High School Friday: Dracut at Lowell: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Congratulations to Lowell High School for being featured on Fox News Boston’s “High School Friday”. Lowell beat Dracut, 35-20, and got some excellent statewide exposure from this Boston TV feature. Check out the Fox News Boston website for more video, photos, and stories.

The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2, last night to take the first game in the American League Championship Series. To make it to the ALCS, Texas had defeated the Tampa Bay Rays three games to one while Detroit beat the Yankees, three games to two. In the National League, the Championship Series opens this afternoon at 4 pm with the St. Louis Cardinals playing the Milwaukee Brewers. St. Louis had advanced by beating Philadelphia Phillies, three games to two while Milwaukee defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks by the same margin. In a “notes” story in today’s Globe, Peter Abraham discusses Terry Francona’s debut last night alongside Joe Buck in the TV broadcast booth. The next section of the piece reminds us that two former Red Sox, Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez, have played outsized leadership roles on the Rangers and Tigers this year.

During my senior year at Providence College (1979-80) the Big East basketball conference was formed with Providence, St. John’s, Georgetown, Syracuse Seton Hall, Connecticut, and Boston College, if I remember correctly. The Big East has ever since been one of the best conferences in college basketball. But the big money is in football, not basketball, so a few years ago BC left the Big East to join the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). Now, the ACC has pilfered two other Big East schools, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, and the Big East’s days seem to be numbered. Stories in the Globe today and yesterday will bring you up to date.

Unlike its Big East basketball cousins, Hockey East seems to be thriving with Notre Dame joining the league next season. Imagine, seeing the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame play the Riverhawks of UMass Lowell right here in our city. That will be a tough ticket to get.

Finally, the Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont explains why Hank Williams Jr’s assertion that President Obama’s playing golf with Speaker Boehner was “like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu” (Israeli Prime Minister) was so despicable and why ESPN was correct in immediately dumping Williams from its program. No argument here.