Cassell's Corner

Cassell’s Corner podcast host Tommy Cassell sat down this week with the new Milford football coach, Anthony Vizakis.

Vizakis was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator for the Scarlet Hawks last season. Vizakis grew up in Bellingham and graduated from Bishop Feehan High, where he played football.

Cassell talks with Vizakis about his experience before coming to Milford. He played football at Bridgewater State. After graduation, he went on to serve as an assistant coach at a number of local high schools.

Cassell’s Corner

Each week, Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figure from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. Don’t forget to rate and review. And if you aren’t a podcast listener, every episode of Cassell’s Corner is available here on our websites.

Related Links

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/20170816/new-milford-football-coach-anthony-vizakis-has-vision-for-scarlet-hawks

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/20170613/milford-football-coach-joe-todd-go-their-separate-ways

Glen Magpiong joins host Tommy Cassell from Ohio. Magpiong is in the midst of a cross country journey on his bicycle to help raise awareness for ALS.

A Wellesley resident, Magpiong is riding with his father, Earl, and with fellow Wellesley resident Tucker Swan. They are riding for former junior varsity boys basketball coach, Paul Seaver. Seaver was the JV coach, while Magpiong was the Wellesley boys basketball coach. Seaver was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) during the 2010-11 basketball season and died from it in 2013.

Magpiong, the girls basketball coach at Wellesley High School, first cycled across the country in 2014.

Magpiong is calling his ride the "Tour 2 Cure."

Read more about Magpiong’s journey in Cassell’s article as they kicked off and to follow along with the group or to donate visit their blog page here.

 

Cassell’s Corner

Each week, Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figure from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. Don’t forget to rate and review. And if you aren’t a podcast listener, every episode of Cassell’s Corner is available on our websites.

Related Links

http://wellesley.wickedlocal.com/sports/20161228/wellesley-girls-basketball-adds-some-spice-to-success

http://wellesley.wickedlocal.com/sports/20170321/wellesley-girls-basketball-still-hungry-for-more

 

Holliston native Mike Condon is a goalie for the Ottawa Senators and he talkswith host Tommy Cassell.

Condon, who graduated from Belmont Hill, signed a three-year $7.2 million contract in June to be the backup goaltender for the Senators, a NHL team for the capital of Canada. Condon will be starting his second year with the Senators in September when training camp opens.

“I put the pads on the first time in my driveway with my brother shooting tennis balls at me,” Condon tells Cassell. “And all the kids in the neighborhood saw it, they come, and now they are shooting tennis balls and all of sudden you are playing goalie and that’s what you are doing.”

He talks about being the first guy out of the tunnel when the Penguins raised the Stanley Cup banner, despite not being on the team the year before, and what it was like playing in the Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium on New Year’s Day in 2016.

Getting ready for the Winter Classic he thought, “I’m walking into the house Tom Brady built.”

He played 55 games for the Montreal Canadiens in the 2015-2016 season. “I was just ecstatic to have a job for the next year but when I told my dad and my brother there was kind of a pause on the phone there. It was kinda like a Boston kid going to go play for the Yankees,” Condon says to Cassell.

He also played one game for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2016-2017 before being traded to the Senators.

In addition to growing up in Holliston, Condon also lived in Natick and Needham with his father during middle school and high school. 

Cassell’s Corner

Each week, Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figure from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. Don’t forget to rate and review. And if you aren’t a podcast listener, every episode of Cassell’s Corner is available on our websites.

 

Bellingham’s Sarah Edwards sat down this week with podcast host Tommy Cassell. She talks about her first year running at Virginia Tech, her ACC championship win in the steeplechase, her summer competing with the Pan Am Junior Team in Peru and her battle with brain cancer her freshman year of high school.

“My first day of high school I was diagnosed with brain cancer,” Edwards told Cassell during their conversation. She shared details of that experience as she explained to Cassell how she transitioned from a member of Bellingham’s varsity soccer team her freshmen year to running three seasons of track for the next three years.

She started by “hiding with the sprinters” despite the coach’s plan that she run the 800-meter. Then during her first meet, she broke a school record in the 800-meter.

“I stopped hiding with the sprinters,” she said.

She was the Daily News Female Athlete of the Year in 2016.

Her first year as a Hokie, Edwards competed all three seasons - cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. She began competing in the steeplechase this year and won the race her second time she did it in competition, which happened to be the ACC Championship.

She went on to spend part of summer competing with the Pan Am Junior Team in Peru.

 

Cassell’s Corner

Each week, Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figure from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. Don’t forget to rate and review. 

Related Links

Beat Sarah Edwards' whirlwind freshman year

On Campus: Bellingham’s Sarah Edwards discovers thrill of steeplechase

Daily News Female Athlete of the Year: Bellingham’s Edwards is running down a dream

Daily News Male Athlete of the Year Brian Espanet sits down and talks with Cassell’s Corner podcast host Tommy Cassell.

Espanet was a three-sport athlete at Hopedale High School, who graduated in June. He played football for the co-op Millis-Hopedale team (which won a Division 4A state championship), the boys basketball team and baseball team.

The team beat Maynard High 30-18 in the Division 4A Super Bowl in December.

Espanet talks with Cassell about how that friendship on the football field with Millis players and the rivalry with Maynard carried over on the hardwood during the basketball season.

During this high school career, Espanet scored over 1,000 career points in basketball and had over 100 career hits in baseball.

Cassell’s Corner

Each week, Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figure from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. And if you aren’t a podcast listener, every episode of Cassell’s Corner is available here on our websites.

 

Related Articles:

Daily News journalist Brandon Chase profiles the Daily News Male Athlete of the Year.

Millis-Hopedale wins super bowl

A favorite photo of Espanet on the basketball court

Daily News Female Athlete of the Year Grace Connolly talks with podcast host Tommy Cassell about her success in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track.

Connolly finished her sophomore year at Natick High this past year. During which she was an individual All-American for both cross country and indoor track, and an All-American as part of a relay team in outdoor track.

She talks about her season at Natick and choosing to focus solely on running instead of playing lacrosse.

Connolly also talks about competing at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional race in New York in November, where she finished fourth (18:01). With a top-10 finish there, she garnered a spot at Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego, where she finished ninth with a time of 17:50.

Cassell’s Corner

Each week, Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figure from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. And if you aren’t a podcast listener, every episode of Cassell’s Corner is available here on our websites.

Related Links:

Daily News Female Athlete of the Year: Natick’s Grace Connolly true greatness on track

Natick’s Connolly graceful in victory

Natick’s Connolly named 2016-2017 Gatorade Massachusetts girls cross country runner of the year.

Podcast host Tommy Cassell talks with Henry Weycker, the Wellesley Raiders' star baseball player, and the team’s coach Rob Kane.

Kane and Weycker were major pieces of this year’s trip to the Division 1 State Championship game. It was the first time the Raiders competed at that level. The team fell to Taconic, but Kane and Weycker talk with Cassell about the high points of the season as well as look forward to next year.

The team won the program’s first sectional title since 2005.

Weycker, who finished his sophomore year this year, is a left-handed hitter and pitcher. He is planning on heading to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, when he graduates from Wellesley. 

Weycker and Kane also talk to Cassell about what’s next for Wellesley as they switched from wood to aluminum bats, from nine to seven innings and as they strive to win the state title.

Cassell’s Corner

Each week, Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figure from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. And if you aren’t a podcast listener, every episode of Cassell’s Corner is available here on our websites.

Related Links

A look back at Wellesley’s baseball season

Coverage of the state championship game

 

Podcast host Tommy Cassell talks baseball and golf with three of the Macchi brothers of Franklin.

Joe Macchi, 30, is the head coach for the Franklin American Legion Baseball Team and his brothers Josh and Jake are playing on the team.

Josh, 18, is a 2017 graduate of Franklin High who is planning to go to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the fall. Jake, 16, is a member of the Class of 2019 at Franklin High School.

The Legion Post 75 team plays in Zone 6 West.

Cassell’s Corner

Each week, Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figure from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. And if you aren’t a podcast listener, every episode of Cassell’s Corner is available here on our websites.

 

Related Links

This week, host Tommy Cassell talks with Wayland boys volleyball and soccer star Jack Fletcher and his father, Rod, the Wayland boys volleyball coach.

The Wayland boys volleyball team finished the regular season with an 18-2 record and split the Dual County League championship with Newton South.

Fletcher, who graduated from Wayland High this spring, stood out on the court this season. He was named DCL Player of the Year and first team DCL All Star. Jack was also on the state championship soccer teams in 2016 and 2014 (his senior and sophomore seasons).

 

Cassell’s Corner

Each week Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figures from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. And if you aren’t a podcast listener, every episode of Cassell’s Corner is available here on our websites.

 

Related Links

A selfie with the state championship trophy

Jack and Rod are featured in these two MetroWest Daily News stories by Cassell. First their last playoff win (3-0 over Needham in state semifinals) and the second a 3-2 win over Newton South during the regular season.

And here is a chance to flip through a photo gallery.

 

Milford softball head coach Steve DiVitto and pitcher Ali Atherton talk with host Tommy Cassell after winning Milford softball’s first state championship since 2013.

Cassell sits down with DiVitto and Atherton as they celebrate the Scarlet Hawks win over Wachusett on June 17. “It doesn’t feel like it’s over,” Atherton told Cassell. 

 

Cassell’s Corner

Each week Tommy Cassell of the MetroWest Daily and Milford Daily News will talk with a high school sports figures from throughout the MetroWest and Milford areas. A new episode is released every Wednesday. Follow Cassell on Twitter at @TommyCassell44.

You can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or any other podcast provider. Please subscribe and leave a review.