Rhode Island
‘Jeopardy!’ had 2 RI contestants this week in Second Chance Tournament. Here’s how they did
Given a second chance on “Jeopardy!,” Providence’s Matt Harvey had what it took to win a game and advance in the Second Chance Tournament on Thursday night.
First to the buzzer and taking an early lead in the game, Harvey dominated in his return to the Alex Trebek Stage. Except for one brief moment when another opponent tied with him after correctly answering a Daily Double, he held his lead throughout the game. He cinched it by correctly answering the final question, finishing with $29,400.
With this win, he advances to play again in the tournament.
Who is Matt Harvey on ‘Jeopardy!’?
Harvey moved to Rhode Island more than 30 years ago to attend Brown University and never left. He works in administration at Integra Community Care Network, a division of the Care New England Health System, is married and has twin 15-year-olds.
He first competed on “Jeopardy!” in November 2022, coming in second to Cris Pannullo, who was on game 16 of what ended up being a 21-day streak.
“When I got the text message from ‘Jeopardy!’ asking me to come back, it almost didn’t quite feel real,” Harvey said in an interview ahead of the Jan. 4 game airing. “This Second Chance Tournament that they do is such a great idea, I think, for people exactly in my position.”
The second Rhode Islander on Jeopardy this week
The strangest thing about Harvey’s “Jeopardy!” appearances is that this is the second time he has been part of what he dubbed a Rhode Island cluster, with two Rhode Island contestants competing in the same week and a Rhode Island question.
The first time he played, North Smithfield resident Meghan Mello also played, and there was a question asking the contestants to identify “The Renaissance City” and “PVD” that no one got. (What is Providence?)
This time, Pawtucket resident Sharon Bishop played on Tuesday night, and there was another Rhode Island-themed question.
Do you know? Can you answer this Rhode Island themed question they asked on “Jeopardy!” tonight?
“What are the chances, given the size of our little state, that there are two of us?” Harvey said. “I guess I bring clusters around. I’m a Rhode Island ‘Jeopardy cluster’ creator.”
Rhode Island
High School Roundup: Scores and recaps from Wednesday’s games across RI
Coaches are asked to send in game results by email – pjsports@providencejournal.com – or by calling the Sports desk between 6 and 10 p.m. on weeknights, at (401) 277-7340.
▶GIRLS BASKETBALL
Division I
Bay View 61, Shea/Tolman 44
Strong outings by Qiana Sumner (18 points, 20 rebounds), Mia Forbes (22 points) and Sinai Robinson (15 points) paved the way for the Bengals victory. Leading the way for Pawtucket co-op in the loss were Tiyara Gonzalez, who scored 19 points, and Zareia Colome who was good for 9 points.
Moses Brown 71, Ponaganset 51
Lauren Bousquet poured in 27 points, all from 2-point range, Marielle Nassiff nearly matched her with 26 points — five from outside the arc — and Jaelynn Perez chipped in with 12 points as the Quakers won their second game in three decisions. Marron Nerney led the Chieftain, now 1-1, with 16 points.
Portsmouth 60, Chariho 36
Gyselle Mairs scored a game-high 21 points, and she also did it defensively, making 5 steals, pacing the Patriots to the victory. Annie Hurd also had a strong game, scoring 8 points and making 7 steals for Portsmouth, which improves to 2-1. Kylie Delemos and Stella Orr chipped in with 8 points apiece. Maddie Fizzanohad 11 points for the Chargers, who fall to -4.
North Kingstown 41, Barrington 37
Division II
Lincoln 41, Cumberland 37, OT
Brielle Lambert had a team-high 13 points and teammate Charlotte Labossierre added 10 more points to help Lincoln escape with a win over Cumberland in overtime. Alexis Parenteau had a game-high 16 points for the Clippers in the loss.
Rogers 45, East Greenwich 38
The visiting Vikings prevailed in this clash. They were led by Tameka Robertson with 14 points. She was supported by 11 points each from Telayiah Aponte and Anyha Walaski as Rogers maintained it lead after halftime. Chloe Hartman led the Avengers in scoring with 9 points. Maeve Kiernan had 8 points and Rowan Carney scored 7. Rogers gets its first victory of the season and is 1-2, while East Greenwich suffers its first loss and is 1-1.
Division II/III
Central 19, Middletown 17
Division III
Pilgrim 44, EWG 32
Lily Hall scored 11 points, including a 5-for-5 performance at the free-throw line, as she led the Patriots to their second win in three games. Avery Marques helped by scoring 8 points and Skylar Hawes and Lia Wasilewski each added 7 for the victors. Niniola Olawuyi led all scorers with 15 points and Isabella Tramonti chipped in with 10 for the Scarlet Knights, now 1-2.
▶BOYS BASKETBALL
Division I/II
Coventry 77, Johnston 40
Riley Finegan paced the Div. II Oakers with 20 points, Brayden Martin recorded 15 points and 9 assists, and Tyler Broady added 12 points and 10 rebounds as Coventry improved to 2-1. For the Div. I Panthers (0-3), Anderson Villa scored a team-high 9 points and Aiden Niel had 8 in the loss.
Division II
Burrillville 73, Woonsocket 62
Logan Gelinas led the Broncos with 26 points en route to the team’s first league win of the season (1-0). Sean Zanella buried all three of his 3-point shots for 15 points and Alton Kelley added 8 points. For the Novans (0-3), Angel Hernandez led a balanced attack, scoring 16 points, with Andrew Bissonnette adding 15 and Demetri Brin recording 12 in the loss.
▶GIRLS SWIMMING
Barrington 65, Narragansett/South Kingstown 27
Medley Relay ― B, 2:02 2; 200 free ― Ava Webster, B, (No time); 200 IM ― Sadie Brown, B, 2:30.11; 50 free ― Molly Digiacomo, B, 25.29; 100 fly ― Colleen O’Brian, N/SK, 1:05.50; 100 free ― Grace Fontaine, B, 58.58; 500 free ― Addison Bonner, N/SK, 6:02.56; 200 fr ee relay ― B, 1:48.20; 100 back ― Ava Yui, B, 1:08.87; 100 breaststroke ― Webster, B, 1:14.45; 400 free relay ― N/SK, 4:17.40.
▶Thursday’s schedule
BOYS BASKETBALL
Central Falls at Mt. Hope, 5:15 p.m.
Davies at PCD, 5:30 p.m.
Smithfield at Classical, 6 p.m.
Mount Pleasant at East Providence, 6:30 p.m.
Middletown at St. Raphael, 6:30 p.m.
Juanita Sanchez at Chariho, 6:45 p.m.
Pilgrim at West Warwick, 6:45 p.m.
Cumberland at Barrington, 7 p.m.
Lincoln at Shea, 7 p.m.
North Providence at Cranston West, 7 p.m.
Moses Brown vs. Rogers at the Martin Recreation Center, 7 p.m.
South Kingstown at Tiverton, 7 p.m.
Blackstone Valley at EWG, 7 p.m.
Hope at Scituate, 7 p.m.
Westerly at East Greenwich, 7 p.m.
North Kingstown at La Salle, 7:15 p.m.
Prout vs. Paul Cuffee at John Hope Settlement House, 7:15 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Times2 at Davies, 4:30 p.m.
Cranston East at South Kingstown, 5:30 p.m.
Johnston at Narragansett, 6 p.m.
Toll Gate at Mt. Hope, 7 p.m.
WRESTLING
EWG and Chariho at Westerly, 5 p.m.
Toll Gate and Tolman at Cranston East, 5:30 p.m.
Woonsocket at Lincoln, 6 p.m.
La Salle at North Kingstown, 6 p.m.
Juanita Sanchez, Prout at Johnston, 6 p.m.
South Kingstown at Smithfield, 6 p.m.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Man Accused Of Strangulation Assault In Fairfield: CSP
FAIRFIELD, CT — A 28-year-old Providence, Rhode Island man was arrested on a warrant by Connecticut State Police this week in connection with a strangulation assault on Dec. 7 at the northbound I-95 rest area in Fairfield.
Ariel Dejesus Valdez, who state police said had overstayed a visa from the Dominican Republic, was charged with the following:
- Risk of Injury to a Child
- Reckless Endangerment 2nd Degree (2 counts)
- Strangulation or Suffocation in the 2nd Degree
- Criminal Mischief 2nd Degree
- Larceny 3rd Degree
- Breach of Peace 2nd Degree
The incident began at about 6 p.m. when Valdez got into an argument with a person, strangling them and smashing a window in a truck that sent shards of glass that cut an infant inside.
Find out what’s happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Valdez then ran off.
Fairfield police were first called to the scene, and temporarily evacuated the rest area while searching for Valdez, but did not find him, according to state police.
Find out what’s happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Valdez was eventually found back in Rhode Island, and was taken into custody this week. He was turned over to Connecticut State Police on Monday.
Valdez was released after posting bond on bail of $30,000, and he is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on Jan. 23.
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To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.
Rhode Island
Does Rhode Island have the worst drivers in the country? One state is worse, per new study
Zebras run wild along Washington state highway
Video captured the moments when four zebras were seen running though traffic in Washington state.
Which states have the worst drivers? Rhode Island is one of them, according to a new study.
The online marketplace platform LendingTree released a new study revealing the worst drivers across the country, and Rhode Island took the second spot.
The silver lining is you can still say Massachusetts drivers are worse, as they took the top spot.
The study was compiled based on insurance inquiries from November 2023 to November 2024. Researchers tallied the number of accidents, DUIs, speeding-related incidents and general citations and calculated the total per 1,000 drivers in each state.
Alternatively, other New England states like Vermont and New Hampshire were ranked among the best drivers around the country.
Why does Rhode Island have bad drivers?
Rhode Island has the second worst drivers in the country because it has one of the highest rates of driving-related incidents, at 60.6 incidents per 1,000 drivers between November 2023 and November 2024.
The only state with a higher rate, Massachusetts, has 61.1 incidents per 1,000 drivers.
Rhode Island has the second-highest accident rate, at 39.7, tying with California.
The Ocean State also ties with Wisconsin for the 13th-highest DUI rate, at 1.9.
As for speeding-related incidents, Rhode Island ties with Hawaii as the 28th-worst at a rate of 2.4 incidents per 1,000 drivers.
Which states have the worst drivers?
These are the states with the worst drivers, according to LendingTree:
- Massachusetts
- Rhode Island
- California
- District of Columbia
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Washington
- Maryland
- North Dakota
- Utah
Which states have the best drivers?
These states have the lowest number of driving-related incidents per 1,000 drivers, making them the best drivers:
- Arkansas
- Michigan
- Vermont
- Kentucky
- Oklahoma
- Alaska
- West Virginia
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
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