Tour de Mansfield returns July 17

The rides will begin and end at the Mansfield Community Center, and will conclude with a barbecue.

It’s time to get your bike out of the garage, make sure you have air in the tires, and start riding!

On Saturday, July 17, bicycle riders of all levels will have a chance to explore many of Mansfield’s nineteen historic villages * on two wheels, in the fifth annual Tour de Mansfield: Village to Village.

The Town of Mansfield, the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Mansfield Community Center, local businesses and volunteers are proud to present what promises to be an active and exciting day.

The goals of the event are

• to provide a family-oriented activity for area residents,
• to encourage exercise through cycling,
• to bring awareness to the scenic beauty of Mansfield ‘s villages,
• and to bring the community together around a social and recreational activity.

The day has been designed to appeal to riders of all levels, and will include a 5-mile Family Fun Ride accompanied by police officers, a 20-mile “challenge ride” and a 40-mile “expert ride.”

The rides will begin and end at the Mansfield Community Center, and will conclude with a barbecue.

Pre-registration for the event (by July 16) is strongly encouraged, and the cost is $10 for adults.  Anyone under 18 is free. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult who will ride with them.

Participants who register at the event pay an additional $5 fee.

The registration fee covers ride support, snacks, lunch and a Tour de Mansfield: Village to Village T-shirt for the first 100 registrants.

All riders must wear a helmet and be familiar with basic safety rules of the road.

To register for this event online, visit www.mansfieldct.gov, and click on the Tour de Mansfield link.

Check-in and registration on the day of the event will begin at 7 a.m., and the Family Fun Ride will start at 11 a.m.

Participants are asked to park in the E.O. Smith High School parking lot, next to the Town Hall on Storrs Road (Rt. 195).

If it is raining, the event will be held on Saturday, July 24.

If you have any questions, please contact the Town Manager’s Office at 860-429-3336 Mon.-Fri. during office hours.

Mansfield villages are: Merrow, Mansfield Depot, Mansfield Four Corners, Storrs, Gurleyville, Hanks Hill, Wormwood Hill, Mount Hope, Chaffeeville, Eagleville, Spring Hill, Atwoodville, Chestnut Hill, Mansfield City, Mansfield Center, Mansfield Hollow, Perkins Corner, Ridges and Conantville.

Posted July 8, 2010

UConn opens practices to fans during August football camp

UConn football Head Coach Randy Edsall. File photo © by Vito J. Leo for HTNP.com Sports

During a 15-minute teleconference with local media last week, Head Coach Randy Edsall said there had been very little change in the status of the UConn football program since the close of spring practice.

“It’s been an uneventful summer so far and I hope that it stays that way,” said Edsall, who opens his eighth season as UConn’s head coach when he leads his team into Ann Arbor on Sept. 4.

The Huskies begin preparing for that Michigan game when pre-season practice opens on Aug. 9.

Fans have three opportunities to attend practice sessions this summer when the team opens the gates to the public:

• Friday, Aug. 13 at 3:15 p.m.
• Thursday, Aug. 19 at 8 a.m.
• Tuesday Aug. 24 at 9 a.m.

Edsall said there were no lineup changes made or expected.

“We’ve had no position shifts since camp closed and we don’t anticipate any,” he said. “We’ve got who we’ve got lined up and we’ll be ready to go.”

He said freshman players, who arrived on campus June 27 and began class the next day, are “doing well and getting acclimated,” both in the classroom and the weight room.

At this point of the summer, there are two roster casualties, both redshirt freshmen: Marcus Aiken, a defensive back from New Britain, and wide receiver Malik Generett.

Although Edsall wouldn’t disclose specifics about why the two players are currently ineligible, it appears that both student-athletes failed to achieve minimum academic standards.

Aiken was dismissed for not conforming to the school’s norms and Generett has been sidelined by the NCAA.

“Unfortunately some guys don’t take care of their business and the university has policies to enforce,” was all that Edsall would offer on the subject, although he did underscore his program’s emphasis on assisting players in all aspects of campus life.

“We have everything in place academically, [athletically and socially]; they have all the resources,” Edsall said. “We try to eliminate the opportunity for failure [but unfortunately] some people have to fail before they can succeed.”

Officials from other schools obviously agree with the way UConn administers its football program because, for the second time in the past four years, Director of Athletics Jeff Hathaway has been recognized by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

Once again, Hathaway is the recipient of the Athletic Director of the Year Award for the Football Bowl Subdivision in the Northeast region (New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio). He accepted the award at the association’s annual convention held recently in Anaheim.

Posted July 8, 2010