Happy Autism Acceptance Month! For the third straight year, I will be selling merchandise with my Boston Sports Mania logo to raise money for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, who has been helping people and families affected by autism live life to the fullest for 25 years now.
You can get a t-shirt for $25, a long sleeve shirt for $35, and a sweatshirt for $50. All proceeds will go to the Foundation. You can also send a straight donation to the Foundation through the website.
If you’re in the area, you can also get gear at our in-person event at Apex Entertainment in Marlborough, MA on April 25th.
The Puzzle Cup Hockey Tournament took place this past weekend, with 100% of net proceeds going to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. I attended the event on its second of three days, Saturday, July 30, and I was able to announce live at the event as an honorary captain and learn about the backstory behind it.
When I arrived, I met Mike “Pitbull” Palelli of the Power Play Hockey League, the primary organizer of the tournament. He generously gave me and the other honorary captains free Puzzle Cup gear. As a member of the Coast Guard, he also gave us his official Coast Guard poker chips, reserved for people he cares deeply about. He even included an extra poker chip and hat for my grandpa, a retired Army National Guard Colonel. One of Mike’s best friends from the military has a son with autism. Since then, autism acceptance has been an important cause to Mike and it inspired him to dedicate this tournament to the autism community.
Flutie Fellow and Special Olympic golfer Tyler Lagasse was among the honorary captains. This was my first time seeing Tyler since I watched him win his first gold medal at the 2022 USA Games. Tyler has always been a hockey fan as well as a fan of the cause. In addition to a ceremonial puck drop, Tyler had prepared a speech to give to players in the locker room.
Many other honorary captains took part in the opening ceremonies. Spectrum of Sound, the Flutie Foundation’s choir, came to sing the national anthem, and several others had the chance to participate in ceremonial puck drops. Fellow aspiring sports reporter Josh Stanbrook and I were able to announce it all, and I stuck around for some play by play.
After going on the ice, we were all pretty hungry and thirsty. I had a burger fresh off the grill with some fries and my favorite sports drink, BodyArmor. BodyArmor, a partner of the Power Play Hockey League, was sponsoring the entire tournament. I took the opportunity to thank BodyArmor, because it not only kept me hydrated in the Orlando heat when I covered the Special Olympics, but also was directly supporting the autism community through this event.
Before I left, I had the chance to catch up with a couple players and a referee as they got off the ice for the day. I also had some more time to talk to Mike and hear about his deep care for this cause. It warmed my heart to hear that Mike, who I had just met, already saw me and the other honorary captains as members of his own family. I’d like to thank Mike Palelli for his immediate support as soon as we met. He is one of many great people I have met through the Foundation.
I also had to say my goodbyes to my other friends from the Foundation, as this was the last event I would be attending before heading off to college for the semester. However, this is far from the end of my involvement with the Foundation. I will always be a proud member of the Flutie Foundation family, and when I return home, I hope to attend and cover more Flutie Foundation events, including next year’s Puzzle Cup. Hopefully, like Mike said, next year’s tournament will include an expanded field of teams and raise even more money for the Flutie Foundation.
After a busy 4 years at Algonquin Regional High School, I will be graduating this Sunday, June 5.
Right after graduation, I’ll be hopping on a flight to Florida to cover the Special Olympics USA Games for the second consecutive time to follow the story of 3-time silver medalist golfer and Flutie Fellow Tyler Lagasse. You’ll be able to follow my coverage on this page.
Once I return, I will be preparing for my next four years as a sports media major in the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College. In case you have not heard, I was recently selected into the Park Scholar Program, Ithaca College’s full-ride scholarship program centered around service in the communications industry. I’d like to thank the entire Park Scholar Selection Committee for choosing to bring me on board for these next four years.
Check out this video of my official announcement from the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism’s 26.2 Can Do Fest before the Boston Marathon. I was there alongside football legend and Foundation co-founder Doug Flutie and voice of the New England Patriots Bob Socci, who have been a tremendous help with my goal to become a professional sports journalist.
I am really excited to begin the next chapter in my journey!
For the second year in a row, Boston Sports Mania apparel is being sold for a limited period of time. All profits will go to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. The Flutie Foundation is an organization who helps people and families affected by autism live life to the fullest.
I also want to give a special thanks to Spectrum Designs, a business that helps individuals with autism lead full and productive lives through the world of work. They produced the apparel and donated the ordering website.
The best part of this campaign is that every dollar raised will benefit the autism community in some way, because the Flutie Foundation helps people and families affected by autism and Spectrum Designs employs people with autism.
Apparel can be purchased until May 3, 2022. We’ll also have a chance for everyone to see the apparel in person on that day.
The May 3rd event is an in-person fundraiser and people are invited to come at any time between 5:30 PM and 9:00 PM EST to have fun with colleagues, family, and friends
Everyone who visits the host table at the entrance will receive a 30-minute Apex game card valued between $10 and $15
Additional Option for more free games: Anyone who donates to the Flutie Foundation for Autism in any of the following ways will receive an additional Apex attraction voucher valued between $10 and $15:
Bring proof of donation at the Boston Sports Mania Apparel sales site here
At the event, donate with a credit card at the check-in table
Purchase Boston Sports Mania apparel (see below) with a credit card at the check-in table
Purchase your apparel and/or make a donation to support the Flutie Foundation by clicking HERE.
The second year of the Flutie Foundation Fantasy Football League is underway! While we compete for the belt TrophySmack generously donated as pictured above, we are all raising money for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism through Facebook fundraisers.
You can learn more about the fundraiser by watching this video from The Adam Jones Show on November 16.
Enchee Xu, a member of my graduating class at Algonquin Regional High School, recently ran the Boston Marathon with his mom, Connie Cao to raise money for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
I wrote about them for my school newspaper, the Algonquin Harbinger, and it was featured in Best of School Newspapers Online (SNO)!
I would like to thank the Harbinger staff for asking me to do this story, thank the Harbinger adviser, Lindsay Coppens, for forwarding this article along to Best of SNO, and thank Best of SNO for choosing this article. I’d also like to thank Connie Cao, Enchee Xu, and Mike Palmer for allowing me to interview them. Last but not least, I’d like to thank the Flutie Foundation for their continued support of me and the rest of the autism community.
On August 21, 2021, Challenger League players had the chance to live in the shoes of a WooSox player as they took the field at Polar Park as part of a Mark Fidrych Foundation event.
This was an awesome opportunity for the players, who were kids of a variety of ages with special needs. It’s all thanks to the WooSox partnership with the Fidrych Foundation.
A longtime partnership
Even back in Pawtucket, the Red Sox AAA affiliate has always given back to the community around them and made their ballpark accessible to all audiences. As part of this, they have longtime partnerships with both the Challenger League, a baseball league for those with physical and developmental disabilities, and the Mark Fidrych Foundation, an organization that enhances the lives of those with special needs through sports and sports education. The Fidrych Foundation was started by the family of Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych after he died in a tractor accident back in 2009. Fidrych, a former MLB pitcher who spent time with the AAA Red Sox, was highly involved in the community of his hometown of Northborough, MA prior to his death and his family wanted to continue his legacy.
When the team moved to Worcester and became the WooSox, it was the perfect opportunity to bring their Fidrych Foundation and Challenger partnerships together, as the Foundation supports Challenger teams in many nearby towns.
I caught up with Ann and Jessica Fidrych from the Foundation as well as Joe Bradlee, the WooSox Vice President of Baseball Operations and Community Relations, who spoke about the partnership.
Challenger League comes to bat
To begin the day, Challenger League players and their buddies were welcomed onto the field and each player got the chance to bat and run the bases.
As players came up to bat, their names were announced, just like the real WooSox players.
Bradlee pitched to the players and multiple coaches and WooSox staff members, including former Red Sox catcher and current WooSox hitting coach Rich Gedman, played the field.
I caught up with Gedman after the game. Gedman is a Worcester native and is proud to be involved not only with the WooSox but also in giving back to the Worcester community.
I also spoke with several long time Challenger League players: Krish from Shrewsbury, Tobin from Southborough, and Jay from Framingham. All three of them had nice hits off of Bradlee, and Krish had one of the biggest hits of the day as he drilled the ball down the third base line. Krish said it was a result of him continuing to work on his swing.
Parents were able to watch their kids from the berm. I spoke with the parents of Ryan Love, a longtime Shrewsbury Challenger League player. They were ecstatic about Ryan having the opportunity to take an at bat at Polar Park.
Outstanding volunteers honored
After the players finished batting and running, the Fidrych Foundation announced the honorees of their annual Citizenship Award. The award was given to four individuals who have volunteered as buddies in Fidrych Foundation programs. According to the Foundation’s website, the Citizenship Award is for “young men and women who have actively participated in and advocated for special needs athletic involvement within their surrounding communities.” This year’s winners were Kyle Daunais, Gianni Colonero, Michael Warwick, and Chase Collins.
Kyle and Gianni, both longtime Challenger League buddies, were in attendance. I had the chance to speak with both of them after they received their awards. They were glad the Foundation was so appreciative of their volunteer efforts and were happy to take part in this welcoming community.
Ken’s Foods welcomes Challenger League back
Thanks to Ken’s Foods, all the Challenger League players, buddies, and their families were welcomed back to Polar Park later that day for the game against the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Fidrych Foundation was honored as part of the pregame ceremony. This topped off a fun day for everyone involved in this evolving partnership.
The Fidrych Foundation not only improves the lives of the players, but also gives teenagers in the area a chance to make a difference in their community. I have several friends who have gotten involved either as players or volunteers, and when I played in the Northborough Challenger League for its first five years, I truly saw how much the Foundation did to make the Challenger players feel special.
The WooSox have continued to welcome people from all backgrounds to the ballpark with open arms, and I think it’s amazing that they’re supporting an organization like the Fidrych Foundation.
I want to thank everyone who contributed to my Boston Sports Mania apparel fundraiser. Your help led to me raising $3,108.11 for the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, and that money will help the Foundation in their mission to help people and families affected by autism live life to the fullest.
Check out this video for more (please note that after this video was produced, John Hancock Financial contributed $500 to the fundraiser to match a generous donation made by Ruth Webb of Northborough that brought the total funds raised over $3,100).
Today marks 7 years since I took a book out of the library and decided to start this blog, posting an MLB 2014 Preview. That’s pretty fitting considering my sports fandom began with baseball.
Just like I did in 2014 and have done in every year since, I’ll be posting my MLB season predictions before the season begins. For the second year in a row, I collaborated on these predictions with my cousin Michael. I made an appearance on his podcast, The Master Plan. I’ll have a post up about those this weekend. In the meantime, I have some special announcements to make.
I designed this new logo in commemoration of this 7 year blog anniversary as well as the upcoming Autism Acceptance Month this April:
When I was first diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, my parents were told I may never speak. I have made lots of progress since then, from learning to talk, read, and write, to discovering my passion for sports, to starting this blog. After starting this blog, I realized I wanted to become a professional sports journalist, and I have been lucky enough to have some experiences in the industry thanks to connections I’ve made through this blog.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without the supportive communities that helped me along the way. That’s why I’ve launched a apparel fundraising campaign featuring this new logo to help give back to the autism community this April.
Click here or watch the video below for more information on this campaign:
I’m excited to be celebrating 7 years of Boston Sports Mania and Autism Acceptance Month with this campaign, and I look forward to keeping this website active for many years to come.
Next month is Autism Acceptance Month and I am running a fundraiser with Boston Sports Mania apparel where all profits will go to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. The Flutie Foundation is an organization who helps people and families affected by autism live life to the fullest.
Apex Entertainment decided to support me again when they learned I designed a new Boston Sports Mania logo to commemorate my 7 year blog anniversary, and also recognize the Flutie Foundation for their contributions to my success. As you can see from the logo below, the Flutie Foundation logo represents the second “O” in the word Boston.
Receive a FREE Apex Entertainment attraction voucher with every purchase of BostonSportsMania.com apparel
The Boston Red Sox have also joined to help the apparel campaign. As a result, you can win an additional prize just for placing an order.
The largest three April orders by total order dollar amount will win an additional prize as follows (please see photos below of the prizes):
1st place prize: Autographed Chris Sale jersey 2nd place prize: Autographed Rafael Devers baseball 3rd place prize: Autographed box of Flutie Flakes (from the Flutie Foundation)
I also want to give a special thanks to Spectrum Designs, a business that helps individuals with autism lead full and productive lives through the world of work. They produced the apparel and donated the ordering website.
The best part of this campaign is that every dollar raised will benefit the autism community in some way, because the Flutie Foundation helps people and families affected by autism and Spectrum Designs employs people with autism.
Purchase your apparel and/or make a donation to support the Flutie Foundation by clicking HERE
Boston Sports Mania 