Coaching Philosophies

Wow. Good win this afternoon by the Eagles against the Midshipmen of Navy. BC played no where near its potential, and Navy had them on the ropes until a last minute fumble and Jolonn Dunbar recovery. On the winning drive, Matt Ryan tossed a few quick hitters and they brought it down to the Navy 20 with just over a minute left and one timeout. Instead of trying for the endzone, the coaching staff decided to play it safe at ran two dives up the gut. Steve Aponavicious then nailed the 37-yarder with 0:03 left in the game for the 25-24 win. I was ecstatic. But I was also puzzled. With a time out and over a minute left in the ball game, why didn’t BC take a shot at the endzone or a first down and goal? They were putting the entire game on the shoulders of a kid (Steve A) who was only playing in the 8th football game of his life, and had never made a kick of 37 yards. Don’t you think the guy calling the plays would have taken a shot downfield, maybe a screen, just done anything to try to get them closer? That’s because the guy calling the plays didn’t want them to get closer, he didn’t really want them to win. It was a conflict of interests. Dana Bible, the offensive coordinator, has made it clear that he will follow Tom O’Brien to NC State, but TOB insisted that he stay for the bowl game. So he did, and BC almost lost because of the shaky play calling at the end of the game. With recruiting battles between conference rivals, would Bible want BC to have a 10-win season and a bowl victory to show recruits? Those recruits, who are no longer bound to BC, could easily follow TOB to NC State, and would be less enamored to stick to BC if they lost. Just a theory.
The other thing that upset me was Frank Spaziani, the interim head coach and defensive coordinator, who after the game said that BC’s victory today was for Tom O’Brien. Wrong. TOB left, he wasn’t forced out, he wasn’t sitting in his North Carolina home because he was physically unable to be at the game, he jumped ship for a different job. That’s fine, I respect his decision, but the BC victory was not for him, it was for the players on the team, those like Alex Albright and Mark Herzlich, freshmen who came in thanks to O’Brien and now have to deal with the change. Also to guys like Matt Ryan and Jolonn Dunbar, proven juniors who now have to get to know a new coach and a new system for their senior year. The win wasn’t for the old coach, or for the new one, it was for the players on the team, and I am happy for all of them (especially Steve A).

The other game of the last 24 hours that I had the pleasure of watching was the Greenfield/Turners boys basketball game. Reports were true, Scotty Thayer, the coach of Greenfield who was my coach for 4 years, has calmed down on the yelling, and has also rolled out a new relaxed wardrobe. There used to be a a right of passage as a Greenfield High School basketball player that you could count on. That Monday after Thanksgiving, when you laced them up for the first official practice, that you could count on a Scotty that was full of emotion at practice in his Nike Shox. During the games you knew he would be just as loud, but would be wearing an Armani suit. Friday was different. It was weird seeing him absent of both of the GQ look and the piercing yell. He is a young coach, and is still revising his philosophy to get the most out of the team. I think he is doing a good job, and I wish him and the team the best for the rest of the season.

Dave

Bowling for Nothing

As Mike so eloquently stated, the Turners-FC Tech game was less than exciting the other day. I think Turners could be fun to watch if they played someone who could run with them. Like Greenfield. What? Greenfield and Turners are playing? Tonight? In my own backyard? Sweet deal. Tip off is at 7:30 at Greenfield High.
My own BC Eagles face Navy in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, NC tomorrow at 1. Thank god for the coaching change or the Eagles wouldn’t really have anything to play for. Now they at least need to win to have that 10-win season to show any recruits that still want to come to BC. The Globe wrote a story about a kid from NC who is still coming, so I guess that is good, but I am a little worried about the rest of the class. I think Jags will do some recruiting in the southern states to get more skill position players to power the offensive side of the ball. I really couldn’t be less excited about this game, I mean it is the 6th best ACC bowl, against a weird looking Navy offense. Have a good one.

Dave

A Couple Boosts of Confidence

Well, we'll start with the basketball game we decided to attend the other night. It was Turners-Tech. I can't tell ya much about the game other than it was sloppy. I'm pretty sure Turners won by 30, but who cares really? Both teams had significant weaknesses and I wouldn't expect anything out of either of the teams. Sorry to piss in the Corn Flakes of those two squads, but c'mon. They're not good. In other news, Barry Zito just signed a $126 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, the highest contract ever for a pitcher. It makes me think that if you break it down, I could make like $40,000 a year or something playing baseball. Think about it, I'm no major league pitcher, but if you bring down the "talent per dollar" rate, I think I'm at least good for 40k. The market is out of this world. That being said, I think this is absolutely fantastic for Zito. For starters, it's $126 million. If you need help figuring out how that would be beneficial to Mr. Zito, get out of here. Secondly, he's going across the bay from Oakland to San Francisco. The guy presumably doesn't even have to move out of his house. Unless of course he wants to upgrade his digs, because, rememeber, $126 mil? Third, he's moving to the National League. Not only the National League, the National League West. You have 10 seconds to think of a hitter that strikes fear in your heart as a pitcher in the NL West. Ready, go...Thought so. The best hitter in the division when healthy is on Zito's team (Barry Bonds). Other than that, there's some solid hitters, but certainly nothing compared to any of the other divisions in baseball really. Matt Holladay, Garret Atkins, and Adrian Gonzalez will all be studs, but let's face it, they're no Albert Pujols, Aramis Ramirez, or Adam Dunn yet. And finally this is a good idea for Zito because AT&T Park in San Fran is almost as spacious as the old Colleseum in Oakland. Just imagine if he went to Texas. That would have been the worst possible decision. A fly ball pitcher pitching in a tiny ballpark with the way balls fly in the Texas heat? No thank you. Say what you want about Zito's agent Scott Boras. The guy is a total ass, that's what I'll say about him. But the guy does his job very well. So if anyone could get me my $40 grand, I think he could do it.
That's all I got. Seeya kids.
-MC

Good Ol' Fun

Good suburban league game tonight as Northampton took on South Hadley down at Hamp. Good game from both sides. Thanks to this guys sitting behind me and Mike, I found myself rooting for Hamp. After every basket, he would yell “You know how we do!!!” or “OH YEAH OH YEAAA.” Then as South Hadley brought it up the court, it was “GET that ball back.” I swear he could have announced figure skating and make me want to watch it. Ok maybe that is pushing it but this guy was intense.
Back to me rooting for Hamp. They go into the half up 6 after leading most of the first, and me and the guy behind me are pretty pumped. Then SH comes back in the second and wins by 2. Mike is doing a story on the game in the Gazette so go read that and get all the details of the game, capiche? I was definitely surprised by the comeback. Didn’t see it coming until the last 5 minutes, kind of a gut wrencher. I think the guy behind me is on suicide watch after that ending.
Hamp also brought back some memories of my high school playing days. I remembered how good the hotdog that I got after my JV game, and my memory served me well, tubesteak was just as delicious tonight. Not really an actually memory from when I was ballin’, but that didn’t happen to often so I remember the other things. I remembered that Hamp doesn’t have any showers in the visitors locker room. Just weak.
It was a good game to kick of the tour. Looking forward to the next one, will update soon.
-Dave
Hey guys, it's Mike...that's right I hacked in and I'm on Dave's post...Here's my story on the game from the Gazette.
NORTHAMPTON - It wasn't pretty, but it was a good win for the South Hadley boys basketball team.
The Tigers escaped with 59-57 win over Northampton Thursday night.
"We're very proud to win here on the road with the Northampton program Rey Harp's built," South Hadley coach Jeff Guiel said. "To be honest, it's an amazing win."
While Guiel was happy that his Tigers came away with the win, there was still cause for concern.
"We have about 20 major items we need to improve," Guiel said. "We're incredibly rusty offensively, and Northampton exploited it."
South Hadley was uncharacteristically sloppy throughout, but hung with the Blue Devils just long enough to make their move late in the second half.
South Hadley did not have a lead until there were 7 minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the second half, when Northampton junior Nick Kellogg fouled Colin Lacey and sent him to the line for two foul shots.
The South Hadley junior sank both free throws to give the Tigers a 45-44 lead.
They stretched it to three, but the Blue Devils took it right back on an acrobatic up-and-under move by Kellogg and a fast-break layup by Nick Shaheen after a South Hadley turnover.
The Tigers took the lead for good when Ryan Garvey hit a jumper that pushed South Hadley ahead 49-48 with 5:30 left.
Tiger senior Dan Lopes finished the game with a team-high 17 points, including 13 in the second half.
Lopes said the difference for South Hadley, which trailed 28-22 at halftime, was establishing its offense.
"We were taking bad shots, but we settled down and ran our sets," Lopes said. "We started running off of picks, and picked up our defense too."
Garvey also was a big part of the Tiger attack, adding 12 points and 12 rebounds for South Hadley.
The Tigers were 13-of-18 from the free-throw line in the second half. The Devils struggled from the line and were 4-of-13 in the second half.
Harp said the difference in the second half was the composure of a tournament-tested South Hadley team against his inexperienced squad.
"They're a good team and have the experience we're trying to get," Harp said. "Hopefully, this will send us in the right direction."
Northampton was in control early, opening the game on a 9-1 run. It was
highlighted by a Kellogg layup on a great pass from Zach Holland-O'Neill, forcing Guiel to use his first time-out.
Northampton's attack was led by Kellogg who scored 19 points and added seven rebounds. Holland-O'Neill contributed 10 points and five rebounds for the Blue Devils.
Northampton cocaptain Will Workman, who suffered a back injury at a summer camp in June and re-aggravated it Dec. 15 against Minnechaug Regional, missed most of the first half and all of the second half because of the problem.
"I overdid it in the Minnechaug game," Workman said. "It got to the point where I was hurting the team by being out there."
Workman was held scoreless in his brief time on the court.
The Blue Devils also have been without Brennan Cooper, who transferred from Minnechaug, since the beginning of the season with a knee injury.
Both teams are off until Wednesday when Northampton travels to Easthampton and South Hadley hosts Athol.

Couple of quick notes: Lopes and Guiel are really good guys, go figure. So is Harp. And UMass football coach Don Brown was in attendance last night, his daughter attends South Hadley. -MC

The NBA- I Love This Game!!!

I wrote in the high school paper about three years ago, how one of my New Year's resolutions was to not watch an NBA game outside of the Celtics all year. After last nights brawl at the Garden between the Nuggets and the Knicks, it's easy to see why. Give me one example of this happening in a college basketball game in the last 10-15 years. It could have happened, I'm not totally sure, but I sure as hell don't remember it. It's always over such petty reasons too. Like last night? The Knicks were mad the Nuggets had their starters in with a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter with less than a minute to go. New York's Mardy Collins decked J.R. Smith on a fast break and it was on. This is my first problem. The Knicks said it was a matter of disrespect and what not. What is this? The YMCA league? For crying out loud, a bunch of millionaires whining is ridiculous. And the Knicks should be used to it by now. They're a sorry excuse for a basketball team to begin, who you would think would have gotten used to getting their faces knocked in occasionally. Ridiculous. And let's investigate Carmelo Anthony's part in this. What a punk. The guy comes into the whole thing, and just makes it escalate into something truly ugly. Him and Nate Robinson made this what it was, but I'll let Robinson off because he didn't pull the shenanigans that Anthony did. The guy came in and gives this little sucker punch on Collins. What does Carmelo do after he decks Collins? He runs away. I'm not even spinning this a certain way. Just watch the video. Carmelo hits and runs. The whole ordeal was an absolute joke and does nothing for putting down the people that say that the NBA is just a bunch of thugs. What in last night's brawl does anything to disspell that? Nothing. It's not fun to be David Stern this morning. All of a sudden, what basketball these guys are using doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

-MC

I’m going going, back back, to Greenfield Greenfield

Well here you have it folks, sorry for the irregularity in posts it is because of finals as Mike noted.

First semester in the books at 1:58 PM yesterday, and now I have and entire month to forget what I just learned. Sweet deal.

Aside from the Meineke Car Care Bowl and the Kansas basketball game, BC sports are going on the shelf until mid January.

So the focus is shifted. Shifted back to high school sports.

Mr. Cole and I will be going back, back to the gyms filled with hundreds, not thousands. Back to a place where the student-athlete actually is a student. We are going to check out some of the Alma Mater’s games, and some of the other great basketball teams and games in the area. Should be a good time.

Also some interesting gossip from around the valley this week. I feel kind of dirty being a reporter of this type of thing, but I feel like you all have to know.

Apparently Tom Brady has a house in Bernardston for summer purposes. I am dead serious. I will be doing some investigation this break to give you some more info on this development, so stay tuned.

Happy Holidays to you all,

Dave

Just Be Patient...

Sorry to the 3 of you who read this semi-regularly, we haven't been posting lately, and I'm going to blame that on finals and end of semester work at our fine institutes of education. Nasty's already back in the land of Green, and I'm finishing up pretty quick, so expect more pretty soon. Sorry kids.

-MC

News and Notes from the NBA

Here we go, AI is NOT COMING TO BOSTON, or I am at least praying, but he probably will. I’m hoping for a three way deal as my buddy Andy wants between Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Boston, in which AI goes to Minny, Minny sends us Garnett, and we dump Wally and somebody else on Philly. Imagine how good the Celtics would be with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. It’s probably not going to happen, but we can hope.

Celtics win Saturday was an aberration. I went to the game Friday against the Suns, and they flat out suck (until the get Garnett).

New NBA Composite Ball is back on the shelves in favor of the classic leather. Steve Nash and Jason Kidd complained the new ball was cutting their hands. Thanks for cutting 100 jobs at Spalding once their stock tanks. Good job guys.

Nash was filthy against the Celtics yet again Friday, and his hands were good enough for a V.

Dave

I'll Put My Foot In My Mouth Now

Good win for the Celtics no matter how you slice it. But, I'm afraid they are still bad. In fact, I'm gonna take credit for this one. Reverse jinx. Works every time.

-mc

C'mon now...

I hate to beat a dead horse (is that even the saying?), but the epitamy of dead, the Boston Celtics, just scored their first points, with 4:01 left in the first quarter. That's 7:59 without any points. At all. 18-2 New Jersey to start. It's never good when a color guy says this about Brian Scalabrine entering a game, "Hopefully he can come out and make a difference here for the Celtics." Back to the Bruins. 22-2 now. Feh.

-MC

"Larry Bird is not walking through that door." -- But It'd Sure Help

Warning: Rant coming. Well kids, it's 12:51 a.m. And this guy just got back to his room. And no, the ski preview is not done yet. Stan Moulton, nose hair flaring neglected me the whole night turning my night into the morning. Leaving at 12:08, a new record. Enough bitching. I'm here to rant. First of all, Happy 50th Larry Bird. Larry obviously personifies Celtic domination in the later half of the 20th century. It was Bill Russell's team during the C's first major title run, and Larry's in the second major run. The guy is a bonafide legend. He is a reminder, albeit a fading reminder of what the C's once were. And if you know anything about the NBA, they haven't been there in awhile. I'm gonna be straight up here when I say, the Celtics absolutely suck. I don't care about the positive, encouraging, maturing before our eyes moments, they suck. The quicker everyone comes to terms with this, the easier it will be to watch what once was the greatest franchise in NBA history look up from the bottom of the standings at the likes of the Atlanta Hawks, the Toronto Raptors, and the UCLA Bruins. They are bad. They're looking up at everyone. Because they're one of the worst teams in the league. Two teams are worse. The Charlotte Bobcats and the Memphis Grizzlies. It's embarrassing. This has got to be the bottom point in the franchise history. Yes, they sucked in the mid to late-90s too. But, for starters, the glory days were still a recent memory which made it easier to swallow. And, Doc Rivers didn't coach the C's.

Doc Rivers is a bad coach. He doesn't have a rotation. Obviously, he can't develop young players. If he could do that, you might see an ounce of improvement so far, because this is the youngest team in the league. That also doesn't help. I'm not going to get excited about Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rando, the oft-injured Al Jefferson, and especially Sebastian Telfair any time soon. That's not Doc's fault. But come on man, coach some of them up, get a solid rotation, and maybe we'll win 7 of our next 17, instead of 5 like they have so far. There also the toughest team to watch in the NBA (which is really saying a lot. It's the NBA, people). If you haven't seen them, congratulations. Unbearable, and unhealthy. Flashes of brilliance occasionally, but more often than not, flashes of poop. Work with me, it's late.

All I'm doing is rambling. I'm making no sense. I'm sorry. It's terrible writing, and I could care less. But where do the Celtics go from here?
1. Fire Doc Rivers...They need to go a different direction. And hell, Doc is a great TV guy.
2. Make Ainge the interim coach...The guy has some plan, I'll give him 55-60 games to work his magic, I'm not above that. And, I don't have any other better ideas.
3. Draft someone who actually played in college. This one will happen, thank you very much David Stern. But seriously, would they not be better in 07-08 with someone like Joakim Noah, Brendan Wright, or hell if they get lucky for once, Greg Oden? Don't think too hard, they would be better. I like Noah the most of those three, most college experience. Proven college winners make good NBA players. Simple.
4. Ask Paul Pierce what he wants...If he wants to be traded, do him the favor and trade him. The guy has been a saint through everything. If you trade him, it's not abandoning ship. You can't abandon a ship you don't have. And if he stays, you have one of the best players in the NBA. Happy time.
5. Make Bill Simmons the GM. Kind of joking, because it wouldn't happen. But it should.

I'm done for the night, I think. I really want them to get better, I really do. I want my own Celtics dynasty to root for and enjoy them prosper. I can't stand being in the same sentence as a team from Memphis. Or anything from Canada. Here's hoping things change. And if not, the Bruins won again tonight.

Night kids. One quick note, if you guys are actually reading us, drop us a line to let us know. Let us know what you wanna read. We'll probably totally disregard your opinion, but hey give it a shot. Can't hurt, can it?

-MC

Bye Bye Birdie

So much for that “live life for the important” stuff I preached yesterday. Today I am crying. Its official, Tom O’Brien is out, headed off to ACC rival NC State. As fans rejoice here on the Heights, I will NOT be included among them. Tom O’Brien was one of the best coaches BC has ever seen. 6 seasons of at least 8 wins. The nation’s longest bowl winning streak at 6. A chance for a 10 win season this year.
But he never really got the respect he deserved. In 04 a late season loss kept them out of the Orange Bowl, last year UNC, and this year a loss at Wake Forest. People said he couldn’t win the big one, but what about all the games he did win? This year they were 6-2 against bowl bound teams, and beat two conference champions and two 10 win teams. I can’t say enough about how much he has meant to this program, especially one that doesn’t reload with talent every year, doesn’t red shirt often, and graduates 96% of its players. Just a class guy, will truly be missed.
It thought BC was his last stop. I discussed this with my dad during the Thanksgiving break. We agreed that TOB would likely stay here and likely retire in a few years. Maybe that was naïve, or too hopeful, because we agreed that Tom was a godsend to this program.
Who knows what direction the program takes from here. If they make a move internally, offensive coordinator Dana Bible is the likely replacement. Next year was supposed to be their year, with Matt Ryan and many of the players returning, but I don’t see this team making it that far with a coach who couldn’t put together any semblance of an offensive line against Miami. The one gamer on the O-line, Josh Beekman, is graduating and off to the NFL, so who knows what kind of pressure Ryan will deal with in 07.
Best of luck in the future TOB, we wish you had stayed. The only problem I have is that he is going to a program which is been maligned by mediocrity as much as BC, even when they had golden arm Phillip Rivers.
The figures of the deal haven’t been reported yet, and its probably all about the money. Ehh, if it makes him happy, as Jimmy V would say.

Dave

Jimmy V

I wanted to write about how great of a win by BC basketball capturing the Governor’s cup for the 7th year in a row.
I wanted to talk about how bad the Celtics are, as I watched them get waxed off the floor by the Bulls.
I wanted to rip on the Eagles for going to the Meineke Car Care Bowl to play Navy, whose best win came against UMass.
I wanted to voice my despair in knowing JD Drew and Julio Lugo are going to be wearing sox jerseys next spring, and one of the 10 best right handed hitters of all-time will not.
I wanted whine. Tell you how upset I was at the Conte rink manager for postponing the BC-BU hockey game 10 minutes into the 1st period because of fog on the ice.
My mind was filled with BCS mishaps, Patriots turnovers, and the emergence of the next Tom Brady, The Mr. Tony Romo Simpson.
But sometimes you realize what it is all about. Tonight, as I was flipping through the channels and caught the end of the Cuse-OK State game, part of the Jimmy V Classic. As always, ESPN ran his famous speech from the 1993 Espy Awards. I had probably seen this speech a dozen times, but never really thought about it. Today I am angry about the moves the soxs are making, BC football is going bowling in the gutter, The Celtics probably can’t beat Maryland (girls), BC basketball didn’t beat Vermont… I could go on. But then you realize what is really about, courtesy of Jimmy Valvano, and those other things tend to melt away. We laugh, we think, we cry. We look at where we started, where we are, and where we are going to be.
If you want to listen to the entire speech (minus video), check it out here or here.
If you think about it though, sports are what keep us here, and they provide those things. They can make you laugh, (Brady juking Brian Urlacher last week) they make us think, (Florida or Michigan), and they can make us cry (BC sports).
Sorry for the column, I will be back to Notre Dame bashing later this week, and tell you why you can’t miss this years Meineke Car Care Bowl, unless you don’t feel like wasting your money to watch mediocrity.

Be well folks,

Dave

The Weekend That Was

Imagine there's a picture up there. Use your imagination, whatever. Blogger sucks.
Anyways, just some thoughts for the weekend today.

-UMass can beat a team like Boston College. Just not if they played like they did Saturday night.

-Is the NFL really competitive or just really average? Take yesterday for example. The Colts lose to the Titans. The Patriots escape, and that's being nice, a turnover fest with the Lions. The Bears clinched the NFC North, without a real quarterback really. The Chiefs, who are pushing for a playoff berth and are supposed to be I dunno, halfway decent, absolutely give one away to the Browns. Somehow, the two strongest-looking teams at this point right now, are the Cowboys and Chargers. Go figure.

-Did Michigan get screwed by the BCS? Probably. Does Florida deserve to play for the National Title as well? Absolutely. Hello tournament.

-The Boston Globe is reporting that the Red Sox should announce the signing of JD Drew at some point this week. The guy's always hurt, his numbers are just "decent", and he's still a prick for refusing to go to the Phillies when he was drafted. I'm gonna sum this one up as "Feh." $16 mil a year is a lot for JD Drew.

-As someone who isn't necessarily a huge Boston College fan, I absolutely love how they get stuck playing in the prestigious Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 30 in lovely Charlotte, N.C. Their opponent? Navy. The same Navy team that squeaked by UMass by a point earlier in the year. Enjoy Charlotte, boys.

-BCS Picks:
Rose Bowl: Michigan over USC-probably best game of bowl season besides National Championship
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma over Boise State- These are the best games we can get? Cmon.
Orange Bowl: Louisville over Wake- Worst BCS bowl
Sugar Bowl: LSU over Notre Dame- Notre Dame isn't a BCS team in my eyes.
BCS Title Bowl: Ohio State over Florida- Buckeyes go wire-to-wire.

Time to do some actual work, more from me later this week.
-MC

Fly Like an Eagle

First of all, I would like to say I’m sorry. A part of me still always feels as though I should have gone to the Zoo. I wore the UMass sweatshirt that I stole out of my dad’s closet from the time I was 14 until senior year, when I started applying for colleges, when some amazing options opened up for me, and I decided upon Chestnut Hill. I never felt the need to justify BC until today.
I remember where I was when UMass played Kentucky, lying on the couch, wearing the Final Four shirt I had just purchased at the airport. I remember being ecstatic opening up a pack of Topps and got a Lou Roe Detroit Pistons rookie card. I remember last year going to the Jack Leaman Court dedication.
But now I am an Eagle, and bleed maroon and gold. I worship Flutie, and Troy Bell. Tonight I will be wearing the Superfan shirt, and cheering on BC from Newton. My parents will be at the game, hopefully donning BC gear, and many of my high school friends will be there, wearing maroon and white and cheering on the Minutemen.
If the Eagles loose, I will hear about it for quite some time, but I don’t think I will. It will be a good game, tight throughtout, but if Jared Dudley comes to play, which he usually does, and Sean Williams is in the right state of mind, the Eagles will be tough to beat, even away. Eagles win, 70-60.

A random note:
The 7th ranked men’s hockey team has a home and home with BU this weekend. Huge deal right? Alums come back for these games from all over. Last night the game was in Chestnut Hill, but the warm temperatures and the lack of adequate air conditioning caused Conte Forum to be about 65 degrees inside, and as steam rose up off the ice all through the first 10 minutes, the refs called the game due to fog.. Simply and utterly ridiculous, the Agganis crowd will kill them tonight down at BU, tough game to win for the Eagles.

Big day folks, I will update you later, and look for a Commonwealth Classic game story Monday in The Heights.

Dave

We're Gonna Party Like It's 1996

A young, seemingly arrogant coach. A big man that can play with anyone in the country. A backcourt that is strong and formidable, but no one really seems to notice. And a swing man who when he wants to can take over any game. Okay, so maybe it's not John Calipari, Marcus Camby, Edgar Padilla, Carmelo Travieso, and Dana Dingle. And there probably won't be any Final Four banners going up soon. But just up the road in Amherst, the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team is poised to make some noise this year, and Saturday night could be a stepping stone for their first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade. The Minutemen take on the Boston College Eagles in the Commonwealth Classic at the Mullins Center. UMass officials are projecting the clash between the top two college basketball programs in the Bay State to be the first sell-out of Mullins since 2001. Hopefully for the Minutemen Saturday goes a little better than that 2001 sell out, a 30 point loss to the rival Temple Owls. If UMass can just make a game out of Saturday night's clash, it has to be seen as a success. Of course, the goal is to win the game (that's why you play it, right Herm Edwards), but UMass can prove to a lot of people that they are on their way back. With a 6-1 record, the national media is slowly taking notice. The Minutemen received two votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll, as someone voted them 24th in the nation. If UMass wins Saturday night, against a BC team fresh off beating a solid Michigan State team, the program will be on its way. Travis Ford's squad has a chance to do something that hasn't been done in a while within the realm of UMass basketball-make basketball matter again Amherst and give Western Mass a reason to care about the state university's roundball program once again. And maybe, just maybe, someday, UMass will once again be "refusing to lose" and be at the top, or at least near the top of college basketball. I'm doneski. See ya kids at Mullins Saturday night.

NOTE: Expect something good next week regarding this game, with Dave going to BC and all, and then him having to deal with the potential fact that his Eagles lost to UMass. Should make for some good writing. UMass 74-BC 68...for what it's worth.