Thinking out loud…while contemplating my next packy run…and adding extra ‘mootz’ to my pizza…
Connecticut, The State of Champions. Now if they could do something about the traffic on I-95, we’d be all set.
Quinnipiac taking the NCAA men’s hockey championship this past week adds to a pretty remarkable accomplishment – one state housing basketball and hockey titlists in the same season…and within the same week.
That hasn’t happened since 1977, when the State of Wisconsin had Badger hockey and Marquette basketball finishing on top.
QU head coach Rand Pecknold’s story is a pretty good one. When he took over the program in 1994, Quinnipiac was Division III. And it wasn’t a good D3 team, either. He made $6700 per year. He had a high school teaching job to make ends meet, and his first office was in a janitor’s closet.
30 years later, after two previous D1 title game attempts, the transformation is complete. It was ESPN’s most-watched Frozen Four in 12 years.
And the Bobcats beat a pretty good Minnesota team in the title game, coming from a 2-0 deficit to tie it, then win it…just 10 seconds into overtime.
Merrimack, then Big 10 schools Ohio State, Michigan, and Minnesota – all vanquished. By little ol’ 6000-student Quinnipiac. Whoa.
Shoutout here to UConn’s Phil Chardis, a former sportswriter-turned-sports information director for the Huskies who covered the first three national titles for the Journal-Inquirer, and the last two as UConn’s SID. Chardis is retiring after 12 years at the school…and 44 years on the Husky beat.
The makeup of Connecticut’s team for next season is still in question, but one strength is a definite return. “Kong” Clingan, 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan, sez he will return to Storrs. That’s a plus. Dude is a game-changer.
Getting back to hockey, with the Bruins hitting big-time records this week. Most wins in a single year, most points in a single season in NHL history. Greatest single regular season by a Boston/New England team, ever?
It has to rank right there with the Patriots’ undefeated season in 2007. But we know how that turned out. The Celtics won a team-record 68 games in 1972-73…and also did not win it all.
The Red Sox, however, did win a franchise-record 108 games in 2018 and won the World Series, so all is not lost, yet.
But will we remember this year as a great year? Only if Lord Stanley’s Cup spends the next calendar year in residence here. There won’t be any “65 wins, 135 points” banners hanging in the Garden rafters, nor should there be.
Down on the farm, Providence’s Bruins are right there within the AHL as well. The PB’s need wins in their final three games over the weekend to clinch the Atlantic Division title. Ten players on the current roster, and goaltender Brandon Bussi was up for the week, have played at least one game in Boston this season.
Bussi and forward Georgii Merkulov were both named to the American Hockey League all-rookie team for this season. The on-ice future of the Bruins…certainly remains bright.
Cool to see David Pastrnak reach 61 goals scored in a single season, the 23rd NHL’er to hit the 60-mark and just the second Bruin (hello, Espo) to ever do it.
But have you paid attention to Connor McDavid’s season in Edmonton? He’s the fourth player in league history with five separate 15-game point streaks (and he’s currently on one). The others?
Gretzky. Lemieux. Peter Stastny. 64 goals and 153 points for the season. A future Bruins’ foe, perhaps? Could be great theater.
Who else is enjoying baseball’s quickened pace this season? It’s almost as if we’re watching another sport, entirely.
Then the Red Sox show us, at the most inopportune moments, how they still have difficulty pitching (starters can’t go five, bullpen can’t get outs), fielding (hello, Kike), or hitting (Kike, hello again).
Same ol’ Sox, who are now 3-20 in their last 23 games played at the Trop in St. Petersburg. With basically no one watching. It’s embarrassing for Boston and Boston fans, which deserve better.
Sell the team, Mr. Henry, to someone who still wants to win.
Another benefit to the faster pace-of-play? Longer beer sales. Several teams are now extending beer sales into the 8th inning rather than shutting off the spigots in the 7th. The Red Sox haven’t (yet) made that call for Fenway.
So, the pitch clock is keeping us interested, even if it’s a pain for many pitchers who don’t know how to throw with pace. They’ll learn. Has anyone also noticed a rise in batting averages thanks to shift limitations? Overall averages are up 16 points.
Game time, on average, has dropped 31 minutes to 2:38 in the first year of the pitch clock. The time is on track to be the lowest since it was 2:35 in 1984.
There have been 125 pitch clock violations, an average of 0.89 per game, as of midweek. Two-thirds of the penalties have been imposed on pitchers. Stolen bases were up 30% to 1.3 per game in the first year of larger bases, too.
Or is that because pitchers can’t throw over to first as much? Maybe both. But the end result is a faster, “funner” game to watch.
Adam Duvall’s wrist injury came as a result of making extra effort to catch up with a fly ball. Hard to place any blame there. But he’s out about two months? One less bat in the lineup means (at least) one more pitcher has to figure it out.
Oh, and Fenway Park is going to host a major Pickleball tournament this summer. Yup, I (bleep) you not.
Is this going to be in place of hosting a contending baseball team? Asking for a few hundred thousand friends.
The Chicago Cubs are the first MLB team to have an official CBD sponsor – signing a deal with Mynd Drinks. High times are here, just sayin’.
Here’s a novel idea – lower ticket prices, make concessions cheaper ($1 hot dogs & $2 beers?), and have no hidden fees at the ballpark to attract fans? That’s what the Wichita Wind Surge are doing this season in the AA Texas League, just like Ben Mondor did once-upon-a-time in Pawtucket.
And it just so happens that Wichita’s club president Jay Miller was originally hired by former Pawsox GM and Wichita owner Lou Schweichheimer, who passed away in 2020. The Pawtucket legacy lives on, it appears, in Kansas.
My buddy “Big E” sez he has to plug in his cellphone so often to charge it that he pretty much has a land line all over again.
22% of men’s Division I college basketball players are in the transfer portal. That’s more than one out of every FIVE in D1. Say what you will about having freedom to choose and freedom of movement, but this is borderline anarchy. Even professional free agency has limits.
A little help here, exalted Grand Poobah Charlie Baker?
It’s running rampant, even in the Big East: Butler’s Jayden Taylor to NC State, and St. Andrews-ex Myles Wilmoth is off to Hofstra with seven Bulldogs in the portal; Georgetown’s Brandon Murray to Ole Miss, and eight ex-teammates are in the portal.
Five DePaul Blue Demons, three from Marquette, two Friars (Jared Bynum and Quante Berry, three Pirates (including Femi Odukale), four Musketeers and eight from St. John’s…are all looking for greener grass.
And it’s likely they may not all find it.
While we’re at it, let’s add six Rhody Rams, six Bryant Bulldogs and two Brown Bears to that mix as well. By my math, that’s 31% of the Division I players in Rhode Island.
Zek Montgomery is a 6-6 wing transfer from Bradley, and sez he’ll suit up next fall for URI.
Providence’s incoming transfer class, consisting of Josh Oduro, Justyn Fernandez, and Davonte Gaines is currently ranked as the eighth-best transfer class at stat whiz site EvanMiya.com.
The retention of current players, and Top 50 recruits like Garwey Dual (who re-upped for PC this week), certainly helps the cause and brightens the outlook for next season.
Kim English’s staff is beginning to take shape. On the support staff are I.J. Poole as Player Development (from George Mason) and Matt Palumbo as a special assistant. There may be further shuffling of duties, but one assistant slot and the Director of Basketball Operations position have not officially been filled.
Ed Croswell, who told our buddy Brendan McGair at the Woonsocket Call/Pawtucket Times that he’s done his fair share of recruiting to keep guys around, is playing at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this weekend to begin his professional career. And he started strong.
Big East coaching news of note: Creighton has hired ex-UMass coach Derek Kellogg as an assistant, and Rick Pitino has brought in former PC assistant and RIC head coach Bob Walsh to his St. John’s staff as a special assistant.
UConn’s Adama Sanogo, the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is going pro and retaining an agent. The Huskies’ Nahiem Alleyne has also decided to enter the portal as a grad transfer.
Don’t think the Huskies’ dynamo is crumbling just yet however.
Marquette’s O-Max Prosper has declared for the NBA Draft, but will retain his eligibility to return, just in case. Xavier’s Jack Nunge announced via his personal Instagram page he will not return to school.
But Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman has announced his return to Omaha – which should take some of the sting out of losing point guard Ryan Nembhard to the portal.
And South Kingstown’s Keegan Records is expected to withdraw from the portal and stay with Colgate for his 5th year of eligibility.
Ex-Friar David Duke not only received a later-in-the-season call up to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, as did Justin Minaya to Portland…but Duke was also named to the all-NBA G League 1st team.
Kudos to the Providence College dance team, placing seventh in hip-hop and 10th nationally in jazz at the NDA Nationals in Daytona, FL. Been quite the year for cheer at PC.
Providence’s women’s hockey team will travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland with Princeton for the Friendship Series…the only women’s college hockey tournament outside of the US…in January of 2024.
And congratulations to recently retired Providence athletic director Bob Driscoll, this week named to the Class of 2023 NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) Hall of Fame.
Fundraising and facility development under his leadership pushed PC into the 21st century.
The Power of Coach Prime at Colorado is growing stronger by the day. Is Deion Sanders serious about coaching in college at the Power 5 level? Fans of the Buffaloes believe he is.
A school-record 45K will be in attendance on April 22nd for CU’s spring football game. That’s more than the last nine spring games combined. Last year’s game at Colorado drew less than 2000 fans. The previous spring game record was 17,800.
The NBA announced Monday that the regular season was the highest attended in its history, setting new records not only for overall attendance (22.2 million) but also sellouts (791).
On Tuesday, the NBA league office announced a hiring freeze with limited exceptions, and cuts to expenses and travel due to current “economic headwinds.” Uh huh. And they just set an attendance record.
Here’s the Kiss o’ Death: The Celtics should sweep the Hawks in the first round, amiright?
Providence’s Pirates, the local entry in the present-day American Basketball Association, is off to the Elite Eight in their national tournament event this week in Missouri.
The ABA these days still plays with the familiar red, white and blue ball…but unlike back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s is comprised of 134 teams across the country. It’s the largest pro sports league on Planet Earff.
It was Jon Rahm’s day Sunday at the Masters, but Phil Mickelson was the story. Mickelson’s final round of 65 was the lowest ever by a player aged 50-and-ovah.
And because he’s a money-grabbing LIV guy, plus the fact he teed off early and finished early, anyone watching the telecast barely knew about it. And there were more than 15 million of us watching it.
Not for nuthin’, but did you know those Masters’ green jackets cost only $250 to customize, and produce? And you can’t get one…unless you’re a member at Augusta or can swing a stick like Rahm or Mickelson.
You may be good, but that means you can’t get one either, Hassett.
The Patriots’ Hall of Fame finalists have been decided upon – Logan Mankins, Bill Parcells and Mike Vrabel are the candidates, and you can do the voting on Patriots.com.
As a member of the nominating committee (31 years with the team, 35 covering the team, 44 covering the NFL) – my votes went to Parcells, Mankins, and Mosi Tatupu. Nothing wrong at all with Vrabel as a candidate. But my view is that we need to remember who got us here before we forget about them with the retirement of the Dynasty Era Patriots.
It’s a case of Recency Bias. We tend to remember what’s in front of us. And what we have would NOT be in front of us today without Bill Parcells starting it all before the Krafts’ purchased the team nearly 30 years ago.
Best to you, Dale Arnold. A privilege to know you, to work alongside you and learn from you. You’re a class act in this biz, if there ever was one. Enjoy retirement!
I’d like to be like you…when I finish growing up, of course.
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