Paper jam

So, printers went down in the office yesterday – in the newspaper world, we call that Armageddon.

Anyway, back at it today.

Andy Katz mentioned the UMass/Memphis game on his college hoops blog.

This should be an intriguing game for many reasons, notably to see how much UMass plays like Memphis with its dribble-drive-motion style and to see whether the Tigers look like they are able to make another Final Four run.

So pumped for this game – even though the outcome is going to be a little lopsided.

Also on the basketball front, the Springfield Republican has a Chris Lowe video.

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Niko Sierra and Alex Scyocurka, from Longmeadow, are both receiving interest from UMass.

Sierra for both football and lacrosse.

Williams on campus

Hope the weather is alright in Amherst – Jordan Williams is in town.

The highly touted power forward came to visit UMass, according to the Springfield Republican. Williams has been talked about around here for about a year. Travis Ford started the recruiting process, and Coach Kellogg is staying on top of it.

Despite the proximity of UMass, Williams’ father said the family does not know much about the school or program.

“All we have heard is hearsay, but everything we have heard is good,” LeRon Williams said Thursday. “We’ve spoken to coach Kellogg on the phone a couple of times.

Scout is saying that UMass has made an offer, and so far we’re up against Xavier, Maryland, Saint John’s, URI, Providence, Notre Dame and Fordham.

Some big names on that list – hopefully he enjoys his stay in Amherst.

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Inside Lacrosse had its recruiting recap for men’s and women’s lacrosse, and UMass had top recruits on both lists.

Here’s women’s lax, and here’s the men.

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The Trenton Devils of the ECHL have signed David Leaderer, a former UMass hockey player.

Leaderer, now 22, recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Mass., where he was twice named a member of the Hockey East All-Academic Team.

He scored 11 goals and had 22 assists with the Minutemen, and clocked 110 penalty minutes in 149 games.

New recruiting tool

The UMass men’s lacrosse team has jumped on the Recruiting 2.0 bandwagon.

OK, I made up the Recruiting 2.0 thing, but the Minutemen will be using a new technology to “manage all interactions with prospects, players and alumni to improve recruitment, compliance and fund raising efforts,” according to a press release via Intelliworks Inc. – the company that created the technology called “Intelliworks Bluechip.”

UMass is the only Division I program to use this technology.

“We currently use multiple Excel spreadsheets and our email client to communicate with alumni and prospects. Using two different systems makes it very easy to make mistakes or overlook contacts,” said Jake Coon, assistant coach of UMass Men’s Lacrosse. “Intelliworks Bluechip is a compact and organized way to track our recruits.”

The company says the product can:

• Manage interactions between coaches, recruits, current players and alumni
• Record compliance with NCAA correspondence regulations
• Generate reports on contacts with prospects throughout your organization
• Create and track marketing campaigns – including direct mail, email and phone calls – to recruits and alumni
• Manage special events and summer camp registration
• Run fundraising and outreach campaigns

Should be interesting to see how – or if – this product can help UMass lax in the future. I think it’s very cool that the program is embracing new technology to stay on the cusp of the recruiting game.

I wonder how much that sucker costs.

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CSN Log had a story on UMass running back Tony Nelson.

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Three lacrosse alumni will partake the the MLL Championships.

Reid comes home

Jack Reid is heading back to Massachusetts.

Reid, a standout defensive player for the UMass lacrosse team, was acquired by the Boston Blazers of the NLL.

“Jack is one of the most promising defenders in the league,” said Ryan. “He is a dominant force in the MLL and is still learning the indoor game. He is a local product who grew up in Connecticut and played college lacrosse at UMass, so he is a perfect fit for us.”

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The University of Maine hockey team lost two assistants.

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Shannon Crook, a former standout for the UMass basketball team, came across my alerts today. So he is either a painter in South Dakota, or he’s playing basketball an Angola.

I’m going with that latter.

Too cool for UMass lax?

Could the increasing popularity of NCAA lacrosse hurt UMass?

I personally don’t think so, but according to a column in Lacrosse Magazine, Greg Cannella thinks it might:

Greg Canella, the UMass coach, has a more pragmatic view. He says the NCAA final four is such a huge thing now that the best high school players will turn down a scholarship to his school and pay to attend, say, Syracuse with the dream of playing on TV on Memorial Day.

I have to take this sentiment in stride, as there is no quote to attribute this to, and during my time covering UMass lacrosse, Cannella (yes, it has two “n’s” … trust me, not the column) was never much into divulging much personnel information.

I’m not saying that Lacrosse Magazine is lying here – this might just be out of context.

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According to the Union Leader, the University of New Hampshire is talking to UMass about a home-and-home series in men’s basketball.

If the basketball program does take off and attracts solid crowds to Lundholm Gymnasium, moving selected games across the street to the Whittemore Center would be an attractive option, the AD said.

“If we’re successful, we want to have five or six games a year there,” he said. “But I want the right five or six. If we have UMass with a home and home — and we’re talking with them about a series — have UMass over there. Maybe bring in a Villanova.”

Lundholm is far smaller than the Whittemore (6,501), which would be a much better place to watch the teams compete.

Off to Storrs

Angela McMahon, the associate head coach for the women’s lacrosse team, will lead the UConn Huskies into battle next year.

McMahon is only 26 – great gig for someone her age.

She played for Northwestern after spending a year at UMass. She is also a Western Massachusetts native.

From UConn’s Athletic Site:

“We are extremely pleased to have Angela leading the UConn women’s lacrosse program,” said Hathaway. “Her experience both as a head coach and assistant coach combined with her participation as a student-athlete at Northwestern University brings a wealth of knowledge about the sport to our University. Angela is committed to academic success, the development of student-athletes and the overall enhancement of our lacrosse program.”

Obviously it’s never good to lose a great young coach to one of our hated rivals, but you have to support her decision to take the job. Good luck in the future – just not against the Minutewomen.

NOTE: I don’t know how much this happens, but UConn essentially ripped a portion of McMahon’s bio directly from her player page on UMassAthletics. Not a big deal at all, just thought I should point that out. Yes, I read way too many player bio pages.

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Jackie Rosenzweig, of the women’s team and Doc Schneider, from the men’s team, were selected as First-Team Jewish All-Americans by the Jewish Sports Review.

Mazel tov.

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UPDATE: I missed this, but Andy Katz is reporting that Papa Lo is transferring to Bryant.

Up in the air

As we all know by now, UMass will be heading to the CAA in 2010, and the ECAC will be getting a complete overhaul as it merges with the GWLL.

Inside Lacrosse had a little bit of an update, and it appears that there is some “uncertainty” in regards to the status of Bellarmine, Quinnipiac and Detroit Mercy. All three teams play in the GWLL, and it is unclear whether the ECAC will house any of them.

As the article states, Quinnipiac is moving to the NEC in 2011, so any stop between now and then is temporary.

From the article:

Detroit Mercy athletic director Keri Gaither, meanwhile, would not rule out the possibility of competing as an independent in men’s lacrosse. The Titans previously committed to the GWLL for their inaugural season.

“It’s still kind of up in the air. Obviously, the ECAC is an option and there’s also an option to look into starting another league, to be a part of that.”

? “another league” ?

Seems odd that this quote is buried considering a statup program’s athletic director is making this kind of suggestion. This may be out of context in the overall scheme of things, but I would sure like to see what league Detroit is going to head up and what teams would join it.

Perhaps Bellarmine?

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(RANDOM BOB THOUGHT: Why the hell is Imus still talking? Is there any other reason than to enunciate the fact that he is outspoken and wants to kick up a little more interest in himself? On the day that we lost one of the great outspoken voices of our time – George Carlin if you weren’t paying attention – one of the least tactful makes another unprovoked, seat-of-his-pants, stupid comment. I guess it’s not enough to be publicly humiliated these days.)

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?

Big East lax confirmed

According to Syracuse.com, Big East lacrosse will start in 2010.

From the Web site:

Syracuse, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John’s, Villanova and Providence will begin conference play in 2010. That will give Syracuse one more season as an independent and a year to figure out which three teams on its current schedule will be off it come 2010 to make room for Notre Dame, St. John’s and Providence. The Orange already has been playing Georgetown and Rutgers for several years and added Villanova this season with the eventual formation of the conference in mind.’

Again, I hope this does not hurt UMass as far as strength of schedule is concerned. The CAA lacrosse league – on paper – appears to be far weaker than the ECAC and the new Big East lacrosse league. Losing Rutgers, Georgetown and, of course, Syracuse puts a big damper on what is typically a solid schedule for the Maroon and White.

I’m glad UMass was able to keep Penn State, as those game are typically close, and the two schools have started a nice rivalry during the past few seasons.

Apparently, this spells some extra pain for Hobart, which just decided to stay at the Division I level after an uproar via alumni when it discussed moving down to Division III:

If such a configuration takes place and sources close to the situation say it is accurate Hobart’s travel costs will skyrocket. How the league remains the ECAC with Denver and Air Force in it is another question.

How Denver and Air Force fit into the new ECAC is beyond me, but being a fan of the A-10, I’ve come to realize that anything is possible in conference realignments – right Saint Louis?

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UPDATE: The Big East’s Web site confirms.

From the conference:

“We are looking forward to the excitement that men’s lacrosse will bring to the BIG EAST Conference,” said Commissioner Tranghese. “We have schools with established and successful programs, which want to come together and compete under the BIG EAST brand.”

Big East lax confirmed

According to Syracuse.com, Big East lacrosse will start in 2010.

From the Web site:

Syracuse, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John’s, Villanova and Providence will begin conference play in 2010. That will give Syracuse one more season as an independent and a year to figure out which three teams on its current schedule will be off it come 2010 to make room for Notre Dame, St. John’s and Providence. The Orange already has been playing Georgetown and Rutgers for several years and added Villanova this season with the eventual formation of the conference in mind.’

Again, I hope this does not hurt UMass as far as strength of schedule is concerned. The CAA lacrosse league – on paper – appears to be far weaker than the ECAC and the new Big East lacrosse league. Losing Rutgers, Georgetown and, of course, Syracuse puts a big damper on what is typically a solid schedule for the Maroon and White.

I’m glad UMass was able to keep Penn State, as those game are typically close, and the two schools have started a nice rivalry during the past few seasons.

Apparently, this spells some extra pain for Hobart, which just decided to stay at the Division I level after an uproar via alumni when it discussed moving down to Division III:

If such a configuration takes place and sources close to the situation say it is accurate Hobart’s travel costs will skyrocket. How the league remains the ECAC with Denver and Air Force in it is another question.

How Denver and Air Force fit into the new ECAC is beyond me, but being a fan of the A-10, I’ve come to realize that anything is possible in conference realignments – right Saint Louis?

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UPDATE: The Big East’s Web site confirms.

From the conference:

“We are looking forward to the excitement that men’s lacrosse will bring to the BIG EAST Conference,” said Commissioner Tranghese. “We have schools with established and successful programs, which want to come together and compete under the BIG EAST brand.”