The U.S. women's soccer team completed its run through the World Cup tournament in Lyon, France yesterday, the first team to win back to back championships since Germany pulled off the feat in 2003 and 2007.

In a game brimming with drama even before it began, and with every touch once it did, the United States women's national soccer team embraced the spotlight, and exited the stage heading to their third consecutive World Cup final.

Back from England after back to back losses to the NY Yankees, the Boston Red Sox continue their international tour tonight with a trip to Canada where they'll face the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, and whether these Red Sox have enough left in the tank to salvage what's been a very disappointing season so far remains to be seen.

Team England played its best game of the women's World Cup in France yesterday, saving the performance for a knock-out round dispatch of Norway in a 3-0 win.

It's about a six and a half hour plane ride from Boston to London, but it must have felt twice as long to the Boston Red Sox took after yesterday's 8-7 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park.

Megan Rapinoe went twice to the area for penalty kicks, and the veteran forward for the U.S. women's national soccer team did not miss on either chance, both goals accounting for all the scoring the Americans would need in their 2-1 win over Spain at the World Cup yesterday.

A longer game has never been played at Target Field, and in the history of the Minnesota Twins franchise only three other contests have stretched beyond the five hour 45 minute mark that finally ended the 17-inning marathon between the Twins and Boston Red Sox last night, a game in which both teams sent eight pitchers to the mound.

The Boston Bruins had the goalie with the best overall performance in the playoffs leading up to the final game of the season. The St. Louis Blues had a goalie who ran hot at times and cold at others.

The Boston Bruins are an Original Six NHL team with a history reaching back to 1924. But in all those decades since there's one thing the storied franchise has never had a chance to do: Play a winner take all Game 7 for a chance to win the Stanley Cup on their own home ice.

If the Boston Bruins are to win the franchise's seventh Stanley Cup, they'll have to do it coming from behind, and by shaking off bitter memories of one of the worst non-calls you'll ever see in a playoff game.

On most nights and against most NBA teams, a 47-point performance by Steph Curry is enough to carry the Golden State Warriors to victory.

It was as close to a must-win as you can get in early June, and it still might be too late to save their hopes for repeating as World Series champions.

The Stanley Cup finals are set, and it will feature two teams who last vied against each other for the greatest trophy in sports 49 years ago in a series that produced the most iconic photograph in NHL history.

A defenseman with just fourteen career goals on his resume in a year's worth of regular season and playoff games over his career picked a good time to add number fifteen.

Sensational goaltending, scoring without relying on one particular line, and a little bit of puck luck.

It's tied two-two, thanks to Tuukka.

This year marks the third time since 2013 that the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs have met in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and like those two previous clashes, this year's series will be decided by a winner take all game seven in Boston.

He was the America East Player of the Year in 2019. Now, Anthony Lamb is hoping that accomplishment and his stellar play as a forward with the University of Vermont men's basketball team will garner him a job playing at the very highest professional level.

The University of Virginia isn't the only national champ this morning. The Vermont Shamrocks Under 16 girls hockey team won the USA tier two national crown yesterday, defeating Wisconsin's Baldwin Riverfalls BlackCats 5-0 in Amherst, New York.

Could a lucky bounce raise the fortunes of the defending World Series champs?

The big concern for the Boston Red Sox heading into the 2019 season was the arms in the bullpen.

They did more than just hang tough with Florida State, the University of Vermont men's basketball team put a real scare into the Seminoles and very nearly pulled off a first round upset in the NCAA playoffs in Hartford, Connecticut Thursday.

There's a new champion in division one girl's high school hockey, and another chapter written in a great rivalry between the two schools that battled for the crown at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington last night.

Backed by a record-setting night from sophomore guard Stef Smith, the University of Vermont men's basketball team dispatched the Binghamton Bearcats 84-51 at Patrick Gym last night, setting up a rematch of last year's America East title game.

After the girls of St. Johnsbury won the state high school basketball title over the weekend, the boy's team may be primed to follow suit following their thrilling upset of top-seeded Rice Memorial in the boy's division one semi-finals last night.

For the second consecutive year the girls of St. Johnsbury are the division one state basketball champions, and they scored the repeat taking down the same team they did last year.

It was a stunning day for the Big Green, and a senior from UVM grabbed individual glory at day two of competition in the NCAA ski championships as the venue shifted to Stowe Mountain for the giant slalom events.

The Boston Bruins found themselves down 2-0 in the second period to the Carolina Hurricanes last night before scoring three un-answered goals and eventually winning 4-3 in overtime.

The state high school Nordic Ski champions were decided yesterday and thanks to a strong anchor leg relay run, Mount Mansfield claimed the division one girl's title for the second year in a row.

The Middlebury Panthers are the only division three women's hockey team to have won three NESCAC championships in a row, but the streak will not reach four this year.

The Boston Bruins are now riding a season-high seven game winning streak after a 3-2 overtime shoot-out victory against the Las Vegas Knights in Nevada.

OK, show of hands for everyone who guessed the San Diego Padres would be the team to pony up the largest contract ever, in any sport, to sign free agent third baseman Manny Machado.

Two teams on hot streaks from opposite coasts swam together at the Shark Tank in San Jose last night and roiled the frozen waters with a back and forth thriller that wasn't decided until sudden death overtime.

We'll start in the NHL where Aleksander Barkov scored a hat trick to help lift the Florida Panthers to a 6-3 win over the suddenly slumping Montreal Canadiens, but Barkov overshadowed his own hat trick, the second of his career, with one of his three goals.

The Montreal Canadiens took on old friend PK Subban and the Nashville Predators in a visit to Music City last night, and Subban helped defeat his former squad in Nashville's 3-1 win.

Russell Westbrook has made history, and lest you think his new NBA record for consecutive games with a triple double isn't much of a big deal, consider that the player he passed to set the new mark is one of the greatest who ever took the court.

The Boston Bruins were playing the second of back to back nights against New York teams, but after beating the NY Islanders in Boston Tuesday the Bruins let one get away against the NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden last night.

The last home game in school history for Green Mountain College men’s basketball team was Saturday, Feb. 2, when the Eagles defeated Bryant-Stratton College-Buffalo, 81-53. The win brought Green Mountain’s record to 16-6 this year. VPR’s Ric Cengeri attended the game and shared his observations on Mitch's Sports Report .

The Boston Bruins had a nine-day break from NHL action, a combination of every team's bye week coinciding in their case with the league's all-star game, and they returned looking energized in the early going against the Winnipeg Jets at TD Garden last night, jumping out to a 2-1 lead after two periods of play.

The Brooklyn Nets had been on a six game winning streak, but ran into a Boston Celtics team that had won five of its last six, the only loss a close one against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors over the weekend.

The Middlebury men's basketball team found little resistance from Trinity College in their visit to Pepin Gym yesterday, scoring a lopsided 75-38 win.

For those of us pining for the sights and sounds of spring, there's an event happening in Burlington Saturday night featuring Buster Olney, a senior baseball correspondent for ESPN.com

It's shocking any time Serena Williams loses a grand slam tennis match, but her ouster at the Australian Open yesterday was made even moreso as she bowed out to the Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova after building up a 5-1 lead in the third and deciding set.

The Boston Bruins shook off a loss to the league-worst Philadelphia Flyers, returning home to Boston for a victory over the St. Louis Blues that re-wrote the team's record books.

The New England Patriots romped all over the L.A. Chargers 41-28 at Foxboro yesterday, led by Sony Michel's 129 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

Playing at home, hoping to build on a five-game winning streak, and with the extra motivation of avenging an opening night blow-out loss, the Boston Bruins threw everything they had at the Washington Capitals, and again they fell short.

Playing a College of Saint Rose squad that qualified for the last two NCAA tournaments in division two, the St. Michael's Purple Knights men's basketball team scored one of their most impressive wins of the year, topping their Golden Knight counterparts 70-64 at the Ross Sports Center in Colchester.

The Boston Bruins took advantage of a tired Minnesota Wild squad that had played the night before in Montreal, winning 4-0 in Boston last night to run their winning streak to a season-high five games.

In women's college hockey, Kelly Madden of the Norwich Cadets may have scored the biggest goal of her collegiate career in Northfield yesterday afternoon.

It was a wild finish to the wild card game between the host Chicago Bears and defending super bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field yesterday.

Fans of the University of Vermont men's basketball team in attendance at Patrick Gym last night saw the team's brightest star reach a career milestone to go along with the Catamounts' 73-59 win over Dartmouth.

Plenty of cloud cover, no sun glare off the ice, and no rain to hamper the conditions for outdoor hockey.

The New England Patriots took care of business, finishing the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record at Gilette Stadium after a 38-3 plastering of the NY Jets Sunday.

The Boston Bruins played a complete and convincing 60 minutes against the Anaehim Ducks in Boston last night, scoring a 3-1 win, their second in a row.

The UVM men's basketball team needed two overtimes to do it, but they outlasted St. Bonaventure in a thriller, despite missing one of their best players.

With just one point separating them in the standings, the teams with the greatest rivalry in hockey history met in Montreal last night for a game that had a playoff feel to it.

The New England Patriots are in danger of missing out on a first round playoff bye, and could be entering the post season as a wild card entry for the first time since 2009.

They're calling it the Miami Miracle, but I think the New England No-No might be more accurate.

It's entirely appropriate that the Boston Bruins notched a 2-1 overtime win against the NY Islanders last night when Ryan Donato made a nifty move in the shoot-out round, racing in from the right wing, faking to his forehand before deftly tucking a backhand into a small opening between the post and the outstretched pad of goalie Robin Lehner for the game-winner.

In men's college hoops, a thrilling road win for the St. Michael's men's basketball team was secured when Levi Holmes III knocked down a fadeaway jumper with just four seconds left in overtime, the game winning shot in the Purple Knights 82-81 victory over Assumption in Worcester, Mass. last night.

In the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens welcomed their best defenseman back to the blue line and peppered the Carolina Hurricanes with 49 shots on goal at the Bell Centre last night.

A showdown between two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks went on display in Foxboro last night, and in the end it was the five-time super bowl winner coming away with the victory as the New England Patriots topped the Green Bay Packers 31-17 in the first match up between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers since 2014.

It didn't take long for the Colchester Lakers to take a lead they would not relinquish in their 2-0 victory over Essex in the girl's division one high school soccer semi-final playoffs yesterday.

With a 5-1 victory in Los Angeles over the Dodgers last night, the Boston Red Sox captured their fourth World Series in the past 14 years, ensuring the franchise's best-ever regular season record of 108 victories would not be relegated to a footnote.

The Boston Bruins got a sparkling effort from goalie Jaroslav Halak who stopped all 26 shots the Philadelphia Flyers sent his way, and the Bruins went on to a 3-0 win in their first game back in Boston following a four-game Canada road trip.

David Price is pitching with confidence, Andrew Benintendi keeps making outstanding catches in left field, and the two out rally has become a calling card of the Red Sox offense.

When the MVP award for the 2018 World Series is handed out it will go to one of the players on the Boston Red Sox or L.A. Dodgers. That's what the "P" in MVP stands for, after all, "player".

David Price's major league career has already spanned ten years. It includes a Cy Young Award and a trip to the World Series, but in all that time he had never won a start in the playoffs. Well, in finally checking that box off his to-do list last night in Houston, he's also led the Boston Red Sox into the World Series.

Jackie Bradley Jr. played home run hero again, but the Boston Red Sox didn't secure their third win of the American League Championship series against the Houston Astros until left fielder Andrew Benintendi made a daring, diving catch of a low line drive for the final out of the game in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded.

Don't let the final score fool you. The Boston Red Sox 8-2 win over the Houston Astros last night was a nail-biter.

The Milwaukee Brewers have taken a two games to one lead over the L.A. Dodgers after a 4-0 road win shut-out last night, and some Dodger players aren't happy about their fan support, or lack thereof.

Carson Wentz threw three touchdown passes for the Philadelphia Eagles in a 34-13 drubbing of their inter-divisional rivals the NY Giants in front of a disgruntled crowd in East Rutherford, New Jersey last night.

Easiest way to spot a Red Sox fan this morning? They're the ones without any fingernails.

I blame the nickname unis.

Boston Red Sox fans didn't fret much when the team traded rookie pitcher Jalen Beeks to the Tampa Bay Rays for Nathan Eovaldi.

The Tampa Bay Rays sidearm-delivering lefty Adam Kolarek had never pitched in the big leagues, and wasn't meant to pitch the ninth inning in the Bronx against the NY Yankees yesterday, trying to preserve a 3-1 lead with the bases loaded and nobody out.

The NY Yankees and crosstown rival Mets are going in completely different directions this season, the Yankees almost certainly playoff bound, while the Mets are already planning for next year.

When you have the best record in the major leagues, and on pace to win a franchise record number of regular season games, perhaps it's nitpicking to worry about a blown save by your team's all star closer, especially when you win the game in extra innings anyway.

After a four game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox, the NY Yankees found the Sox of a different color to be a less formidable opponent.

If there's one team in Major League Baseball this year that's separating itself from the rest of the pack, it's the Tampa Bay Rays, and it's not because of where they are in the standings.

The adage that slow and steady wins the race seems pretty apt for the first ever major championship won yesterday at the British Open by Francesco Molinari.

It was the longest at-bat of the game, and when it was over, the Boston Red Sox were on their way to extending the longest current winning streak in the major leagues.

I owe an apology to any Baltimore Orioles fans out there, and a thank you to the O's themselves.

Vermonters competing in the Special Olympics USA Games held in Seattle performed brilliantly and have the hardware to show for it. The Special Olympics USA Games offer athletes with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to compete on the national stage.

The Boston Red Sox got out of D.C. with a sweep of the Nationals yesterday in a tight contest won by Boston 3-0 on the strength of starting pitching, and contributions at the plate from a hitter who's struggled this year just to keep his average over .200.

Yet another classic World Cup game was played in Russia yesterday, featuring an astonishing comeback by favored Belgium and a heartbreaking loss for underdogs Japan.

The world's best basketball player is changing uniforms yet again, this time trying on the bright yellow and purple worn by such luminaries of the sport as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, and Kobe Bryant.

Some teams moved on from group play yesterday and even those that did not provided some great entertainment, including a 2-1 win by Saudi Arabia over Egypt, in which the Saudis scored in stoppage time in the 95th minute to gain the victory.

At the World Cup in Russia, the opening round games of group play have been spectacular, with upsets in abundance, none more stunning than the 1-0 victory scored by Mexico over the defending champion Germans.

The Boston Red Sox had trouble scoring runs over their last few games and lost three out of four as a result.

We'll start today with the NCAA women's softball championship and the first ever national title for the Florida State Seminoles.

Mookie Betts sat out his third straight game for the Boston Red Sox, but when the rest of the line-up i scoring lots of runs, manager Alex Cora can afford to let one the best hitters in the game get a little more rest.

Apparently the Houston Rockets didn't watch the Boston Celtics game seven performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and see it as a cautionary tale.

Tyler Andrews of Concord, Massachusetts won the men's division of the Vermont City Marathon yesterday, and rewrote the history books in the process, finishing with the marathon's second fastest time ever recorded.

The Houston Rockets are one win away from making the NBA finals after a 98-94 win against the Golden State Warriors in Houston last night, but the pivotal victory came with a high price tag, with one of Houston's two best players forced from the game with a hamstring injury.

If there were any doubts as to whether the Boston Red Sox have solved their power woes from 2017, when they were last in home runs in the American League, consider this: Through the first 47 games of the season, the 2018 Boston Red Sox have hit more home runs than any Red Sox team in then history of the franchise.

If David Price keeps pitching for the Boston Red Sox like he did against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park last night, no one's going to care how much time he spends playing video games.

The Boston Red Sox had their ace on the mound, but he was uncharacteristically wild, so the Red Sox turned to their prized free agent acquisition to avoid what would have been their first series sweep of 2018.

The last time the Red Sox saw Sean Manaea of the Oakland A's, he was being mobbed by his teammates after throwing a no-hitter against Boston.

Fans of the David Simon show "The Wire" will no doubt recall the words of Omar, the self-proclaimed king of the mean streets of West Baltimore, who warned his enemies that "If you come for the King, you best not miss."