Did I jinx Milan Lucic?? Last week I say I'm thankful to have him back and he turns his ankle that night and is out for month?? Still happy to have Savard back, though (was that a black cat that just crossed my path?).
Some weekend notes:
- Tiger Woods refuses to talk to the police. One would think that a man who has been in the public eye as long as Tiger Woods would know that the worst thing you can do is say nothing. Mark Maguire tried that tactic at Congress and look how well that worked out. If you were drinking, just admit it. If you were high, admit it. If you were sleeping with someone else and got into a fight with your wife (and if that's the reason you have bigger issues), admit it. People will be more forgiving now if you just own up to it than if you keep your mouth shut and somebody else leaks it to the press (which you know will eventually happen).
- Though it was a wild weekend of upsets in college football, the most important upsets never happened. Auburn and Texas A&M were unable to close the deal and as a result we still have a guarenteed 3 undefeated teams with a possiblity of 5 come the end of the season. Am I going to argue that the winner of Texas v. Alabama/Florida is the national champion? No. But it would be nice to see TCU, Boise, and Cincinnati at least get the chance to prove that they aren't national champions on the field. My only hope is for Nebraska to play the greatest game they have ever played and at least TCU or Cincy can then get a shot.
- Could there be any better ending to the Charlie Weis tenure at Notre Dame than taking the lead against Stanford and then getting outscored 25-7 down the stretch to end your season 6-6 after having BCS or (ridiculous though it may have been) national title hopes. Not to mention that you are one game of poor clock management and one Montel Harris fumble from being 4-8. I respect Weis for what he brought out of Tom Brady but his tenure in South Bend has to be considered a complete failure. Not that there's anything wrong with that....
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
What I am thankful for
As we come to the holiday season I am reminded that we should always express our thanks for the good that life has given us. Here are 3 things I am thankful for this holiday season.
1) I am thankful that I am not a Notre Dame fan. After being one of the winningest programs in college football history the Golden Domers have fallen on tough times since the departure of Lou Holtz. Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and now Charlie Weis have all failed to make ND a national title contender. Even with top notch quarterbacks like Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen, the Irish had failed to win a bowl game in years until last season. They have lost repeatedly to USC and BC and have even lost twice in the past three years to Navy a team they had beaten an NCAA record number of times. Charlie Weis can and should be fired. With the cupcake schedule that Notre Dame routine puts together (including not wanting to even play BC following next years matchup) loaded with service academies and Big East opponents, it is actually appalling that Weis could not turn this team into a BCS contender. He has and NFL caliber quarterback (currently considered the #3 QB according to Mel Kiper's Big Board) and two big play wide receivers and they have put up decent numbers but the defense has been atrocious especially against the run. With Toby Gerhart and Stanford coming in next week the Irish are looking at 6-6 and possibly ending up in the GMAC bowl against Dan Lefevour and Central Michigan (a team that can beat ND). Not what the fans were thinking when they started the season as a national title sleeper.
2. I am thankful that I am not a BU hockey fan. Though it may seem like I am beating up on BC rivals, the fact is that no one has been a bigger dissapointment through the first 7 weeks of the college hockey season than the 3-7-1 BU Terriers. The defending national champions have failed to live up to lofty expectations which were certainly hurt by the early season injury to Nick Bonino. Even so, he came back last weekend and the Terriers were still shelled in Durham and needed a late goal to salvage a tie against UNH on Saturday. So far the points leader for the team is a defenseman. No one has scored more than 4 goals (that by a freshman) and their all everything goalie from last year currently is sitting on a 2-7 record with a 3.25 GAA and a .873 save percentage. The team that lead the nation in goals last year has been shut out twice already and has only scored more than 3 goals twice in 13 games including exhibition (both were victories). This team has more talent that this and I expect them to turn it around but the question is, can they do so before digging too deep of a hole to climb out of. They already have more losses than all of last season and are already 5 points behind conference leader UNH and the Wildcats have a game in hand.
3. I'm thankful for the return of Marc Savard & Milan Lucic. Last night the Bruins played a solid game against a pretty bad St. Louis team and in earning the victory produced their first 3-game win streak of the season. But the best part has been seeing Lucic back out there hitting everything that moves and even potting two goals in the past two games. With Savard back too, his passing and playmaking ability immediately make the Bruins a more dangerous scoring threat in all situations. It will take a few games for both players to be back at 100% but it certainly lifts this Bruins fan's spirits to see the full team out there.
1) I am thankful that I am not a Notre Dame fan. After being one of the winningest programs in college football history the Golden Domers have fallen on tough times since the departure of Lou Holtz. Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and now Charlie Weis have all failed to make ND a national title contender. Even with top notch quarterbacks like Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen, the Irish had failed to win a bowl game in years until last season. They have lost repeatedly to USC and BC and have even lost twice in the past three years to Navy a team they had beaten an NCAA record number of times. Charlie Weis can and should be fired. With the cupcake schedule that Notre Dame routine puts together (including not wanting to even play BC following next years matchup) loaded with service academies and Big East opponents, it is actually appalling that Weis could not turn this team into a BCS contender. He has and NFL caliber quarterback (currently considered the #3 QB according to Mel Kiper's Big Board) and two big play wide receivers and they have put up decent numbers but the defense has been atrocious especially against the run. With Toby Gerhart and Stanford coming in next week the Irish are looking at 6-6 and possibly ending up in the GMAC bowl against Dan Lefevour and Central Michigan (a team that can beat ND). Not what the fans were thinking when they started the season as a national title sleeper.
2. I am thankful that I am not a BU hockey fan. Though it may seem like I am beating up on BC rivals, the fact is that no one has been a bigger dissapointment through the first 7 weeks of the college hockey season than the 3-7-1 BU Terriers. The defending national champions have failed to live up to lofty expectations which were certainly hurt by the early season injury to Nick Bonino. Even so, he came back last weekend and the Terriers were still shelled in Durham and needed a late goal to salvage a tie against UNH on Saturday. So far the points leader for the team is a defenseman. No one has scored more than 4 goals (that by a freshman) and their all everything goalie from last year currently is sitting on a 2-7 record with a 3.25 GAA and a .873 save percentage. The team that lead the nation in goals last year has been shut out twice already and has only scored more than 3 goals twice in 13 games including exhibition (both were victories). This team has more talent that this and I expect them to turn it around but the question is, can they do so before digging too deep of a hole to climb out of. They already have more losses than all of last season and are already 5 points behind conference leader UNH and the Wildcats have a game in hand.
3. I'm thankful for the return of Marc Savard & Milan Lucic. Last night the Bruins played a solid game against a pretty bad St. Louis team and in earning the victory produced their first 3-game win streak of the season. But the best part has been seeing Lucic back out there hitting everything that moves and even potting two goals in the past two games. With Savard back too, his passing and playmaking ability immediately make the Bruins a more dangerous scoring threat in all situations. It will take a few games for both players to be back at 100% but it certainly lifts this Bruins fan's spirits to see the full team out there.
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Fall of Football
It was announced today that Northeastern University is shutting the door to football after 74 years. Though a lifelong BC fan, I truly mourn the loss of the Huskies and their fans. Football is a sport of great passion and those who love it know how the experience of gameday with the tailgating, the action on the field, the excitement of the win and the general fun involved becomes an almost religious experience at times. It's truly sad when the coffers dry up and the students and alumni of Northeastern will no longer have this experience. I feel just as bad for those student-athletes who have trained so hard and put their hearts into the sport they loved only to have their university pull the plug. No matter whether the team was good or bad, college football fans everywhere to mourn for the NU Huskies today.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Bill
I want to say something about last night but I can't. I'm too angry. With all the good that he has done last night was one of the worst two play calls in history. They should have run on 3rd down (even if you don't make it it makes Indy take their last time out) and then punted. I know you struggled to stop them but show some faith in your defense to come up when it counted. By going for it on 4th they handed Indy that game. I could go on but I fear that I may have a coronary....
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Polling
One has to wonder what people are thinking when they vote in polls. This week Boston University is #17 in the country in the USCHO college hockey poll. Now those who have not followed this season might think, "Oh, BU must be having a bit of a rough start as they are defending national champions". That sentiment is right but the ranking is not.
BU is 2-5-0. You read that correctly. They have 5 losses, are three games under .500, and on top of that are in last place in Hockey East. This team is also #17 in the nation. How? Name recognition. People are voting on what they think BU will do later and not what they are doing now. This is the classic problem with early season polls. Because BU started the year so high voters think they can't possible be as bad as their record so they still give them votes and get them in the poll.
I know this might sound like sour grapes from a die-hard BC hockey fan but I would like to think I would be just as outraged if Wisconsin were 2-5 and still ranked. No other team in the top 20 has more than 4 losses (that team is Michigan and is getting excused for two of those losses since they came to early season juggernaught Miami). No other team in the top 20 has a losing record never mind 3 games under. BU's two victories are an overtime squeaker against Lowell and a close 3-2 decision over Michigan. This past weekend BU was shut out by "Others receiving votes" team Northeastern who was waxed by BC the next night and lost to a Maine team nowhere to be found in the rankings.
This post is not designed to bash BU (I'll save that for when we get closer to the Fenway game and the Beanpot). They are a very good team that lost a lot last year in Colin Wilson, Matt Gilroy, Jason Lawrence, and Brandon Yip. I think, like BC in 2008-09, BU underestimated how difficult it would be replace those departing players and the production and leadership. They are still an immensely talented roster that is just trying to find the winning combination right now. When Nick Bonino returns from injury it will provide a boost that will more than likely get them back to winning games. But right now, at this moment, this team is struggling to score and to win games. They are not currently one of the top 20 teams in the nation. We've seen it all season in college football and not it has moved to the ice that name recognition is getting votes instead of in-game production. I do have to give Insidecollegehockey.com credit not only for dropping BU from their Power Rankings this week but calling out USCHO.com for having the Terriers ranked 17th.
BU is 2-5-0. You read that correctly. They have 5 losses, are three games under .500, and on top of that are in last place in Hockey East. This team is also #17 in the nation. How? Name recognition. People are voting on what they think BU will do later and not what they are doing now. This is the classic problem with early season polls. Because BU started the year so high voters think they can't possible be as bad as their record so they still give them votes and get them in the poll.
I know this might sound like sour grapes from a die-hard BC hockey fan but I would like to think I would be just as outraged if Wisconsin were 2-5 and still ranked. No other team in the top 20 has more than 4 losses (that team is Michigan and is getting excused for two of those losses since they came to early season juggernaught Miami). No other team in the top 20 has a losing record never mind 3 games under. BU's two victories are an overtime squeaker against Lowell and a close 3-2 decision over Michigan. This past weekend BU was shut out by "Others receiving votes" team Northeastern who was waxed by BC the next night and lost to a Maine team nowhere to be found in the rankings.
This post is not designed to bash BU (I'll save that for when we get closer to the Fenway game and the Beanpot). They are a very good team that lost a lot last year in Colin Wilson, Matt Gilroy, Jason Lawrence, and Brandon Yip. I think, like BC in 2008-09, BU underestimated how difficult it would be replace those departing players and the production and leadership. They are still an immensely talented roster that is just trying to find the winning combination right now. When Nick Bonino returns from injury it will provide a boost that will more than likely get them back to winning games. But right now, at this moment, this team is struggling to score and to win games. They are not currently one of the top 20 teams in the nation. We've seen it all season in college football and not it has moved to the ice that name recognition is getting votes instead of in-game production. I do have to give Insidecollegehockey.com credit not only for dropping BU from their Power Rankings this week but calling out USCHO.com for having the Terriers ranked 17th.
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