First test

UMass passed its early season warmup – now it’s time for the test.

The Maroon and White take on Southern Illinois in Carbondale tonight … on the line is a chance to play Duke in Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils slaughtered Georgia Southern 97-54 to advance to the semifinals.

The Minutemen had little trouble with Arkansas-Monticello last night – even though their Division II post players made Coach Kellogg “nervous.”

“It was great to get our first ‘W’ on the season,” Kellogg said. “We were a little concerned and nervous because all reports coming in were they were a good post team.”

Being nervous about UAM’s big men play makes me nervous, coach.

Southern Illinois squeaked out a win over Division II opponent California (Pa.) and only put up 66 points in the game. However, if Kellogg was nervous about UAM’s big men, SIU’s Carlton Fay must have given him nightmares.

Fay dropped 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against California.

Across the board, SIU is favored, but some people aren’t ready to count out UMass just yet.

…the 16-team 2K Classic for the benefit of Coaches vs. Cancer is already underway and the favorites to get to the Nov. 20 semi-finals at the Garden is Duke, UCLA, Michigan and Southern Illinois, which all host regionals.

But we wouldn’t count UMass out of the mix.

First year coach Derek Kellogg’s Minutemen, which beat up on Division II Arkansas-Monticello, 90-71, tonight in the Carbondale regional, has a terrific, experienced backcourt in Chris Lowe from Mt. Vernon and Ricky Harris and should give Southern Illinois all it wants tomorrow.

Here comes the first big game of the season – on hostile grounds. Go get ‘em boys.

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Dan Duggan, a former Collegian editor, wrote an article on Anthony Gurley for the Boston Herald.

UMass had recruited Gurley, and he considered taking his game to Amherst after high school. A year later, with Travis Ford leading the Minutemen back to the top tier of the Atlantic 10, Gurley had a second chance. The easy decision was welcomed after such a turbulent year.

“That point and time in my life was so hectic,” Gurley said. “I was already thinking about transferring, then I decided to come back to school, and then my coach passes away.

“I just wanted to get back closer to home and get out of there. I just really wasn’t happy in that situation. Once I finally made my decision, it felt like there was a lot of weight lifted.”

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The UMass field hockey team will take on Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Shipped to the Pats?

Marcel Shipp, a former standout running back for the UMass football team, was mentioned among possible free agents the New England Patriots could use to fill their need for a backup running back.

The Boston Herald had the article.

But if Morris’ knee injury turns out to be significant, it’s hard to know which direction Belichick will head. Unsigned free agents include Mike Anderson, Kevan Barlow, Mike Bell, Tatum Bell, Derrick Blaylock, Zack Crockett, Ron Dayne, Vernand Morency and UMass product Marcel Shipp.

Shipp last saw action for the Arizona Cardinals during the 2007 season when he rushed for more than 40 yards and one touchdown. There’s a good amount of talent on that list, and you have to think the Pats picking up Shipp is a long shot.

Here’s hoping for small miracles. Maybe the Pats will take a chance on a local boy.

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Andrew Merritt, a former Collegian editor, had an article on Merrimack and got some quotes from Toot.

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Looks like UMass lost the Jordan Williams recruiting race to Maryland.

Maryland won out over such schools as St. John’s, Providence and Marquette of the Big East, Indiana of the Big 10 and UMass and Xavier of the Atlantic 10.

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The Collegian had an article on Donnie Moorhouse, the announcer for the UMass hockey team.

The rivalry goes on

The Northeastern/UMass rivalry continues this weekend, and the Daily Collegian has an article on the

Northeastern head coach Rocky Hager (Courtesy/CAAsports.com)

hostory between the two teams.

The paper leaves out some stuff in regards to Coach Brown’s sudden departure from Northeastern, but it still got some good quotes from Liam Coen. Hopefully Liam has a better game this weekend in Boston – the Delaware performance wasn’t at all what we’re used to.

“Obviously there is some history there and we just got to keep our emotions in check and just go out and play another game,” senior quarterback Liam Coen said.

Coen also added that the bitterness between the teams has died down in the past few years, and that to him it’s just another game.

“It’s another business trip, and we’ve got to go out and try to take care of business and play a good football team,” Coen said.

I’m glad the paper left out some of the controversial stuff between Brown and Northeastern – most of us already know about it and have seen the drama run its course. Since leaving the Huskies behind, Brown has gone 4-0 against them.

Even Northeastern’s student paper – which has all the right to slam Brown – touches it a little, but pretty much lets the past stay where it is. However, it does call the rivalry “The Don Brown Bowl.”

UMass spoke with Brown about its head coaching vacancy, and Brown breached his contract and left to take the head coaching job in Amherst (but we won’t get into that mess). An entire roster of student athletes found their fate hanging in the balance, not knowing who they’d be playing for.

… and then:

The annual game between Northeastern and UMass became known as the ‘Don Brown Bowl.’ So far, UMass has been on the winning end of the first four contests. Many students that knew of the rivalry have graduated. The underclassmen who attend Saturday’s game (Parsons Field, noon) will see it as a cross-state conference match-up and nothing more. But it is so much more.

The column goes on the mention how this is the last game the seniors that Brown recruited at Northeastern will have against their former coach.

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Andrew Merritt, a former Collegian editor, has his breakdown of Hockey East.

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The field hockey team is still ranked in the Top 25.

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From the Philadelphia Daily News about tonights Celtics game:

Comcast-Spectacor president Peter Luukko, a UMass alumnus and a member of the board for the school’s sports management program, will be in the Mullins Center tonight. He donated tickets for 100 students and has invited the other members of the board as guests.

No hockey love

The UMass hockey team isn’t getting much respect in the first Hockey East poll.

The Minutemen are selected to finish No. 6 – just above its little brother (UMass-Lowell) from the East.

1.	Boston College (6)	86
2.	Boston University (3)	80
3.	New Hampshire	78
4.	Northeastern	62
5.	Vermont	58
6.	Massachusetts	48
7.	UMass Lowell	46
8.	Providence	34
9.	Maine	28
10.	Merrimack	20

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George Karl spoke out about the Marcus Camby trade that happened earlier this year.

“What transpired doesn’t make basketball sense and never will,” Karl said of the Camby trade. “But the world of basketball has grown into being bigger than just basketball. A young coach, if he can’t accept there’s going to be financial decisions in the world of basketball, he’s crazy.”

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The Daily Collegian is touting the field hockey team as the best fall squad.

‘No doubt’

The Daily Collegian strikes again, and I love it.

The student paper had a staff editorial telling students to get off their asses and actually support their alma mater.

…it seems like the entire student body couldn’t care less about UMass sporting events.

Where’s the school pride? We see thousands of freshmen every day decked out in their UMass gear that they bought at the U-Store, but gosh forbid they actually take their hooded UMass sweaters to an actual sporting event.

You know all that money you’re spending on tuition? Part of that goes to the athletic department. Your hard-earned money is in-part paying for many of our student-athletes to come to UMass for free. OK, maybe you should resent the athletes then.

While I worked for the paper me and my colleague Mike Marzelli both wrote pieces telling the fans to get out there and support the basketball team. Was that objective, down-the-middle journalism? No. Was it something we stapled to our respective resumes. Hell no. If we could go back in time, would we write them again?

Yes – “no doubt.”

Perhaps it’s cheesy, but here’s what a 21-year-old version of myself thought.

On Dec. 9, the Minutemen reaped the benefits of this passion. UMass played UConn in front of a rowdy 9,037 people at the Mullins Center and fed of their energy to pull off one of the largest upsets in college basketball this season.

The center of the court was flooded, and for the first time in years, it looked like UMass was truly a basketball school.

Yet, only a few weeks later, the Mullins Center was silent. The hangover from the UConn win slowly started to subside, and winter session took a large bite out of the student section. The crowds began to mirror those of the past few years, when this team was trying to rebuild.

After I wrote this, I got a little bit of grief from my peers. I was told that I was being a “homer,” that I was showing my biases, and that I should essentially be embarrassed of myself for being so subjective.

I didn’t care then, and I don’t care now.

College is a time to experiment – in more ways than one – and figure yourself out a bit. It’s a time to make mistakes, learn from them and move on. While I wrote for my college paper, I was a fan of my college’s teams. I tried to be objective, but I wanted to have some fun.

These days I’m an editor, and I edit stories for AP style, objectiveness and libel. I lecture freelancers and make sure the paper gets out without a hitch. Directly to my left is a UMass hockey puck, and as I swivel in my chair ever so slightly, I see pictures of McGuirk Alumni Stadium, friends from UMass, and me and Marzelli on George Washington’s center court.

I am one of a few diehards for UMass athletics, and I’m totally fine with that. The funny thing is, I wouldn’t have loved it so much if I never worked for the Collegian. I was allowed to see the inside: the athletes, the facilities, the coaches, etc. – and I liked what I saw.

On Dec. 9 2004, I was an active student journalist covering UMass’ upset of UConn. For the entire game, I sat next to Mike, and sweat and shook for my school. When the clock hit 00:00, I became a student, and, with my pen behind my ear, I charged the court and gave Jeff Viggiano the most subjective hug of my life.

After I left the court, I became a journalist again.

But I sat in the press conference with a fan’s smile.

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The Associated Press had the breakdown of Travis Ford’s contract with Oklahoma State.

Rich bastard.

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CAUTION: The following is a message board rumor, proceed with extreme care.

On the UAB message board, someone mentioned a new conference involving:

Memphis, Houston, UAB, Creighton, Xavier, Southern Illinois, UMass, VCU, George Mason, And Temple.

Obviously this is kind of crazy, but I figured I might as well mention it. AGAIN THIS IS A MESSAGE BOARD RUMOR…

… don’t hate me.

Lasme cut

Stephane Lasme was waived by the Miami Heat.

This is unfortunate and took me a bit by surprise. I thought Lasme had a guaranteed contract with Miami, and would at least be on the roster for the rest of this upcoming season.

I’m interested to see where the big man goes next.

Lasme has the ability to be a useful defender in the NBA, but his lack of offense has probably made him an expendable commodity. I hope another team will give him a chance, but with the recent inclusion of 2008 draftees, Lasme might see his next action overseas.

Best of luck to you Steph.

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The Portland Seadogs had a brief on Mike Kostka, a former UMass hockey player.

“Kostka served as a team captain for his college team, and was amongst the team leaders in plus/minus rating and scoring. He has good ability on the power play, having led all NCAA defensemen in that category in his career.”

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ESPN had an open chat with Bill Curry, the coach for Georgia State – a future member of the CAA.

He discussed the quality of the conference but failed to mention UMass.

It is excellent. Five schools were in the final 16 last year, Delaware is always good, and JMU recently won it all. Maine and New Hampshire are tough and Hofstra is making progress. Virtually all the schools have been playing well recently, Richmond being another example I forgot to mention.

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The Daily Collegian had several articles on the UMass/Holy Cross football game.

HC series renewed

Whew, very busy few days for me – I know I’ve missed a lot, but I’m ready to get rolling again.

First off, it looks like UMass and Holy Cross will begin playing each other in hoops again, starting on Dec. 10.

From CSTV:

“This is a great in-state rivalry,” said new UMass head coach Derek Kellogg. “To play a team of the caliber of Holy Cross as the final addition to our schedule this season is a great challenge. They are a perennial NCAA Tournament team out of the Patriot League.

The most poignant memory I have from playing Holy Cross was during my freshman year in 2001-’02, when the Crusaders gave the Minutemen their first loss of the season – right after the Maroon and White went to Springfield and beat a talented Oregon team. That, to me, was the great downfall of that season.

I’m pumped to play the Crusaders again. Their fans are great, and they always put a talented team on the floor.

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Melynda Zwick, a former UMass women’s lacrosse player, was named an assistant coach for the UConn women’s lacrosse team.

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The Daily Collegian has a roster breakdown for the football team.

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Dr. John Giannini, the men’s basketball coach for LaSalle, had some kinds words about the UMass basketball team.

From CBS:

I think Temple, UMass and GW is about as tough as it gets. Temple is going to be picked very high. UMass has a proven, outstanding veteran backcourt and had some talented guys sitting out last year. GW has numerous key players left from their ‘07 Championship team; they just had some backcourt injuries last year, but could be the surprise of the A-10 this season.

Coaching house swap

All across the country, college kids are moving into their new digs.

Moving trucks clog small university-town road, and mom and dad and doing their best to ensure that Joe and Sally College are comfortable before the first days of the upcoming semester.

The same moving cycle is happening with the Kellogg family – perhaps sans parents. The Kelloggs are packing up and moving into Travis Ford’s old house, according to the Springfield Republican.

Kellogg and his wife, Nicole P. Flory-Kellogg, recently purchased Ford’s house at 27 Owen Drive for $755,000, according to the Registry of Deeds.

The house is right by the North Amherst Cometary (spooky) and is directly off East Pleasant St.

Hopefully some of Ford’s karma is still on the property.

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Looks like Stephane Lasme has secured himself a roster spot on the Miami Heat.

Once Wright signs, it will leave the Heat with 13 players under guaranteed contract for next season: Centers Mark Blount and Joel Anthony, forwards Wright, Jones, Diawara, Marion, Udonis Haslem, Stephane Lasme and Michael Beasley, and guards Dwyane Wade, Daequan Cook, Marcus Banks and Mario Chalmers.

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The UMass baseball team lost a recruit to Northeastern.

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More good UMass Football stuff coming out of THE UMass Football Blog.

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Jeff Howe, a former editor with the UMass Daily Collegian, had an excellent (and pretty funny) column about the Olympics.

Shine a light on me

Let there be light … and new stands.

UMassAthletics.com gave an update about the new lights for McGuirk, and the new stands and press box for Garber Field. The school anticipates that construction will be finished by August 1.

The permanent lights will shine down for the first time on August 30 when the Maroon and White take on Albany. I remember seeing UMass beat down Albany under the temporary lights as an undergrad, and it was a fantastic experience.

Perhaps ol’ Albany has a decent longsnapper this year.

As far as Garber, I can’t speak for the stands, but the press box was long overdue. During my senior year, myself and Jeff Howe were charged with covering the men’s lacrosse team. Even though we were the local reporters, we were given second-fiddle treatment whenever the “important” reporters from Syracuse came to town.

It was one of the many times Jeff and I griped about UMass’ media relations folks. We covered the team every … single … day, yet we had to stand in the back of the rickety red box when out-of-towners came by.

Hopefully the new press box has more room.

Hopefully there are seats available for student journalists that spend their free time writing articles for zero pay … simply for the love of the profession.

Digressing kicks ass.

NOTE: In fairness to the current UMass media relations folks, they did take the time to put some construction photos up.

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Frank Smith’s UMass Football Blog was referenced on In the Bleachers as a go-to blog.

I couldn’t agree more.

From In the Bleachers:

One of my favorites is Frank Smith’s UMass Football Blog. Frank is about as immersed in the football program at the University of Massachusetts as a fan can get, and provides daily updates on the happenings of FCS teams from around the country. He’s extremely knowledgeable when it comes to teams from the Colonial Athletic Conference, and has keen eye for what it takes for FCS teams to upset FBS teams.

Keep up the good work Frank.

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Aforementioned Jeff Howe, a former Collegian editor and a good friend of mine, had the opportunity to cover the NBA Finals for the Boston Metro newspaper.

Check out his article and his solid blog on the Metro’s Web site.

I know I said this before, but how awesome is that mug shot of Jeff?

Hitless in Chestnut Hill

Brandice Balschmiter is unhittable – literally.

The senior pitcher for the UMass softball team hurled her FOURTH no-hitter yesterday against Boston College, which, by the way, is extra awesome. The Minutewomen are still cruising toward the NCAA Tournament, and Balschmiter is having one of the – if not THE – best season of any UMass pitcher, ever.

The Republican had small mention:

The junior struck out eight and walked none. The only Eagle batter to reach base was Carley McNar, who was hit by a pitch in the top of the seventh. Balschmiter has not allowed a run in her last 65 innings and has not surrendered an earned run in her last 84 2/3 innings.

Almost 85 scoreless innings … that is absolutely unreal. If the old cliché stands that “you are only as good as your starting pitcher,” then UMass is in fantastic shape so long as Brandice is on the mound.

Not that her counterpart, Bailey Sanders, is any slouch. Bailey has a 10-5 record with a tiny 1.94 ERA. Then again, that number looks pretty fat when compared to Brandice’s 0.54 ERA … wow.

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The Collegian has an article in regards to the ECAC adding a conference tournament for men’s lacrosse.

“We talk about that every year, but there’s been a resistance from a few schools year after year,” Cannella said. “When you’re in the upper-echelon of the conference every year, you don’t want a conference tournament. But if you finish third or fourth every year, you want one.”

Despite the disagreement among some other members, Cannella believes the league and his program would benefit from a conference tournament.

“I’ve always wanted a tournament,” Cannella said. “It’s exciting for your kids. That’s your shot [to make the NCAA Tournament].”

I personally think a tournament would be great because it would give teams like UMass and Rutgers another shot at Georgetown and Syracuse. I think it also further legitimizes the ECAC’s already impressive standing in the world of lacrosse.

Later in the article, I had my question about the ECAC’s automatic qualifier answered:

As a product of losing a team in conference, UMass will also lose a game off of its schedule next season. Cannella said that the decision about whether to add another team to next year’s schedule will be made early in the offseason. Though, the ECAC will not lose its automatic bid next season as long as it does not lose any more teams before next season.

But there’s also been talk that the seven Big East schools that maintain Division I lacrosse programs will form their own conference. The institutions include Syracuse, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Rutgers, Providence, Villanova and St. John’s.