 |
| Chari Christie image |
News article here.
Q&A with Batten here.
Last fall Batten had 1, 194 yards rushing and 10 TD's. Also had 150 yards and 3 TD's receiving.
Batten holds an offer from Toledo.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Recruiting 2013--Tramaine Batten
News article here.
Q&A with Batten here.
Last fall Batten had 1, 194 yards rushing and 10 TD's. Also had 150 yards and 3 TD's receiving.
Batten holds an offer from Toledo.
Wednesday---February 29th, 2012
Good Morning on Leap Day. As most of you know, I'm an amateur astronomer. The true seasonal year is about 365.2422 days, so an additional day is needed every four years to keep the seasonal year in step with the calender year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liam Coen has been promoted at RI. He now adds the duties of passing coordinator to his QB coaching.
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UMass football won't be the only Minuteman team to play at Gillette this year. UMass lax will play in the 3rd Annual Lacrosse Classic on April 21st.
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A South Carolina writer says the new NCAA football rules are "ill advised".
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Big Blue view has a bunch of Giant wallpapers. A number of them are of Victor Cruz
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Liam Coen has been promoted at RI. He now adds the duties of passing coordinator to his QB coaching.
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UMass football won't be the only Minuteman team to play at Gillette this year. UMass lax will play in the 3rd Annual Lacrosse Classic on April 21st.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A South Carolina writer says the new NCAA football rules are "ill advised".
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Big Blue view has a bunch of Giant wallpapers. A number of them are of Victor Cruz
 |
| Click on image for a larger view. |
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Recruiting 2013-- Joey Ivie
 |
| Ivie #52/Fred Bellet-Tampa Bay Online image |
Sunshine Preps page here.
Rivals page here.
First Team All-Pasco County.
Thuesday--February 28th, 2012
A Collegian writer says it's a good time to be at UMass. I believe that people involved in UMass sports are among the highest percentage of alums who are also involved with the University.
As I keep pointing out, UMass' move to FBS is not a take-from-Peter-to-pay-Paul situation. The idea is to have UMass working at the highest level in all aspects of college life: academics, research, quality of life and athletics.
Let's go UMass!
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NBC Sports mentions UMass is amoung the four college football programs moving up this spring. Just think, in June when the college football magazines come out, the Minutemen will be in them. No more special order publications.
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Temple News online looks at the difference in revenue between the Big East and the MAC and the A10.
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The BC Blog "BC Interruption" looks at the Eagles 2012 schedule.
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Add UConn recruit Ebenezer Ogundeko to my list of favorite sports names.
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As I keep pointing out, UMass' move to FBS is not a take-from-Peter-to-pay-Paul situation. The idea is to have UMass working at the highest level in all aspects of college life: academics, research, quality of life and athletics.
Let's go UMass!
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NBC Sports mentions UMass is amoung the four college football programs moving up this spring. Just think, in June when the college football magazines come out, the Minutemen will be in them. No more special order publications.
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Temple News online looks at the difference in revenue between the Big East and the MAC and the A10.
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The BC Blog "BC Interruption" looks at the Eagles 2012 schedule.
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Add UConn recruit Ebenezer Ogundeko to my list of favorite sports names.
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Monday, February 27, 2012
Recruiting 2012-- Darren Hambrick
 |
| Image credit ukknown |
Rivals page here.
Hambrick holds offers from Kent State and Western Kentucky.
Monday--February 27, 2012
ESPN Quick Hits says Victor Cruz is raising UMass' profile across the country.
The Giants are considering what to do with Cruz's contract.
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Another FCS program transitioning to FBS Texas State, starts its FBS era.
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Texas A&M may break a 105-year tradition in 2012.
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The Giants are considering what to do with Cruz's contract.
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Another FCS program transitioning to FBS Texas State, starts its FBS era.
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Texas A&M may break a 105-year tradition in 2012.
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Sunday, February 26, 2012
Recruiting 2013---Darius Commissiong
 |
| Rivals image |
ESPN post here.
Commissiong's Rivals page here.
Commissiong holds offers from Boston College, East Carolina, Iowa, Maryland, Syaracuse and Virginia.
Sunday--February 26th, 2012
Emil Igwenagu's results from yesterday's NFL Combine workouts.
Nepatriots.com says Emil looks "very intriguing".
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WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
Toledo takes winter conditioning to the next level.
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Have you checked on First Row streaming video lately?
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Victor Cruz looks to capitalize on his growing profile.
The Giants GM said they only took a chance on Cruz because he was a local player.
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Nepatriots.com says Emil looks "very intriguing".
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WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
Toledo takes winter conditioning to the next level.
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Have you checked on First Row streaming video lately?
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Victor Cruz looks to capitalize on his growing profile.
The Giants GM said they only took a chance on Cruz because he was a local player.
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Saturday, February 25, 2012
Saturday--February 25th, 2012
Barry Tramel, a Oklahoma Sports Blogger discusses FCS Vs FBS games this season and "opines "nobody wants to see UConn play UMass". Not to mention UMass isn't FCS anymore.
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Besides Emil Igwenagu, the MAC will have seven former players at the NFL Combine.
Speaking of Emil, he did 19 reps at the Combine's bench press event.
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The UMass Daily Collegian has some details on Victor Cruz's upcoming book.
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The Bengals special teams, including leading tackler Jeromy Miles, look to repeat their top-tier finish in 2012.
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Brandon London gets six catches for 81 yards last November 13 and runs over a whole bunch of Tiger-Cats in the process.
London has a new two year deal with the Larks.
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Besides Emil Igwenagu, the MAC will have seven former players at the NFL Combine.
Speaking of Emil, he did 19 reps at the Combine's bench press event.
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The UMass Daily Collegian has some details on Victor Cruz's upcoming book.
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The Bengals special teams, including leading tackler Jeromy Miles, look to repeat their top-tier finish in 2012.
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Brandon London gets six catches for 81 yards last November 13 and runs over a whole bunch of Tiger-Cats in the process.
London has a new two year deal with the Larks.
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Friday, February 24, 2012
Friday--February 24th, 2012
Matty V. has a quote from the Commissioner of the A10 that says she realizes football drives the market.
Philly.com has a story about Temple's possible move.
A copy of the UMass-MAC contract is available here .
Philly.com also states the a Temple move to the Big East would change the recruiting dynamics of the Northeast for both hoops and football.
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Yahoo Sports has a story about Emil Igwenagu and UMass football.
Relevant quote for UMass fans:
""When you look at the number of guys they've placed in the league, UMass is now a program that is sending players into the NFL regularly," the scout said. "And they're guys making an impact, guys starting and contributing. You have to look at these players now."
Emil's official weigh-in numbers from the NFL Combine.
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I forgot to mention Emil and James Lizotte made the CAA All-Academic team (.pdf download).
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A Bleacher Report writer looks at every opening game in the 2012 season and predicts a UConn victory over UMass. He also uses an image I took.
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Philly.com has a story about Temple's possible move.
A copy of the UMass-MAC contract is available here .
Philly.com also states the a Temple move to the Big East would change the recruiting dynamics of the Northeast for both hoops and football.
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Yahoo Sports has a story about Emil Igwenagu and UMass football.
Relevant quote for UMass fans:
""When you look at the number of guys they've placed in the league, UMass is now a program that is sending players into the NFL regularly," the scout said. "And they're guys making an impact, guys starting and contributing. You have to look at these players now."
Emil's official weigh-in numbers from the NFL Combine.
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I forgot to mention Emil and James Lizotte made the CAA All-Academic team (.pdf download).
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A Bleacher Report writer looks at every opening game in the 2012 season and predicts a UConn victory over UMass. He also uses an image I took.
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Thursday, February 23, 2012
Recruiting 2013---Josh Morris
 |
| Image credit unknown |
ESPN story here.
Morris was the RI GatoradePlayer-of-the-Year.
Relevant quote for UMass fans: "“I think BC, UMass, Temple or UConn might be the next to offer,” Morris said."
Thursday--February 23rd, 2012
Matty V. has a story about the apparent move of Temple to the Big East.
There are a number of ways this could play out for UMass. I think the Minutemen would like to stay in the MAC, at least to start our career in FBS. Jumping directly from an FCS program to a BCS league would be more risky.
It's possible the MAC could add a team to replace Temple. Several writers have mentioned Army, which is closer to UMass than Temple.
Another big impact would be on the A10, which would be losing it's premiere basketball program.
It would also be the death blow for Villanova's move to the Big East in football. The Wildcats would not be happy about sharing Philadelphia with another Big East basketball team. This could trigger moves in both A10 and Big East basketball.
The Times-Herald says Temple's move could harm Villanova.
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Former UMass assistant coach Brian Butterworth is joining the staff at Campbell
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Victor Cruz has reportedly signed a book deal. Eli Manning has no interest in a book right now.
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Emil Igwenagu will be at the NFL Combine for the next couple days. The Combine's homepage is here.
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There are a number of ways this could play out for UMass. I think the Minutemen would like to stay in the MAC, at least to start our career in FBS. Jumping directly from an FCS program to a BCS league would be more risky.
It's possible the MAC could add a team to replace Temple. Several writers have mentioned Army, which is closer to UMass than Temple.
Another big impact would be on the A10, which would be losing it's premiere basketball program.
It would also be the death blow for Villanova's move to the Big East in football. The Wildcats would not be happy about sharing Philadelphia with another Big East basketball team. This could trigger moves in both A10 and Big East basketball.
The Times-Herald says Temple's move could harm Villanova.
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Former UMass assistant coach Brian Butterworth is joining the staff at Campbell
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Victor Cruz has reportedly signed a book deal. Eli Manning has no interest in a book right now.
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Emil Igwenagu will be at the NFL Combine for the next couple days. The Combine's homepage is here.
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Recruiting 2013--Maurice Hurst, Jr
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| 247 Sports image |
Hurst's Rivals page here.
ESPN All-State.
This article features Hurst.
Hurst also holds offers from Boston College, UConn and Perdue.
Wednesday---February 22nd, 2012
Matty V reports that UMass has hired Mike Kruczek as offensive coordinator.
Mike Kruczek and Dante Culpepper.
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WGGB 40 says Victor Cruz helped energize the UMass home crowd in the Minutemen's home game against Xavier.
MassLive.com has more on Victor's visit.
Cruz knows a lot about hoops as he was a star in Paterson before his football career.
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Soon-to-be CAA member Georgia State is looking into FBS status.
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 |
| Chris Schubert image |
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 |
| Mike Beswick image |
MassLive.com has more on Victor's visit.
Cruz knows a lot about hoops as he was a star in Paterson before his football career.
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Soon-to-be CAA member Georgia State is looking into FBS status.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Recruiting 2013--Lexus Walton
Walton's ESPN page here.
Rivals Page here.
This article quotes him as saying some BCS teams are looking at Walton as a DB and some of the non-BCS teams as a RB.
Walton has offers from Mississippi and Southern Mississippi.
Tuesday--February 21st, 2012
The UMass website has more on Emil Igwenagu's time at the NFL Combine. The Combine will be televised on the NFL Network.
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Victor Cruz is expected to make an appearance at tonight's UMass-Xavier game.
UPDATE: Matty V has an update on his Gazette blog about Victor. Since it's short, I'll just add it here instead of linking to it.
Salsa Anyone?
Victor Cruz will be in attendance at tonight's Men's Basketball Game vs. Xavier at 7pm in the Mullins Center. As the Vizio Top Value Performer, he will be giving
away a Vizio 42" HDTV to the winner of a half-time salsa-dance contest.
Three lucky students will be selected at the game to participate in the
contest. Get there early and BE LOUD!
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The Worcester Telegram covers some local athletes at the Combine including Emil Igwenagu.
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The MAC-affiliated Go Daddy Bowl feels secure if the NCAA raises the bar for bowl eligibility.
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Victor Cruz is expected to make an appearance at tonight's UMass-Xavier game.
UPDATE: Matty V has an update on his Gazette blog about Victor. Since it's short, I'll just add it here instead of linking to it.
Salsa Anyone?
Victor Cruz will be in attendance at tonight's Men's Basketball Game vs. Xavier at 7pm in the Mullins Center. As the Vizio Top Value Performer, he will be giving
away a Vizio 42" HDTV to the winner of a half-time salsa-dance contest.
Three lucky students will be selected at the game to participate in the
contest. Get there early and BE LOUD!
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The Worcester Telegram covers some local athletes at the Combine including Emil Igwenagu.
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The MAC-affiliated Go Daddy Bowl feels secure if the NCAA raises the bar for bowl eligibility.
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Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday--February 20th, 2012
Ida Shipp raised three pretty successful kids.
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Jenny Dell tells how she moved from her Connecticut roots to a UMass cheerleader and on to being the newest NESN sideline reporter.
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Tulane's president says a BCS-only playoff could be acceptable to non-BCS leagues, if the revenue distribution improves.
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AND SHE'S GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY
Every football fan knows the Super Bowl economic indicator. Now an intrepid reporter finds that an American on the cover of the SI Swimsuit edition is positive indicator for the stock market. Original article here (subscription).
Relevant quote: That little known measuring rod shows that since 1978, whenever an American graced the swimsuit cover, the total return for the S & P 500 averaged an annual gain of 14.3% and was on the plus side 88.2% of the time, while during those years when no American was on the cover, the index averaged a total return of 10.8% and was positive 76.5% of the time. . .
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Jenny Dell tells how she moved from her Connecticut roots to a UMass cheerleader and on to being the newest NESN sideline reporter.
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Tulane's president says a BCS-only playoff could be acceptable to non-BCS leagues, if the revenue distribution improves.
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AND SHE'S GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY
 |
| Kate Upton image credit unknown |
Every football fan knows the Super Bowl economic indicator. Now an intrepid reporter finds that an American on the cover of the SI Swimsuit edition is positive indicator for the stock market. Original article here (subscription).
Relevant quote: That little known measuring rod shows that since 1978, whenever an American graced the swimsuit cover, the total return for the S & P 500 averaged an annual gain of 14.3% and was on the plus side 88.2% of the time, while during those years when no American was on the cover, the index averaged a total return of 10.8% and was positive 76.5% of the time. . .
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Recruiting 2013--Jack McDonald
This ESPN blog post has more information about UMass offers to Brendon O'Neil and John Van Allen, who I blogged about last Friday.
It also mentions UMass has offered to Jack McDonald a 6-5 275 pd OL from Boston College High in Dorchester.
McDonald's Rivals page here.
Recruiting capsule on him here (in middle of article).
It also mentions UMass has offered to Jack McDonald a 6-5 275 pd OL from Boston College High in Dorchester.
McDonald's Rivals page here.
Recruiting capsule on him here (in middle of article).
Sunday--February 19th, 2012
First of all, check out an update on Ryan Carter in the comments section of last Wednesday's blog post.
I think it's interesting that anytime there is something negative about UMass, dozens of news outlets pick it up. Ryan Carter does something heroic and, as far as I know, the sole article about his story has been in the Gazette.
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UMass legend Marcel Shipp was at the UMass hoops game last night being honored as one of this year's UMass Athletics Hall-of-Fame class.
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An NFL Draft report on Emil Igwenagu from a Jacksonville Jaguars blogger. He projects Emil as a 5th to 7th round pick.
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Victor Cruz will not get performance pay for his 2011 efforts with the Giants.
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The Penn State has two former UMass assistant coaches John Strollo (1992-95) and Ted Roof (1994-96) on the new coaching staff. The Nittany Lions also grabbed a QB coach from Miami of Ohio.
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I think it's interesting that anytime there is something negative about UMass, dozens of news outlets pick it up. Ryan Carter does something heroic and, as far as I know, the sole article about his story has been in the Gazette.
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UMass legend Marcel Shipp was at the UMass hoops game last night being honored as one of this year's UMass Athletics Hall-of-Fame class.
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An NFL Draft report on Emil Igwenagu from a Jacksonville Jaguars blogger. He projects Emil as a 5th to 7th round pick.
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Victor Cruz will not get performance pay for his 2011 efforts with the Giants.
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The Penn State has two former UMass assistant coaches John Strollo (1992-95) and Ted Roof (1994-96) on the new coaching staff. The Nittany Lions also grabbed a QB coach from Miami of Ohio.
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Saturday, February 18, 2012
Saturday--February 18th, 2012
Emil Igwenagu is working at the TEST Football Academy in Martinsville, NJ to get ready for the NFL combine.
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NESN compares Jeremy Lin with Victor Cruz.
More on Victor Cruz and Kate Upton.
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Examiner.com says the MWC-C-USA merger was forced by BCS greed.
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SB Nation looks at how to evaluate college football recruiting rankings.
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More UMass 2013 recruiting info tomorrow. Mrs. Blog and I are off to Western Mass today to do some errands and take in this evening's UMass- LaSalle hoops game.
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NESN compares Jeremy Lin with Victor Cruz.
More on Victor Cruz and Kate Upton.
 |
| The Daily image |
Examiner.com says the MWC-C-USA merger was forced by BCS greed.
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SB Nation looks at how to evaluate college football recruiting rankings.
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More UMass 2013 recruiting info tomorrow. Mrs. Blog and I are off to Western Mass today to do some errands and take in this evening's UMass- LaSalle hoops game.
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Friday, February 17, 2012
Recruiting 2013--Brendon O'Neil and John Van Allen
The ESPN recruiting Blog says UMass has offered to Brendon O'Neil, a 6-4 230 pd TE from Burlingham, MA and to John Van Allen a 6-3 196 pd WR/DB from Avon Old Farms, CT.
O'Neil's ESPN page here.
O'Neil made the ESPN All-State Prep Team.
This article features O'Neil. It says his father was Chris ONeil, who played for UMass 1978-1981. His father wore #70 and was a 6-3 270 OT for UMass.
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John Van Allen's ESPN page.
Van Allen's Rivals page here.
Van Allen has been gaining FBS interest early.
As well as UMass, Van Allen has attended Junior Days at UConn, Duke and Maryland.
Van Allen's Junior highlights above.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
| Image credit unknown |
O'Neil's ESPN page here.
O'Neil made the ESPN All-State Prep Team.
This article features O'Neil. It says his father was Chris ONeil, who played for UMass 1978-1981. His father wore #70 and was a 6-3 270 OT for UMass.
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 |
| Rivals image |
Van Allen's Rivals page here.
Van Allen has been gaining FBS interest early.
As well as UMass, Van Allen has attended Junior Days at UConn, Duke and Maryland.
Van Allen's Junior highlights above.
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Friday--February 17th, 2012
Matty V. says UMass is looking to find a mutual date so that Victor Cruz could appear at a UMass hoops game.
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VAnDelaySports.com ranks the MAC recruiting classes.
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NBC Sports has the Spring Practice starting dates for some of the MAC teams.
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It doesn't look like Temple and UMass are joining the Sun Belt Conference.
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Where we were: the CAA gets a new TV package. It's mostly about the basketball side, but it appears CAA football might get some modest benefits. In the past, CAA football had to pay for some of the ESPN production costs.
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SB Nation says the turnover in staff at Boston College indicates things are going bad at Chestnut Hill.
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Randy Edsall is still winning friends at Maryland.
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VAnDelaySports.com ranks the MAC recruiting classes.
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NBC Sports has the Spring Practice starting dates for some of the MAC teams.
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It doesn't look like Temple and UMass are joining the Sun Belt Conference.
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Where we were: the CAA gets a new TV package. It's mostly about the basketball side, but it appears CAA football might get some modest benefits. In the past, CAA football had to pay for some of the ESPN production costs.
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SB Nation says the turnover in staff at Boston College indicates things are going bad at Chestnut Hill.
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Randy Edsall is still winning friends at Maryland.
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
Thursday--February 16, 2012
Matty V. has an article on UMass athletes with 4.0 averages. Included from football are:
It's official, Yale has posted an article about Yale assistants and Kevin Morris has been hired as offensive coordinator.
The Yale News has more.
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The Daytona Beach News-Journal says UMass assistant coach Alan Suber is settling in at UMass.
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An ESPN blog says "numerous sources" indicate the new MWC-C-USA conglomerate is interested in A10 teams Charlotte, Temple and UMass as well as the Owls and the Minutemen for football.
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The current league reshuffling continues to be driven by football. Other sports continue to recede in influence. The ACC wonders "Where have all the basketball fans gone?"
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Victor Cruz's life continues to be unreal. SI cover girl Kate Upton asked Victor out and he turned her down. When you can blow off the SI swimsuit cover girl, you've arrived.
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UMass has offered to two more 2013 recruits, but I'm under some time constraints today. I'll try to have blog post up tomorrow morning.
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- Jeff Strait
- Matt Quinn
- Robert O'Connor
It's official, Yale has posted an article about Yale assistants and Kevin Morris has been hired as offensive coordinator.
The Yale News has more.
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The Daytona Beach News-Journal says UMass assistant coach Alan Suber is settling in at UMass.
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An ESPN blog says "numerous sources" indicate the new MWC-C-USA conglomerate is interested in A10 teams Charlotte, Temple and UMass as well as the Owls and the Minutemen for football.
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The current league reshuffling continues to be driven by football. Other sports continue to recede in influence. The ACC wonders "Where have all the basketball fans gone?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victor Cruz's life continues to be unreal. SI cover girl Kate Upton asked Victor out and he turned her down. When you can blow off the SI swimsuit cover girl, you've arrived.
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UMass has offered to two more 2013 recruits, but I'm under some time constraints today. I'll try to have blog post up tomorrow morning.
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Recruiting 2013---Milan Collins
 |
| Tom Hauck/ESPNHS image |
Collins ESPN page here.
Rivals page here.
This article has some information on Collins.
Collins also holds offers from East Carolina, Rutgers, Syracuse and Buffalo.
Wednesday -- February 15th, 2012
UMass football player Ryan Carter hopes to save a child's life. The blog, Mrs Blog and the whole UMass community are really proud of Ryan.
Ryan's kickoff return TD above.
UPDATE: Matty V. reports that Ryan had his surgery this morning and things went well.
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A Bleacher Report writer says UMass adds to the heft of the MAC.
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UMass' Emil Igwenagu will equal the number of players from Colorado, Colorado State, Northern Colorado and Air Force at the NFL combine.
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It will cost Memphis $5 million to join the Big East.
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The City of Providence puts the bite on Brown University.
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Ryan's kickoff return TD above.
UPDATE: Matty V. reports that Ryan had his surgery this morning and things went well.
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A Bleacher Report writer says UMass adds to the heft of the MAC.
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UMass' Emil Igwenagu will equal the number of players from Colorado, Colorado State, Northern Colorado and Air Force at the NFL combine.
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It will cost Memphis $5 million to join the Big East.
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The City of Providence puts the bite on Brown University.
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Recruiting 2012--Dalvin Battle
 |
| Battle #1 / Jason Easterly image |
News-Press article here. Another article from the News-Press here.
Battle is a Rivals two-star player.
This article features Battle.
Battle ran for 1,006 yards and 19 TD in his senior season. Also had 17 receptions for 294 yards and 2 TD.
Tuesday--February 14th, 2012
The Patriot League will start offering scholarships in 2013. That would be good news for UMass as the Minutemen could schedule a local FCS team like Holy Cross and a win would count towards bowl eligibility.
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A Hattiesburg.com writer says C-USA could get as big as 24 schools including a Temple-UMass tandem.
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Boston College adds three assistant coaches, two of them from FCS/I-AA.
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Temple officials have met with officials from C-USA and Mountain West---and is in play for the Big East.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking of Conference USA, they're merging with the Mountain West.
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Off topic, but how could this guy's collection be complete if he hasn't contacted this blog.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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A Hattiesburg.com writer says C-USA could get as big as 24 schools including a Temple-UMass tandem.
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Boston College adds three assistant coaches, two of them from FCS/I-AA.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Temple officials have met with officials from C-USA and Mountain West---and is in play for the Big East.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking of Conference USA, they're merging with the Mountain West.
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Off topic, but how could this guy's collection be complete if he hasn't contacted this blog.
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Monday, February 13, 2012
Monday--February 13, 2012
Victor Cruz says Mario Manningham's super catch was not drawn up that way.
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NFL Draft Geek has Emil Igwenagu #3 in his fullback rankings.
NFL Draft Scout has Igwenagu as #2.
NFL Draft Scout's Julian Talley page.
NFL Draft Scout's Tyler Holmes page.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victor was also at the Grammy's. The recent death of Whitney Houston was a sad thing.
I saw this link about the deaths of two former Akron football players over on the MAC Conference board.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Pitino continues his campaign to have Temple join the Big East.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NFL Draft Geek has Emil Igwenagu #3 in his fullback rankings.
NFL Draft Scout has Igwenagu as #2.
NFL Draft Scout's Julian Talley page.
NFL Draft Scout's Tyler Holmes page.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victor was also at the Grammy's. The recent death of Whitney Houston was a sad thing.
I saw this link about the deaths of two former Akron football players over on the MAC Conference board.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Pitino continues his campaign to have Temple join the Big East.
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Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sunday---February 12th, 2012
No UMass related football news on the wires this morning.
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Boston College's football staff is taking hits.
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Does college football recruiting need an early signing period?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now Junior Days.
And multi-year scholarships.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I watched John Calipari's Kentucky team play Vanderbilt last night. Does Anthony Davis remind you of Marcus Camby?
Great minds think alike. I Googled for an image of Camby to post and found : Anthony Davis, the next Marcus Camby???
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston College's football staff is taking hits.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does college football recruiting need an early signing period?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now Junior Days.
And multi-year scholarships.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I watched John Calipari's Kentucky team play Vanderbilt last night. Does Anthony Davis remind you of Marcus Camby?
Great minds think alike. I Googled for an image of Camby to post and found : Anthony Davis, the next Marcus Camby???
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Saturday--February 11th, 2011
Matty V. has a story on Coach Molnar's compensation package. It seems right in line with other MAC HC packages. Interesting is the fact that there were 120 FBS teams last year and 50 of them payed their coach $1 million or more.
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Athlon Sports looks at the new head coaching hires (including Coach Molnar), in 2012.
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Jeff Thomas mentions a $500,000 donation to UMass football, plus the reason that UMass has not published its assistant coaching hires.
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Victor Cruz is meeting with publishers about a book deal.
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Boston College loses a pair of assistant coaches to Temple and Rutgers.
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Arizona State's president is pushing for an eight team college football playoff.
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The Super Bowl riveted NY Giants fans to their seats during the close fought contest. After Brady's Hail Mary throw was batted down, the NY water system recorded one of the greatest flushes in the city's history. The level of the city's reservoir dropped two inches.
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Athlon Sports looks at the new head coaching hires (including Coach Molnar), in 2012.
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Jeff Thomas mentions a $500,000 donation to UMass football, plus the reason that UMass has not published its assistant coaching hires.
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Victor Cruz is meeting with publishers about a book deal.
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Boston College loses a pair of assistant coaches to Temple and Rutgers.
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Arizona State's president is pushing for an eight team college football playoff.
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The Super Bowl riveted NY Giants fans to their seats during the close fought contest. After Brady's Hail Mary throw was batted down, the NY water system recorded one of the greatest flushes in the city's history. The level of the city's reservoir dropped two inches.
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Friday, February 10, 2012
Friday--February 10th, 2012
MassLive.com reports UMass is seeking $33 Million to support UMass athletics. Part of the project is to fund the new football operations center and new press box at McGuirk.
Hopefully, all the people who have been wailing about the move to Gillette will join the program to upgrade McGuirk
"Writing a check separates a commitment from a conversation." ---Warren Buffet
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UMass-Michigan this year will be a day game at the Big House.
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Maui Now has a report on Nick Rolovich's moving to Nevada. The story says he was under contract to University of Hawaii until March 31st. That means he had not signed with UMass.
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Speaking of offensive coordinators, former UMass assistant coach Mike Dunbar (1984-1986) has been hired at NIU.
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Victor Cruz thinks he deserves a raise.
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FoxSports Ohio says hiring Terry Bowden was a huge landmark for the Zips.
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The NCAA voted to make a major change in kickoffs for the 2012 season.
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Hopefully, all the people who have been wailing about the move to Gillette will join the program to upgrade McGuirk
"Writing a check separates a commitment from a conversation." ---Warren Buffet
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UMass-Michigan this year will be a day game at the Big House.
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Maui Now has a report on Nick Rolovich's moving to Nevada. The story says he was under contract to University of Hawaii until March 31st. That means he had not signed with UMass.
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Speaking of offensive coordinators, former UMass assistant coach Mike Dunbar (1984-1986) has been hired at NIU.
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Victor Cruz thinks he deserves a raise.
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FoxSports Ohio says hiring Terry Bowden was a huge landmark for the Zips.
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The NCAA voted to make a major change in kickoffs for the 2012 season.
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Thursday, February 09, 2012
Recruiting 2012--Bailey-Smith II
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| Emily Reynolds/Wicked Local image |
ESPN quotes him as saying he made the right decision to join UMass.
Thursday--February 9th, 2012
UMass assistant coach Nick Rolovich has left to become OC for Nevada. Matty V has a story here.
The Nevada website has an article on Rolovich's hiring (without mentioning UMass), here.
Jeff Thomas has a story about former UMass HC Kevin Morris becoming the OC at Yale.
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Former UMass assistant coaches Tom Messala and Malik Hall (DL line coach in UMass' previous staff) will coach at Wagner this year.
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Julian Talley is one of the players featured in this story ( second page) about the Players All-Star classic.
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Now Victor Cruz is conquering the fashion world.
The Honorable Bill Pascrell, Jr rises in the NJ House of Representatives to praise Victor.
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The Pat Pulpit predicts the Patriots will re-sign James Ihedigbo to a two year $2.9 million deal.
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The Nevada website has an article on Rolovich's hiring (without mentioning UMass), here.
Jeff Thomas has a story about former UMass HC Kevin Morris becoming the OC at Yale.
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Former UMass assistant coaches Tom Messala and Malik Hall (DL line coach in UMass' previous staff) will coach at Wagner this year.
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Julian Talley is one of the players featured in this story ( second page) about the Players All-Star classic.
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Now Victor Cruz is conquering the fashion world.
The Honorable Bill Pascrell, Jr rises in the NJ House of Representatives to praise Victor.
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The Pat Pulpit predicts the Patriots will re-sign James Ihedigbo to a two year $2.9 million deal.
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Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Wednesday--February 8th, 2012
The Daytona News-Journal has another article on Coach Suber joining the Minutemen.
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ESPN's totals on the recruiting classes for our OOC schedule in 2012
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Memphis to the Big East in both basketball and football. The article says Coach Pitino wants Temple too.
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Victor Cruz was a fan favorite at the Giants Super Bowl celebration.
Victor took his salsa moves to City Hall.
Victor Cruz jerseys on e-bay.
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James Ihedigbo's ink.
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ESPN's totals on the recruiting classes for our OOC schedule in 2012
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Memphis to the Big East in both basketball and football. The article says Coach Pitino wants Temple too.
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Victor Cruz was a fan favorite at the Giants Super Bowl celebration.
Victor took his salsa moves to City Hall.
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| Ron Antonelli/Daily News image |
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James Ihedigbo's ink.
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Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Recruiting 2012--Cameron Mock
UMass reported on signing day Cameron Mock, a 6-7 305 pd OL from Clayton, NM will be joining the Minutemen in 2012.
First Team All-State as an offensive lineman and second team All State as defensive lineman.
Mock was team captain of both football and basketball teams.
First Team All-State as an offensive lineman and second team All State as defensive lineman.
Mock was team captain of both football and basketball teams.
Tuesday--February 7th, 2012
James Ihedigbo has some classy quotes in two stories when he met with the press after the Patriots returned to Foxboro. Article from WEEI here and the Boston Herald here.
James Ihedigbo and the Pats are back at work. BTW, Ihedigbo is a free agent in 2012.
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ESPN says it was a down year for Boston College recruiting.
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Is the MAC the best QB league in FBS?
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The Boston Herald says Victor Cruz is on top of the world after the Giants Super Bowl Victory.
Victor will have A LOT endorsements.
Meanwhile, in NY, they're expecting millions for the Giants ticker tape parade.
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James Ihedigbo and the Pats are back at work. BTW, Ihedigbo is a free agent in 2012.
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ESPN says it was a down year for Boston College recruiting.
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Is the MAC the best QB league in FBS?
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The Boston Herald says Victor Cruz is on top of the world after the Giants Super Bowl Victory.
Victor will have A LOT endorsements.
Meanwhile, in NY, they're expecting millions for the Giants ticker tape parade.
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Monday, February 06, 2012
Recruiting 2012--Nevin Cyr
On February 1st, UMass announced that Nevin Cyr, a 6-3 230 pd TE/LB from Cushing Academy signed with the Minutemen.
Rivals two-star player.
Cyr had 62 TT 1 Sack 1 INT for Cushing.
Cyr's 2011 highlight video above.
Rivals two-star player.
Cyr had 62 TT 1 Sack 1 INT for Cushing.
Cyr's 2011 highlight video above.
Monday--February 6th, 2012
Wow! What a Super Bowl! It was a close hard fought game and the Pats nearly completed a winning "Hail Mary" pass in the final seconds. The Super Bowl has a special meaning for Mrs Blog and I. We met at a Super Bowl party.
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A Gazette writer has Victor Cruz with "the best feeling of his life".
The Worcester Telegraph said Super Bowl victory has Victor Cruz dancing.
The NY Times says Victor has all the right moves.
Cruz's TD. Victor has 4 catches for 25 yards and a TD.
James Ihedigbo had 5 tackles for the Pats.
The UMass Daily Collegian has a story about Ihedigbo and Cruz playing against each other at the Super Bowl.
There were 14 arrests at UMass, but nobody got hurt and there was no property damage.
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The MAC tied for third in conference representation at the Super Bowl with 13 players.
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A Gazette writer has Victor Cruz with "the best feeling of his life".
The Worcester Telegraph said Super Bowl victory has Victor Cruz dancing.
The NY Times says Victor has all the right moves.
Cruz's TD. Victor has 4 catches for 25 yards and a TD.
James Ihedigbo had 5 tackles for the Pats.
The UMass Daily Collegian has a story about Ihedigbo and Cruz playing against each other at the Super Bowl.
There were 14 arrests at UMass, but nobody got hurt and there was no property damage.
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The MAC tied for third in conference representation at the Super Bowl with 13 players.
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Sunday, February 05, 2012
Super Bowl Sunday--February 5th, 2012
Suber's Bethune-Cookman bio.
He took part in an NFL internship program last summer.
Jeff Thomas has a story about Suber's hiring.
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This article ranks new head coaches for 2012 and feels Charlie Molnar is #19.
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Like crunching numbers? I do. The Wall street Journal profiles an Englishman, Neil Hornsby, who found the NFL and became a such a statistics guru that the Giants are using his data in the Super Bowl.
Hornsby's take on Victor Cruz's route running.
As most people who read this blog know, I'm an amateur astronomer. I use Wolfram's Mathematica a lot in my double star work.
Type in "Compare Giants and Patriots" into Wolfram's computational knowledge engine WolframAlpha.
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Take your choice of dozens of Victor Cruz stories.
The NY Times says Cruz defied the odds at UMass.
Cruz remembers his roots in Paterson here and here and here.
ESPN Blog has Ihedigbo's incredible journey.
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Saturday, February 04, 2012
Recruiting 2012---Robert Kitching II
I blogged before on Robert Kitching signing with UMass.
This article reports on the six members of the Railsplitters who sign to play college football.
Kitching, who really only played two years of football, ended up being one of four NY players who signed with FBS programs.
This article reports on the six members of the Railsplitters who sign to play college football.
Kitching, who really only played two years of football, ended up being one of four NY players who signed with FBS programs.
Saturday--February 4th, 2012
Home page here.
Roster here (Talley's at the end).
Mocking the Draft says Talley has the best hands at the game.
The National Football post says Talley has stood out all week.
The 4:00pm Saturday game will be on some Cox and Comcast channels. Check your local listing.
Talley probably had his 2011 UMass numbers impacted by our QB troubles. I wonder how he would have done if Liam Coen had been throwing the ball for UMass. Or maybe Jeff Krohn. I think in Krohn's second year at UMass we had something like a dozen one minute or less scoring drives.
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Matty V says with UMass' move to FBS, players like Victor Cruz and James Ihedigbo won't be anomalies in the future.
Cruz and Ihedigbo have been creating a buzz for UMass athletics.
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Jeff Thomas reports that former UMass assistant coach Guido Falbo has been named HC at RPI.
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Chade Hunte was supposed to take recruit Vondell Langston to Antonio's during his recruiting visit. He forgot him.
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ESPN says UMass loaded up on recruits for the transition to FBS football. Quote from the article:
Langston, a product of one of the Northeast's most successful programs, is considered a top sleeper by ESPNU.
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Friday, February 03, 2012
Recruiting 2012---Trye Dudley-Giles II
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| Willie Allen image |
There's been a couple of articles about his signing with UMass.
Tampa Bay Online says it didn't take him long to adapt.
The Tampa Bay Times tells why he chose UMass.
Bay New 9 has another story about Trey's signing and mentions a recruit UMass was interested in at one time QB Jacob Guy.
Friday--February 3, 2012
Now that the bulk of the recruiting is over, it's fun to speculate on how we did. All the usual disclaimers apply. Some recruits probably won't make it past the admissions office. Some won't adapt to the college game.
The various recruiting services have different standards. The troubles of five-star recruits are well known.
But it is usually possible in a macro sense to determine how things went for a school. You take Gardner-Webb's recruits. I'll take Ohio State's. I'll win the game.
ESPN lists 25 UMass recruits with a total of 20 stars.
In 2011, ESPN listed 25 recruits with a total of 10 stars.
A Toledo fan looks at the results from the entire MAC.
Where we came from:
Maine 4 stars
UNH two stars.
Rhode Island 0 stars.
TSN says the best FCS class was recruited by James Madison.
ESPN lists JMU with 11 players and 14 stars.
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Lots of Victor Cruz articles:
Victor is a Latin sensation.
The Wall Street Journal says the Giants added Salsa to their offense.
USA Today looks at players from the Giants and the Pats who were undrafted or cut by other teams.
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James Ihedigbo says he's playing for his family.
Ihidigbo and Cruz are friends.
NBC says Ihedigbo has emerged as a leader in the Pats secondary.
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The Boston Globe does a Super Bowl predictions roundup including a rhinoceros and an ostrich .
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The various recruiting services have different standards. The troubles of five-star recruits are well known.
But it is usually possible in a macro sense to determine how things went for a school. You take Gardner-Webb's recruits. I'll take Ohio State's. I'll win the game.
ESPN lists 25 UMass recruits with a total of 20 stars.
In 2011, ESPN listed 25 recruits with a total of 10 stars.
A Toledo fan looks at the results from the entire MAC.
Where we came from:
Maine 4 stars
UNH two stars.
Rhode Island 0 stars.
TSN says the best FCS class was recruited by James Madison.
ESPN lists JMU with 11 players and 14 stars.
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Lots of Victor Cruz articles:
Victor is a Latin sensation.
The Wall Street Journal says the Giants added Salsa to their offense.
USA Today looks at players from the Giants and the Pats who were undrafted or cut by other teams.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Ihedigbo says he's playing for his family.
Ihidigbo and Cruz are friends.
NBC says Ihedigbo has emerged as a leader in the Pats secondary.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Boston Globe does a Super Bowl predictions roundup including a rhinoceros and an ostrich .
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