Over the weekend, UMass hockey went farther than the program had ever gone before, reaching the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
After beating Maine four straight times at home to earn home-ice advantage one weekend, and then eliminate the Black Bears from the tournament the next, the Minutemen were bounced out of the Hockey East Tournament semifinals by top-seeded New Hampshire.
However, UMass had done enough already to prove they were finally worthy of making the national tourney, playing in the East Regional bracket in Rochester, N.Y.
They were the fourth seed of four, which I thought was a little low for them (they could have been a three seed). Nonetheless, they played No. 1 Clarkson (who they tied 3-3 in the second game of the season), and knocked off the Golden Knights, 1-0, in a thrilling overtime game.
However, what I truly had a beef with was the fact that the team they had to play in the next round was none other than the same Maine Black Bears. Maine had been given the third seed in the same bracket as the Maroon and White just two weeks after getting embarassed by them four straight times.
Then they went out and upset second-seed St. Cloud State, 4-1, to advance to the region final, setting up the most unlikely of matchups.
Maine won the game, 3-1, mostly due to the return of their injured starting goaltender (who admittedly missed all four games against UMass two week before).
The Black Bears are now in the Frozen Four this weekend along with fellow Hockey East rival, Boston College, as well as North Dakota and Michigan State.
Maine won the game against UMass fairly, the game in and of itself was what it was and everything the Minutemen were doing so well down the stretch disappeared in that game.
Still, it's appauling to me that they even had to play the Black Bears again. Maine should not have even earned one of the 16 spots in the tournament, nevermind get seeded above UMass in the same region.
I'll chalk it up to UMass still be a relative unknown in the hockey world (like I said, it was their first national tourney appearance), but how many times can you be expected to be the same team?
They were nearly the underdog in their own building two weeks ago, when they had tried to take two of three against Maine in the first round of the conference playoffs, one week after sweeping them to take the fourth and final home-ice spot (UMass finished fourth, Maine fifth in Hockey East).
UMass swept Maine again, making it four in a row. The next week they lost to UNH in the semis, then this past Friday they knocked off Clarkson, only to end up right where they were before, having to get past Maine.
This is no attack on Maine - they only did what they had to. But the NCAA selection committee must have really thought Maine goalie Ben Bishop was the difference in the first four losses, because they gave the team one last shot against UMass, this time with their star netminder.
I guess they turned out to be right, because Maine won. But once again, how many times can you beat the same team? UMass and Maine were probably evenly matched this season, but the Minutemen won when it (presumably) counted.
That should have knocked Maine out of contention for a tourney bid. Instead, they got a fifth chance to take down the Minutemen, effectively negating the value of the first four losses. Eventually, you're going to get one, and Maine did. But as I see it, they had their chance and blew it, they shouldn't have been given another one.
The fact that both teams had to win their opening round games just to meet again is irrelevant, the Selection Committee knew what they were making possible by putting them both in the East Regional.
Now, the magic season that UMass coach Don Cahoon helped build is over. The players are back in Amherst going to classes, but they're schedule's a little more open now that there are no more practices to attend or team meetings to get to.
Meanwhile, Maine is going to St. Louis this weekend with a chance to be deemed the best team in the country. Are they really? Even if they win those games, did they deserve the shot? I don't think so.
Teams like Minnesota and New Hampshire were ranked No. 1 in the country at different points this season (Maine was too very early on) and neither won a single game in the tourney, while Maine has won two already.
Does that legitimize them? Sure, they're a good team. I thought so after that fourth-straight L to the Minutemen, but do they deserve to be there over someone else? No. UNH and Minnesota deserved they're shots, even if they didn't follow through on them.
I know I sound like a homer, particularly complaining about this after the fact, but I would have the same issue if the roles were reversed, or if UMass was not involved at all.
Narrowing a large field of good teams down to few is always hard, but this one should have been obvious. UMass will be watching from home this weekend while Maine is there with a chance to win it all, and there's just something wrong with that.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
College Athletics: not all they're cracked up to be
As I'm writing this, the Massachusetts basketball team is in the midst of its opening round match against Alabama in the National Invitation Tournament. For the seniors, it could be their last game. Ever. Superstar Stephane Lasme may go to the NBA, but players like Rashaun Freeman and Brandon Thomas aren't going to the pros. Instead, they're going to have to think about getting jobs. Soon.
Cover college sports as a college student has brought to realize how temporary athleticism can be. One day you're a freshman on a new campus, nervous about... everything. All of a sudden, you're looking for employment, and not the kind you find at the dining hall's dish room.
For most student-athletes, as soon as graduation comes, your athletic career is over, and "real life" begins. These kids - and they are still kids - get overexposed on ESPN, expected to lead their bubble team into their sport's respective NCAA tournament. The pressure is immense, often moreso than professional athletes.
In the pros, you get paid, win or lose. In college sports, losing is so much more permanent. You have four years (thought usually two or three) to produce as an athlete, and prove your worth. And if you're not good enough to make the pros, your potential earnings drop 100-fold. You go from millions to tens of thousands, and 90 percent of it is out of your hands.
You can play your ass off and if win more games than you were every predicted too, then you snap an ankle, and its over. I've realized as a journalist who MAY make 25,000 a year if i get a job right out of school, I have more job security that Rashaun Freeman.
Like any kid, I wanted to play pro sports when I grew up. Now that I talk to the kids who actually have a shot (a number of the hockey players have already been picked up by pro teams for eventual insertion into the minor leagues) I wonder if its really worth.
Only if you make it, I guess.
Cover college sports as a college student has brought to realize how temporary athleticism can be. One day you're a freshman on a new campus, nervous about... everything. All of a sudden, you're looking for employment, and not the kind you find at the dining hall's dish room.
For most student-athletes, as soon as graduation comes, your athletic career is over, and "real life" begins. These kids - and they are still kids - get overexposed on ESPN, expected to lead their bubble team into their sport's respective NCAA tournament. The pressure is immense, often moreso than professional athletes.
In the pros, you get paid, win or lose. In college sports, losing is so much more permanent. You have four years (thought usually two or three) to produce as an athlete, and prove your worth. And if you're not good enough to make the pros, your potential earnings drop 100-fold. You go from millions to tens of thousands, and 90 percent of it is out of your hands.
You can play your ass off and if win more games than you were every predicted too, then you snap an ankle, and its over. I've realized as a journalist who MAY make 25,000 a year if i get a job right out of school, I have more job security that Rashaun Freeman.
Like any kid, I wanted to play pro sports when I grew up. Now that I talk to the kids who actually have a shot (a number of the hockey players have already been picked up by pro teams for eventual insertion into the minor leagues) I wonder if its really worth.
Only if you make it, I guess.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Hockey Night: All night, every night
If you haven't heard, the UMass hockey team is on a roll. The Minutemen just completed their best season in four years, and for just the second time in the program's history, the Hockey East tournament will come to Amherst.
UMass (No. 15 in the country) beat Maine twice in a row this past weekend to move into fourth place in the division - the last spot to earn a home game in the opening round of the playoffs. Now, the Maroon and White will square off against the very same Black Bears squad in a three-game set in the Mullins Center Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if necessary).
Why am I telling you this when I tell people in the Collegian all the time? Because when I say it here, I can also ask you to try to make it to the games this weekend. Attendance has been up and down this season, but Saturday night, when the team clinched home-ice, the second-largest crowd ever was in attendance. As new and modern as that building is, I swear from the press box, it feels like the Mullins Center shakes when 8,300 fans start screaming and jumping after a goal.
By covering the team as a journalist, I forfeited my ability to cheer for the team, for the sake of objectivity, just like I will in the fall when I cover the football team. But for the rest of you, don't miss the chance to potentially see history in the making in college hockey.
UMass has only been in Hockey East, with the likes of BU, BC, UNH, Maine, etc. since 1994, the year after the Mullins Center opened. The Minutemen have never one a Hockey East championship, and this year may be their best chance yet. UMass has a winning record against the No. 1, 2, and 3 team in the league (UNH, BC, and BU, respectively).
This has been a special time for UMass sports. It started with the softball and lacrosse teams making deep playoffs runs last spring and continued with the football team this past fall. Now, the Mass Attack is keeping the momentum going, so don't miss out on the action.
Hockey may be dying out in some other parts of the country, but it is alive and well here in the Northeast, and with a decent run in the conference playoffs, they may make it to the NCAA Frozen Four tournament as well (they are currently 13th in hockey's version of the RPI rating, plenty good enough to make the 16-team bracket).
Either way, this weekend should be a very interesting one. I'll be there, and I hope you will be too.
UMass (No. 15 in the country) beat Maine twice in a row this past weekend to move into fourth place in the division - the last spot to earn a home game in the opening round of the playoffs. Now, the Maroon and White will square off against the very same Black Bears squad in a three-game set in the Mullins Center Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if necessary).
Why am I telling you this when I tell people in the Collegian all the time? Because when I say it here, I can also ask you to try to make it to the games this weekend. Attendance has been up and down this season, but Saturday night, when the team clinched home-ice, the second-largest crowd ever was in attendance. As new and modern as that building is, I swear from the press box, it feels like the Mullins Center shakes when 8,300 fans start screaming and jumping after a goal.
By covering the team as a journalist, I forfeited my ability to cheer for the team, for the sake of objectivity, just like I will in the fall when I cover the football team. But for the rest of you, don't miss the chance to potentially see history in the making in college hockey.
UMass has only been in Hockey East, with the likes of BU, BC, UNH, Maine, etc. since 1994, the year after the Mullins Center opened. The Minutemen have never one a Hockey East championship, and this year may be their best chance yet. UMass has a winning record against the No. 1, 2, and 3 team in the league (UNH, BC, and BU, respectively).
This has been a special time for UMass sports. It started with the softball and lacrosse teams making deep playoffs runs last spring and continued with the football team this past fall. Now, the Mass Attack is keeping the momentum going, so don't miss out on the action.
Hockey may be dying out in some other parts of the country, but it is alive and well here in the Northeast, and with a decent run in the conference playoffs, they may make it to the NCAA Frozen Four tournament as well (they are currently 13th in hockey's version of the RPI rating, plenty good enough to make the 16-team bracket).
Either way, this weekend should be a very interesting one. I'll be there, and I hope you will be too.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Here's MY Opinion
This past week there was a controversy at a UMass basketball game. For those of you who don't know, I'll set the scene.
The UMass basketball team was up by about 40 points with less than 10 minutes remaning in the game. It was Senior Night, this past Wednesday night, and senior Stephane Lasme was one rebound and one block away from his fourth triple-double this season. Coach Travis Ford put him back in the game, risking injury, to try to become just the third person in NCAA history to record four triple-doubles in a season.
I was not at the game. But my colleague, boss, and very good friend Rob Greenfield was. He is the managing editor at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian and covers the basketball team for the paper.
Lasme ended up getting the final stats he needed to get double-digits in all three categories - he finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks. But Greenfield noticed something - or didn't notice it: the 10th block. While I didn't see the play, but Greenfield did, and he believed Lasme was given that last block. It was a questionable call, for sure, and the official scorer gave Lasme the 10th block.
According to Greenfield - and a number of other people at the game - the ball never changed direction, and the spin stayed consistent throughout the flight of the ball. Essentially, they gave him the block to pad his stats and add to the UMass athletics glory fodder.
Greenfield wrote a column about this that night for the Collegian, that can be read here. He called it 'an unforgivable sin in the religious world of competitive sports' and I believe he is right in saying that. However, my opinion on stat-padding is not what this post is about. On UMass Hoops, a forum site for people to discuss UMass Athletics. On one thread, Greenfield was blasted for writing a negative column during such a well-intentioned night. Also blasted was anyone who said he was justified in writing it.
I'm writing this post to say that he had every right to express that opinion and - regardless of whether I agree with him or not on the matter - I respect his right to say that the triple-double was bogus. The Daily Collegian is an independent, student-run newspaper, and everyone on campus needs to learn that.
We get no funding from the University and therefore have no responsibility to constantly write rah-rah BS about the school's sports teams. We have every right to criticize the actions of the teams and the decisions they make, just like writers at the Globe criticize our beloved Red Sox and Patriots.
I am a die-hard Patriots fan and always will be, but when I read a column criticizing a Belichick move, I don't rip that person apart. I read and consider what he (or she) wrote. I don't always agree with what the team does either (trading Deion Branch, for example).
This has happened a number of times this school year. People get upset when the Collegian writes anything critical. Joe Meloni wrote a column on the firing of field hockey coach, Patty Shea that stirred up a lot of anger for criticizing players. They're response? We shouldn't be bashing players because we're the school paper.
I've written some somewhat negative columns myself, about the struggling soccer team
and an up-and-down hockey squad here and here.
Apparently, some people feel we shouldn't say these things about the teams we cover.
Well, frankly, too bad.
We have as much right as any other independent publication. My request to those students out there who still read the Collegian every day: please respect our right to write.
If we make a mistake in editing and mispell a word in a headline? Yeah we deserve to get dumped on a bit for that, as long as you remember that we're students too, and we're learning this trade as we go along just as the business students are learning at their jobs and internships.
But don't ever, ever... please don't ever question our right to publish what we want in a professional, objective, and respectful manner. That's how Mr. Greenfield's opinion was expressed, and any feedback I would expect in the same manner.
The people on UMass hoops don't understand how to do that, nor do they understand what it means to be a journalist. I hope the rest of you do, and I hope you continue to read the Collegian and support it, because I support other student groups. I've spent plenty of money at the Pita Pit anyway...
The UMass basketball team was up by about 40 points with less than 10 minutes remaning in the game. It was Senior Night, this past Wednesday night, and senior Stephane Lasme was one rebound and one block away from his fourth triple-double this season. Coach Travis Ford put him back in the game, risking injury, to try to become just the third person in NCAA history to record four triple-doubles in a season.
I was not at the game. But my colleague, boss, and very good friend Rob Greenfield was. He is the managing editor at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian and covers the basketball team for the paper.
Lasme ended up getting the final stats he needed to get double-digits in all three categories - he finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks. But Greenfield noticed something - or didn't notice it: the 10th block. While I didn't see the play, but Greenfield did, and he believed Lasme was given that last block. It was a questionable call, for sure, and the official scorer gave Lasme the 10th block.
According to Greenfield - and a number of other people at the game - the ball never changed direction, and the spin stayed consistent throughout the flight of the ball. Essentially, they gave him the block to pad his stats and add to the UMass athletics glory fodder.
Greenfield wrote a column about this that night for the Collegian, that can be read here. He called it 'an unforgivable sin in the religious world of competitive sports' and I believe he is right in saying that. However, my opinion on stat-padding is not what this post is about. On UMass Hoops, a forum site for people to discuss UMass Athletics. On one thread, Greenfield was blasted for writing a negative column during such a well-intentioned night. Also blasted was anyone who said he was justified in writing it.
I'm writing this post to say that he had every right to express that opinion and - regardless of whether I agree with him or not on the matter - I respect his right to say that the triple-double was bogus. The Daily Collegian is an independent, student-run newspaper, and everyone on campus needs to learn that.
We get no funding from the University and therefore have no responsibility to constantly write rah-rah BS about the school's sports teams. We have every right to criticize the actions of the teams and the decisions they make, just like writers at the Globe criticize our beloved Red Sox and Patriots.
I am a die-hard Patriots fan and always will be, but when I read a column criticizing a Belichick move, I don't rip that person apart. I read and consider what he (or she) wrote. I don't always agree with what the team does either (trading Deion Branch, for example).
This has happened a number of times this school year. People get upset when the Collegian writes anything critical. Joe Meloni wrote a column on the firing of field hockey coach, Patty Shea that stirred up a lot of anger for criticizing players. They're response? We shouldn't be bashing players because we're the school paper.
I've written some somewhat negative columns myself, about the struggling soccer team
and an up-and-down hockey squad here and here.
Apparently, some people feel we shouldn't say these things about the teams we cover.
Well, frankly, too bad.
We have as much right as any other independent publication. My request to those students out there who still read the Collegian every day: please respect our right to write.
If we make a mistake in editing and mispell a word in a headline? Yeah we deserve to get dumped on a bit for that, as long as you remember that we're students too, and we're learning this trade as we go along just as the business students are learning at their jobs and internships.
But don't ever, ever... please don't ever question our right to publish what we want in a professional, objective, and respectful manner. That's how Mr. Greenfield's opinion was expressed, and any feedback I would expect in the same manner.
The people on UMass hoops don't understand how to do that, nor do they understand what it means to be a journalist. I hope the rest of you do, and I hope you continue to read the Collegian and support it, because I support other student groups. I've spent plenty of money at the Pita Pit anyway...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)