Connecticut
State Champion Basketball Coach in Connecticut Returning to Alma Mater
A state champion coach in Connecticut is heading to the place where he starred in high school basketball.
Heading back to his alma mater
Lyman Hall High School Athletics recently announced on social media that ex-Trojans standout Jim Economopoulos is returning to his alma mater to take over the boys basketball program.
Economopoulos replaces Rob Ruys, who coached the Trojans to an 8-13 record in the 2025-26 season.
“The Lyman Hall Athletic Department is proud to announce the hiring of Jimmy Economopoulos as our new head boys basketball coach,” Lyman Hall Athletics posted via X. “He’s a (Lyman Hall) graduate and current educator in the Wallingford Public Schools who brings over 10 years of successful coaching in the (Southern Connecticut Conference). Welcome home coach.”
Economopoulos told CT Insider that he is looking forward to returning home and “do something great at the school” he graduated from in 2009.
Economopoulos’ time at Daniel Hand High School
The decision comes after Economopoulos resigned as head coach of the Daniel Hand High School boys basketball program in April.
Economopoulos guided Hand to the program’s first CIAC championship title in 2022, a Division III crown, after the team won 56-39 over Kolbe-Cathedral. Economopoulos finished with a 112-105 mark in 10 seasons with the Tigers, including 80-42 in the previous five seasons.
The Tigers went 9-14 in Economopoulos’ final season at the helm.
“(Leaving) was very much on the table heading into the year (2025-26 season). And the chaos of my life this winter confirmed it for me,” Economopoulos said via CT Insider last month.
Playing days for the Trojans
Economopoulos led the Trojans to the 2008 CIAC Class L title game and the state semifinals in 2009, but Lyman Hall went on to lose both games.
“That game hurt 1,000 times worse than the state final loss,” Economopoulos told CT Insider. “In the state final loss, we weren’t expected to be there. We had almost everybody back from our junior year and we thought for sure we were winning a state championship that senior year. We thought we had won that game. It was devastating when the shot went in.”
Family connection at Lyman Hall
Economopoulos’ late father, Nick, coached girls basketball for 35 seasons between Lyman Hall, East Catholic and Coginchaug. In that span, he compiled 619 career coaching victories.
At Lyman Hall, Nick Economopoulos guided the Trojans to Class L state titles in 1985 and 1986, including three state final appearances in 1979, 1982 and 1991.
Jim’s sister, Christie Madancy, is currently Lyman Hall’s girls basketball coach.
“It definitely makes it easier. I’ll be working with a girls coach I know very well,” Jim Economopoulos said via CT Insider. “My nephew will be a freshman (on the basketball team) next year, so we will have family in the gym pretty consistently.”
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Connecticut
IPA Brokers Sale of 269-Unit Apartment Complex in Newington, Connecticut
NEWINGTON, CONN. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has brokered the sale of Millyard at Meadow Commons, a 269-unit apartment complex in Newington, a southern suburb of Hartford. Built in 2025, the property features studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, outdoor grilling and dining stations, resident lounge and a game room. Victor Nolletti, Eric Pentore and Wes Klockner of IPA represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which requested anonymity, in the transaction.
Connecticut
Valkyries take on Connecticut Sun at Ballhalla. Here’s how to watch.
The Golden State Valkyries are looking to keep pace with the WNBA Western Conference leaders with a matchup against the Connecticut Sun Monday evening at Ballhalla.
The Valkyries come into the contest with a 3-2 record, good for 3rd place in the Western Conference standings behind Las Vegas and Minnesota who are tied at the top of the conference at 4-2. The Sun have struggled so far this season, and their 1-6 record has them currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
Through the opening stretch, Golden State been one of the league’s stingiest defensive teams while also showing more offensive balance than many expected, showing their record-setting inaugural season was not a fluke. Janelle Salaün is solidifying her role as a foundational player for the Valkyries, including a 21-point performance in the home-opening win over the Phoenix Mercury which followed a 20-point showing in the season opener against the Seattle Storm.
For the Sun, one of the most encouraging young players is Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who is following her breakout season last year when she posted career highs in nearly every category. The former UConn center has become one of the team’s most efficient players, shooting nearly 69% from the field so far this season while contributing strong rebounding and rim protection. Although she has missed the last three games with a right ankle sprain, she was listed as probable for Monday’s game at Chase Center in San Francisco.
If Golden State controls tempo and turns the game into a defensive grind, they’re heavily favored, with most sports books listing the Valkyries at around -12.5. If Connecticut can speed things up and get cleaner half-court creation, the game becomes much more competitive.
How to watch the Golden State Valkyries vs. Connecticut Sun
What: Golden State Valkyries vs. Connecticut Sun
Date: Monday, May 25
Time: Pregame show 6:30 p.m., tip-off 7 p.m. PDT
Location: Chase Center, San Francisco
On TV: KPIX+ 44 / Cable 12 in the Bay Area, KMAX 31 in Sacramento
On Radio: 95.7 The Game, Audacy App
Connecticut
New London, Connecticut: This walkable seaport city is a ferry trip from Long Island
Explore an affordable, multicultural and highly walkable New England city steeped in Americana this summer on a day trip by ferry to New London, Connecticut.
“We have a very walkable downtown and plenty of free parking,” says Elizabeth Nocera, New London’s economic development coordinator. The 6-square-mile community founded in 1646 boasts a “strong arts and culture center” with attractions, dining and entertainment located steps from the ferry dock, Nocera says.
Dine out on ethnic foods or sip local microbrews on a deck or patio overlooking the water. Bike to the boardwalk at a fun-filled public beach, mark the nation’s 250th anniversary at the site of a pivotal Revolutionary War battle, or honor Black history where the slave ship Amistad put ashore. Find affordability on a free or low-cost boat or walking tour in a city rated a “Walker’s Paradise” by walkscore.com.
Here are things to do on a trip across Long Island Sound to the southeastern Connecticut shore.
Getting There
The Cross Sound Ferry boat, a converted WWll landing craft that participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Credit: Randee Daddona
The Cross Sound Ferry offers daily service to New London from Orient Point (41270 Main Rd., Orient, 631-323-2525, longislandferry.com).
- Fares begin at $70 for car and driver, one way
- Passengers: adult: $21-$23 one way, $37 same-day round trip; child: $7.50 under 12 one way, $13 same-day round trip; bicycle additional $12.)
What’s new in New London
New businesses offer dining and drinking on downtown Bank and State streets, which were recently designated as Connecticut’s third cultural district. Water Street Waffle Co., which opened in November, serves waffle creations, craft coffee and cocktails (133 Bank St., 959-716-4023, waterstreetwafflecompanynl.com). Next door, the Tox Brewing Company tap room (123 Bank St., 860-440-8127, toxbrewing.com) serves 11 different pizzas and 15 light to dark beers brewed on-site ($7-$9). A 50-seat patio blooms with flowering plants, says Tox co-founder Dayne Laskey. A new “Taste of the Caribbean” menu boasts empanadas and pernil roasted pork at Mambo Bar & Dominican Restaurant (200 Bank St., 860-847-7685, mambobarrestaurantct.com). Social Bar & Kitchen offers 50 craft brews and a drag show competition/brunch (208 Bank St., 860-442-6900, socialnewlondon.com).
New London also is home to socially responsible shops like women-owned Flavours of Life (86 Bank St., 860-444-9428, flavoursoflife.com), where “fairly traded goods from around the world” include jewelry, décor and stationery, and toys, books and clothing in a children’s section. “We have over 50 countries represented in the shop, as well as local artists,” says proprietor LaKisha Moon Lee. Shop for herbs, tea and books, decorate your own terrarium or chill out at a free open mic night at The Golden Owl independent book shop (19 Golden St., 860-924-2695, goldenowl.shop).
If affordability is your mantra …
- New London joins thousands of cities around the world celebrating Make Music Day on June 21, when “music pops up all over the downtown” with up to 10 local venues hosting free live entertainment, Nocera says (makemusicday.org).
- Also free is a self-guided walking tour of the Black Heritage Trail, which opened in 2021 recognizing “three centuries of Black strength, resilience and accomplishment,” the city’s website says. Fifteen downtown sites include the location where the Amistad landed after the 1839 rebellion by African captives, and the 1678 Joshua Hempstead House, which documents the life of an enslaved man of African descent (11 Hempstead St., house tours May through October, visitnewlondon.org/black-heritage-trail; $16, $5 ages 6 to 18).
- The Amistad and its cargo were auctioned off at the current site of the Custom House Maritime Museum, where a permanent exhibit tells the story of the Africans’ fight for freedom. The museum also offers tours inside three of its lighthouses, open mic nights and maritime history talks (150 Bank St., 860-447-2501, nlmaritimesociety.org; $10, $6 under 17).
- In the 19th century, New London was one of the East Coast’s busiest whaling ports, a past that inspired the leviathan-sized “Great Sperm Whales” mural at 124 Captains Walk. The free, self-guided Wall to Wall: New London Mural Walk visits two dozen public artworks depicting underwater spacemen, exotic shells and the musicians Prince, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and Willie Nelson. The tour begins at the nonprofit Hygienic Art Galleries (open Thursday to Sunday, 79 Bank St., 860-443-8001, download a tour map at hygienic.org/mural-walk; free).
- Continue your deep dive into New London’s maritime past at Fort Trumbull State Park, where British troops commanded by Benedict Arnold won their last Revolutionary War battle (90 Walbach St., 860-444-7591; $6, $2 ages 6 to 12).
- The original site of the modern U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Fort Trumbull along with the City Pier are passenger boarding locations for water taxi “Hop on, Hop off” harbor cruises of the Thames River Heritage Park. Repurposed Navy boats visit 25 national and historic sites “that tell the story of our nation,” says June Henley, park executive director (Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., June 6 through Sept. 6; 860-333-6706, thamesriverheritagepark.org; $10, $5 ages 4 to 12).
See the city on a bike
About 12 miles of bike paths “alternate between painted lanes and road routes,” says Robert Bareiss, 56, of New London, a former local bike shop owner. Bareiss says popular bike routes include a “9-mile round trip from the ferryboat” to New London’s own Ocean Beach Park, home to a boardwalk, an Olympic-size swimming pool, mini golf, arcade and concession stand (98 Neptune Ave., 860-447-3031, ocean-beach-park.com).
“It’s definitely an easy to navigate city and it’s fairly bike-friendly,” says Pat Lamond, owner of Wayfarer Bicycle, a sales and repairs shop offering free water refills (120 Ocean Ave., 860-443-8250, wayfarerbicycle.com).
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