UMass heads to Fenway

The UMass baseball team is heading to Fenway Park to take on the Boston College Eagles on April 15.

From UMassAthletics.com:

Every batter in the UMass lineup recorded a hit, as the Minutemen outhit the Crimson, 12-4. UMass advances to face Boston College in the Beanpot final to be played at Fenway Park on Tuesday, April 15 at 3 p.m.

B.C., UMass team up

Boston College and UMass are helping raise awareness of brain cancer.

From CSTV:

The Eagles decorated their lockerroom for Judith (Theriault) and gave her her own locker, a BC jersey, sweatpants and lacrosse stick. She was joined by her parents Kathleen and Denis and twin brother Larry. Larry is also battling a brain tumor and has been adopted by the BC baseball team.

Boston College’s matchup with UMass on March 22 at 4 p.m. will mark a celebration for Judith and Lexie. Minutewomen head coach Alexis Venechanos has been instrumental in helping raise brain cancer awareness through the FOJ Foundation, which began during her time as an assistant coach at Northwestern. There will also be a donation box at the entrance of the stadium to make contributions to the foundation.

For more information about the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, please visit www.friendsofjaclyn.org.

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Temple fell to Michigan State 72-61, and Xavier came back to defeat Georgia 73-61 in the NCAA Tournament.

Notorious RAM

Does anyone outside of Kingston really like the Rhode Island Rams?

I mean, I’m sure people do, but I don’t — and yes I’m biased. URI has been a thorn in UMass’ side for as long as I’ve followed the team, and there is no indication that it’s going to change this season.

URI runs like UMass, scores like UMass, and the two teams even share a similar recent loss — both lost to Saint Louis and its slow-it-down basketball. The Rams are a bit more seasoned than the Minutemen, but that will not change what the Providence Journal is calling a potential “track meet.”

This one is incredibly important for the Maroon and White. If it wins, it gets to turn around (with some momentum) and face most of the A-10’s basement before the end of the season. No more Xaviers, no more Daytons, but, unfortunately, one more Saint Louis and URI.

The UMass Daily Collegian had its preview for the game:

“We definitely need everyone to play well, it’s all about wins right now,” Forbes said. “We want to go 9-0 and finish out the season strong.”

The Providence Journal also weighed in:

The teams mirror each other in many ways. UMass is seventh in the country in scoring at 83.2. URI is 13th nationally, at 82.2. Each has played seven conference games and the teams are one-two in scoring in the A-10. UMass has scored 555 points, URI 554.

…and then:

A key for URI will be health, most notably Will Daniels’ ankle and coach Jim Baron’s battle with flu-like symptoms. Daniels, URI’s leading scorer, sprained an ankle when he landed on a Dayton player’s foot with 7:50 left in the win over the Flyers last Saturday. Daniels has missed some practice time but has been able to work a bit, too.

An unhealthy Will Daniels could drastically help the Minutemen, but the Rams are not totally a one-man show. Jimmy Baron is capable of carrying the scoring load, and Parfait Bitee has a lot of experience and is a guard UMass has to keep its eye on (NOTE: Doesn’t it seem like Bitee has been on this team for a decade?, NOTE 2: Doesn’t it seem like Parfait Bitee should be the name of the next McDonald’s dessert?).

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Bracketography had a couple of A-10 teams on the bubble:

St Joseph’s Hawks. An impressive game in the Big Five matchup with Villanova, but as of this writing, the Hawks are laying an egg (if you’ll forgive the pun) at Duquesne tonight. A much bigger game will take place in Cincinnati on Sunday, however…

Duquesne. By popular demand, we take a look at the Dukes! Fresh off a major win over Saint Joseph’s Wednesday night, DU still has games at Dayton, Xavier, and Charlotte to prove itself to the Selection Committee. But there’s nothing to speak of on Duquesne’s non-conference profile beyond close losses to Drake and Pittsburgh, so I’d advise the Dukes to win the A-10 Tournament if they want to be Dancing.

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The UMass football team scored another running back, according to NewsAdvance.com — and he’ll be wearing No. 5, a historic number for UMass backs:

“I’ve had all of my best games in that jersey,” said Davis, who expects to have many more with the Minutemen after succeeding Tony Nelson, a rising junior with a good shot of being drafted into the NFL as well. “They love to run the ball up there. They’ve definitely got a great history of running backs coming out of there and hopefully, I can be the next great one.”

According to The Eagle-Tribune, UMass also scored an new receiver — Warren Wilson:

The wide receiver from Lawrence saw action in three games for the (BOSTON COLLEGE) Eagles, including the Champs Sports Bowl, but didn’t record any statistics. Wilson, who was recruited to BC by former coach Tom O’Brien, is a 6-1, 180-pound receiver. Injury problems slowed him down and he found himself behind some talented young receivers.

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As always, keep up with THE UMass Football Blog for all recruiting odds and ends — Frank does a good job over there.

Finally…

I don’t know why last night meant so much to me. I guess it’s just an accumulation of sorts.

Prior to attending UMass I never really thought about Boston College. At the time, it was just another Big East school that was sure to lose to Miami in football and Syracuse in basketball. Northeast schools didn’t exactly make the news in Vero Beach, Fl. – my hometown. Miami, Florida State and Florida ruled the airwaves.

When I got to UMass, I still didn’t really know the deal. I had visited B.C. during my New England college trip, but I didn’t like the vibe, so I didn’t apply. UMass kids weren’t really passionate about their teams, so it was hard to figure out who our rivals were.

Then I started working for the Collegian.

In journalism objectivity is the separator, the king, the heralded doctrine that separates the hacks from the must-reads. So, in the basement of the Campus Center, a collection of journalists in their late teens and early twenties put up that façade — it was thin, and it was certainly a façade.

One of my colleagues came in with a Boston College Superfan shirt, and my editor at the time told him to “never come back down here with that damn thing on.” I, of course, had no clue what this ugly shirt even meant. It was explained soon after when I heard my very first “B.C. SUCKS!” from another writer.

Objective? No. Life-changing? Well … B.C. Sucks!

There were only two things I wanted from UMass athletics before graduation — wins over UConn and Boston College. My senior year we beat UConn, and, as objectively as humanly possible, I ran around the press table and charged the court with my beat partner.

I never got that B.C. win though.

Every year it seemed possible, but it was always the same story. I saw every game either in person or at a bar where I was the only one interested. It was horrible. I would always leave disappointed, frustrated and would mutter “B.C. Sucks” into the stretched out collar of my tattered UMass basketball shirt.

Last year I sat alone for awhile, just outside of Harpo’s — the Boulder bar where I watched the game. I took a long drag from my cigarette, and for the first time in my sports fandom, I actually got misty because of a loss. As Kansas and Nebraska fans jarred each other over pints, a UMass fan sat out back and tried to pull himself together.

There is no way for me to properly describe what last night’s victory meant. It is bigger than Syracuse and much bigger than Alabama and Louisville last year. For the first time since I started following this team, we’re finally the best in Massachusetts … in the Commonwealth to be specific.

This kind of stuff has a mystical affect on the right kind of sports fan. It shows that everything is going to be alright, that karma may actually exist and that, no matter where you are, passion remains the great separator.

So today I’ll sit at my desk out here in the mountains of Colorado and smile. Things finally seem right, and maybe, just maybe this can serve as a long overdue graduation present.

Either way, WE beat Boston College — to hell with objectivity.

Bug spray

There is no way I’m doing this… no way.

I’m not going to jinx the team tonight, and I’m not going to write some long-winded post about how much it would mean to me for UMass to beat Boston College. I can’t do it. I can barely think about it without furiously shaking my head to get all the horrible, positive thoughts out.

It’s happened to me too many times now. I’ve seen the victory the night before, I’ve played the entire game out in my head, and I’ve played he game on NCAA 2K8 to prove to myself that a victory is indeed possible – even if I did win by only 40 points.

But NO! Stop! I think I’ve gone too far already, and I can feel the chestnut-filled jinx bug creeping from under my desk. He’s winking at me with his stupid yellow shirt on. That bastard hasn’t paid me a visit since the Southern Illinois/UMass football game. I could deal that one though – this jinx bug is just making me mad… but mostly scared.

Would reverse psychology work? Could it? Perhaps! Hence I predict the mighty Eagles of Boston College to win handily. They will embarrass that silly state school from the western highlands of Massachusetts. Good for them – a hero’s welcome will ensue!

I’ve said too much, but I will leave you with this column I wrote for the Collegian my senior year. It was the one time I took the jinx bug out back, smacked him around a little, before finally finishing him off with a mighty hadouken.

Yeah, maybe I’m a little crazy sometimes.

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UPDATE: BC Sucks.

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UPDATE 2: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!