The 2024-2025 Vermont high school winter season has begun. See below for scores, schedules and game details (statistical leaders, game notes) from basketball, hockey, gymnastics, wrestling, Nordic/Alpine skiing and other winter sports.

TO REPORT SCORES

Coaches or team representatives are asked to report results ASAP after games by emailing sports@burlingtonfreepress.com. Please submit with a name/contact number.

►Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter:@aabrami5.

►Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.

WEDNESDAY’S H.S. GAMES

Girls basketball

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

Blue Mountain at Sharon, 6 p.m.

Colchester at Mount Mansfield

Boys basketball

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

Lamoille at Williamstown, 5:30 p.m.

Lake Region at Lyndon, 6:30 p.m.

Stowe at Richford

Peoples at Hazen

North Country at U-32

White River Valley at Randolph

St. Johnsbury at Colchester

Montpelier at Rice

Thetford at Oxbow

Boys hockey

Brattleboro at Rutland, 4 p.m. 

Colchester at Rice, 5:20 p.m. 

Harwood at Hartford, 5:45 p.m.

Missisquoi at North Country (Jay Peak), 6 p.m. 

Burr and Burton at Woodstock, 6:55 p.m. 

Champlain Valley at Spaulding, 7:15 p.m. 

Milton at Stowe, 7:15 p.m. 

Middlebury at South Burlington, 7:40 p.m. 

Girls hockey

Hartford at Spaulding, 5:15 p.m. 

Kingdom Blades at Essex, 6 p.m. 

Middlebury at Brattleboro, 7:15 p.m.

Dr. Butsch Tournament at Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center

Stowe at U-32, 4 p.m. 

Burr and Burton vs. Missisquoi, 6 p.m.

Burlington/Colchester Tournament at Leddy Arena

Beekmantown, NY vs Rice, 5:30 p.m. 

Franklin Academy, NY at Burlington/Colchester 7:40 p.m.

THURSDAY’S H.S. GAMES

Girls basketball

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

Randolph at Williamstown, 6 p.m.

Stowe at Woodstock, 6 p.m.

Milton at Richford, 7 p.m.

South Burlington at Spaulding

Lyndon at Hazen

Montpelier at Harwood

North Country at BFA-St. Albans

Thetford at Northfield

Oxbow at Rivendell

Boys basketball

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

BFA-St. Albans at Milton

Danville at Twinfield/Cabot

Mount Mansfield at Essex, 7:30 p.m.

Girls hockey

Burlington/Colchester Tournament at Leddy Arena

Franklin Academy, NY vs. Rice, 5:30 p.m. 

Beekmantown, NY at Burlington/Colchester, 7:40 p.m. 

(Subject to change)

The Boston Red Sox still have a long way to go before they can consider themselves World Series contenders.

It may be a harsh dose of reality, but it needs to be said. The Red Sox made a big-time trade last week, bringing in Garrett Crochet to be their new ace, but behind Crochet, the rest of the rotation still looks a bit iffy.

Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Lucas Giolito could all give the Red Sox strong seasons if things break right. But in today’s game, things almost never break right, especially with the constant injury risks pitchers are facing.

Should the Red Sox, then, make one more blockbuster trade?

Drew Koch of FanSided recently named the Red Sox as a possible trade destination for Houston Astros two-time All-Star Framber Valdez, who is entering his walk year at age 31. Houston already traded Kyle Tucker this winter, signaling that Valdez is likely available.

“The Boston Red Sox already emptied the farm system to land Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox, but the cupboard is not bare,” Koch said.

“Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are probably off limits, but a young shortstop prospect like Franklin Arias —ranked in the top 100 according to MLB Pipeline— could be the headliner of a trade package heading back to Houston. The Astros need to beef up their farm system, and Boston could help facilitate that.”

Valdez is projected to make $18.8 million in arbitration this season (via Spotrac) thanks to his excellent career to this point. He’ll likely command even more than that in free agency for several years to come, so this will be the cheapest opportunity Boston has to get him, even for one year.

This could be Boston’s opportunity to go all-in on the 2025 season. If Houston commands a reasonable price, which they should, considering there’s only one year of control left on Valdez’s deal, they should look at this situation as a true rental.

Sure, there’s potential for an extension if Valdez truly loves pitching in Boston. But why not put some chips on the table for the short term in a wide-open American League?

More MLB: Why Red Sox Insider ‘Would Be Shocked’ If Boston Doesn’t Sign Another Star Free Agent

The Pittsburgh Steelers, after enduring several years of substandard quarterback play following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, adopted a new approach this past offseason by adding Russell Wilson and Justin Fields to the roster at low price points.

Those acquisitions were aimed at simultaneously raising both the floor and ceiling of the offense and the team itself through two players with varying levels of starting experience at the NFL level.

That gamble has paid off for the Steelers, as they are currently 10-4 and have clinched a playoff berth while Wilson and Fields have each contributed at different points throughout the year. Both signal callers will reach free agency after the season concludes, however, meaning Pittsburgh could suddenly have to start fresh at the position.

Should the Steelers opt not to hand out a significant pay raise to their incumbent quarterbacks, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio believes they could go back to the well and target current Atlanta Falcons field general Kirk Cousins on a cheap contract after he was benched in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr.

“Think about this, they’ve got Justin Fields under contract for the rest of the year. They’ve got Russell Wilson under contract the rest of the year. They got them both for nothing. Like their entire quarterback depth chart was making less money than Mason Rudolph,” Florio said via NFL on NBC on YouTube. “If you can do this again, and you can bring Kirk Cousins to run your offense and play Steelers football with Arthur Smith … We’d like to get a long-term franchise quarterback. We haven’t found one yet. So, let’s just get a guy who, dollar for dollar, is a hell of a value.”

Cousins, who had spent the previous six campaigns with the Minnesota Vikings, inked a four-year deal worth $180 million back in March despite the fact that he tore his Achilles in Week 8 of the 2023 season.

The 36-year-old hasn’t looked like himself this year, throwing for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions over 14 contests. Now that he’s on the sideline in the middle of Atlanta’s playoff push, it’s become increasingly likely that he’ll end up elsewhere in 2025.

Cousins’ situation is rather similar to Wilson’s from his time with the Denver Broncos, who released him from a $245 million contract and took on $85 million in dead money in the process.

If the Falcons were to find a trade partner, they would incur $37.5 million in dead money. Because Cousins has a full no-trade clause, however, he could dig his heels in and simply refuse to agree to such a transaction for a multitude of reasons and hit the open market for a second-consecutive offseason.

In that case, Atlanta would be responsible for $65 million in dead cap. That would represent a far more palatable outcome for the Steelers, as Cousins would then garner a deal for the league minimum, much like the one Wilson agreed to with the team.

It’s far too early to gauge the true likelihood of such a move materializing for Pittsburgh, but it’s certainly an intriguing idea. Cousins should improve next season after being another year removed from his injury, and while losing Wilson would sting in this case, it would make it easier for the Steelers to also retain Fields if they so choose while continuing to build a contending roster.

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