boston, MA
Volleyball notebook: Is drought over for New Bedford boys?
Hanging on the wall in the New Bedford gymnasium is a cloth monument of what once ruled boys volleyball in Massachusetts for a decade.
One banner is for the 1989 Div. 2 state championship the Whalers won when the sport was still young in the state. Another shows the pure dominance that followed, with seven state championships and two three-peats between 1991 and 1999.
The color and print of neither banner is flashy, maybe an indication of just how long ago the era they represent ended. Perhaps even louder, though, is the blank space next to “1999” where one more year would fit – one New Bedford hasn’t been able to win in the 24 years since its last state title.
But now in the 25th year of the hiatus, the Whalers (12-0) are the last unbeaten team left in Div. 1 and are as motivated as ever to add their mark to the program’s lore.
“I know Needham’s been that team, and the Newton Norths, Naticks, and all those teams have had their runs and dominated,” said head coach Ben Kaeterle. “But we always tell the kids there’s one spot on the banner that we want them to fill.”
“I mean, we have almost the entirety of the 90s (up there), state championship after state championship,” added senior captain Carter Barbosa, who’s attending Harvard next year. “We’re really trying to fill that banner and we believe that this is the closest we’ve ever been to be able to do that.”
Barbosa, a third-year starting setter, orchestrates a well-balanced attack that’s gradually improved. Junior Davon Centeio has played well at libero. Moving junior Nick Rosa to right-side bolstered the team’s blocking, and overpowering outside hitter Juan Grau Montano – a 6-foot-3 sophomore transfer from Colombia – has been a game-changer.
The result, alongside many other contributions, is the program’s longest unbeaten start since 2007. Strength of schedule rating limits New Bedford to No. 10 spot in the latest MIAA Div. 1 power rankings, but two wins over North Quincy and another over rival Greater New Bedford are notable.
“Our preseason goal was to go undefeated (and) at first I thought, ‘Wow, we’re being a little ambitious,’” Barbosa said. “Now that we’re (12-0), it’s obviously not as far-fetched as I had thought. … Every single individual, the way we click, our chemistry – it’s just, we’re on fire. And I don’t think that’s going to stop anytime soon.”
There are still hurdles to overcome in terms of a state championship, without much to show how the Whalers stack up to the state’s other powers. But New Bedford is used to leaping over hurdles.
When Kaeterle took over in 2017, it had already been six years since New Bedford last advanced past the first round in playoffs. Players set the goal of winning a state title, but rarely won in a tumultuous season. The Whalers didn’t make the playoffs in 2018 or 2019, either, and the first year after the pandemic didn’t bring many players to tryouts.
That group finished 5-13 with a first-round exit in the state tournament to Needham.
“The first couple years, guys were quitting,” said Kaeterle, a 2006 New Bedford graduate. “Guys were upset with me. There was no culture, what I walked into, that it had been in the past. … It was kind of building the foundation and going from there.”
Playing Needham in 2021 was a turning point, seeing what high-powered volleyball looked like outside of the South Shore. And ever since, it’s been a night-and-day difference.
The 2022 team won 12 games for the first time since 2016; 2023 was a 13-win season. Now, with 12 wins after an offseason in which several players were involved with club, the Whalers feel confident in a deeper run.
“This group has bought in since their freshman year,” Kaeterle said. “I think that’s where the change is now after eight years. Have a couple kids buying in and seeing what the offseason does to you, the beach does to you. Putting the time in the weight room and constantly playing. That’s why the top five is what the top five and the top 10 is. It doesn’t really happen overnight.”
At the core of this year’s success as well is the adoption of the African “ubuntu” philosophy, which roughly means, “I am what I am because of who we all are.” A team-first mindset is a priority.
What it’s led to is a positive atmosphere in the gym – one that has volleyball buzzing again in New Bedford.
“I just feel so grateful to be a part of something, to be bringing back the volleyball spirit in New Bedford that was so big at one time and then kind of took a break, wasn’t that big,” Barbosa said. “I’m just really happy to see how far we’ve come. … To see everyone grow around me too, and to become the team we’ve become. Individually and all together, it’s really impressive actually.”
Strong start at BC High
Two years removed from finishing 7-10 with a first-round exit in the Div. 1 state tournament, BC High has built up its strength as a serious playoff threat this season.
The Eagles are 10-2 despite a beefed-up schedule, with signature wins over Milford, Wayland, Cambridge, St. John’s (S) and St. John’s Prep.
“The competition we’ve faced this year is one of the toughest in recent years for our program so it definitely builds confidence,” said head coach James Chen. “One thing that has stood out has been each player’s commitment since the start of the season to being the best that they can be.”
Westfield, Western Mass. rank atop Div. 2
Six of the top seven teams in the latest MIAA Div. 2 power rankings come from the West, led by reigning finalist Westfield (13-0) at No. 1 and defending champion Agawam (13-2) at No. 2. Wayland (8-4) ranks No. 3, but West Springfield (10-4), Longmeadow (10-3), Granby (14-1) and Ludlow (7-7) hold the next four spots.
The realignments of Milford, North Quincy and Greater New Bedford into Div. 1 seem to play a major role, though only Milford’s rating would crack the top five in Div. 2.
“It is a strong reflection of the West,” said Westfield head coach Tyler Wingate. “I think that you’re seeing a rise of level in the West and there are more and more quality teams that can be factors in June.”
Boston, MA
First Alert: Mix of snow and rain today, then looking ahead to warmer weather
Today is a First Alert weather day. A system to our south is pushing mix of snow and rain into southern New England through this evening and tonight.
For us here in Greater Boston, expect snow to continue spreading over our area through the afternoon/evening commute. In fact, parts our area could see up to 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation before the sleet and rain move in.
Much of Greater Boston will likely see snow amounts on the lower end. Higher snow amounts are expected toward southern New Hampshire and along and north of outer Route 2. Also, some ice accumulations are possible, up to a tenth of an inch, creating a thin glaze here and there.
Dozens of schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts have already announced early dismissals as a result of the storm.
While this system won’t cripple our area, conditions could still create a mess on the roads during the evening commute through tonight. Be careful while driving. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for parts of our area through early Wednesday morning. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s today. Overnight lows will drop into the low 30s.
We’ll wake up to patchy fog Wednesday morning before the sun returns. High temperatures will be in the upper 40s. We’ll stay in the 40s on Thursday with increasing clouds. But by late Thursday night into Friday, wet weather returns. Some snow could mix with the rain into Friday morning. Highs will be in the upper 30s Friday.

Warmer weather is expected this weekend. Highs will be in the 50s Saturday and possibly near 60 on Sunday.
Boston, MA
Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe
That was more than what every other city department spent on overtime combined, though it was a slight drop from the $103 million the police department spent on overtime in 2024.
High overtime spending inside the police department has long been controversial and a source of frustration for police-reform advocates. Last year’s nine-figure total comes as Mayor Michelle Wu warns of a challenging budget season to come for the city, which is grappling with inflation and the possibility of more federal funding cuts.
In a December letter, Wu told the city council that she instructed city department heads to find ways to cut 2 percent of their budgets in the next fiscal year. She also imposed a delay on new hires. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper has also proposed cutting somewhere between 300 and 400 positions next fiscal year due to budget constraints.
Overall, the city spent about $2.5 billion on employee salaries in 2025, up around 1.5 percent from $2.4 billion in 2024. The city employs roughly 21,000 workers, according to a public dashboard.
In a statement, Emma Pettit, a spokesperson for Wu’s office, attributed the payroll increase to raises, and in some cases, employees receiving retroactive pay, that were part of contracts the city negotiated with its various labor unions.
“We’re grateful to our city employees for their hard work to hold Boston to the highest standard for delivering city services,” Pettit said.
When Wu won her first mayoral race in November 2021, all of the city’s 44 union contracts had expired. Since then, Wu’s office has negotiated new agreements with all of them, and last year, agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest police union.
But as the city heads back to the bargaining table to negotiate extensions or new contracts with others, city leaders should keep cost at the forefront of those conversations, said Steve Poftak, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-backed budget watchdog group.
“As budgets tighten, I’m hopeful that it increases the scrutiny on these collective bargaining agreements,” Poftak said.
The top earner on the city’s payroll last year was Boston Police Captain Timothy Connolly. In addition to his $194,000 base salary, Connolly took home nearly $230,000 in overtime, about $26,000 in undefined “other pay,” and roughly $49,000 as part of a higher-education bonus, for a total of $498,145 in compensation.
Skipper, as BPS superintendent, was the 55th-highest earner among city workers, coming behind 54 members of the police department. She made a total of $378,000 in 2025.
Nearly 300 city employees made more than $300,000 last year. In contrast, Wu made $207,000, though her salary increased to $250,000 this year. More than 1,700 city employees made more than the mayor in 2025.
Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, argued that the high overtime costs in the police department are, in part, a result of understaffing.
The department is short roughly 400 rank-and-file police officers, Calderone said, meaning the department has to pay its staff to work overtime and fill vacant shifts. The average salary for an officer in the BPPA is roughly $195,000, Calderone said.
With several large events approaching, including a Boston-based fan fest around this summer’s World Cup matches and the return of a fleet of tall ships to Boston Harbor, Calderone said most of the members of his union are likely to be working the maximum allowable 90 hours a week.
“We just don’t have the bodies on the street,” he said.
The Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation — the union that represents the department’s sergeants, captains, and lieutenants — did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.
Jamarhl Crawford, an activist and former member of the Boston Police Reform Task Force, said while high spending on overtime is not new for the police department, it’s a pressing problem the city should tackle.
The police and fire departments are “essential components of the city and society in general … [and] folks should be getting a fair wage. But it also has to be within fiscal responsibility,” Crawford said.
“In another 10 years,” he continued, “with pensions and everything else, this type of thing can bankrupt the city.”
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold. Yoohyun Jung can be reached at y.jung@globe.com.
Boston, MA
Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Johan Oviedo’s first outing of the spring last week didn’t go great, as the right-hander walked three over 1 2/3 innings in a performance manager Alex Cora described as “erratic.”
His second outing on Monday went much better.
Oviedo was dominant in Monday’s 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, striking out four over three scoreless innings while holding Toronto to two hits and no walks. He was also highly efficient, throwing 25 of his 31 pitches for strikes while drawing five whiffs.
After allowing a leadoff single to George Springer out of the gate, Oviedo got a strikeout and a double play to quickly get out of the first. He followed that by pitching around a harmless one-out single in the second before sending the Blue Jays down 1-2-3 to finish his outing in the third.
Viewed as the likely top candidate to earn Boston’s No. 5 rotation spot heading into camp, Oviedo clearly helped out his cause with the brilliant showing. He will be in line to make his next start on Saturday.
Gonzales smokes one
Justin Gonzales, a hulking 6-foot-7 outfielder and Boston’s No. 6 prospect according to MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings, made the trip up to Dunedin with the big league club and showed off his power in breathtaking fashion.
In the top of the ninth inning the 19-year-old scorched a single that was measured at 117.3 mph off the bat. According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs’ Daily Statcast leaders, that is the second hardest exit velocity recorded by any player so far this spring. The only ball hit harder was Kansas City Royals’ slugger Jac Caglianone’s 120.2 mph double on Feb. 26.
Franklin Arias, a 20-year-old infielder and Boston’s consensus No. 2 prospect, also made the trip and got the start at shortstop. He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts at the plate but helped turn a double play to end the bottom of the first.
Big day for Gasper
Monday’s lineup consisted largely of players who are likely to start the season in the minor leagues, but even with that being the case, Mickey Gasper made a strong impression.
The Red Sox catcher and utility player led the offense by going 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBI. Gasper had an RBI single in the top of the third and followed that by crushing a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the fifth.
Nathan Hickey (1 for 2) also had a two-run home run to put the Red Sox ahead for good in the top of the eighth, Allan Castro (2 for 3, stolen base) hit a game-tying solo shot in the sixth, Max Ferguson (1 for 2, walk) had an RBI double and Braiden Ward went 2 for 3 with a stolen base.
Watson struggles
Ryan Watson, a Rule 5 pick looking to make the Red Sox roster as a rookie, had a tough outing on Monday. The right-hander allowed four runs over 2/3 of an inning on one hit, two walks and a hit by pitch.
Watson led off the inning with a lineout before allowing a single, hit by pitch and a walk to load the bases. He then drew a run-scoring groundout before walking another batter to reload the bases. At that point manager Alex Cora lifted the rookie and all three inherited runners came around to score when minor leaguer Patrick Halligan allowed a grand slam to Blue Jays third baseman Addison Barger.
Coming up next
The Red Sox will host Team Puerto Rico in an exhibition at JetBlue Park on Tuesday night ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Left-hander Jake Bennett will get the start for the Red Sox, and Zack Kelly, Tyler Uberstine, Tyler Samaniego and Vinny Nittoli are all scheduled to pitch for Boston too. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN+, NESN 360 and WEEI 93.7 FM.
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