Updated April 25, 2011 at 1:16 p.m.: The game officially ended after 24 hours, five minutes and 15 seconds - setting the record. Williams won the game 818 to 711.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Breaking the world record for the longest women's rugby game is not easy; especially when Mother Nature adds snow, hail, gusting winds and rain to the equation.

The Williams College Women's Rugby team is battling Saturday both the weather and Keene State College for 24 hours to set a Guinness Book of World Record for the longest women's rugby game.

"Provided the weather doesn't get the best of us, we'll make it," Williams coach Gina Coleman said Saturday. "We certainly have the will and the stamina and wherewithal to do it."

The players started at 8 a.m. on Cole Field in the snow, but that switched to hail and eventually into rain while a strong wind tore through the field. After four hours, the players showed no signs of letting up – nor did the weather. Players were taking hour shifts on and an hour warming up, and a few players were examined by emergency personnel for fear of hypothermia.

"I have a small team in right now. We're taking shifts an hour in and an hour out," Keene State coach Karen Johannesen said. "We're using buses, cars, whatever we can to keep warm."

The two teams play a friendly game every year but this year they decided to shoot for the record to raise money for breast and colorectal cancer research. The game, titled Scrum for a Cure, received more than $7,000 in sponsorships and there are a few "sizable" donations contingent on completing the game that could bump the total to more than $8,000, Coleman said.

"It started as a small idea and snowballed into this great big thing," Johannesen said.

The game is being filmed and there is an official timer clicking away for when a representative from the Guinness Book of World Records verifies the record. The representative is expected to arrive Saturday night.

Area businesses have donated outdoor bathrooms, cots, tents and food to keep the players going.

"They haven't felt like they've been playing for four hours," Coleman said. "Their spirits are good."

Donations will be accepted until May 1 through the event's website and supports The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Manhattan Surgical Associates Gastrointestinal Surgery Research Foundation, Inc.

More photos are available here.

 PITTSFIELD, Mass. —  After pitching seven season in the major leagues, Chad Paronto is coming home.

The 35-year-old city resident signed a contract with the Pittsfield Colonials in dual roles as pitching coach and starter.

Despite having been invited to spring training by multiple professional clubs, Paronto decided to hang up his professional career to be closer to his family.

"I know that I can pitch in the big leagues but that's the least of my concerns," Paronto said at a press conference Friday. "I chose to retire for my family."

Last season, Paronto led the Pawtucket Red Sox in appearances with 54 and posted a 4.22 ERA out of the bullpen. But at the end of the year, he said he began thinking of retiring in order to spend more time with his children.

When Colonials manager Jamie Keefe found that out in January, he jumped at the opportunity to bring him in as a coach. The two reached a deal earlier this week.

"I know Chad wants to be able to help the younger players," Keefe said.

Paronto moved to the city 15 years ago when he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1996. He got his first crack in the show in 2001 when he posted a 5.00 ERA in 24 games. He then went to the Cleveland Indians for the 2002 and 2003 seasons. He spent the following two seasons in the minors before getting back to the big leagues with the Atlanta Braves.

With the Braves, he posed a 3.18 ERA in 11 appearances in 2006 and a 3.57 ERA in 12 appearances in 2007. He then pitched for the Houston Astros for two years before signing with the Red Sox.

"I could have gone back to the Red Sox but I chose not to," Paronto said. "I was most excited about the coaching aspect."

The team is comprised of players who could play in the upper levels in the next few years, Keefe said, and Paronto is looked at to be the mentor and leader.

"We want to win a championship. We want to win it for the city," team owner Buddy Lewis said. "Chad brings the leadership to get that championship."

He will be used mostly as a coach but will also be part of the starting rotation.

"I've got plenty of bullets left," Paronto said.

Paronto pitched in 177 professional games going 6-12 with a 4.32 ERA in 183.1 innings. He struck out 107 batters and walked 66. With the bat, he got three professional plate appearances and stuck out all three times.

The colonials open the season at home on May 26. Keefe said there are three roster spots left to be filled.

"We look forward to a real exciting baseball season," Mayor James Ruberto said.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy was announced as the keynote speaker at Saint Joseph High School's Hall of Fame gala in May.

Levy is most known for leading the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls - losing all of them - in the early 1990s. With star-packed teams featuring Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and Bruce Smith, Levy is the most successful coach in team history with a 112-70 record. Under his reigns the Bills made the playoffs right out of nine years with six division championships.

Levy was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame first ballot in 2001 and he has since moved on to be a motivational speaker.

He will be the keynote speaking for Saint Joseph's gala "An Evening with the Stars" that will induct the school's best football athletes of all-time into its Hall of Fame. The gala will be held May 20 at the Crowne Plaza on West Street. The proceeds will benefit the Catholic Schools of Pittsfield.

The Hall of Fame induction will celebrate the grand tradition of Crusader’s football by honoring a legends team comprised of the stars from the 1940s, 50s and 60s and all-decade teams from the 1970s, 80s and 90s. St. Joseph’s has a storied history that has included several championship teams and a number of standouts who would go on to play at the college level. Ballots are being distributed to St. Joe’s alumni to vote on the legends and all-decade teams.

 "We are thrilled to host this gala that will bring all the generations of St. Joe’s football together to share in this special tradition," said Bill Jones, board chairman of the Catholic Schools of Pittsfield, in a press release. "Also, we are all looking forward to welcoming Marv Levy to the community to hear his own motivational stories."

HINSDALE, Mass. — Dalton-Hinsdale Little League officials have informed the Berkshire News Network that a Uniform and Equipment Replacement Fund has been started to replace thousands of dollars worth of equipment and uniforms that were destroyed by vandals at the Hinsdale Field.

The concession stand, announcing booth and equipment shed were damaged, plus more than $1,000 worth of equipment including uniforms were removed from the equipment shed and burned this past weekend.

Donations can be made a couple of different ways. Checks can be sent to the Dalton-Hinsdale LL Uniform Fund in care of Mick Lavinio, 46 Weston Ave., Dalton, MA 01226 or donations can be made on the league's website www.dhllbaseball.org.

Donations are being accepted in the form of a "single" ($5), "double" ($10), "triple" ($25), or an amount of your choosing. The league is looking to raise $1,000 to help make up the cost of the destroyed uniforms and equipment.