The University of Vermont men’s soccer team — excuse me, make that the national champion University of Vermont men’s soccer team — was undeniably an underdog along its now-storied journey.

The Catamounts were ranked No. 17 and unseeded entering the NCAA Tournament. Even as an exceptional America East program, they don’t have the resources to match the big programs from the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference.

Underdog? Accurate assessment. Just don’t tell the Catamounts themselves that they were a Cinderella story, as if their success required some sort of fairy-tale caliber intervention. For one thing, Cinderella doesn’t wear flannel, as the Vermont players were prone to do when they took the field for warm-ups. For another, they were certain they could beat anyone, even while the final chapters of its extraordinary and ultimately fulfilled quest were still being written.

“They were not just happy to be there,” said Dalen Cuff, who called Vermont’s 2-1 overtime victory over Marshall on ESPN2 last Monday night. “They felt like a team on a mission and they were. Their mind-set was, ‘We will be forgotten if we don’t win the whole thing.’ I think they were just very salient in the fact that if we win the whole thing, then we hit legendary status. And they were right.”

So when the Catamounts achieved what might have been a stunning outcome to just about everyone outside of their own locker room, prevailing on Max Kissel’s golden goal in the 95th minute, Cuff’s exceptional call included acknowledging the Catamounts’ own we’ve-got-this, no-glass-slipper-necessary mentality.

“Oh my gosh! They do it!” exclaimed Cuff as Kissel’s goal rolled toward the net. “Don’t call them Cinderella! You can call them national champs!”

Vermont’s victory and how it occurred made the Catamounts an instant social media sensation, and the buzz carried through much of the week. On Tuesday, the match drove conversation on such shows as ESPN’s “Around The Horn,” where host Tony Reali declared it the best sporting event of the year.

I told Cuff – whom locals may remember from his time at Comcast SportsNet New England nearly a decade ago — that watching the end of the championship match reminded me of what it felt like when Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary found Gerard Phelan to lift Boston College over Miami in November 1984.

“It’s funny you mention the Flutie thing,” said Cuff, who has called four NCAA men’s soccer finals for ESPN. “When I grew up, I had the VHS tape, ‘Great Sports Moments of the ‘80s.’ One of them was the Flutie play, with the radio call: ‘He did it! He did it! Flutie did it’!

“I never thought I’d be the voice of any type of unforgettable moment, especially since I started my career as an analyst.

“I’ve heard people like Al Michaels or Mike Tirico or Joe Buck talk about when you’re calling something that has a chance to be an incredible moment, or when you’re calling a championship, ‘Do you think about it in advance? Do you rehearse?’ The weird thing is, I don’t think you can in soccer, where one moment that can define the game can happen at any time.”

Cuff said he just instinctively went with what was already on his mind.

“And what was on my mind was that they found it practically offensive to be called Cinderella,” he said. “Their point of view was, ‘We’ve won more games than anybody in this tournament the last few years. We know we’re a small school from America East, but we’re not Cinderella.’

“So we mentioned that during the broadcast a couple of times, and so in the moment I communicated that they’ll never be considered Cinderella again. Just call them champs.”

Cuff acknowledged that he didn’t quite grasp how much the championship match and Vermont’s team was resonating with sports fans until the next day.

“I walked out of there in kind of a stupor,” he said. “Not that they won, but more like, ‘I can’t believe that happened.’ The way it went down. I was kind of dumbfounded for a couple of hours, and I don’t think I understood the response and how many people watched and appreciated what they’d seen. I realized Tuesday with all of the talk about the game and people texting me how much people gravitated toward this.”

The championship aired on ESPN2 in the spot in which the “ManningCast” would normally be on as the alternate broadcast of “Monday Night Football.” But there was no show last Monday.

“Shout out to the Manning brothers for taking the week off,” said Cuff with a laugh. “Thank you for that. I’m sure some people tuned in thinking the ‘ManningCast’ was on, stuck around, and got this unbelievable game.

“I do think where it’s on television matters. It was on ESPN2 for the first time since I’ve been calling it. I think random people stumbled across the game. I recognized that part instantly. When you walk into a bar, ESPN is likely on TV. ESPNU is not likely to be on. So the platform made a difference.”

…

Jim Donaldson, an important member of an outstanding Providence Journal sports section for nearly four decades, died Thursday morning at age 73. Donaldson never smoothed the edges of his opinions as a writer, particularly when it came to the Patriots, and was a friendly companion in the press box. I enjoyed his wry sense of humor as a frequent weekend host on WEEI back in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Even after his retirement in 2016, he remained an engaging — and opinionated, of course — presence on social media. I’ll miss hearing from him . . . Expect the Red Sox to announce their broadcast booths for both NESN and WEEI at Fenway Fest — an even kinder, gentler version of Winter Weekend, apparently on Saturday, Jan. 11. Dave O’Brien (NESN) and Will Flemming (WEEI) will remain in their play-by-play roles, but some other specifics are still being worked out.

Gov. Phil Scott on Friday announced the appointment of two new department commissioners and one deputy commissioner to his administration. 

Scott tapped Kerrick Johnson as commissioner of the Department of Public Service, ahead of Commissioner June Tierney’s retirement at the end of the year. 

Johnson, of North Middlesex, currently serves as executive advisor to the Vermont Electric Power Company, commonly known as VELCO. The company, owned jointly by the state’s distribution utilities, manages 700 miles of distribution lines and works with Independent System Operator of New England, a regional partner, to maintain the reliability of the state’s electricity transmission grid.

“Kerrick has extensive experience as a leader in the energy sector which will be valuable as we help Vermonters make the switch to cleaner energy sources in ways they can afford,” said Scott in a press release, where he also expressed gratitude for Tierney’s seven years of service. 

Over the last decade of his career working in energy innovation, Johnson said he has learned how to streamline systems and identify and eliminate needless costs. He said he intends to bring that knowledge to his work as commissioner. 

“I think there’s opportunities internal to Vermont to be more thoughtful about pace, about placement and about cost of generation and infrastructure build out,” said Johnson. “Regionally, Vermont has some unique attributes it brings to the table that can serve both Vermont and the region in fulfilling its energy needs, and I look forward to creating and seizing opportunities to better leverage Vermont’s strength.”

Although awaiting legislative confirmation, Johnson said he intends to have ongoing conversations with key stakeholders like members of the department and the legislature to “ensure a smooth, seamless transition.”

The Legislature has at least two high-interest energy topics to debate during the upcoming session. Johnson will likely be engaged in discussions about whether to implement a proposed Clean Heat Standard — a matter of significant discussion during the recent election. And Republicans and Scott have called for changes to the Global Warming Solutions Act, which sets emission reduction requirements for the state for 2025 and beyond. 

Scott also appointed Mike Ferrant, of Williamstown, to fill the role of deputy commissioner of the Department of Liquor and Lottery. Andrew Collier, the previous deputy commissioner, was tapped by Scott to be commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles. 

“I’m very excited to join the amazing team at the Department of Liquor and Lottery and grateful to the Governor for his confidence in me in this position,” Ferrant wrote in an email to VTDigger. 

Finally, Scott appointed Sandy Bigglestone as acting commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation to replace current commissioner Kevin Gaffney who will retire at the end of the year. Bigglestone has previously served as deputy commissioner of the Captive Insurance Division within the department.

Bigglestone said the role is slated to be temporary until a permanent appointment is made. But, during her time as commissioner, Bigglestone said she plans to lead through collaboration with the department’s “top-notch staff.”

Bigglestone said she is dedicated to the department’s mission of protecting consumers and ensuring companies, institutions and individuals operate within the law and can deliver on promises to consumers.

In her 28 years of service at the department, Bigglestone said she has learned about global market forces and how to help Vermonters when situations like the 2008 financial crisis and COVID 19 pandemic arise.

“We find ourselves always having to pivot and shift and to address what challenges Vermonters face, and work together to come up with some solutions,” said Bigglestone. 

For likely the last time, state health care regulators at the Green Mountain Care Board on Wednesday approved the annual budget for OneCare Vermont, the accountable care organization that has been the linchpin of Vermont’s “all-payer” health care payment reform efforts since 2018.

OneCare announced in early November that 2025 would be its last year in operation. Dec. 31, 2025, is also the anticipated end date for what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services calls the “Vermont All-Payer ACO Model.”

The care board approved an organizational budget of just under $11.3 million, a reduction of almost $1.5 million from OneCare’s original request, submitted before the nonprofit’s board of managers voted to close its doors. 

Regulators directed OneCare — which since October 2021 has been solely a subsidiary of the University of Vermont Health Network — to redistribute the latter amount to independent health care providers that participate in the organization’s “population health management” programs, including primary care offices, home health agencies and area agencies on aging. 

Green Mountain Care Board Chair Owen Foster called the approved budget “very fair for OneCare,” given that it was not significantly lower than the organization’s actual spending in 2024.

The reduced budget level-funded salary and benefit expenses from 2024 and eliminated the unfilled position of chief financial officer. Tom Borys, who served in that role, took over as interim chief executive officer after Abe Berman, who served as OneCare’s CEO since May 2023, stepped down earlier this month. 

The care board also cut money that was allocated to pay for an annual outside evaluation no longer being required by the board, and for lobbying and board recruitment. 

“It’s obviously a different budget than in prior years with a winddown coming of the operations,” Foster said. 

Borys acknowledged that “the paradigm has changed for us” and accepted the rationale for the cuts in public comments to the board on Dec. 4 and written comments on Dec. 12. The organization’s goal for 2025 was to “do our best for the state, the providers, the patients that they serve, and also be mindful of the cost,” he said. 

Borys added that OneCare expected to continue its full list of activities through the end of 2025. The plan is to spend the first half of 2026 closing down, with the final steps of the shutdown completed by that October, he said. Care board staff said it was currently unclear whether the regulator would need to approve a partial budget for 2026, assuming the federal “all-payer model” ends when expected at the end of 2025.

The model has been a unique policy framework — and the basis for a legal contract between the federal health insurance agency, Vermont’s Agency of Human Services and the care board — that has allowed Medicare and Medicaid funds to be distributed by an accountable care organization in nontraditional ways. 

The new payment methods have included adding bonus payments for providers who meet certain care quality standards and “per patient per month” payments to independent primary care providers. The strategies were intended to bolster preventative care and reduce overall health care spending. 

For the duration of the model’s contract, which started in 2018, OneCare has been Vermont’s only “all-payer” accountable care organization — meaning it does business with private providers, Medicaid and Medicare — so it has been the only entity capable of carrying out the terms of the agreement. 

In late November, the care board approved the 2025 budgets of Lore Health, Vytalize Health and Aledade Accountable Care as submitted. All three are accountable care organizations operating in Vermont that provide services only to patients insured by Medicare. 

On Wednesday, members of the care board also received an update on negotiations with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over Vermont’s participation in a new federal reform model called the AHEAD program, which stands for States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development. 

Vermont is one of six states that has been selected to participate. The others are Maryland, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York and Rhode Island.  A care board vote on whether to move forward with preparations to participate is expected in mid-January. 

Care board member Thom Walsh questioned whether President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration would back the federal reform program’s continued rollout. If it did not, he asked, did leaders at the Agency of Human Services have a backup plan for funding programs that health care providers and their patients have come to rely on?

OneCare did successfully defend one part of its 2025 budget: the continuation of its “regional care representative” program, which the care board had put on the chopping block. 

The $300,000 pays primary care providers within OneCare’s network to work with peers in their region on how best to make use of the data and reports the ACO provides. The program is needed for the organization to maintain a connection with those offices, which is essential for progress towards shared care quality goals, Borys said. 

“I’d like personally to end the all-payer model era on a high note,” he said.