Spring football practice starts today. The 2011 football year really starts with Spring practice.
UMass' Just-a-Minute blog says there will be an update on the UMass website later today.
NCAA Spring Practice rules here.
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Ryan Welsh of WWLP.com says what I've been telling you here. Villanova's decision may effect UMass' move to FBS.
Relevant quote: "Villanova is expected to announce on April 12th if it is joining the Big East in football. If it does, then Temple likely stays in the MAC and UMass could go with it, if officially invited.
If Villanova does not move up, the Big East may invite another team, possibly from Conference USA to join. If that happens, it would open up a spot for Temple and possibly UMass in Conference USA, since TCU is already leaving the conference to join the Big East. "
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More on the UMass football team's bone marrow registration drive.
UPDATE: the UMass website has some video from the bone marrow event.
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You've probably heard about schools taking a financial loss from appearing in bowls. Most of the loss comes from the schools being required to purchase and then re-sell a block of tickets. Case in point is UConn's bath in Fiesta Bowl. Part of that is the current corrupt structure of the Bowls.
Check out the perks Fiesta Bowl officials paid themselves.
Should UMass go FBS and then be invited to a bowl, Minutemen administrators should carefully consider the cost structure of the bowl invitation and not just swallow the hook because it would be our first bowl appearance in modern times.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday -- March 30, 2011
The UMass football team will be sponsoring a bone marrow registration drive today. Matty V adds some thoughts about the drive. If there are any campus readers of the blog and want to support UMass football and be a hero to boot, taking part would be a good thing. More info about the drive here.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alyssa Creamer of MassLive delves into the CAA's scheduling influence on a potential Minutemen move to FBS.
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A story from UMaine's Pro-Day.
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CCSU, one of UMass' 2011 OOC opponents is gearing up to try for their third straight NEC title.
Former Rhode Island HC Tim Stowers is OC/Offensive Line coach for the Blue Devils.
In addition, Football scoop has this""Central Connecticut State: We hear that Liberty HS (VA) head coach Tommy Buzzo and former Northeastern head coach Rocky Hager have interviewed for the defensive coordinator job."
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TSN's Craig Haley talks about the significance of home games in FCS football.
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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Recruiting 2012--Camren Williams
Back in October I blogged about Camren Williams, 6-1 210 athelete from Catholic Memorial in MA. UMass had offered to Williams.
He committed to Penn State.
Williams' 2010 highlight video here.
He committed to Penn State.
Williams' 2010 highlight video here.
Tuesday--March 29, 2011
MassLive's Ron Chimelis comments on UMass' intended move to FBS football when its other sports are struggling. Two or three years ago does seem a long time in sports. It also seems as if that things run in cycles. When UMass was great in basketball, the A10 also had a bunch of good teams.
As everyone knows, I lack the hockey gene in my DNA, so I'm not really qualified to comment, but it did seem that UMass hockey lost a lot of talent prior to the season and the team should be capable of rebounding next year.
Basketball is more troubling. Since Calipari left, we have had maybe four or five coaches. The magic has not returned. Leaving Final Four appearances aside, a 20 win season now and then should be an achievable goal. UMass should be able to finish in the top three of the A10 more often than not.
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TSN's Craig Haley takes a look at FCS's probable number one NFL prospect Ben Ijalana.
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Since the 2010 season Wofford has booted five players off the team.
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As everyone knows, I lack the hockey gene in my DNA, so I'm not really qualified to comment, but it did seem that UMass hockey lost a lot of talent prior to the season and the team should be capable of rebounding next year.
Basketball is more troubling. Since Calipari left, we have had maybe four or five coaches. The magic has not returned. Leaving Final Four appearances aside, a 20 win season now and then should be an achievable goal. UMass should be able to finish in the top three of the A10 more often than not.
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TSN's Craig Haley takes a look at FCS's probable number one NFL prospect Ben Ijalana.
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Since the 2010 season Wofford has booted five players off the team.
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday --March 28, 2010
The CAA Blog site has a story on UNH's Todd Walker.
The CAA Blogger also has some news about the league including a post season audio interview with UMass All-American LB Tyler Holmes.
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Former UMass player Al Skinner defends his legacy at Boston College. Skinner was a business major at UMass and I had a couple of classes with him.
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Light news day on the intertubes.
The CAA Blogger also has some news about the league including a post season audio interview with UMass All-American LB Tyler Holmes.
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Former UMass player Al Skinner defends his legacy at Boston College. Skinner was a business major at UMass and I had a couple of classes with him.
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Light news day on the intertubes.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday --- March 26, 2011
UMass has released its 2011 schedule.
Ron Chimelis has some details on the schedule here. He mentions something I did not know, namely UMass would have the option of adding a 12th game if they declare for FBS. The Minutemen would be ineligible for the FCS playoffs if we give notice we are moving up. It would make sense to add the 12th game against an FBS opponent and use the money to get a jump start on expenses.
A Yahoo Sports article about the 2011 schedule. Relevant quote:"Gillette is light years ahead of the aging McGuirk stadium as a venue for students and other alumni like me."
A couple of schedule notes on my own:
Matty V has a story on UMass' Pro Day. UMass has a feature about the Pro Day and video here.
More notes:
Old Dominion is eager to start its first ever CAA season.
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Ron Chimelis has some details on the schedule here. He mentions something I did not know, namely UMass would have the option of adding a 12th game if they declare for FBS. The Minutemen would be ineligible for the FCS playoffs if we give notice we are moving up. It would make sense to add the 12th game against an FBS opponent and use the money to get a jump start on expenses.
A Yahoo Sports article about the 2011 schedule. Relevant quote:"Gillette is light years ahead of the aging McGuirk stadium as a venue for students and other alumni like me."
A couple of schedule notes on my own:
- The away game at Holy Cross will be the first ever night game at Fitton Field. The Crusader Athletic Dept is bringing in portable lights like we did in the past. Lots of UMass alumni in that area; it would be nice to have a big UMass presence at the game.
- The second Colonial Clash will be a "home" game for UMass and it will count towards our "official" home attendance.
Matty V has a story on UMass' Pro Day. UMass has a feature about the Pro Day and video here.
More notes:
- Anthony Nelson is seriously ripped.
- Greg Niland moves really well for a 6-5 305 pd guy. You can see how he was All-New England at pulling guard.
- I wonder what running around cones has to do with playing football?
Old Dominion is eager to start its first ever CAA season.
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Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday---March 25, 2011
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| Florida Sun-Sentinel image |
From Matty V's latest article :" Several UMass senior football players with professional aspirations will work out for scouts from the NFL, Canadian Football League, United Football League and Arena Football today at McGuirk Stadium".
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Tom King of MassLive says UMass can play with the big boys.
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Ralph Nader wants to do away with college football scholarships.
The NCAA says:" Mr. Nader's proposal is off-base on so many fronts it is hard to know where to start."
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Villanova has released its 2011 schedule.
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday---March 24, 2011
Alyssa Creamer and Tom King of MassLive give a balanced presentation about the possible gains and pains from a UMass football upgrade. They do a pretty good job except for the bogus $3 million cost for the program.
One thing I'd like to point out. The one of the biggest gains for UMass football fans would be the added stability for the program.
Going FBS, as the article says (and every study has found) would change UMass' funding; UMass would have a stable source of income that would move the program into into a break even status.
"From all we have looked at, the program [expansion] would be self-supporting in that way, given the new revenue streams we would be generating,'' McCutcheon told Chimelis."
That would be a very good thing considering the on-again-off-again funding from the state.
We lost a Hall-of-Fame coach (MacPherson) when his scholarships were cut. We lost Jimmie Reid (who won the conference championship three of his six years) when his scholarships were cut.
In addition, the break even status would extend to the additional scholarships for UMass' women's programs.
Also, UMass football fans would not have to worry about the long-term viability of the program.
There are certainly some risks involved, and I do not expect the move to generate vast amounts of money after all expenses are paid.
However, there does seem to be the prospect that the program will do more than break even if the potential use of Gillette Stadium for some games comes true.
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The UMass Football Broadcast team was honored by the Associated Press for the ninth consecutive year.
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Kyle Harrington and Tracey Belton will be playing in the Arena Football league.
Good Luck Kyle and Tracey!
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Some reports from Boston College's Pro Day here .
Greg Niland from UMass gets some Pro Day coverage here and here.
John Griffin, Kyle Havens, Mike Mele, Anthony Nelson also took part.
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During recruiting season I blogged about Donald Buie and J.J. Hubbard . They both ended up signing with Gardner Webb.
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College football reached new heights in attendance and TV ratings in 2010.
From the article:
"The Big Ten Network's afternoon telecasts ranked first among cable households in its eight metered markets for the second year in a row. The network also produced its top two ratings ever. The noon ET time slot on Sept. 18, which included the Ohio State vs. Ohio and Michigan vs. UMass games, averaged a 5.64 rating while the conference battle between Ohio State and Illinois earned a 5.49 rating on Oct. 2."
How about that UMass fans!
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One thing I'd like to point out. The one of the biggest gains for UMass football fans would be the added stability for the program.
Going FBS, as the article says (and every study has found) would change UMass' funding; UMass would have a stable source of income that would move the program into into a break even status.
"From all we have looked at, the program [expansion] would be self-supporting in that way, given the new revenue streams we would be generating,'' McCutcheon told Chimelis."
That would be a very good thing considering the on-again-off-again funding from the state.
We lost a Hall-of-Fame coach (MacPherson) when his scholarships were cut. We lost Jimmie Reid (who won the conference championship three of his six years) when his scholarships were cut.
In addition, the break even status would extend to the additional scholarships for UMass' women's programs.
Also, UMass football fans would not have to worry about the long-term viability of the program.
There are certainly some risks involved, and I do not expect the move to generate vast amounts of money after all expenses are paid.
However, there does seem to be the prospect that the program will do more than break even if the potential use of Gillette Stadium for some games comes true.
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The UMass Football Broadcast team was honored by the Associated Press for the ninth consecutive year.
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Kyle Harrington and Tracey Belton will be playing in the Arena Football league.
Good Luck Kyle and Tracey!
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Some reports from Boston College's Pro Day here .
Greg Niland from UMass gets some Pro Day coverage here and here.
John Griffin, Kyle Havens, Mike Mele, Anthony Nelson also took part.
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During recruiting season I blogged about Donald Buie and J.J. Hubbard . They both ended up signing with Gardner Webb.
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College football reached new heights in attendance and TV ratings in 2010.
From the article:
"The Big Ten Network's afternoon telecasts ranked first among cable households in its eight metered markets for the second year in a row. The network also produced its top two ratings ever. The noon ET time slot on Sept. 18, which included the Ohio State vs. Ohio and Michigan vs. UMass games, averaged a 5.64 rating while the conference battle between Ohio State and Illinois earned a 5.49 rating on Oct. 2."
How about that UMass fans!
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesday --March 23, 2011
Back in February, I published a "unofficial" 2011 UMass schedule. The only opponent not verified was Central Connecticut State.
Now CSN has published a NEC Conference schedule showing CCSU @ UMass on October 8th ----- hopefully not based on my blog post :)
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I received an E-mail saying UMass QB Kyle Havens will be participating in Boston College's Pro Day today.Good luck to Kyle and the other Minutemen players!
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Rhode Island has an article on coaching changes for the Ram staff. It finally lists Liam Coen as QB coach, but there is still no linkable bio for him.
Lots of changes for Rhode Island coaching as Rhody moved two position coaches to offfense and defensive coordinators. Ryan Crawford went from secondary coach to DC and Roy Istvan went from OL coach to OC.
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Jerry Rice Award to honor FCS' Freshman-of-the-Year.
Now CSN has published a NEC Conference schedule showing CCSU @ UMass on October 8th ----- hopefully not based on my blog post :)
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I received an E-mail saying UMass QB Kyle Havens will be participating in Boston College's Pro Day today.Good luck to Kyle and the other Minutemen players!
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Rhode Island has an article on coaching changes for the Ram staff. It finally lists Liam Coen as QB coach, but there is still no linkable bio for him.
Lots of changes for Rhode Island coaching as Rhody moved two position coaches to offfense and defensive coordinators. Ryan Crawford went from secondary coach to DC and Roy Istvan went from OL coach to OC.
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Jerry Rice Award to honor FCS' Freshman-of-the-Year.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday --- March 23, 2011
UPDATE: UMass will hold its Pro Day Friday March 25th. Anyone going to attend and give us some insights?
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Christen Gill a 6-2, 200 pd QB/DB from Bridgeport, Ct signed with Western Carolina Monday. He apparently had been on UMass' radar, but did not receive an offer.
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Michelle Brooks-Thompson, the wife of former UMass OL David Thompson will sing the national anthem at Fenway Park.
David Thompson was a four year letter winner for the Minutemen (2003-06). He was All-A10 in 2006 and was a member of UMass' 2006 National Championship game team.
According to the article, he now teaches and coaches at Amherst Regional.
Good luck, Michelle!
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UMass is looking for students to participate in NESN's reality show "Schooled".
Anyone from the Valley remember WWLP's "As schools match wits"?
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Soon students will have no fundamental human rights left!
Tuffs' President Lawrence Bacow has banned the school's naked fun run. Drunk, naked students are causing "carnage".
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Christen Gill a 6-2, 200 pd QB/DB from Bridgeport, Ct signed with Western Carolina Monday. He apparently had been on UMass' radar, but did not receive an offer.
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Michelle Brooks-Thompson, the wife of former UMass OL David Thompson will sing the national anthem at Fenway Park.
David Thompson was a four year letter winner for the Minutemen (2003-06). He was All-A10 in 2006 and was a member of UMass' 2006 National Championship game team.
According to the article, he now teaches and coaches at Amherst Regional.
Good luck, Michelle!
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UMass is looking for students to participate in NESN's reality show "Schooled".
Anyone from the Valley remember WWLP's "As schools match wits"?
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Soon students will have no fundamental human rights left!
Tuffs' President Lawrence Bacow has banned the school's naked fun run. Drunk, naked students are causing "carnage".
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday---March 21, 2011
UMass football recruit Randall Jette does pretty good at basketball too.
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Montana, like UMass, will be starting a new QB this spring.
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The CAA football blog is back with a roundup of football news from around the league.
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College Football study hall.
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They got the guy who killed UNH football player Todd Walker.
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Montana, like UMass, will be starting a new QB this spring.
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The CAA football blog is back with a roundup of football news from around the league.
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College Football study hall.
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They got the guy who killed UNH football player Todd Walker.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Saturday--March 19, 2011
Matty Vautour has a short article on the return of Frank Forucci as DC.
MassLive.com also has about the same information.
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I received an E-mail stating UMass Senior Woody Carter IV attended the NFL Elite Regional Combine in Baltimore on March 6th. He was invited to the NFL Elite National Combine in Indianapolis, which will be held April 15-16 with all 32 NFL teams attending.
Carter was the 2010 UMass Special Teams Award winner.
Good luck Woody! And thanks to person who notified me.
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More articles on the death of UNH player Todd Walker:
UNH HC McDonnell responds to Walker's death.
The party Walker was at sparked a riot.
Vail Daily has more details.
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MassLive.com also has about the same information.
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| AP Image |
I received an E-mail stating UMass Senior Woody Carter IV attended the NFL Elite Regional Combine in Baltimore on March 6th. He was invited to the NFL Elite National Combine in Indianapolis, which will be held April 15-16 with all 32 NFL teams attending.
Carter was the 2010 UMass Special Teams Award winner.
Good luck Woody! And thanks to person who notified me.
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More articles on the death of UNH player Todd Walker:
UNH HC McDonnell responds to Walker's death.
The party Walker was at sparked a riot.
Vail Daily has more details.
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Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday---March 18, 2011
UPDATE: UMass has confirmed Frank Forucci has been named DC.
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UPDATE II: UNH Redshirt Freshman WR Todd Walker has been shot and killed in a robbery attempt in Boulder, CO.
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The MEAC intends to use its auto-bid to the FCS playoffs, instead of opting for a Bowl game with the the SWAC.
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Appalachian State is interested in moving to FBS, but the Mountaineer's AD Charlie Cobb says there are no offers on the table.
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The website Statsheet is a great time waster. Statsheet was brought to my attention over on the Singularity Blog.
They also have a Statsmack site that will take any two basketball teams and "prove" with statistics one is better than the other.
UMass is better than Duke.
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| Frank Forucci Scan from UMass 2003 Press Guide |
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UPDATE II: UNH Redshirt Freshman WR Todd Walker has been shot and killed in a robbery attempt in Boulder, CO.
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The MEAC intends to use its auto-bid to the FCS playoffs, instead of opting for a Bowl game with the the SWAC.
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Appalachian State is interested in moving to FBS, but the Mountaineer's AD Charlie Cobb says there are no offers on the table.
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The website Statsheet is a great time waster. Statsheet was brought to my attention over on the Singularity Blog.
They also have a Statsmack site that will take any two basketball teams and "prove" with statistics one is better than the other.
UMass is better than Duke.
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Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday -- March 17, 2011
I've updated the Spring Football game countdown clock as the Athletic Dept has released the date and time.
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Josh Buchanan's report from Delaware's Pro Day.
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Reading the Tea leaves about Villanova's possible move to the Big East.
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All UMass football fans know that the UMass Sunwheel is located close to McGuirk Stadium.
The UMass Astronomy Dept is holding its Spring Sunwheel Gathering this Sunday.
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Josh Buchanan's report from Delaware's Pro Day.
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Reading the Tea leaves about Villanova's possible move to the Big East.
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All UMass football fans know that the UMass Sunwheel is located close to McGuirk Stadium.
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| UMass Astronomy Dept image |
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Recruiting 2011-- T.J. Keefer
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| Keefer #12. A J.D. Cavrich/Altoona Mirror image |
Altoona Mirror story about Keefer here.
Highlight video here.
Keefer went 53-1,230 13 TD's. He was Class AAA All-State. Also Altoona-Mirror All-County and All-Area.
Welcome to the Minutemen, T.J.!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday--March 15, 2010
Today is the Ides of March, and Matty Vautour looks at the state of UMass athletics. He has some discussion of UMass football and includes this quote from AD John McCutcheon about a possible move to FBS:
"There are several dominoes that have to fall. Some of them have and some of them are lined up. But we still have several issues that need to be addressed and hurdles to clear for this to happen," he said. "I think there's some excitement about that and I think there's some frustration out there that we can't announce something quicker than we've been able to. It's a process. There are things in that process that are out of our control. It's been an issue that's been talked about here for years and years. To be this close to that possibility has to be creating some excitement."
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TSN's Craig Haley looks at "Overcoming the Small School label" for FCS NFL draft players.
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A School with one of my favorite sports nicknames---The Stetson Hatters, are starting up football and joining the Pioneer League.
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"There are several dominoes that have to fall. Some of them have and some of them are lined up. But we still have several issues that need to be addressed and hurdles to clear for this to happen," he said. "I think there's some excitement about that and I think there's some frustration out there that we can't announce something quicker than we've been able to. It's a process. There are things in that process that are out of our control. It's been an issue that's been talked about here for years and years. To be this close to that possibility has to be creating some excitement."
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TSN's Craig Haley looks at "Overcoming the Small School label" for FCS NFL draft players.
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A School with one of my favorite sports nicknames---The Stetson Hatters, are starting up football and joining the Pioneer League.
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday -- March 14, 2011
Will UMass make its announcement this week about moving to the FBS level? Stay tuned.
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March football reading: Death to the BCS.
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Both CBS Sports and NFL.com have schedules of college Pro Days. UMass does not appear on either.
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Will the NFL lockout help college football this year?
BTW, Neilsen research lists Boston as the #7 media market in the nation. If UMass does end up playing some games in Gillette, it would certainly imply UMass football could be an attractive addition if future BCS league realighments happen.
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March football reading: Death to the BCS.
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Both CBS Sports and NFL.com have schedules of college Pro Days. UMass does not appear on either.
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Will the NFL lockout help college football this year?
BTW, Neilsen research lists Boston as the #7 media market in the nation. If UMass does end up playing some games in Gillette, it would certainly imply UMass football could be an attractive addition if future BCS league realighments happen.
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
UMass Historical Scans --- 1987
Click on the image and Blogger displays a much larger view.
I've added 13 scans from four different UMass game programs from 1987 to the "UMass Historical Scans" folder. You can also access the scans by clicking on the image in the side bar.
One cover is from the UConn-UMass game at Storrs. Be sure to read the UConn essay on the Minutemen-Huskies football rivalry. If we go FBS, can we get that restarted?
One scan has the Alumni Band's tribute to George Parks on his tenth year as director of the UMMB.
Picassa shows a bigger view of the photo album by clicking on the magnifying glass symbol in the upper right hand corner. That allows easier reading of text pages.
The scans include articles on UMass greats Todd Rundle, Jim Vertucci and Peter Montini. In 1987 Paul Mayberry, Pete Montini, Todd Rundle, Mike Barrette, Joe Cullen, John McKeown and Vito Perrone all made All-Yankee Conference.
1987 was a down year with the Minutemen finishing 3-8. UMass won the Yankee Conference championship the previous and following years (1986 and 1988).
In 1987 Kevin Smellie led UMass in rushing going 143-687 2 TD's. Dave Palazsi threw for 281-150 1,868 10 TD's.
Go UMass!!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday---March 11, 2011
Max Jacques, a potential walk-on at UMass has accepted a scholarship offer from Marist.
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New CAA team Georgia State suspended a slew of players earlier this week.
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TSN's Craig Haley looks at potential defensive NFL draft prospects in FCS.
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College football in NFL stadiums made another jump when Syracuse signed a 20 year deal to play some games in the New Meadowlands Stadium. The Orange want to be "New York's college team".
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New CAA team Georgia State suspended a slew of players earlier this week.
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TSN's Craig Haley looks at potential defensive NFL draft prospects in FCS.
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College football in NFL stadiums made another jump when Syracuse signed a 20 year deal to play some games in the New Meadowlands Stadium. The Orange want to be "New York's college team".
Recruiting 2011---Randall Jette III
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| Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times image |
The 6-0 175 pd Jette runs a 4.5 40 and has a 37-inch verticle jump.
Jette ran for 953 yards and 19TD's in his senior season. Added 587 more yards and 4 TD's passing.
I've blogged about Jette twice before.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Kent State's women's LAX coach Bob Lindsay started his career as a UMass football player and then moved to Dick Garber's team and then on to a career in coaching.
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UMass 2011 OOC opponent Holy Cross has announced it 's 2011 recruiting class.
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Rhode Island held their Pro Day on Monday. When is UMass' Pro Day?
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After five surgeries in three years, Maine's Jared Turcotte is hanging up his spikes.
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Kassein Everett, a true freshman standout for Delaware has been dismissed from the team.
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Miami of Ohio went from worst to first in the MAC in 2010.
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UMass 2011 OOC opponent Holy Cross has announced it 's 2011 recruiting class.
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Rhode Island held their Pro Day on Monday. When is UMass' Pro Day?
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After five surgeries in three years, Maine's Jared Turcotte is hanging up his spikes.
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Kassein Everett, a true freshman standout for Delaware has been dismissed from the team.
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Miami of Ohio went from worst to first in the MAC in 2010.
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Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Wednesday---March 9, 2011
Delaware began spring practice yesterday still smarting from a official's mistake in the FCS National Championship game.
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The Charlotte 49ers are still looking for a conference to join.
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Villanova bid to play in the Big East is complicated by the fact that the Wildcats have no good place to play home games.
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Notre Dame has scrapped using hydraulic lifts for football videographers after the death of an Irish student five months ago.
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TSN's Craig Haley looks at offensive FCS NFL draft possibilities.
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The Charlotte 49ers are still looking for a conference to join.
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Villanova bid to play in the Big East is complicated by the fact that the Wildcats have no good place to play home games.
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Notre Dame has scrapped using hydraulic lifts for football videographers after the death of an Irish student five months ago.
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TSN's Craig Haley looks at offensive FCS NFL draft possibilities.
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Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Recruiting 2012--Darian Johnson
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| Johnson #28, Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star image |
Johnson's Rivals page is here.
BeRecruited.com page here.
Two years All-Academic.
Also drawing interest from Old Dominion on the FCS level and Akron, Duke, East Carolina and VA Tech from FBS.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Recruiting 2012---Elijah Hughes
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| Frank H Conlon/Star-Ledger image |
Hughes' Rivals page here. Scout.com page here.
An article mentioning him here.
YouTube highlight video here.
Also drawing interest from Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Boston College and Pitt.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Sunday --March 6, 2011
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| George Parks speaks to the UMMB on 09/11/10 |
Ron Chimelis has an update on the search for a new UMass Marching Band director.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Saturday--March 5, 2011
A couple of inspiring stories this morning: Albany DL Eddie Delaney sheds disability like blockers, Yankee players step up to the plate for a Red Sox coach's daughter.
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The Hartford Courant says under the current FBS Bowl system red ink is part of the game.
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New Hampshire opens its 2011 season with Toledo.
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Former Lehigh and Elon HC and now HC for the Ball State Cardinals Pete Lembo looks at the proper OOC schedule for a MAC team.
Note that the Cardinals will get $900,000 for a date with Oklahoma and former UMass assistant coach (1991-1995) John Strollo is OL coach there.
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The Hartford Courant says under the current FBS Bowl system red ink is part of the game.
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New Hampshire opens its 2011 season with Toledo.
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Former Lehigh and Elon HC and now HC for the Ball State Cardinals Pete Lembo looks at the proper OOC schedule for a MAC team.
Note that the Cardinals will get $900,000 for a date with Oklahoma and former UMass assistant coach (1991-1995) John Strollo is OL coach there.
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Friday, March 04, 2011
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Thursday---March 3, 2011
There are multiple articles like this one referencing a Sports Network story that Villanova will accept a Big East bid.The original article from the Sports Network seems less definitive.
Craig Haley looks at the CAA for 2011. Is it just my imagination, or do the CAA North teams get a lot fewer words than the South teams in that article?
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Meanwhile:
The MAC releases its combined 2011 football schedule.
Central Michigan continues to lobby for an additional team to be added to the league because the odd number of MAC teams create scheduling difficulties.
One MAC schedule I'd like to point out is Buffalo's. The Bulls have exactly the type of schedule that would be great for UMass.
Besides its MAC schedule, Buffalo plays two Big East teams. UConn at home and Pittsburgh on the road. They also have a money game with Tennessee.
You can't tell me that a UMass schedule with two Big East teams along with Temple and Buffalo would not be a more interesting slate than the Minutemen's current opponents. I'd love to be making plans to visit Heinz Stadium and Neyland Stadium.
Several comments in the Blog have been disparaging of Buffalo. It is true that we dominated them back in Whipple era. However, UMass' overall record against the Bulls is only 5-4 . Things have changed since 1998.
Check out Buffalo's 2011 recruiting list. They recruited twice as many starred players as did UMass.
Take Buffalo's 31-0 win over Rhode Island and note that we lost to the same team.
For college football fans, a UMass-Buffalo game would have a lot more football talent on display than during our current schedule.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I would love to see this Buffalo recruit play.
I addition, from what I'm hearing, UMass' access to Gillette Stadium could be parlayed into an even better schedule.
Playing in MAC would be a good deal for UMass and UMass football fans.
Plus, as I keep saying, we could WIN in the MAC, which would give UMass future options...
Craig Haley looks at the CAA for 2011. Is it just my imagination, or do the CAA North teams get a lot fewer words than the South teams in that article?
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Meanwhile:
The MAC releases its combined 2011 football schedule.
Central Michigan continues to lobby for an additional team to be added to the league because the odd number of MAC teams create scheduling difficulties.
One MAC schedule I'd like to point out is Buffalo's. The Bulls have exactly the type of schedule that would be great for UMass.Besides its MAC schedule, Buffalo plays two Big East teams. UConn at home and Pittsburgh on the road. They also have a money game with Tennessee.
You can't tell me that a UMass schedule with two Big East teams along with Temple and Buffalo would not be a more interesting slate than the Minutemen's current opponents. I'd love to be making plans to visit Heinz Stadium and Neyland Stadium.
Several comments in the Blog have been disparaging of Buffalo. It is true that we dominated them back in Whipple era. However, UMass' overall record against the Bulls is only 5-4 . Things have changed since 1998.
Check out Buffalo's 2011 recruiting list. They recruited twice as many starred players as did UMass.
Take Buffalo's 31-0 win over Rhode Island and note that we lost to the same team.
For college football fans, a UMass-Buffalo game would have a lot more football talent on display than during our current schedule.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I would love to see this Buffalo recruit play.
I addition, from what I'm hearing, UMass' access to Gillette Stadium could be parlayed into an even better schedule.
Playing in MAC would be a good deal for UMass and UMass football fans.
Plus, as I keep saying, we could WIN in the MAC, which would give UMass future options...
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Recruiting 2012--A. J. Doyle
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| John Wilcox/Boston Herald image |
Doyle's ESPN page here.
Rivals.com page here.
ESPN article mentioning UMass' offer here.
YouTube highlight video here.
UMass is Doyle's only offer so far. Also hearing from Boston College, UConn, Duke and Florida.
Thanks to "Old Cage" for pointing out the ESPN article.
Wednesday ---March 2, 2011
Rhode Island has published the Rams' 2011 schedule. So far, still no deviations from the unofficial 2011 UMass schedule I blogged back on Feb 8th.
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Did I miss seeing the start of a Weekly UMass Sports podcast from Matty Vautour and the Gazette? This week's is here.
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TSN's Craig Haley says the Pioneer has again been denied a auto-bid to the FCS playoffs and there may be changes to the date of the FCS Championship game.
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Football Scoop covers the human cost of coaching changes at Miami of Ohio.
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Did I miss seeing the start of a Weekly UMass Sports podcast from Matty Vautour and the Gazette? This week's is here.
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TSN's Craig Haley says the Pioneer has again been denied a auto-bid to the FCS playoffs and there may be changes to the date of the FCS Championship game.
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Football Scoop covers the human cost of coaching changes at Miami of Ohio.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Recruiting 2012--Abner Logan II
Back on February 18th I did a blog post on Abner Logan, a 6-2 210 pd LB from Newton, MA.
This report (scroll down) talks about his results in the Badger Sports Elite 7-on-7 camp.
Special thanks to "Old Cage" for bringing the article to my attention!
This report (scroll down) talks about his results in the Badger Sports Elite 7-on-7 camp.
Special thanks to "Old Cage" for bringing the article to my attention!
Tuesday--March 1, 2011
First spotted this link over at Draft Daddy: the Toronto Star looks at NFL's fixation with 40 yard dash times.
Combine workout results here.
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TSN's Craig Haley looks at college football recruiting in the 21st century.
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9News.com (Colorado) looks at the top FCS NFL draft prospects.
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Philly.com looks at Delaware's Flacco-Devlin comparison.
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The Blog thinks some of best sports reporting comes from---------------The Wall Street Journal.
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Combine workout results here.
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TSN's Craig Haley looks at college football recruiting in the 21st century.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9News.com (Colorado) looks at the top FCS NFL draft prospects.
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Philly.com looks at Delaware's Flacco-Devlin comparison.
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The Blog thinks some of best sports reporting comes from---------------The Wall Street Journal.
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