Good morning!

Over 150 gridiron alumni will be at Saturday’s UMass football spring game. Recruited to UMass when they were schoolboys, they’re returning to help coach Don Brown give his players a glimpse of the program’s legacy.

Longtime Minutemen gridiron fans will recognize names like Ron Blauvelt, Ned Deane, Chip Mitchell, Paul Metallo, Rene Ingoglia, Dave Palazzi, Vito Perrone, Jim Talarico, Steve Telander, Glenn Briere, Drew Comeau, Mike McEvilly, Marcel Shipp and Peter Spadafora among others.

Chancellor Javier Reyes and possibly UMass president Mary Meehan will be on the sideline to show their support. The game starts at noon, the gates open at 10:30 a.m. and admission and parking are free.

UMass won three games last year, but Brown has added positional depth at the offensive tackle and wideout positions to give senior redshirt quarterback Taisun Phommachanh more time and weapons.

In order to finish 6-6 and grab a bowl bid, UMass needs to beat Eastern Michigan in the season opener on Aug. 31 and FCS opponents Central Conn. and Wagner at home. Former UMass quarterback Brady Olson transferred to Central Connecticut and might get the start when the Blue Devils visit UMass on Sept. 21.

After that the road gets tougher and UMass needs three wins from any of these six opponents: at Toledo, at Buffalo, at Miami-Ohio, at NIU, and at home against Liberty and UConn.

UMass will almost certainly lose to Georgia and Mississippi State on the road and at home against Missouri on Oct. 12.

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Today’s spring game will be televised on NESN and ESPN-Plus.

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Former Recorder sports editor Bob York passed away this week. He was 77. Humble and soft spoken, Bob did his job quietly and efficiently. He was on the copy desk by the time I came to sports, but his advice helped me find my sea legs writing for a daily newspaper.

He had a wry sense of humor, noting once that according to the AP Style Guide, “Kids are baby goats.”

“He was a decent guy and taught me well,” said former editorial page editor Denny Wilkins who’s now at St. Bonaventure.

After Bob retired from the Recorder he wrote for the Deerfield Academy alumni magazine, NESCAC and other publications.

Condolences to his wife Mary Ann, son Brendan and the rest of Bob’s family.

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Mark Matusz will be remembered today at the Schuetzen Verein in Gill. His passing at age 65 shocked the Turners Falls community, and his friends have worked hard to get “the Shutz” ready for today’s celebration of his life. 

Matusz was a postal worker whose smile was as ubiquitous as the mail and packages he delivered. He pitched varsity ball for TFHS coach Jim Koldis, graduated in 1976 and played softball for St. Stan’s in the Montague Men’s League. 

“When Mark pitched for TFHS in 1975 the starters were all lefties,” remembered Gary “Zinno” George. “Billy Sicard and Gary Stratton were seniors, Mark and Marty Kendrick were juniors and Dale “Hennik” Welcome was the lone sophomore. 

“Mark was the ace and he went all nine innings in a tough 2-1 loss to Ware in the WMass tournament at Szot Park in Chicopee.”

Matusz married Patty Dziekonkski and they had four daughters who gave them six grandchildren — all girls.

A lifelong Powertown resident, he joined the local golf and shuffleboard leagues and sang at St. Stan’s while his brother Brian played guitar.

“A great guy who loved his dogs and always had a smile on his face,” remembered Ray Zukowski. “The people on his mail route loved him for his great work ethic.”

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When the Yankees had Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada in the lineup and John Sterling was at the height of his obnoxiousness, I relished tuning him in when the Yankees were losing.

“Who’s this guy?!” my son Mat asked the first time he heard Sterling’s “high, far and gone” routine — a schtick the Post’s Phil Mushnick likened to the size of Sterling’s ego.

He called 5,240 regular season games and 211 playoff games — including 5,060 consecutive broadcasts with sidekicks who included Michael Kay, Charlie Steiner, and Suzyn Waldman. “That’s baseball, Suzyn,” became an eventual catchphrase. 

The 85-year-old Sterling called his last game on April 14, an 8-7 loss to the Guardians. He announced his retirement the next day — maybe he couldn’t stand the thought of making another trip to Cleveland. A week ago today he was honored at home plate by fans, friends and family. “You know what?” he said. “I’m tired.”

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Is the Kid Line returning to the Heights? Ryan Leonard has decided to stay at Boston College and so has his linemate Gabe Perreault. Meanwhile San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier told The Mercury News that center Will Smith hasn’t decided yet if he’ll turn pro.

“No decision has been made yet,” Grier told beat writer Curtis Pashelka. “We’re just continuing to talk to him. He’s a 19-year-old kid in college, enjoying life with not too many cares in the world. So we’ll continue to talk to him and see where it goes.”

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Northampton defense attorney David Hoose remains undefeated and untied — almost. The F. Lee Bailey of Hampshire County represented golf pro Kevin M. Kennedy, who skimmed enough money from the Springfield-owned golf courses he managed to build a home in Springfield and another on Cape Cod.

Kennedy was acquitted of fraud and conspiracy charges late last year, but on Tuesday he was convicted of bank and tax fraud. Kennedy told Judge Mark Mastroianni he needed the money to care for his family and to pay for damage to his home that was caused by the tornado that ripped through Springfield in 2011.

“I am not persuaded. I am persuaded that greed applies to Mr. Kennedy,” said Mastroianni, who handed down a 13-month prison sentence.

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SQUIBBERS: Insiders say the advent of the sweeping slider and power changeup is what’s causing so many Tommy John surgeries. … Happy anniversary to two of West County’s finest, Paul and Linda Amstein. Sixty years she’s put up with him. … Business must’ve been good in Edmonton the day after Zach Hyman’s hat trick helped beat the Kings and jubilant Oilers fans threw 1,131 hats on the ice. … The Orioles are shooting for their 100th straight series without being swept this weekend in Oakland. … Spencer Jones, a 6-foot-6 center fielder out of Vanderbilt who’s being billed as the next Aaron Judge is batting .355 for the Double-A Somerset (N.J.) Patriots. … Great Lakes Brewing has named Rally Drum Red Ale after the late John Adams who pounded Cleveland’s rally drum for nearly 50 years. …Hadley’s Richie Cook says the DOT should drop Rocky Hill Road and simply call it Route 9-A. … CHN’s Adam Wodon interviewed Sam Jefferies about his book Legacy on Ice. “It’s a million stories in 192 pages. Even the meatheads can enjoy it,” said Jefferies. The book’s about Blake Geoffrion, Boom Boom’s great grandson. … SI reports the Mets are interested in future free agent Alex Bregman, but Bregman has a racehorse named No Nay Mets. Other steeds in Bregman’s stable include Game Seven and Homerunhappy. … Baseball author Peter Hantzis thinks Bill Mazeroski used a corked bat the day he homered off Ralph Terry to win the ’62 World Series. … The UMass baseball team hosts Saint Joseph’s Sunday and Quinnipiac and St. Bonaventure next week at Earl Lorden Field and it’s supposed to be good baseball weather. … The softball team is also home against Merrimack on Wednesday at Sortino Field. … ESPN producers were probably squirming when Rangers pitcher Michael Lorenzen said during a dugout interview on Sunday night baseball: “Before the game I like to dig in the Bible and I was reading Hebrews talkin’ about faith, and that’s what I kinda took out there today, just keep the faith in your stuff.” … RIP Ken Holtzman, the winningest Jewish pitcher in MLB history, and the last pitcher to throw a no hitter without striking out a batter. … Casey Stengel on power hitters who can’t field: “I don’t like them fellas who drive in two runs and let in three.”