URI coaching carousel

Thorr Bjorn has his first test ahead of him — finding a coach for the Rhode Island football team.

The Providence Journal has narrowed it down to four coaches, including Robert Talley, a former UMass coach.

Talley was a three-time All-Yankee Conference linebacker and career tackles leader at Boston University. His coaching career has taken him to UMass (1991-95), Colby College (1996), Dartmouth (1997-2004) and the San Francisco 49ers (2005-06). This was his first year at Stonehill, and he transformed a losing program. The Skyhawks started 4-0 and finished 5-5.

… and then, via Bjorn.

“Football is important to me. I want to win and help build the program into something successful,” he said.

He remains confident that he will have a new coach on board by the end of the month.

Orange crush

So here it is, the first real test of the season: the first big crowd, the first game UMass should lose and the first major conference opponent.

UMass is heading to the Carrier Dome.

There is no silver lining, no stats to crunch — nothing. Syracuse, on paper, is a better team in a bigger arena. For some reason the national lights shine a little bit brighter on northern New York.

The Minutemen have to be ready for balance. Syracuse doesn’t recruit to fill niche positions like Yale or NIU, it reloads with top-tier athletes that can run, shoot and rebound. Thus far, UMass has proved that it can do the first two.

‘Cuse has five players with double-digit scoring and one player — Paul Harris — that is averaging a double-double. He had 18 points and 14 rebounds in a 72-69 victory over Saint Joseph’s… the first A-10 opponent the Maroon and White will face this season (1/9).

Syracuse is and should be the model for the potential of Northeast basketball. Every… single… game it plays is televised, and it continues to pack the Carrier Dome with 20,000-plus per game. Just ask Fordham.

It probably doesn’t help that the Orangemen are coming of their first loss of the season (65-79 to Ohio State, before beating Washington). Syracuse is going to have the old proverbial chip on its shoulder.

Aside from the game at hand, it absolutely amazes me that ‘Cuse only leaves the state of New York ONCE from Nov. 4 to Jan. 9. That’s just another sign of how much respect our New York neighbors receive — you’ve got to come to their house to play their game.

Hopefully UMass can put up a good showing and learn a thing or two out in the freezing sprawl known as Syracuse. This is a game that can educate, so long as the team does not get embarrassed.

These lessons can be brought back to Amherst, and the boys can take it out east on Dec. 12 — the red mark on my schedule.

Of course learning a lesson through victory never hurt anyone… aside from my bar tab.

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The Sports Network has a rundown on the I-AA bracket and obviously gives UMass some play:

Probably no team was more thrilled with its draw than UMass, which hosted a team from Fordham that had lost to lowly 3-8 Bucknell the week before. But the Minutemen were feeling glad to escape with a win after this one was over.

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Also, Old Dominion continues to gear up for its 2009 entrance into the CAA. This quote has to be a bit disconcerting for the Monarch brass:

“I’ve never recruited, but I’ve witnessed a lot of recruiting,” said Cotton, who has produced 30 college players in five years. He was 10-2 at Hertford County High in North Carolina in 2003. “I’ve heard the good pitch, and I’ve heard the bad pitch.”

So have I, and I’m sitting in a cubicle editing business stories… not coaching a future D-I program.

Just kidding — didn’t you hear? It’s Sarcastic Wednesday!

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Great article and profile piece in the UMass Magazine in regards to walk-ons.

“Swimming quite literally saved my life,” she explains. “I had some really dark days after my heart attack, but swimming gave me self-esteem and discipline. I loved going to the pool every day.”

Good stuff… nothing shows the heart of college athletics more than walk-ons. Just ask Matt Pennie, one of this year’s basketball captains.

When it rains…

UMass’ three-point game is garnering attention outside Amherst, which is to be expected when a team hits more than 50 in five games.

Scout.com had a bit of an A-10 rundown and had a little blurb mentioning UMass, Etienne’s amazing start and, well, the fact that the Maroon and White are living outside the arch:

Massachusetts tied a program record with 15 three-point field goals made on a school-record 32 attempts in its 93-78 win over Wisconsin-Green Bay on Nov. 17. The last time the Minutemen made 15 field goals from beyond the arc. was versus Temple in 1997. UMass has made 51 three-pointers through five games this season, with senior forward Etienne Brower shooting a blistering .625 (15-of-24) from three-point range

UMass is going to need something similar to this performance if it is going to have a chance in the Carrier Dome against a very balanced and athletic Syracuse team. With a win at ‘Cuse the Maroon and White have a decent chance to go 7-1 into Chestnutt Hill and could potentially squeeze its way into the top 25.

Not bad for a team with only two returning starters of note.

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The Salem News had an article on Kyle Harrington and Chris Zardas, two members of the UMass football team.

Great quote from Zardas:

“There’s no time to dwell on (Saturday’s) victory because the way the playoffs are set up, you have to get ready for the next opponent right away. You lose once and you’re gone, so we have to be prepared and execute. Right now we don’t know much about Southern Illinois except they are ranked higher than us and have the home field advantage.”

I’ve been thinking about making the trip out East for the game. Anyone have any information on cheap plane tickets to Illinois?

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A day old, but I hadn’t seen this mentioned anywhere.

Jeremy Rice, a reporter with the Collegian, had his hockey article picked up by the wire and USCHO.com. Pretty exciting for a young reporter.

Upstairs TV

I’m full, I’m happy, and I’m sorry.

For the past few days I’ve been home — Vero Beach, Fl. to be exact. I haven’t had the time or the means to update Between Mullins and McGuirk, and I hope my last post made that somewhat clear.

So much has been happening in the world of UMass athletics, and it would be hard to recap without stumbling over old news and items already posted on UMassHoops.com or the UMass Football Blog.

I’ve also been away from any kind of Internet radio, so I missed the soccer team beating Boston University in what sounds like dramatic fashion. I was able to get Gametracker for UMass/Fordham, but by now the ins and outs of that game have been discussed, analyzed and argued over.

It’s funny though… this whole UMass football thing. It has encompassed my life within my little cube at work, and my fandom is imminent when you step into my room (I may be the only person in the state of Colorado with a replica UMass mini football helmet). However, back home — back in the south — UMass and CS/I-AA/etc. football is basically nothing.

Since I don’t get ESPNU I was left with James Madison and Appalachian State, which was actually a pretty good game. My brother (sophomore at the University of Kentucky) and his friends (Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and Colby … yea, the last one stands out a bit) came into the living room and immediately said, “What the hell is this?”

I left and watched the game upstairs. I knew not to get in the way of SEC football, so big brother went and watched his “what-the-hell-is-this” football by himself.

While it doesn’t bother me that a group of Southern boys couldn’t appreciate a game of such magnitude, it did make me wonder why I care so much. Could it be the fact that I’m an alumni of a CAA school or that I worked for the student newspaper? Or is it that I was raised in the south, where football is king, and had to make my alma mater’s team bigger than it really is?

Probably all three.

I remember my brother’s reaction when he saw our stadium. It was pretty similar to the reaction he had to JMU/Appalachian State on the main television in our house. Of course he missed the writing on the wall — literally — which tells the tale of a program that has won, with consistency, within the realm of its size, ability and finances.

On Thanksgiving I sat with an old reporter’s notebook and jotted down things I was thankful for in UMass athletics: football team’s success, Travis Ford’s recruiting, Jack, Sam Koch, etc. I thought about publishing it, but I realized I forgot my login name for this site — at least I’m honest.

Of course everything I wrote was subjective and small scale in relation to the overall scheme of things in college athletics, but it’s my list and my school, and damnit I don’t need to be an objective journalist when it comes to that.

So, tomorrow I’ll start over again. I’ll continue to find news and add my opinions. Maybe it will get lost in the shuffle of college sports blogs, and I hope whoever reads this hasn’t been turned away due to my negligence the past week.

It doesn’t matter that it isn’t SEC or ACC because I’m all A-10 and CAA… even if I have to watch the game by myself.

UMass hangover

Wow, what a weekend. So good, I somehow vanished for an extra day.

The football team is heading back to the playoffs and once again has to face off against an always-dangerous Patriot League team (paging Colgate). The men’s soccer team is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. Hoops continues to play fast and somewhat effective. And hockey, well they tied and beat Boston College — and that’s better than birthday cake … especially since I saw a B.C. hockey fan at a Rocky Mountain Rage game on Saturday.

He now knows that no matter where he is, be it Commonwealth Ave. or a random hockey rink in Broomfield, CO., there will always be someone to vocalize how much “B.C. Sucks.”

Anyway, I tried to sit down and assemble this crazy, borderline emotional weekend of UMass sports and was simply baffled. If you couldn’t already tell, I have a soft spot for the soccer team and hope it can beat Boston U. at home. Coach Koch deserves this — he is by far one of the most unsung coaches and people at UMass.

Football continues to look eerily familiar to last year, just replace Lafayette with Fordham. I hope Brown isn’t looking past this Rams team. I can’t imagine he is.

I’m actually kind of excited to hear Larry Coker call this game.

As far as hoops and hockey are concerned, I can’t get a full read on these teams yet. Hockey has a different identity than years past, but it is upholding a constant progression toward the top of Hockey East, and that’s all any of us can ask for.

The basketball team has once again played absolutely nobody of merit, but this year that may be a good idea. Get the kids some confidence. Let them shoot and run against teams that are going to spend a lot of time catching up.

I wish I had more time for this, but there is just too much, and that’s a good thing. Between work and attempting to organize myself for my first trip home in almost three years, I’ve slipped a little bit on this blog, and I apologize.

UMass athletics has been incredibly special recently, and I can’t do it justice right now.

And, as weird as it sounds, I couldn’t be happier.

One more… just one more

So much for the Rhode Island loss, aye?

A week after a rainy defeat in Kingston, the UMass football team went out and defeated UNH and Ricky Santos one last time. Liam Coen broke the all-time school passing record, Matt Lawrence is fitting into the “legend” category that Coach Brown was looking for, and UMass can now go out and ruin Hofstra’s season — much like the Pride did to the Maroon and White in 2005.

Oh yea, I forgot to mention, the win also secured the very first CAA North title for UMass.

Even with the impressive victory, the Minutemen are still far from perfect. Again they lost the penalty battle and had to turn things around in the second half to win the time-of-possession game.

However, UMass is doing a lot more right than wrong.

Ricky Santos was rendered all but useless. Yes, Santos is hurt, but he was held without a touchdown and was sacked eight times (two came from Michael Hanson). He also tried to run the ball a bit, but that was stifled as well as Santos could only muster 28 yards on the ground.

As I’ve said before, the Minutemen can NOT afford to lose this weekend. Richmond and UMass are still fighting for the conference auto bid, and Delaware also has the same overall record as the Spiders and Minutemen (8-2). There are also two 7-3 teams (Hofstra and James Madison).

The Spiders have William & Mary this weekend and will be cheering heavily for the Pride of Hofstra.

If UMass can win, it is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. If it loses — well, let’s just win this game, OK?

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I learned a few things about this basketball team this weekend.

1. It can shoot and win.
2. It can miss a lot of shots.

I was pleasantly surprised with UMass’ 2-1 record this weekend, even though the Minutemen should be a better team than UNI. I’m also going to try and buy into this speed-based shooting system that effectively embarrassed Cal Poly and held off Northern Illinois.

However, 70 three pointers in a weekend? Wow, I never thought I would see that from a UMass team.

Ricky Harris continues to impress and is averaging close to 20 points per game, which is right on par with what he was doing to Division II opponents during the preseason. However, I can NOT sit back this whole season and watch him jack up threes if he is going to shoot .250. That’s not acceptable, especially if he is going to lead the team in attempts (20).

Gary Forbes is unbelievable and is very much the sturdy scorer I was hoping for. He averaged 23 points against Division I opponents, a thousand miles away from Amherst and also led the team in rebounds (22). UMass is going to need a lot of this if it wants to maintain a degree of success.

Tony Gaffney, Max Groebe and Gary Correia are going to be very important right away, and Ford is going to have to use these guys to give the upperclassmen a breather. Gaffney may already be a more capable rebounder than either Bonner or Milligan, Groebe has the green light but needs to find his touch, and Correia is a very usable point guard and may have to play a large role if Lowe continues to suffer any injury setbacks.

Milligan and Bonner remain the main question marks for this team. Between the fouls and lack of rebounds, UMass is going to have a VERY difficult time against teams with athletic size. Neither led the team in rebounds in any of the first three games. That’s just not going to work.

Let’s see if either can match up on Wednesday against Yale — a team that has forwards ranging from 6’6 to 6’10.

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The field hockey team lost to UConn, but Justine Sowry’s first season as head coach has been incredibly impressive. I’m anxious to see what happens when her recruits come to Amherst. Congratulations on a great season ladies.

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Quick plug: Paige Cram, the former editor for the Editorial Section of the Collegian, has put together a blog — Turn the Paige. Good stuff on here. She’s a talented writer and has some well thought-out opinions.

Off to Storrs

So, the field hockey team is going to Storrs.

The Minutewomen will have to travel to face one of the — if not THE — best field hockey teams in the Northeast. UConn is 20-2 this season and won the Big East Championship en route to a No. 2 seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

I found the bracket via UConn’s athletic Web site, and look who is trying to pull a spoiler in the bracket just north of UMass’ … that’s right, our friends from the east, Boston University.

I’d love to see both Massachusetts teams advance, but I’m basically holding out hope for Olde State U to upset the Huskies.

The game will be on Saturday, which is panning out to be a pretty big day in UMass sports: the football team has a must-win against UNH, men’s hoops has its second game, the field hockey team has the first round of the playoffs, both cross county teams are trying to qualify for regionals, and hockey is playing its little brother to the east.

Weekends like this are what make the summer months so hard.

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The Providence Journal had a column about the future of Tim Stowers, the head coach of the URI football team.

(Thorr) Bjorn told me a few days after the disappointing Homecoming loss to James Madison that football is important at URI and that winning is important. Not at any cost, he stressed, but important. He also said that his job is to make sure that every URI student-athlete has the best experience possible. There’s the rub. Losing steadily may not destroy the college experience but winning certainly enhances it.

I wonder if the win against UMass saved face for Stowers. The Rams received a few votes in the poll, which just goes to show you how ass-backwards the FCS poll can be sometimes.

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Ashley Burnham, a softball recruit from Danvers, chose James Madison over UMass.

Burnham made a verbal commitment to James Madison last month and will officially sign with the school in a short ceremony at Danvers High on Nov. 15

“When I went there (for an official visit), I thought they had an incredible all-around academic and athletic atmosphere,” said Burnham, who was also pursued by UMass Amherst, North Carolina-Wilmington and Villanova, among others. “I loved the girls on the softball team and I think it’s going to be a good relationship with the coaches.”

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Another UMass Sports Management alumni is making good.

Dave Jauss, who graduated from the Sports Management grad school program, has been hired as bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles.

A graduate of Amherst College with a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, he is the son of retired Chicago Tribune sportswriter Bill Jauss.

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UPDATE: Good stuff from Frank today at the UMass Football Blog.

 

No more Santos… maybe

Not much going on today, and I have to scramble to take care of some work — but I did find a couple articles.

Seacoastonline had a preview article about the UMass/UNH rivalry and mentions how a loss for the Wildcats could very well signal the end of the Santos era. I have been so caught up in UMass’ playoff situation that it didn’t even occur to me that this could very well be the last time we see ole Ricky.

I think I speak for the entire CAA when I say — “Hell yea!”

“We were talking (Sunday) night,” McDonnell said. “We played Richmond. We played Delaware. We played JMU. But I’ve watched UMass and when they’re firing on all cylinders they’re the best team we’ll play.”

Hopefully Coen can get the record and the Minutemen can bounce back after last week’s waterlogged loss.

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The UMass field hockey team plays Princeton tonight in a NCAA play-in game.

You can watch the game here…

Good luck ladies — keep up the amazing season.

 UPDATE: The Maroon and White defeated Princeton 2-1 … heading to the show for the first time in six years… the tournament layout will be decided tonight.

The rivalry goes on

OK, put the umbrellas away, and hide the excuses — the URI loss is over and done with, and now it’s time for New Hampshire and Ricky friggin’ Santos.

UMass vs. UNH has turned into one of the biggest rivalries in the CAA and maybe FCS football. The Minutemen ended the Wildcats’ season last year in one of the most exciting games I have ever seen — regardless of the level of football.

Once again, this is going to be a big one.

A win allows UMass to control its own destiny going into the final week of the season … a loss gives Hofstra another chance to end the Minutemen’s season (see: 2005).

The Wildcats know what it means to be upset as they just lost to Northeastern in similar weather conditions. They are also vying for a FCS playoff spot.

You never really know what’s coming from UNH. Sure, you’re going to have to deal with Santos and one of the five receivers he uses, but then the Wildcats switch to the ground game and have six running backs with more than 100 yards rushing.

The Union Leader had an early preview, and ole Ricky isn’t saying anything:

“Every time I seem to say that, we lose to those teams,” Santos said with a chuckle. “So I’m just going to go out and try to play my game.”

The Boston Herald had a little blurb on the weather and the local upsets last weekend.

Amazingly, UMass registered all its points on safeties, tying an NCAA all-division mark. UMass is the only team to have scored all of its points in a game on safeties.

And to think, Albany didn’t even have the weather to blame.

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So UMass gives up 80 points to a Division II team, and Ford is upset about the defense — imagine that.

Sure, the Minutemen pounded its first two opponents, but this transition-based shoot-em-up style is causing some holes on the other side of the court. Division II teams took advantage … what’s going to happen when Saint Joseph’s, Xavier, Duquesne (who just smoked Seton Hill EDIT: Thanks to Craig for catching this) and Saint Louis see the openings?

Oh yea, UMass plays those teams in a row.

Hopefully the Minutemen can continue hitting their threes because any team in the county is going to give them a game if they can’t play defense in the post and allow for 61.8 percent shooting in a half.

The Republican had an article, and Ronnie C. hits the nail right on the head here:

UMass has often been known for a methodical, halfcourt offense that wasn’t very exciting. That won’t be the case this year.

The fans may get some of the 90-85 games they’ve craved. It won’t be much fun, though, if UMass winds up losing them.

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For those that thought the loss of Jon Quick signaled the end of UMass’ run as a recognizable power in Hockey East haven’t checked out Paul Dainton’s stats.

He is top five in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage — pretty impressive considering how many minutes the first-year starter has logged thus far.

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 UPDATE: What an awesome quote via Coach Brown from UMassAthletics.com:

“Matt’s a solid back. He was a great contributor on last year’s team that went to the National Finals as a full back. He stepped into the role of the main prime back and I think he’s had a very solid year. Matt’s going to be judged over these last two football games to see how great a back he is in terms of UMass folklore. We need to get two big football games out of him in the remaining two weeks.”

Nature… GOULET!

Before I get into UMass athletics today, I want to pay a quick tribute to Robert Goulet who passed away this week.

I’ll hand it off to Will Ferrell — this skit always made me laugh.

“That’s why I come up here… NATURE, Goulet.”

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UMass has Rhode Island this weekend in a game that unites the Maroon and White and Thorr Bjorn for the first time on the gridiron since he took the reigns as AD in Kingston. Liam Coen also gets to have a bit of a homecoming and could potentially break the all-time UMass passing record in the process.

The Republican and the Providence Journal both had articles in regards to the record. I think it’s amazing that Coen, who started because of Tim Day’s ineptitude, is on the verge of being the most prolific passer in school history. I wonder if the likes of Matt Guice or Jeff Krohn would have had a chance with four years to play. Either way, it’s been a pleasure to watch this kid improve through what may be considered the Golden Age of UMass football by the time he graduates.

From the ProJo:

Coen has done just about everything at UMass except win a national championship. He is 26-6 as a starter, 26-3 against FCS teams. He was the Atlantic 10 rookie of the week three times in 2005. He was third-team All-Atlantic 10 as a sophomore in 2006, when he finished sixth in the nation in passing efficiency, completed 65 percent of his passes, a UMass record, was A-10 offensive player of the week twice and New England Gold Helmet Award winner twice.

If he keeps it up and can remain healthy, I see no reason why he can’t take care of “everything.”

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The UMass men’s basketball team takes on its first opponent tonight — sort of.

American International College is coming to Amherst for an exhibition game. At most schools, you wouldn’t think twice about this kind of preseason warm-up, but not at UMass. It wasn’t long ago that Concordia took the Maroon and White down to the wire, and my beat partner and I almost had a collective heart attack.

I understand that this is a time to go over plays, figure out a few in-game strengths and weaknesses and give the other team a chance to do the same — but can we blow this team out … please?

We’re going to see a whole bunch of new faces out there today, but this is the starting lineup that I foresee:

• Chris Lowe (if his ankle is healthy)
• Ricky Harris
• Gary Forbes (same as Lowe)
• Dante Milligan
• Liam Bonner

The Republican has a preview:

Point guard Chris Lowe and forward Gary Forbes have missed practice time with ankle injuries.

“They’ll both play. How much, I don’t know,” Ford said. “Actually, I hope AIC comes in and whips our butts. Maybe we need that; we have a pretty long list of what we need to work on.”

Maybe you need it, but I don’t. Please don’t say things like that Travis — it kind of reminds me of Lappas a little.

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Kavin Jarman, a former hockey player with UMass, has been “loaned” by the Syracuse Crunch to Elmira.

Here’s the article.