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Dom Amore’s Sunday Read: Win or lose, Yale’s Dante Reno a study in courage; ex-Huskies in NBA, more
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- Dom Amore’s Sunday Read: Win or lose, Yale’s Dante Reno a study in courage; ex-Huskies in NBA, more
When Dante Reno tr ansferred to Yale to play for his father, he asked for jersey No. 10, which he had worn his whole football life, at Loomis Chaffee, Cheshire Academy, at South Carolina. At Yale, the number was taken, so he accepted No. 2.
In that jersey, Dante and Tony Reno led Yale to the Ivy League championship in 2025, a win over Harvard, then an historic comeback at Youngstown State in the program's first-ever FCS playoff game. On Oct. 2, 2026, on 10/2, Dante lost his father, his coach, his best friend. Less than 24 hours later, he played for the Bulldogs, leading them to a come-from-behind victory over Merrimack with four touchdown passes. He and his family had decided, this is what Tony Reno would have wanted him to do, be there for his teammates.
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"He built this place," Dante told reporters after that game. "I'm only here because of him. The only reason I play is because if him and these guys."
The 10th month of this year has put Dante Reno, 22, through an emotional wringer few of us could imagine, having to process such a loss so much earlier in life than most of us must. Tony Reno, just 52, who stepped aside as Yale coach last February after 14 seasons and five league championships, died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease.
"He was my best friend," Dante told College Game Day. "I was with him 24/7 when I was a kid. Being a coach's kid prepares you a lot."
Highly successful Yale football coach Tony Reno dies at the age of 52
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Dante, with an elbow injury, did not play the week before he lost his father, and Yale lost to Cornell. Picked unanimously to win the Ivy League again, the Bulldogs don't have much margin for error if they're going get to the Harvard game, at Fenway Park on Nov. 21, with a chance to grab the conference's playoff bid.
In the week following Tony's passing, Dante did every interview he was asked to do. Sitting and pouring out his story and his feelings for national TV audiences. The coach, father and best friend who taugh t Dante Reno to play and love football undoubtedly taught his son how to handle all the adversity that comes with it. Then he threw for 325 yards to beat Dartmouth.
"Love you, Pops. Got another one for you today," Dante posted on social media.
On Saturday, with the usual early season smattering of fans lost in the cavernous Yale Bowl, Dante Reno didn't have another comeback or miracle game in him. Rhode Island, a nonconference opponent and a perennial playoff contender, spent the school's first visit to The Bowl dancing and celebrating after the completion of one long pass play after another, two from Alex McClelland to Marquis Buchanan, to beat Yale, 41-23.
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"If we don't utilize this to vault ourselves forward, then shame on us," new Yale coach Kevin Cahill said.
Hugo Djeumeni-Kemeni , a freshman running back from Ottawa, made Saturday his day, rushing 36 times for 243 yards, the third biggest rushing effort in Yale's 153-year history. That's a name to keep in mind as Yale goes forward.
"From Week 1 to now, he's developed into a pretty solid running back for us," Cahill said. "But if you ask Hugo, did you like this day and have a loss, or rush for five yards and get a win? He'll tell you, 'Rush for five yards and get a win.'"
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With all Dante Reno has been through, it was bound to at least look, sooner or later, as if he were emotionally drained. On Saturday, after the Rams jumped out to a 17-0 lead, he had to play catchup against a defense that had his receivers covered and came with relentless pressure. And Yale's defense couldn't hold Rhode Island in any event. Reno, twice the Ivy Player of the Week already this season, misfired on more passes than not this time, completing 15 of 38 for 105 yards, two second-half touchdowns, and one interception.
"I don't see that (being emotionally drained) with him," Cahill said. "He's been good. He has been locked in with everything we're doing. … Dante's fine. He wasn't as electric as he was the rest of the season, and sometimes you have a bad day and he'll grow from it and we'll move on. There were some plays he'd like to have back, but Dante's fine. He'll learn from it and he'll be fine."
The Bulldogs have road games at Penn and Columbia, then home games against Brown and Princeton, the prelude to The Game at Fenway Park. As Dante Reno processes what he must, and prepares himself to play a violent game each week while pursuing his Yale education, it's a lot for one his age to handle. He may not win every game going forward, may run out of miracle comebacks on any given Saturday, but all Tony Reno gave him is evident in all Dante is doing, and you may look through every hidden corner of the sports world this autumn and not find a more moving study in courage.
More for your Sunday Read
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Dan Hurley vouches for UConn stars Alex Karaban, Tarris Reed Jr. ahead of NBA Draft
Ex-Huskies making NBA inroads
With NBA training camps winding down, former Huskies Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban are on the bubble with the teams that drafted them, but are giving themselves a chance. They faced each other in the last exhibition game on Friday night, with both teams focusing more on getting their starters ready.
Reed, with the Spurs, grabbed 17 rebounds against the Jazz in an exhibition game this week, with nine rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes against the Suns. He could be exactly what San Antonio needs as a backup for Victor Wembanyama as they try to get back to The Finals. For Reed, 17 boards were not enough for that miniature Dan Hurley s itting on his shoulder.
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"I knew I could have got 20, 25," Reed told reporters after a shootaround. "Immediately after the game I was thinking about what Coach Hurley would've said to me, he would've been ripping me, man. I had like 10 rebounds the first eight minutes, so I definitely could've gotten 20. It's keeping my foot on the gas, being more consistent, tenacious in that part."
Reed was asked about always being around the ball, always getting his hands on it. "That's UConn, man," he said. "It changed a lot about who I was as a person, who I was as a player, having that multiple-effort mindset."
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson told reporters in Salt Lake City after Reed's 1 7-rebound game: "You don't always get young guys that seek contact, that thrive or look for contact. He definitely is one of those guys. … He got coached really hard at UConn."
Reed played 14 minutes against the Kings, getting two points, eight rebounds, and a steal. The Spurs open Tuesday against Oklahoma City, a rematch of last season's Western finals.
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Meanwhile, in Sacramento, Karaban was pushing for a rotation spot with the rebuilding Kings. He played 28 minutes, hitting two 3-pointers and scoring eight against Portland, and former UConn teammate Donovan Clingan last week. Music also critics gave Karaban solid reviews after the rookies' karaoke competition with Darius Acuff Jr. and Emanuel Sharpe at the team's fanfest. Karaban performed Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten."
"I wanted to go with something the crowd knows," Karaban told reporters afterward.
"Me personally, I think AK, you know, I think he just hit every area of what a performance is supposed to be," Sharpe said.
His singing may not get Karaban onto the roster for opening night on Wednesday but, then again, it can't hurt. He played five minutes against the Spurs, got a steal, but didn't score. Now it's waiting time.
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Bill Belichick has made a Hall of Fame career on confusing young quarterbacks. Be wary when the improving Tar Heels come to Connecticut on Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Sunday short takes
*If you're scoring at home, the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Padres are out, with the Brewers, Rays, Guardians still playing. Why? Because baseball has had a salary cap all along, keeping its most talented young players "under team control." It's the one sport where players are vastly underpaid during their first several years, six to to be exact, their best years, and then reach free agency and are overpaid on the way down — paid for what they've already done. Five years from now, the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets will be hamstrung all over again with long contracts they'll be giving to players now on the Brewers, Rays and Guardians. Lockout my eye. MLB needs a salary cap like the bald guy of your choice needs a hairnet.
*Can confirm: the Dan Hurley scarecrow in Wethersfield is as impressive in person as on social media.
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*The Springfield chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) is hosting speakers John Dowd, author of the report that led to Pete Rose's ban, and Andy Billman, ESPN 30 for 30 documentary producer, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Storrs Library in Longmeadow, Mass. Go to longmeadowlibrary.org for more information.
*The Bristol Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Nov. 20 at the Double Tree in Bristol from 6:30- 9:30 pm. The Class of 2026 includes Jackie Adams Cheney, John Benoit, Dr. Kelly Harrigan, Bob Kalat, Sara Plourde-Zirkle, Tom Roberts, Don Soucy and Jillian Sullivan. Tickets are $50 and be purchased on the HOF website at bshof.org .
*Season to be wary: Bill Belichick will have far more tricks than treats for UConn's young quarterback, Kalieb Osborne, when North Carolina comes to Rentschler Field the week after Halloween.
*Former Big East commissioner Val Ackerman will be at the University of Saint Joseph for a conversation as part of the school's leadership initiative. Leading Through Change: A Conversation with Val Ackerman, moderated by Jeane Coakley is Tuesday, 5-7 p.m. at Hoffman Auditorium. Go to the USJ website for tickets and information.
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* Brady Sheffield, who coached Lyme-Old Lyme High to its first state championship in boys basketball at the age of 21, has moved on at 24 to launch a college career as an assistant at Mitchell College. A career worth tracking.
Dom Amore: Pushing March Madness metrics aside, it's time for UConn, Syracuse to get back together
*Tom Mitchell, the executive who was involved in the Binghamton Rangers move to Hartford in 1996 will be in ducted into the AHL Hall of Fame at the All-Star Game in Cleveland on Feb. 8. Mitchell was owner/GM of the Binghamton franchise until it moved here to replace the Whalers in 1997. He then was VP of hockey operations in Hartford through 1999-2000, the Calder Cup championship season.
*CT United FC won the first playoff match in team history, a 1-0 win over Atlanta United 2 in Georgia. CT United moves on to the conference semifinals in MLS Next.
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*So far, Jim Mora's first-season at Colorado State has been nothing like his quick turnaround at UConn. The 2-4 Rams have allowed 222 points in the last four games, after l osing 66-27 to Texas State this week.
Last word
My two first-look, bottom-line takeaways from the UConn-Syracuse exhibition games at Mohegan Sun: There is no reason to believe the UConn women will not be back at their Final Four, and there is no reason to believe the UConn men can't be back at theirs. In other words, business as usual in the Basketball Capital.
