This week on The Sports Rapport, it sure feels like summer in Vermont so we had to visit the ball park of course. Vermont Lake Monsters minority owner and former NBC5 meteorologist Tom Messner took Mitch Wertlieb on a tour of Centennial Field ahead of their season opener this week.

Plus, the Middlebury College Pranksters ultimate frisbee teams became national champions on Monday. In the men's division the Pranksters beat Carelton College Chop 15-7, while their women's division club beat the Whitman College Sweets 15-6 to complete the D-III championship sweep. We check-in with friends of the show Liam Reynolds and Oscar de Swaan Arons, and also Pranksters captain Claire “Cece” Rhyneer.

With temperatures outside warming up, many Vermonters are back on their bicycles after the long winter. Local Motion Communication Specialist Val Cyr also stopped by The Sports Rapport to discuss bike advocacy and safety.

Guests:
Tom Messner, Vermont Lake Monsters minority owner
Liam Reynolds, Middlebury College Pranksters ultimate frisbee player
Oscar de Swaan Arons, Middlebury College Pranksters ultimate frisbee player
Claire "Cece" Rhyneer, Middlebury College Pranksters ultimate frisbee player
Val Cyr, communication specialist at Local Motion

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Timestamps:

1:09 Our top five sporting events we want to attend this summer

3:46 The Sports Rapport tours Centennial Field with the Vermont Lake Monsters

20:32 Middlebury Pranksters Liam Reynolds, Oscar de Swaan Arons and Claire “Cece” Rhyneer talk about their D-III college ultimate championships sweep

31:20 Springtime bike safety tips and local advocacy with Local Motion's Val Cyr

The 2026 USL2 and USLW seasons are upon us. The Vermont Green FC men's club is defending their 2025 league title, while the women's side is looking to leave their mark on the USLW in their inaugural season. We break it all down with players from both clubs as well as Mike Popovitch and Tyson Foster from the United in Green podcast.

This week on The Sports Rapport, we sit down with new UVM women's basketball head coach Maureen Magarity, Best Day Ever filmmaker Berne Broudy, adaptive athlete Allie Bianchi and Vermont Public's Howard Weiss-Tisman.

Colchester High School senior baseball pitcher Jackson Pecor joins the show fresh off of a no-hitter he threw versus BFA St. Albans last week. Plus, Vermont Ultimate's Mariz Mangundayao and members of the Middlebury College ultimate team join to talk about the disc sport's status here in Vermont.

Discussing the just finished undefeated regular season for the division three Middlebury women's lacrosse team with the squad's head coach and star attacker. Plus, the latest on changes to the Boston Red Sox coaching staff with NBC5 sports reporter Jack Main.

This week on The Sports Rapport, we speak with veteran Vermont journalist Mike Donoghue about the 12 new entries enshrined into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in a wide variety of sports, including baseball, tennis and wrestling.

Plus, we'll hear from Chris George, general manager of the new Vermont Clover FC soccer team, which ushered in its inaugural season with a roster made up entirely of athletes from Vermont and the North Country.  

Hey Quebec! This week on The Sports Rapport, we're focusing on hockey in Montreal.

With more than two decades in the Montreal Canadiens communications department, Jean Robillard joins us in studio to talk about Montreal's quest to win their first Stanley Cup since 1993, and some of the biggest moments he's seen working with hockey's most storied franchise. We also have Vermont Public News director Mark Davis, who's adopted the Habs as his favorite team, to provide insights into the games he's seen recently and the electric atmosphere when Montreal plays at home. 

This week on The Sports Rapport, Mitch Wertlieb is joined by Elliot Groenewold, a Springfield native and sophomore hockey defenseman at Quinnipiac University, to discuss his decision to return to school for another year after being drafted by the NHL's Boston Bruins in 2024.

Plus, Mitch, Nathaniel Wilson, MyNBC5's Jack Main and Vermont Green FC's Brandon Marshall break down the Green's U.S. Open Cup loss to professional club Westchester SC last week.

Producer Nathaniel Wilson sits in for Mitch Wertlieb. Nathaniel is joined by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben and Josh Crane, senior producer and managing editor for Brave Little State, to break down this past weekend’s Cross-Country World Cup Finals in Lake Placid, New York.

Plus, Vermont Green FC sporting director Adam Pfeifer sits down in-studio to debrief the club's upset victory versus Portland Hearts of Pine in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup.

Find more of The Sports Rapport: https://www.vermontpublic.org/show/sports-rapport
Email the show: [email protected]
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sportsrapportvt/