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Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while circling April 18 on my calendar. That’s when the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs begin.
The Connecticut Sports Media Alliance (CSMA) will host its 83rd Gold Key Dinner on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington at 2 p.m. The Gold Key is presented to athletes, coaches and administrators who have made noteworthy career contributions to Connecticut’s rich athletic heritage. Receiving a Gold Key is comparable to being inducted into a state hall of fame.
This year, the CSMA is honoring five distinguished Gold Key recipients: Rachele Fico, Masuk and Louisiana State softball; Nick Giaquinto, Stratford, UConn football, Washington Super Bowl champion; James Jones, head basketball coach at Yale; Dave Wallace, Sacred Heart-Waterbury graduate and pitching coach of 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox; Kara Wolters, UConn All-American, WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist.
Other award recipients include: PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Peter King, Enfield, former Sports Illustrated writer; HANK O’DONNELL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Brooke Strauss, Glastonbury High cross country and track and field; BILL LEE MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Magnus Manley, Ridgefield High cross country and track and field; DOC MCINERNEY HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR (female sport): Anne Burrows, Bloomfield girls track and field; DOC MCINERNEY HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR (male sport): John Reiser, Manchester High boys basketball; JOHN WENTWORTH GOOD SPORT AWARD: Rick Evangelisti and Bill Neller (Litchfield Hills Road Race); Ray DaCosta, (CT Northstars youth basketball founder); Skip Falcone (West Haven Twilight League), Alex Palluzzi (Branford Parks and Recreation, Hall of Fame) and Bruce Wilheim (Enfield and regional youth soccer administrator); HAL LEVY HIGH SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Fred Williams, Northwestern Regional; BOB CASEY COURAGE AWARD: Matt Buckler, long-time sports journalist and auto racing announcer; BO KOLINSKY SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD: Dolores Sawchuk, Colchester; BOB BARTON EXCELLENCE IN MEDIA AWARD: Wayne Norman, WELI; and the BO KOLINSKY MEMORIAL SPORTS MEDIA SCHOLARSHIP: Kyle Clark, Rockville High.
Tickets for the 83rd Gold Key dinner are now on sale for $80. Send your check made payable to the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance and who you are there to see to the following address: CT Sports Media Alliance, P.O. Box 3234, Enfield, CT, 06083.
For more information or to pay through Venmo, contact John Holt at [email protected] or call him at 508-740-4738.
The Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Committee has announced its 2026 class of inductees. The 37th Annual Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Luncheon will be held on Sunday, April 26 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.
Ticket information may be obtained from Diane Dietman 203.537.0918 or [email protected].
The 2026 Hall of Fame honorees are high school players Laura Scinto (Shelton), Abby Hurlburt (Thomaston), and Bridget Bosnahan (Cheshire), college player Gena DePeano (SCSU), high school coaches Robert P. McMahon (Thomaston) and Chris Lindwall (Joel Barlow, St. Joseph), referee Gemetta Neal-Goulet (Manchester) and retired sportswriter Mark Jaffee.
It’s great to see Jaffee being recognized by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Committee. A New York City native and 1984 University of Bridgeport graduate, Jaffee devoted 44 years as a daily newspaper writer at the Bridgeport Post-Telegram, New Haven Journal-Courier/Register, Meriden Record-Journal, Middletown Press and nearly 30 years at the Waterbury Republican American.
An advocate for scholastic and women's college basketball, Jaffee covered many of the elite teams in New Haven in the 1980s, including Wilbur Cross, Westbrook, Branford, Guilford, and Southington in the mid-1990s and Holy Cross-Waterbury, Naugatuck, Thomaston, Wamogo-Litchfield, Northwestern-Winsted and Pomperaug-Southbury over the past quarter century in western Connecticut and Litchfield County.
Jaffee was the beat writer for the 1987 NCAA Division II national champion University of New Haven women's team and was at courtside when Killingly's Tracy Lis broke Walter Luckett of Bridgeport's all-time scoring record.
A Cheshire resident, Jaffe was inducted into the CHSCA Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012 for long-term service to scholastic sports.
More: Here are the Norwich-area baseball players to watch in Spring 2026
More: Two new Eagles, and our all-state hoop stars | Zanor column
On April 13, 1975, Jack Nicklaus edged runners-up Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf by one-stroke to win the 39th Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The 1975 Masters is considered one of the greatest majors ever, with three great players at the peak of their games dueling in a thrilling Sunday finish.
It was a “no quarter, no choke shootout involving the three finest golfers of the age,” wrote The Associated Press.
Weiskopf took the lead with a birdie on the 15th hole. Miller, who was partnered with Weiskopf, also birdied the 15th while Nicklaus listened on the green at the par-3 16th hole. Nicklaus then sank a 40-foot sidehill birdie putt at the Redbud hole while Weiskopf and Miller watched from the 16th tee.
Both Weiskopf and Miller trailed the “Golden Bear” by one stroke with makeable birdie putts on the final hole of the tournament. However, Miller missed left and low from 18 feet and Weiskopf's eight-footer missed right as Nicklaus won his fifth green jacket and 13th major title.
The 1975 Masters also featured 40-year-old Lee Elder becoming the first African American to compete at the tournament.
Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.Zanor column
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: The Gold Key dinner, Women's hoop Hall of Fame, and "Heartland"
Continue reading...
Gold Key Dinner
The Connecticut Sports Media Alliance (CSMA) will host its 83rd Gold Key Dinner on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington at 2 p.m. The Gold Key is presented to athletes, coaches and administrators who have made noteworthy career contributions to Connecticut’s rich athletic heritage. Receiving a Gold Key is comparable to being inducted into a state hall of fame.
This year, the CSMA is honoring five distinguished Gold Key recipients: Rachele Fico, Masuk and Louisiana State softball; Nick Giaquinto, Stratford, UConn football, Washington Super Bowl champion; James Jones, head basketball coach at Yale; Dave Wallace, Sacred Heart-Waterbury graduate and pitching coach of 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox; Kara Wolters, UConn All-American, WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist.
Other award recipients include: PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Peter King, Enfield, former Sports Illustrated writer; HANK O’DONNELL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Brooke Strauss, Glastonbury High cross country and track and field; BILL LEE MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Magnus Manley, Ridgefield High cross country and track and field; DOC MCINERNEY HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR (female sport): Anne Burrows, Bloomfield girls track and field; DOC MCINERNEY HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR (male sport): John Reiser, Manchester High boys basketball; JOHN WENTWORTH GOOD SPORT AWARD: Rick Evangelisti and Bill Neller (Litchfield Hills Road Race); Ray DaCosta, (CT Northstars youth basketball founder); Skip Falcone (West Haven Twilight League), Alex Palluzzi (Branford Parks and Recreation, Hall of Fame) and Bruce Wilheim (Enfield and regional youth soccer administrator); HAL LEVY HIGH SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Fred Williams, Northwestern Regional; BOB CASEY COURAGE AWARD: Matt Buckler, long-time sports journalist and auto racing announcer; BO KOLINSKY SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD: Dolores Sawchuk, Colchester; BOB BARTON EXCELLENCE IN MEDIA AWARD: Wayne Norman, WELI; and the BO KOLINSKY MEMORIAL SPORTS MEDIA SCHOLARSHIP: Kyle Clark, Rockville High.
Tickets for the 83rd Gold Key dinner are now on sale for $80. Send your check made payable to the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance and who you are there to see to the following address: CT Sports Media Alliance, P.O. Box 3234, Enfield, CT, 06083.
For more information or to pay through Venmo, contact John Holt at [email protected] or call him at 508-740-4738.
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Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
The Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Committee has announced its 2026 class of inductees. The 37th Annual Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Luncheon will be held on Sunday, April 26 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.
Ticket information may be obtained from Diane Dietman 203.537.0918 or [email protected].
The 2026 Hall of Fame honorees are high school players Laura Scinto (Shelton), Abby Hurlburt (Thomaston), and Bridget Bosnahan (Cheshire), college player Gena DePeano (SCSU), high school coaches Robert P. McMahon (Thomaston) and Chris Lindwall (Joel Barlow, St. Joseph), referee Gemetta Neal-Goulet (Manchester) and retired sportswriter Mark Jaffee.
It’s great to see Jaffee being recognized by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Committee. A New York City native and 1984 University of Bridgeport graduate, Jaffee devoted 44 years as a daily newspaper writer at the Bridgeport Post-Telegram, New Haven Journal-Courier/Register, Meriden Record-Journal, Middletown Press and nearly 30 years at the Waterbury Republican American.
An advocate for scholastic and women's college basketball, Jaffee covered many of the elite teams in New Haven in the 1980s, including Wilbur Cross, Westbrook, Branford, Guilford, and Southington in the mid-1990s and Holy Cross-Waterbury, Naugatuck, Thomaston, Wamogo-Litchfield, Northwestern-Winsted and Pomperaug-Southbury over the past quarter century in western Connecticut and Litchfield County.
Jaffee was the beat writer for the 1987 NCAA Division II national champion University of New Haven women's team and was at courtside when Killingly's Tracy Lis broke Walter Luckett of Bridgeport's all-time scoring record.
A Cheshire resident, Jaffe was inducted into the CHSCA Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012 for long-term service to scholastic sports.
More: Here are the Norwich-area baseball players to watch in Spring 2026
Comments and Observations …
- I was shocked to see the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams make their respective trips to the Final Four and return to the “Basketball Capital of the World” without an NCAA championship trophy. The Huskies have never lost in an NCAA men’s tournament final. And the Huskies women’s team? I’m almost afraid to go there. South Carolina’s win against UConn, and the aftermath, was downright crazy. In fact, I was less than enamored with all three of the women’s NCAA Final Four games. Does anybody know when Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will be on television again?
- Bestselling author Keith O’Brien’s new book “Heartland” knocked my white socks and Converse All-Star sneakers off. The story of Larry Bird and the 1979 Indiana State Sycamores is one of the greatest American sports stories of all time. It's an underdog basketball tale for the ages. If it wasn’t for a basketball coach named Bill Hodges, we might have never heard of Larry Bird. Shortly after Bird dropped out of Indiana in the fall of 1974, Bird’s father, Joey, committed suicide. Bird got a job with the French Lick street department and was playing basketball in a men’s industrial league. He told all of the college recruiters that had flocked to French Lick for months that he wasn’t going back to college. Until Hodges came around. The man persisted. Finally, Larry Bird was done hauling trash and enrolled at Indiana State. I’m still shaking.
More: Two new Eagles, and our all-state hoop stars | Zanor column
STUCK IN THE 70s
On April 13, 1975, Jack Nicklaus edged runners-up Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf by one-stroke to win the 39th Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The 1975 Masters is considered one of the greatest majors ever, with three great players at the peak of their games dueling in a thrilling Sunday finish.
It was a “no quarter, no choke shootout involving the three finest golfers of the age,” wrote The Associated Press.
Weiskopf took the lead with a birdie on the 15th hole. Miller, who was partnered with Weiskopf, also birdied the 15th while Nicklaus listened on the green at the par-3 16th hole. Nicklaus then sank a 40-foot sidehill birdie putt at the Redbud hole while Weiskopf and Miller watched from the 16th tee.
Both Weiskopf and Miller trailed the “Golden Bear” by one stroke with makeable birdie putts on the final hole of the tournament. However, Miller missed left and low from 18 feet and Weiskopf's eight-footer missed right as Nicklaus won his fifth green jacket and 13th major title.
The 1975 Masters also featured 40-year-old Lee Elder becoming the first African American to compete at the tournament.
You must be registered for see images attach
Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.Zanor column
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: The Gold Key dinner, Women's hoop Hall of Fame, and "Heartland"
Continue reading...
