Connecticut
The Connecticut’s Sun DiJonai Carrington is an emerging All-Star
With the Connecticut Sun being the best team in the league, it’s fitting to give love to their best players in All-Star voting. And since the team is first in defensive rating and opponent points per game, why not devote one of those precious backcourt votes to an early candidate for both the Most Improved and Defensive Player of the Year awards? DiJonai Carrington.
The 26-year-old put the league on notice on opening day, playing lockdown defense on Caitlin Clark, forcing the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft to miss shots and commit turnovers, spoiling her WNBA debut in the process. During the rematch between the two teams, Carrington again played elite defense, but was also able to score 22 points on Clark, making use of her athleticism and strength.
After her team beat the Washington Mystics in the second contest of the season, Carrington explained in a simple and humble way how she became so good on the defensive end:
I had to figure out a way to get on the court and the way I figured out to get on the court was to be a lockdown defender. I was with Briann January, Jasmine Thomas, Alyssa Thomas, three of the all-time best defenders in WNBA history … If you want to play, you’ll find a way to get on the court.
And while the games against the Indiana Fever gave her the recognition she deserves, Carrington enjoyed other stellar defensive performances this season. On May 28, the Phoenix Mercury’s Kahleah Copper, who is third in the league in scoring, scored just seven points on 2-for-11 shooting when guarded by Carrington. On June 2, she limited Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray to nine points on 3-for-11 shooting. And on June 15, she kept the Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale, the league’s second-leading scorer, to 11 points on 2-for-15 shooting.
Offensively, Carrington is a fastbreak machine, rushing to the basket and crashing into the interior after a turnover that she most likely forced. Her 3-point shooting isn’t there yet, maybe it never will be, but she’s more efficient and more confident than ever with the ball in her hands. Her 12.5 points per game average is only bested by her collegiate averages from her junior year at Stanford and senior year at Baylor, but she’s playing with a level of maturity that’s beyond comparison to her previous years.
Without her, the Sun don’t open the season 12-1. There’s a lot of competition in the backcourt, so chances are that Carrington may not earn an All-Star spot. But that doesn’t mean that she’s not worthy of it.
Connecticut
Watch New Canaan vs. Cheshire in Connecticut Class L football championship: Live stream
New Canaan faces Cheshire in the 2025 Connecticut high school Class L football state championship on Saturday afternoon.
The game begins at 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut.
The game will stream live on the NFHS Network.
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What: Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Class L football championship
Who: New Canaan vs. Cheshire
When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025
Where: Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut
Time: 4 p.m. EST
Stream: NFHS Network
Tickets: $11,50
Record, MaxPrep state rankings: New Canaan 12-0, No. 1; Cheshire 9-3, No. 11
Here’s more information about the game from the Hartford Courant, via the Tribune News Service:
New Canaan is going for its 16th state title and fourth straight under veteran coach Lou Marinelli and New Canaan outscored its playoff opponents, 85-13. Cheshire’s last finals appearance was 2009, when coach Don Drust was an assistant for the Rams’ team, which beat Staples in overtime to win a Class LL title. Cheshire rallied from a 19-point deficit against Fairfield Ludlowe to win the Class L quarterfinal game and beat Ridgefield 21-0 in the semifinals. QB Aiden Gregorich’s pass to Liam Suomala proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left in the quarterfinal.
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Connecticut
Could mini-liquor bottles be banned in Connecticut?
Have you still seen a lot of mini-liquor bottles, littering the streets in Connecticut?
Members of one environmental group said they still see them, and believe a ban is the best way to solve a multi-tiered problem.
State data shows in the past 12 months, ending September 30, there were more than 93 million mini-liquor bottles sold in our state.
The group supporting local bans says it’s not just the litter, but also the fact mini-liquor bottles are easy to conceal and consume on the job, in the car, or at school.
The group “Connecticut Towns Nixing the Nip” met this week, working on strategies to get a legislative hearing on the issue in the upcoming 2026 session.
Right now, stores collect a 5-cent surcharge for every mini-liquor bottle sold, resulting in about $5 million annually for town and city environmental cleanup efforts.
Town funding from nip sales
Average revenue per year 2021 to 2025.
“Having talked to a number of towns, well a few towns, they like the money, said Tom Metzner, a member of the group. “It’s fairly broad in how it can be used. It’s environmental. It doesn’t have to be used for cleaning up nips. And so the towns have become somewhat silent on the issue of banning nips.”
The group cited Chelsea, Massachusetts, where minis are banned, both litter and alcohol related EMS calls decreased.
The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut, which devised the “nickel per nip” program, said banning the mini-liquor bottles would be unprecedented.
Instead, it said the environmental group should be challenging municipalities to prove they actually use the money for cleanup.
Legislative leaders suggested several years ago the way to really do this is to have a redemption program for mini liquor bottles, and now, that could be possible.
At least one state with the Clynk bottle collection program has redeemed mini-liquor bottles for cash.
The company just announced a major expansion in our state, but it told us it is not aware of a redemption program for mini-liquor bottles here any time soon.
Connecticut
National trust in the federal government is low. CT residents agree
National trust in the federal government is at some of its lowest levels in nearly seven decades, and many Connecticut residents fall in line with that belief, a survey found.
New data from the Pew Research Center found only 17% of Americans believe that what the government does is right either “just about always” or “most of the time,” hitting one of the lowest points Pew has seen since first asking this question in 1958. And according to a DataHaven survey, Connecticut residents trust the federal government less than state or local institutions.
While these are some of the lowest polling numbers seen in American history, national trust in the federal government has been on the decline for decades. Public trust initially dropped in the 1960s and ’70s during the Vietnam War from a near 80% but began rising again in the 1980s into the early ’90s. Trust peaked again after 9/11 before falling.
The DataHaven survey found that of all Connecticut residents surveyed, only 9% trust the federal government “a great deal” to look out for the best interests of them and their family. About 28% trust the federal government “a fair amount.”
Federal government trust among Connecticut residents was at its highest in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the federal stimulus programs and child tax credit were active.
The DataHaven survey also asked about trust in local and state government. Connecticut residents generally trust these institutions more than they trust the federal government, the survey found.
Trust in the local governments was higher than trust in both state and federal, with 67% of residents surveyed trusting their local government “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”
And when it came to state government, 61% of residents trust the state “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”
However, across the board, white residents are more likely to trust local and state government than are residents of color. Black residents had higher levels of trust in government than Latino and Puerto Rican residents, but less than white residents.
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