Not a whole lot going on today, so I’ll just go with what I’ve seen thus far.
The women’s basketball team released its official schedule, and I’m happy to see that the team still has one game at the Cage — even though it’s an exhibition game.
When I was covering the Minutewomen during the 2003/’04 season, they had a “Rage in the Cage” game against the University of Vermont, and the scene was awesome. My beat partner — Todd Foster — and I were used to seeing sparse crowds at the Mullins Center where the only noise came from the coaches and the whistle of the referee.
At the Cage, everything was different. Kids from Southwest came and brought their friends. The place had a certain ambiance, and it made me wish I could have seen it back before the Mullins Center. I hope the Minutewomen (and Minutemen) continue to use this facility every once in awhile. It gives everyone an entertaining taste of the past.
Aside from my nostalgic yammerings — I think this can be a very big season for the Maroon and White. I have been openly critical of Coach Marnie Dacko in the past, but I think she has finally put a team on the court that can make noise on the New England and national scene.
UMass brings back four of its top-five scorers, and its senior class — Rosanio, Tatham, Mills and McDonald — is easily the best I’ve seen since I started following the team.
Looks like a decent schedule. Hopefully the Minutewomen can capitalize on all the positive momentum from last year.
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I was looking for some hockey stuff today and found the Hockey East blog. The writer put out a list of players from HE that are in NHL camps this year:
Check it out. I didn’t realize how many UMass players were out there making a name for themselves.
I know this is the first hockey oriented thing I’ve had on here, and that’s not really on purpose. I honestly don’t follow hockey all that much. That’s not because I don’t like it, I think it has more to do with the fact that I don’t fully understand it (I lived in Florida from 2nd grade ‘till high school graduation).
My good friend and former colleague Jeff Howe typically keeps me up to date with the comings and goings of the UMass hockey team. If it’s not him, then it’s Rocks22 — a poster on the UMassHoops.com message board.
I’ll do what I can to stay on top of it once the season starts. I just don’t really know the difference between offsides and icing.
I’m not totally serious about that but pretty close.
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Lastly, here’s to beating Towson this weekend.
Posted by bmcgovern 