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By Michael Whitmer Globe Staff “Let's see. So far we've played in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts . . .'' Another week, another state, another tournament. That's what summers have been like for Kee-Socrates Fryxell, a 17-year-old from Davenport, Iowa. Once school lets out, Fryxell hops in the car with his father, David Fryxell, and hits the road, not returning home some summers until the day before classes resume. This week they're in Plymo

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By Amalie Benjamin Globe staff They were 8 or 9 years old when they started dreaming. Devin and Jason McCourty decided then – their minds convinced by the magic of television – that they would buy their mother a house. Phyllis Harrell had, after all, raised them as a single mother after their father died when the twins were 3, had shuttled them to modeling and acting sessions – they were once extras on “Saturday Night Live'' – would take them to AAU games and football practices. She

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By Michael Vega Globe Staff MINOR LEAGUE NOTEBOOK Chris Martin's path to professional baseball wasn't so smoothly paved. It was pockmarked by several obstacles – huge potholes, actually. “It's been a long journey,'' Martin said of the unconventional route the 6-foot-7-inch reliever with 95-mile-per-hour velocity took the last three years to earn a tryout and sign a minor league contract with the Red Sox. “It's been a humbling one.'' When he partially tore the labr

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By Shalise Manza Young Globe Staff FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots are quiet no more. While the rival Jets on Wednesday re-signed their best receiver (Santonio Holmes) and became serious contenders to add one of the league's best cornerbacks (Nnamdi Asomugha), the Patriots were nearly silent by comparison. At least, it seemed they were. Inside Gillette Stadium, often only half-jokingly referred to as the Fort Knox of the North, the phones were buzzing. On Tuesday, the Patriots called the

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Aren't we great? Hmm . . . perhaps we should rephrase that. Aren't we lucky? There's no arguing which North American city has had the most successful run of 21st century sports franchises. Boston has already had seven champions in the four primary team sports. Throw in the two NCAA hockey championships won by Boston College and the one taken home by Boston University, and that's 10 recent occasions to salute one of our teams as the unquestioned best. Not that any of us has scored a

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By Monique Walker Globe Staff Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington doesn't consider himself to be a man of many needs. He is back home with his parents in Accokeek, Md. He works out not far from there, and makes the occasional trip to Boston. He receives updates on the NFL labor negotiations via player representatives. His entertainment doesn't extend much beyond catching a movie with his fiancee. For Arrington, this offseason is about preparing to keep a job. Arrington often refers to 201

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By Monique Walker Globe Staff Game-ending plays at the plate don't come around often for a guy like Darnell McDonald. At 32 years old, the Red Sox left fielder couldn't think of a single time he ever made a throw to home that ended the game. He can add a first to that list. With closer Jonathan Papelbon one run away from blowing a three-run lead and a save against the Blue Jays, John McDonald drove a single to shallow left field with runners on first and second and two outs. Darnell McDo

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This is a big week for fans of Harry Potter, the bespectacled wunderwizard of J.K. Rowling's multibillion-dollar fantasy world. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,'' the final movie of the wildly successful series, debuted on London screens last week. Potter fans, some likely sporting full quidditch regalia, will queue up outside Bay State theaters late Thursday night for the midnight opening here in the US. Kristina Moy, who played quidditch for three years at UMass, will

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EMBEDDED IN ENEMY TERRITORY, British Columbia – People in New England think in terms of 0 for 39, but the real number is 0 for 79. Canadians have feelings, too, you know. The Boston Bruins have not won the Stanley Cup since 1972. You can't go five minutes these days in our town without hearing about that one. But the Vancouver Canucks have been a dues-paying member of the National Hockey League since the 1970-71 season and they are still waiting for their first Cup. That's 40 season

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By Julian Benbow GLOBE STAFF As a token of appreciation for giving the Sarah Greenwood elementary school in Dorchester a $30,000 computer lab, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson grabbed a Bruins championship T-shirt and handed it to Ray Allen yesterday. The Celtics guard smiled and pretended he could wear the shirt, even though it was clearly a size too small. Maybe two sizes. But while the city was celebrating the return of the Stanley Cup after 39 years, Allen was t