Dartmouth president James Wright is retiring after 40 years at the school, 11 as head honcho, and to recognize his contributions to the college — and his advocacy for American veterans — the Red Sox have asked the former Marine to throw out the first pitch on Saturday, June 6, when Boston faces Texas.

When Wright walks out to the mound in front of the 30,000 plus fans, he will be wearing a Dartmouth cap and a Wounded Warrior Regiment shirt given to him by U.S. Marine Colonel Greg Boyle of Quantico, Virginia. Boyle is the commanding officer of the regiment, which was created in 2007 to offer support services to wounded Marines and their families across the country. "Colonel Boyle is a good friend, and he is committed to supporting our wounded veterans and treating them with respect," says Wright. "He is also a Manchester, N.H. native and a self-described ‘diehard’ Red Sox fan!"

“The Red Sox are a remarkable institution and I admire their rich history, excellence on and off the field, and the commitment of their fans. This will be a memorable honor.”

And Wright’s not taking it lightly. He’s already practicing his pitch.

Wright says that his wife Susan DeBevoise Wright has been graciously serving as his “battery mate” as he practices throwing the 60-foot 6-inch pitch in the yard of his Webster Avenue house. “Of course I want to throw a strike,” he says.– Dartmouth News

Tragedy struck the hockey world when Alexei Cherepanov, the New York Rangers’ first pick (No. 17) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, has died after suffering an apparent heart attack Monday during a game with Avangard Omsk, his club in the Kontinental Hockey League.

The 19-year-old Cherepanov had 8 goals and 13 points in 15 games this season, his third with Omsk.

Cherepanov had scored the game’s first goal in what ended as a 5-4 loss for Omsk against Vityav Chekhov.

"We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei," said Rangers General Manager Glen Sather. "On behalf of the New York Rangers organization, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family. Alexei was an intelligent, energetic young man, with tremendous talent and an extremely bright future."

The Rangers had been hoping to bring Cherepanov to New York for the club’s prospect evaluation camp or training camp, but with the lack of a formal transfer agreement between the NHL and International Ice Hockey Federation, Cherepanov remained in Russia, with the Rangers hoping to bring him over for the 2009-10 season.

Cherepanov was sitting between former Rangers’ star Jaromir Jagr and forward Pavel Rosa on the bench when he suffered an apparent heart attack. A team of doctors tried to revive Cherepanov but couldn’t. Cherepanov was taken to a local hospital where further attempts to revive him failed.