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THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022 Page 13 EMASS Senior Softball League opens registration for 2022 season T he Eastern Massachusetts Senior Softball (EMASS) League is opening its annual registration campaign for slow-pitch softball players age 50 and older. With more than 400 members, the league attracts players from towns across Eastern Massachusetts with games played on fi elds in Wayland, Medfi eld, and Framingham. The EMASS season opens in early May with 18 weeks of regular season games scheduled through Labor Day and year-end playoff s completed in early October. “We are preparing for growth by rebalancing our Saturday divisions and adding a new weekday division to expand from 35 teams to over 40 teams,” said EMASS Commissioner Walker Royce. “EMASS Senior Softball was a welcome outdoor escape from the lifestyle disruptions of the COVID pandemic over the last two years. We had 70 new players last year and with more seniors looking for a healthy outlet, we feel confi dent we will see similar growth in 2022.” EMASS Senior Softball Off ers Flexible Playing Time “In 2022, we are restructuring our younger Saturday division where the average age across fi ve teams will be around 60,” explained Daniel Jolly, the new Colonial division coordinator. “With fi ve teams, we can use shorter rosters so players get more playing time, and more at-bats. Our Saturday players prefer an occasional bye week for summer holidays.” “Our most popular weekday division is being split primarily to offer more opportunity for players who want to play multiple times per week,” said Jeff rey Allan, the new Monday division coordinator. “The Atlantic division had grown to 12 teams. To accommodate more growth, we decided to split into a six-team Monday division and an eight-team Thursday division.” “The weekday division scheduling supports a day off between play dates for players who choose to play in multiple divisions,” said William Cerrato, the new Thursday division coordinator. “It will help us better balance the skills, improve safety and provide more fl exibility for those who want to play more than one day a week.” “EMASS shuffl es up team rosters in every division each year to enhance connections across our large softball-loving community,” said Donald Gould, the National division coordinator. “Our members enjoy competing with and against their friends.” Nothing Like a Team Sport to Make You Feel Young Again EMASS players cherish their weekly double-headers playing with their softball-loving buddies. EMASS has many younger seniors in their fi fties and sixBeware of phony forms when signing up for your free COVID-19 test U.S. households can now request free at-home COVID-19 test kits through a new BidenHarris Administration program. But as is the case with other major government initiatives, such as the stimulus checks, scammers are sure to try to take advantage. This time, be on the lookout for lookalike websites when requesting your tests. These scam sites might ask for payment or personal information, such as your Social Security number. How the scam may work You hear about the free COVID-19 tests and do a search for it online – or you see a post or ad on social media or receive an unsolicited email or text. These communications urge you to request your free tests immediately by clicking on a link. You follow the link to a website that looks offi cial at fi rst glance. It might have the United States Postal Service (USPS) logo, just like the real website. It also has a form to request your tests. But when you start fi lling out the form, you notice something unusual. This fake version might FREEDOM | FROM Page 6 triots serving in our special operations and intelligence communities I know we may never have the opportunity to share the full story of these men's sacrifi ce,” said Joe Reagan, Director of Military and Veteran Outreach for Wreaths Across America. “This ask you for personal information, such as your Social Security number or Medicare ID. It could also request your credit card details, under the guise of needing to pay for shipping. (Note: The real page does not ask for payment or your SSN.) Before you know it, you have given up your information to a scammer. Tips to identify a fake website: • Look closely at the domain name. One way that fake websites trick people is by using a domain name that is extremely close to a real domain name for a business or organization. For example, the real COVID-19 test request website is special.usps. com/testkits. Scammers may swap two letters or make a slight misspelling. If you fi nd a spelling error in the domain name, you’re not on the offi cial site, and it’s best to close the tab. • Watch out for tricky subdomains. Sometimes attackers hope you will confuse a subdomain with the real domain name. For example, a scammer might use the subdomain name usps. faketestkit.com – hoping you won’t notice that “faketestkit. should not stop us from providing their families and all Americans the opportunity to honor their service by saying their names in our nation’s Capital. Adding their names to the Vietnam wall alongside their 58,318 Brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifi ce during the Vietnam War is a fi tting tribute to these men and a reminder to com” is not the correct domain name to get your free test kit, which is usps.com. • The real website asks only for your name and address. You do not need to pay for the tests using the government program – even for shipping. And you will not be asked for insurance details, your Social Security number or any other sensitive information. For more info If you’ve spotted a scam, report it to BBB Scam Tracker, even if you didn’t fall victim or lose any money. Your report can help others avoid common scam tactics. To learn more about identifying fake websites and spotting impostor scams: https://www. bbb.org/all/spot-a-scam/howto-identify-a-fake-website To read about other popular COVID-19 scams and additional testing scams: https://www.bbb.org/ article/news-releases/22395bbb-scam-alert-want-a-covidtest-theres-a-scam-for-that. Stay up to date on the latest scams by subscribing to BBB’s weekly Scam Alerts email. all of us that our freedom is oftentimes secured by men and women who serve in silence.” If you support our nation’s veterans and want to see American heroes recognized for their signifi cant contributions to our freedom, please write your Senator and ask them to add the names associated with FTLF 739 to the Vietnam War Memorial. ties who can still hit a ball over the 300 foot fences or run down a deep line drive in the outfi eld. They are also inspired by elder players who can still play ball into their late seventies and eighties. That three-hour escape is a weekly high point of camaraderie, teamwork and healthy outdoor competition. When they are out on the fi eld, players feel and act 20 years younger, and when they get home, those stiff joints and sore muscles are mostly perceived as joyful pain. EMASS will open the 2022 season with more than 40 teams competing in six diff erent divisions. The league employs paid umpires and has recently invested in team manager training, umpire clinics/certifi cation, new equipment and a rich website to ensure a safe, well-managed and competitive league. “Our board members, team managers and division coordinators do a very professional and collaborative job of operating this league. Our players appreciate the fun and camaraderie enabled by our volunteer leadership team,” said Royce. IVY LEAGUE PAIR SIGNED TO 2022 NORTH SHORE NAVIGATORS ROSTER LYNN, Mass. -- The North Shore Navigators have added a pair of Massachusetts natives from familiar Ivy League programs to their roster for the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s (NECBL) upcoming 2022 season. Infielder Connor Bertsch comes to the North Shore from Dartmouth College, where he is a current junior and started in two games at third base before his freshman season in 2020 was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The West Roxbury native spent the tail end of last summer in the NECBL, hitting.343 with four RBI and four runs scored in 14 games for the Vermont Mountaineers. Bertsch was a two-time All-ISL ballplayer at St. Sebastian’s School and also earned three varsity letters in both basketball and football. Hailing from Foxboro, Reece Rappoli is set to make his collegiate debut as a Brown University sophomore after earning Hamptons Collegiate League All-Star honors with four home runs and 20 RBI last summer for the North Fork Ospreys. Rappoli, whose father played in the Boston Red Sox organization, played shortstop at Xaverian Brothers High School and took home all-state and allstar awards as a sophomore. The Navs kick off their 15th summer of collegiate baseball on Tuesday, June 7 with the home opener at Fraser Field set for Thursday, June 9. Stay up to date on the latest Navs news by visiting nsnavs.com and following the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Your Hometown News Delivered! 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