Time and Space

by bittym87

Okay, I lied about this being up in a timely fashion, but in my defense…

1) Writing season postmortems sucks, it’s always sad to think that the next season is so far away,

2) I actually DID write this all up, was in the middle of doing some post-writing editing when my laptop monitor inexplicably shit the bed and I lost everything (I’m back up and running with my TV serving as a monitor now, it’s totally ghetto fabulous),

3) I just started a new job, the studying for which is going to occupy a great deal of my free time in the next month or two, and

4) When have I ever written anything in a timely fashion?

Ahem.

Basketball season’s been a wrap for about a month now, and there’ve been some developments that my putting this post off will enable me to cover now. Let’s start by just revisiting the NIT loss: Matt and I had an absolute blast. Seriously, if you’ve never been to NYC, make a trip down there this summer and just see the sights and sounds for yourself. We hit up NBC, toured the NHL Store, hung out in Times Square…good times everywhere you look. Obviously, our experience was a little different than hopping on a student bus like Derek and I did back in ’08, breaking out some, uh, tasty non-alcoholic beverages as we got into the city, and taking over Joe O’s and chanting “let’s go UMass” all the way into the Garden. Doing it from the outsider’s perspective felt a bit different, but still fun. We hope all of you who got to do the bus trip had a similar good time. I’m glad UMass will be coming back here a lot more in the coming years, hopefully just for the A-10 tourney in Brooklyn though. (Or the Big East tourney? Ahem, getting way ahead of myself here.)

We also got to meet Charley Molnar at the pregame festivities at Stout NYC (pretty solid bar, by the way). With all respect for Toot, who is actually quite friendly if you ever run into him outside of the Bill, Charley has more of that Derek Kellogg feel, recruiting fans and supporters just as he would recruit for his own team. Hairgel aside, there is nothing that felt forced or fake about his excitement and confidence. It’d be cool if he finds success faster than Kellogg, but I have no doubt in my mind that the football program is in good hands, if not right away then definitely within a couple years. But we have all summer to talk about them.

The game itself was a bit of a letdown, and not just because UMass lost. Minutemen-Cardinal was one of the worst-played basketball games I’ve ever seen in person. Both teams shot like shit in the first half, in one of those “first team to even start hitting just a FEW of their shots is going to win this” contests. And wouldn’t you know it, Stanford was that team.

Observations:

1) It was ludicrous that the UMass student section (which, to be fair, we technically shouldn’t have been in, but hey look a distraction!) was separated the way that it was, with a large expanse of empty “reserved” seats that half of the students weren’t allowed to occupy because a half-empty arena was enforcing ticket rules as if it were a Knicks game. Even though the sections were, you know, all student tickets and thus the same price. You can’t blame the ushers for doing their jobs. You CAN blame MSG, though. Actually, let’s just all agree to disagree and blame John Lackey. That usually works.

2) That caveman guy on Stanford literally hurt his team every time he touched the ball. I mean EVERY. Any time he touched the ball, he either turned it over or fired a brick. Really, UMass has no excuse for losing to that.

3) We totally would have clobbered Minnesota in the finals. But at least we get a banner.

So that’s it and that’s all. A team picked to finish 12th out of 14 ends up tied for 5th and with a world of upside. It’s officially time to talk about the future. We’re not here to talk about the past. To beat the dead horse into a bloody pulp, here’s the rundown of what’s exciting about next year:

- Everyone who played major minutes is back except for Sean Carter.

- Key players who broke out this year like Chaz Williams, Jesse Morgan and Raphaiel Putney return a year older and wiser.

- Cady Lalanne and Sampson Carter will (knock on wood) be coming back healthy, with 3 and 2 more years (respectively) left of eligibility.

- Our top recruit (Jordan Laguerre) didn’t even play last year. He will join the rotation along with big man Tyler Bergantino and backup point guard Trey Davis.

- Even with BC pussying out and dropping what would almost certainly be another embarrassing loss from their schedule, the overall schedule will be more exciting next year, with a big Puerto Rico tournament, non-conf visits from an up-and-coming Miami (FL) team and the Ohio team that was just in the sweet 16, and oh yeah….

- Kids who actually give two shits what this team does next year.

It’s about damn time. I’ve been harping on it for years now (holy shit, it literally has been years now), but I’ll be damned if a student group didn’t finally step its game up and put together a posse of kids who demonstrate some sort of group leadership on the front lines, home AND (at least in the NIT, with a little online prodding from Matt) away. I’ve been verbally fellating (mother, phrasing!) them for the last few months, but I gotta hand it to ‘em – the Mullins Militia is what I’ve been talking about for a while now. By the way, glad I got to meet a few of ya down in NYC…hell, Chili even managed to not get screencapped flipping me off, so that’s a win right there. And no, this has nothing to do with self-subsistence or the fact that we know these guys read us. Well, maybe a little. But keep up the good work guys.

But mostly, as a whole, I’m pumped (and you should be too. FEEL THE EXCITEMENT. FEEL IT) that we actually had some games this year where the student section didn’t look like the luxury seats at a Yankees game. Sure, a lot of it has to do with…winning, duh. But starting 7-0 didn’t put butts in the seats last year. There was a slow buzz this year that grew and grew until it exploded in some seriously big home crowds for Saint Louis and Rhody. I’ve never been so happy to stand in line for something.

This year, UMass is a known quantity. The secret is out. If that season-opening tournament precedes the home opener, and UMass pulls off a couple big-name wins, we might actually start seeing hockey-esque lines to get into basketball home games, something I don’t believe has happened for a non-BC game since the 1900s. If it sounds like a pain in the ass, and a recipe for pink-hat-ization, well, trust me. It’s a good problem to have. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, Minutefans. For now, the bandwagon is open to all comers.

And so the summer is upon us, gang. Season 3 of Fight Mass is pretty much a wrap. Thanks to everyone who reads us, and thanks to our contributors this season, Jarod and Cam. You guys, and anyone else who wants to, are way more than welcome to hit me up on Facebook or Twitter about writing a Contributor’s Corner article, either during the summer or next season. Next season will almost certainly be the first year where all three of us will no longer be in western Mass, so we’re gonna be depending on some student insight to keep the campus pulse for us.

I’ll try – key word there – to keep the page updated this summer, especially with the men’s lacrosse playoffs around the corner and with plenty to report on for football and for hoops and hockey. But you know better than to quote me on that.

Oh, one more thing. Is it October yet?

- Max

Give Me a Brutal Somerville Summer

by bittym87

Ah, the end of a season, the time of year where we start questioning whether Derek Kellogg really knows what he’s doing, or why we even waste our time on a football program headed by the worst coach in the history of the sport, or…huh? What’s that you say? Optimism, huh?

Let’s get the bad out of the way first: the state of our fine ice hockey team is, as Darrelle Revis might put it, “in total disarray.” Well, maybe not that bad (nothing is), but it’s certainly got us, as drunk Max might put it, “a slightly bit concerned.” We don’t know what will happen with Toot – is this his final season? Does the school have a backup plan if it is? Will he decide he wants to stick around and will the school want him around if so? Are we possibly sort of fucked no matter what?

Look, we love Toot around these parts. His commitment to the Pioneer Valley and the school, his willingness to call out Hockey East’s corrupt officials and his own players alike, his CVS composition notebooks and ridiculous voice, the whole she-bang. But we’re equally torn about whether he’s ever going to be able to bring this program to the “next level.” He’s certainly had a few shining moments in his tenure, those moments being 2004 and 2007, but we’ve now seen three straight one-and-done seasons at the hands of BC. In Toot’s defense, the last of these exits followed a two-game series where UMass thoroughly outplayed the Eagles for two straight games and lost two consecutive snakebitten heartbreakers, with no help from some questionable officiating (although the Minutemen did get away with some things in both games after the damage was already done – proof that make-up calls and non-calls don’t necessarily work out for the team getting them).

A full season post-mortem isn’t really our thing, and we can’t pretend we’d do a better job of it than the three-sided one already did. (Besides, I’m a couple weeks late on that. Deal with it.) But you have to see this year as an improvement. The team won roughly twice as many games, managed not to embarrass itself against the “big three” of BC, BU and Maine, actually won the regular-season series against the Eagles, and did all of this despite virtually zero collegiate goaltending experience coming into the year. What do they lose going into the next year? Two top-liners, Hobbs and Syner, and Mike Marcou, whose single-year evolution from “worst defenseman in the conference” to “actually pretty good most of the time” had to account for at least a couple of wins. Syner is a dynamic player whose absence will be missed, and Hobbs is another Chase Langeraap – a solid player and good scorer who unfortunately never really met his potential due to injuries.

Next year’s team, provided nobody leaves early (note: PLEASE NOBODY LEAVE EARLY) will return that massive sophomore (now junior) class. That means dynamic scorers like Conor Sheary and Mike Pereira, scrappers like Troy Power and Pat Kiley (both of whom played very well down the stretch), and a solid defensive corps that figures to be that much better with another year under their belts. It’s also nice that juniors like Rocco Carzo and Darren Panda-Rowe-nium (aka Darren Rowe-vell) finished the season strong, as this team will need contributions from the seniors and freshmen/sophomores to support that big junior class. It would be great if this KJ Tiefenwerth fellow could step in and provide another scoring option to help fill the void Syner is leaving; I think Hobbs’s gap will be adequately filled by the improvements of the remaining players. And I think Kevin Boyle finally stepped up and earned the starting job by the end of the year. A big problem this year was the lack of a true #1 and the overall inconsistency that resulted among the goalie corps. I’d rather see Boyle be the starter and let Tegs and Mastalerz, if both stick around, compete for the #2 spot.

This will be a big test for the Toot Cahoon era. On paper, this team should be better than 8th place. This team, with two years of mostly close losses under its belt, an exciting freshman scorer coming in, and some actual experience in goal, should have what it takes to compete for a home ice spot. Toot’s due for a year where things get back on track. Both Hockey East and the UMass athletics program itself are at crossroads next year, with football upgrading, basketball finally back, lacrosse competing for a national title, and Notre Dame and (ugh) probably UConn joining Hockey East. The last train might be departing Cahoonaville if this team can’t manage a winning record next year.

End of Season Awards:

Most valuable player: TJ Syner

Barely edged out Mikey Franchise here. TJ will be missed. His speed and tenacity embodied the scrappy mentality of the team in its biggest wins of the season, and of course he led the team in points as well.

Most improved player: Mike Marcou

What can I say? We ate crow like crazy over this guy. Granted, anything would have been an improvement over last year, but it became pretty clear that his struggles last year were injury-related and, healthy this year, he was solid and consistent all year long. Irreplaceable? Eh, I wouldn’t go that far. But good enough that we’ll actually miss him, which was unthinkable a year ago. Big ups to him for proving the haters, i.e. us, wrong. (I will point out that he was my sleeper pick for most improved player earlier this year. So suck it.)

Doug Kublin Memorial Award for Kubitude: Conor Sheary

We’re a bit biased, since Derek is also from Melrose and we’ve befriended Conor’s dad, who Derek used to work with and who is a fantastic man. But Conor was absolutely an everyman for this team, taking faceoffs (and doing a damn good job of it), scoring goals both pretty and gritty, and showing that TJ isn’t the only guy on this team who can absolutely fly at times. So he wins our now yearly award for embodying the Kublin spirit, even if he didn’t exactly fly under the radar with those of us who’re paying attention. We hear he’s a humble kid, too, and we hope that he takes it upon himself to improve his game even further – he and Pereira have “devastating combo” written all over them for next season.

All Hockey East Team:

F: Spencer Abbott, Maine

F: Chris Kreider, BC

F: Brian Flynn, Maine

D: Brian Dumoulin, BC

D: Chad Ruhwedel, Lowell

G: Doug Carr, Lowell

League MVP: Spencer Abbott, Maine

Rookie of the Year: Scott Wilson, Lowell

Coach of the Year: Norm Bazin, Lowell

————————-

I’ll go ahead and break this into two parts, BS Report style. Stay tuned for my basketball wrap-up and overall thoughts, probably later on tonight.

- Max

By the Sword of Duquesne

by bittym87

Let be forever known that on the 20th of March in the year 2012, the noble Minutemen of the Valley of the Pioneers, from the whimsical land of Amherst, vanquished a horde of Dragons, and claimed its rightful place among the Council of the Up-and-Coming in the Enchanted Garden of Madison Square.

Now, lest you think this was an easy road, sit and let me recall the tale. The Minutemen’s quest had thus far taken them through the vast, barren wastelands of Mississippi and New Jersey. As they arrived at the Cave of Daskalakis, they were tired, but remained steadfast and determined. Road-weary, the Minutemen had nonetheless acquired followers along the way, growing louder and more numerous as they trekked ever-closer to their goal.

And oh, their fearless leader Derek Kellogg, also known as Derek the Hairgelled, and Kellogg the Improving, had a quest of his own to take care of on the way to the Enchanted Garden. You see, the king of these dragons, Flint the Bruiser, was Derek the Hairgelled’s old friend and mentor, who had taken Derek under his wing when they were both young and under the wing of Emperor Calipari. (Look, I don’t care if that part makes sense or not, or whether Bruiser’s a man or a dragon in this case. Don’t make me start throwing midichlorians into this.) Now, old mentor Bruiser stood in the way of sure semi-glory for Derek. Both leaders knew the other’s strengths and weaknesses. It would be a true battle of wits.

The Minutemen entered the cave with their supporters, facing extreme heat, a sea of yellow, and, umm, a giant inflatable dragon. They struggled early in their fight, as the dragons were far more formidable than the mere canines and Jack Sparrow impersonators they had faced thus far in their travails. But out of the Minutemen stepped leaders. Chaz the Unbreakable. Terrell the Much-Improved. Javorn the Unheralded. Even Freddie the Firehaired contributed his  underrated defensive prowess. And just as their ancestors before them, led by legendary Travis the Turncoat against the giant Orange Men (or at least legend has it), the Minutemen stemmed the tide. (It helped that Frantz the Choker missed numerous chances to land the striking blow.)

And so it was that Bruiser the Flint and the Dragons of the land of Drexel were slain in that Cave of Daskalakis. The Minutemen and their supporters rejoiced, and much mead was consumed in the celebratory din. (I mean, a shitload of mead, you guys.)

There is work to be done when the Minutemen arrive at the Mystical Garden. But whether it’s a pack of wolves or, err, a forest of trees that the Minutemen will face when they arrive, we know one thing is true about these noble warriors:

Nothing is over until they decide it is.

Now then. Tuesday is just seven turns away? I wait six turns.

- Max

Garden (State) or Bust

by bittym87

Let’s hold off on talking about hockey for a while, shall we? You know how we probably feel about the BC series at this point…pissed at the refs, proud of how the team competed, excited about how well they played, sorry to see Syner go and for Hobbs to miss the final game of his career, torn about the future, something about Mike Marcou, etc. We’ll have a full season recap soon…personally there’ve been some goings-on in my life that, believe it or not, are actually more important than UMass. (Just kidding, if they ever cut the hockey program again I’d probably literally die on the spot.)

No, kids, we’re here today to talk about a more fun topic: the NIT, baby! In front of about 200 rednecks in the middle of positively nowhere, the Minutemen brought their high-tempo game against the Bulldogs of once-ranked Mississippi State, endured some lapses and hot MSU shooting (and MSU “deciding halfway through the game that they would actually try,” which is hilarious sore-loser speak at its finest), and ultimately outlasted their first-round foes 101-96 in a double-overtime classic. But, you know, let’s all marvel at two 16-seeds fighting for the chance to get blown out in the first HAHA JUST KIDDING SECOND, BECAUSE THAT MAKES SENSE round of the “real” tournament. Good call, ESPN. Glad you’re paying for the exclusive rights to the NIT but you don’t feel the need to mention it on your bottomline, or website, or your flagship highlights show save for a highlight or two. You know, most brackets don’t even let you pick the play-in games anymore? Such bullshit.

Whatever. I’ve decided this week that I secretly love the NIT, because it’s not rigged like today’s Syracuse-Asheville game was, because the games are played on campus sites and not in complete random-ass places, and because as much as I do (in spite of what I just said) adore the Big Dance, I think the NIT is a great showcase tool for teams that are on the rise and just missed the cut. Teams like the Minutemen for instance.

Now, there are things I don’t like about the NIT. For instance, the Minutemen are advancing to play Seton Hall…at 11 AM. In a high school gym (because the Prudential Center doesn’t feel like they can draw enough fans to warrant playing an NIT game there, even though Seton Hall could probably beat the New Jersey Nets at this point). In a game whose starting time we literally just found out about last night.

Any team, any time, any place. That’s the attitude this Minutemen team needs to have, and they showed it on Tuesday. Now they get a chance to avenge this year’s preseason scrimmage blowout (if only hockey could get another crack at New Brunswick!) and knock off a team with a Cosby on it. A win would put them one shy of a return to MSG, and the quarters would either be a duel of one-time UMass coaches (Kellogg vs. Bruiser) in Philly, or, in a far less likely but more favorable scenario, one last tip at the Bill against Northern Iowa. First things first. Seton Hall just edged its way past freaking Stony Brook of all schools. We owe them for the last couple years. Plus, they’re in fucking New Jersey, and they’re making the Minutemen wake up early on St. Paddy’s Day to play in an awful venue, not to mention severely limiting the availability to those of us who might have otherwise made the journey to…eww, wait, New Jersey? Pass.

Anyway, bring the Chazketball again and run them off that tiny floor. Let’s make ‘em wish they stayed in bed.

- Max

—————-

Miscellaneous notes…first off, congrats to the Militia members who made the trek to Atlantic City on being called out by DK, who demands their presence in South Orange on Saturday. I’ve been saying for a while that this student section needs leadership, and we’ve, you know, graduated and such, plus we’re just sooo busy. But these guys have done so much this year to help get folks psyched up for basketball again (20 wins helps, too, but just the same), and so it’s good that the coach is acknowledging their efforts. Shit, all we ever got from Travis Ford was a hug in the Ryan Center parking lot.

Hey, lacrosse is playing Saturday, too, down at Penn State. Sandusky joke. There, I got that out of the way. If UMass can pull off this win and get to 7-0, they play their next FIVE games at home. This is the #4 team in the country (#3 in the coaches’ poll!). Regardless of this weekend’s outcome, but especially if they win, get your Southwest-living, North Face-wearing asses out of bed and walk the five feet to Garber to see these guys play a few times. Speaking of which, anyone else notice that Building C in the new ComCol dorms looks like it might actually have rooms with a view of the field? (Assuming it’s a dorm. Details are vague.) Talk about having no excuse not to watch the games…those might be the “Wrigley rooftop seats” of college lacrosse. Too bad Tobin’s such an eyesore, eh?

Lastly, some alumni news…Marcus Camby is going to Houston. That sucks, I was seriously considering trying to get a Camby “Rip City” jersey, even though the Blazers’ online store utterly sucks and offers no Camby jerseys of any sort. C’est la vie.

Oh, have I mentioned Maroon Musket yet? Well, Maroon Musket. It’s pretty awesome…98.5′s Marc Bertrand and a few of his buddies launched it a little while back to cover football recruiting. Looks like Molner and his gang are off to a fine start. I do plan to ramp up football coverage next season a little bit, and we’ll certainly be reading whatever they have to say.

Split Decision

by bittym87

Is this the changing of the guard? The weekend we officially see basketball retake hockey in campus supremacy for the first time in nearly a decade?

It certainly felt that way. This felt like a chance for UMass to rock the worlds of both Hockey East and the A10 with upsets over the #1 team in each conference tournament. On the hardwood, it happened. One the ice, well, not so much, despite easily the best game the Minutemen have played at Conte Forum in probably ever. We’ll get the bad out of the way first, since it’s fresh on our minds and Walsh and I were there: 30 seconds, two defensive breakdowns, Mullane scores on a deflection, Cross snipes the top corner, and that’s all the hockey BC had to play for a 2-1 win in Game 1. Shots were 27-17 to the visitors. Fans were, at best, split 50-50, although that comes as absolutely zero shock. (What does shock is the nerve of the Conte security, but I’ll cover that at greater length in my series wrap-up). Mike Marcou got the only UMass goal, but the Minutemen couldn’t get the equalizer despite owning the ice pretty much from the moment the power came back on (seriously…halfway through the first, the power went out and the lights took 15 minutes to come back on. In the home rink of a school that charges 50k a year). Tomorrow is another day I guess, but UMass is 2-2 this year against BC despite competing in all four of them. They’re gonna need to win the next two to keep the dream alive. Tomorrow is do-or-die, and I’m not giving up hope yet, but they blew a huge chance tonight, without question.

Alright, that’s out of the way. Now let’s talk about what is easily the biggest win of the Derek Kellogg era, a 77-71 triumph over Temple. UMass advances to the semis along with Bonaventure, Saint Louis and Xavier – teams UMass is a combined 3-0 against this year. The impossible dream continues.

While Walsh and I made the trip to Conte, and Matt had work, Fight Mass is proud to say we apparently talked some kids into going down to Atlantic City, where they easily had the best time out of all of us. Cameron Legge, one of the student leaders of the Mullins Militia, got on the interwebs long enough to write up a recap, in our latest edition of contributors’ corner:

Contributor’s Corner: “A Favor House Atlantic”

by Cameron Legge

Well I was alerted that Fight Mass wanted me to write a little something of a recap of what exactly happened at Boardwalk Hall today in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Boy am I honored! As whoever really wrote the post from yesterday (as we all ask continuously when it comes to tweets, posts, and the like), UMass sports do not do this. UMass basketball does not do this, especially this year. Time after time we have paired a big win with a frustrating loss. Beating the Billikens (still wondering what that buddha thing is) then losing to URI, beating the Bonnies and then losing to St.Joe’s, and beating Xavier then getting crushed by Dayton. Would DK ever manage to get that elusive third straight conference win? Could the guys catch Temple off-guard again? Well it happened today in the Dirty Jerz.
As we approached Atlantic City there was a sense of hope in the air. By the way, what is supposed to be somewhat of a Vegas of the East really isn’t, but that is besides the point. Immediately waiting in line for tickets we see Temple fans going to and fro up the boardwalk. We were welcomed by a warm Temple fan behind us hoping we hadn’t made hotel reservations because we were going home tonight. Of course we went through how UMass got thoroughly screwed in the game at Cherry Hill nine days earlier in every which way. We then entered through a portal of sorts where UMass basketball would play another great installment of a rivalry suddenly revitalized this season. We grabbed our seats in the “student section” which included me, five other Militia members, the hoop band, and some high school kids on some sort of “fun trip”. What then ensued was a day that all UMass Hoops fans and especially diehards will remember for a long time.

Anyone that has watched UMass at least couple a couple times this year know that they are notorious for runs, in both directions. The Owls started out dictating tempo and controlling the paint, but UMass hung around with one of those patented Maxie halves like he had in the first half in Dayton. Chaz did his best near disappearing act in the first half, he just wasn’t the usual Chaz. Off the record, but really on it, Temple’s Khaliff Wyatt’s head is a rag doll and I seriously considered reigniting my basketball career because I could do an equally as good acting job. Somehow what felt like a 15-point Temple lead was just five as UMass headed into the locker room. 

Then wazahhh out came Chazkettaball! Chaz lead the troops to a 15-0 run to start the second half. Of course with help from backcourt mate Jesse Morgan and the bunch. All of a sudden the cherry and white fans were stunned, sitting there speechless as Sean Carter finished one of those patented lobs. Temple was about to get ran over by the MAROON and white. Just like any Top 25 team, Temple fought back. The Minutemen weathered the punches falling behind by four points, but I stood there and thought that the team’s tank was on E, coming back from five down late against the Dukes and having to overcome an early eleven point Temple lead today was just too much. Then they showed why this team is not like we have seen, they continued to go blow for blow with #21 Temple Owls. They did not fold, led all by the savior otherwise known as Chaz Williams. The thesauras should definitely add his name next to the synonyms gamer, warrior, and closer as he was all three of those today and usually is. As soon as we I knew it I was looking up at the clock like it was Al Michaels in Miracle. Praying it would run out and UMass would once again be making major strides up to the mountaintop that is dancing in March. And much to many’s surprise…..IT DID.

There was no sweeter feeling than looking around the arena where small patches of Minutemen fans roared. Temple fans came in Big East happy and left A-10 dissapointed. It was by far my best memory of UMass Basketball so far and I got a ways to go, but this was a damn good start to a weekend in AC. This could end up being the road trips of all road trips. 

Thanks again to Matt and Max for tweeting to my roommate Chris to sack up and drive us boys out here.

P.S. Get to Atlantic City ASAP! You don’t want to miss this…

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It’s tempting, isn’t it? Fight Mass salutes Cam, Chris, and the rest of the gang that made the trip to Jersey. Work obligations are gonna keep Walsh and Matt from going down there, but if the Minutemen knock out the Bonnies, and hockey’s season ends Saturday night, I may just have to make the trip. After all, this’ll be the last time the tourney is held at Boardwalk Hall before it moves to that beautiful new building in Brooklyn. That said, if you’re not heading down there, come out to Conte tomorrow and join in the already-loud ranks of the UMass fans. (And if you’re stuck on campus and can’t come to EITHER? The 5th-best lacrosse team in the country plays at Garber at 1. Hint, hint.) Really, we’re proud of both groups of fans. 

At the very least, we’ve bought ourselves one more home game (in the NIT) for the hoops team, and they’re two wins away from a miraculous tournament berth. The biggest weekend of the year moves on. Keep the faith, kids.

- Max

Tonight Two Great Ships Will Pull Back To Their Ports

by blindspots88

We are less than 2 hours from the beginning of one of the great days in UMass sports. Both Televised. Both with the potential to be great, not only in quality, but in outcome.

At noon, you have UMass playing Temple in Atlantic City. Temple is a good team, and any other year this would be an all but assured loss, but, this being the year of Chaz, a win is always in play. However, UMass is going to need to play a damn near perfect game to stay close today. However, this team has proven time and time again that it not only can stay in games, but they are able to finish them out as well (as someone who watched the previous Kellog era teams, this is inexplicable). I could absolutely see Chaz and “Handsome” Ralph Putney singlehandedly winning the game for UMass, as they are often the most dynamic players on the court at any given moment, combined with the fact that both have an undeniable swagger that makes me think that the big stage of Atlantic city coupled with the underdog angle (although lets be honest, a 1vs8 matchup is near meaningless in the clusterfuck that is the A10 thsi year).

Now lets be honest, you could be reading this when you get home from work tonight and say “lololol nice guess fag” after UMass is handily beaten. However, lets state unequivocally that, as of 10:15 AM, Matt “waka floka flume” Civello likes UMass’s chances for an upset special in Atlantic City. So, fuck it, take a few hours and pull a nooner. Craft beer tastes beter when you drink it before responsibilities.

Meanwhile, in not nearly as optimistic, we have UMass v BC tonight on The NBC Sports Network aka VS aka the station that refuses to have a highlight show at night for no apparent reason. Now, one would think that having secured 2 wins in 3 games against the hated BC eagles, a UMass superfan/blogging expert like myself would like our chances to shock the world (again) and pull an upset at BC. Well, you would be wrong because I have about as much faith in this game as I do Parker Milner’s ability to not hit a green line train after macking on a bitty at an applebees or Stevie Moses’s ability to not be a massive protruding prick. First, unlike the 2 glorious wins against the hated eagles, this game happens solely at a place called Conte Forum (or Kelly rink, fuck if I know why there are multiple names), a place where exactly zero of the wins for UMass occurred this year. What did occur there, to which you should be a slightly bit concerned, is a 5-2 beatdown that should have been 13-1 if not for Teglia standing on his head (a Teg stand, you could say (#freeTegs(#unreal))) and a late goal by Marcou when the game was long decided. It was a rough game. It was a game that made me as pessimistic as could be about this year. Yeah, thats the place we are playing.

Not only that, but this is an Eagles team that is hot as fuck. The Eagles havent lost since January and havent lost at home sine DECEMBER 2ND. So yeah, thats what we’re playing.

Don’t get me wrong, UMass has a punchers chance, and if anything, UMass made the superfrauds sweat a little for a week, but frankly I’m sick of every year talking myself into UMass having a chance in the Hockey east semis. It just leads to me being disappointed and playing Melancholy Hill on the long drive back to wherever isn’t newton. Its like Prince playing Bonnaroo. It will happen when it happens, but  I’m not going to give myself a boner at the mere thought of it.

IMPORTANT FIGHT MASS ANNOUNCEMENT So, it seems like a bunch of you kids have taken my vaguely melancholy tweets about enjoying college while you’re there and going to an away game while still a student to heart. Well golly, thats swell. A toast to you Gentlemen (and ladies!). Now, the blogging brotherhood of fightmass has been to many a’roadgame and have learned through trial, error and thick, syrupy humiliation, the proper road etiquette for the still spry UMass student Fan. The cornerstone rules are as follows:

  • Never, ever, swear

Might Seem obvious, but the fact of the matter is that loose lips that may be acceptile in the friendly confines of the Bill are not going to be acceptable on the road. Change “fuck em ups” to “sieve sieve sieve” and “see ya asshole” to “see ya [insert ironically tame phrase]” (FightMass recommends ”ya turkey”) People on the road are looking for reasons to dislike you and kick you out, so don’t give them ammo by being obscene. Be load, but keep it clean.

  • Be respectful and courteous to opposing fans and arena staff at all times

First, their is no reason to be a dick to the staff. They are there to do thier job and frankly, they may be your only advocate in the arena if things get hectic. Plus, you should always be nice to people with shitty jobs. Just common courtesy.  As for opposing fans, there is no need to tone down your passion and cheers, but at the same time don’t go giving dirty looks to people rooting on their own team. Smile, nod your head, be personable and nice. While there isn’t a chance that everybody in the place will be nice to you, its important to build a light rapport with people around you.

  • Don’t pick fights

May seem obvious, but don’t bring a fight to yourself. In general, avoid individual taunting and putting yourself in volatile physical situations, such as stepping up to somebody when engaged in a verbal altercation. Listen, you have the absolute right to defend yourself and be loud and proud, and if somebody wants to taunt you they have it coming right back at them. But being a fan in an opposing arena where emotions run high is alot like driving in Amherst on a saturday night: there is a good chance every other car is drunk, be a defensive driver.

Oh, and this is the weekend theme

 

Wait for it…

by bittym87

We all know what’s going to happen tomorrow, don’t we? Hoops will hang around against Temple, run its high-powered offense, and make a game out of it for the second time in a week. Hell, they might even have a lead late in the game. We’ll start thinking “wait a second, if we win this, and all that’s left is the Bonnies and Xavier or Saint Louis…”

And then the carpet will be pulled out from under us, Sally will take away the football, the fucking writers of How I Met Your Mother will have yet another ridiculous twist that makes us wait yet another fucking season because we all know they’re not really gonna tell us who the fucking mother is and come on it HAS to actually still be Robin somehow right? and…ahem. And the Owls will pull away and that’ll be the end of that.

And then, later in the night, hockey will come out fired-up, ready to play against an Eagles team they’ve played well all year long, and they, too, will stick around in a neck-and-neck game. Hell, they might even be tied late and push it to overtime. And then the Eagles will assert their will, maybe get a lucky bounce or two or a bad defensive breakdown at the worst possible time on our blue line, and some asshole will get the game-winner and all 300 Superfrauds will jump for joy and sing For Boston over their copped Bruins goal horn and Boyyyyyle/Maaaastalerz! You suck! At life! And goaltending! It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault! It may or may not all be his fault. Either way, they’ll head home happy in their Mercedes Benzes to their parents’ mansions for some post-game caviar and maybe a kinky Eyes Wide Shut-style tryst. You know. Rich people shit.

And then we’ll come back Saturday and it’ll be the same old song and dance all over again, only BC will pull away a little earlier this time, and we’ll write about it, but you won’t read it, and frankly neither will we. At least it’ll be warm out and time for the Bruins and Celtics’ playoff runs and Spring Training and…errr, is it football yet?

Honestly, it’s like Groundhog Day, but without Bill Murray to save it. In fact, like that film, it’s even mildly funny. (Full disclosure: Okay, I’ve never seen it. But I get the premise and so does everyone. Shut up and let me finish.) We’re locked right now in some kind of awful continuum where we get our hopes up for this weekend every single year and every single year we’re happy that St. Patrick’s Day weekend and March Madness (sans UMass, of course, but at least sans BC as well) is there to ease the sting. It’s like striking out at the same bar week after week with the same target, not that I would know what that’s like obviously. I’m just trying to level with you. Loser.

Well, all that pessimism is no fun, so here comes my annual attempt to talk us both into it. Ready? Here goes nothing.

Eventually, the blind nut catches the squirrel. They play the games, and we watch the games, because anything can happen on any given night. Unbreakable records get broken. Unthinkable feats become reality. And by golly, teams that have no business winning series win series.

We’ve seen plenty of firsts this year. UMass shutting out BC – that’s a first ever. And we here at the blog saw UMass hat tricks in person for the first time, wins over BC and Xavier on the hardwood for the first time. Hell, we even saw a court-storming, albeit for the wrong team, but still. Isn’t it about time something wild happens in our favor?

Maybe not. Maybe the record will skip yet again. Shit, maybe UMass will lose in the first round at Conte Forum every year from now until eternity. And maybe the A10 Tourney will remain hexed for UMass, even as it moves closer to home (and further from Philly) in Brooklyn next year. But eventually, the carpet doesn’t budge, Charlie Brown gets to the ball, they finally admit Robin is the mother and they adopt the kids or whatever bullshit I’m fine with as long as she doesn’t end up with Kal Penn, and so on. I keep telling myself this because honestly I’ll go insane otherwise. But I’m guessing that if you’re here, you’re in the same boat.

I’m officially convinced. This weekend really does have the potential to be legendary. If history’s not on our side, maybe the law of averages is. I mean, hey, anything is possible.

And if we lose? At least we’ve got lacrosse season.

- Max

The Dukes, a Hazard

by bittym87

While our hockey team plays the deja vu game with its third straight first-round trip to Conte Forum, here’s another familiar sight: UMass the 8 seed hosting a first-round playoff game against the 9 seed.

Here’s where things are different: the Minutemen backed into the 8 seed last year, with a 2-7 stretch to finish at 7-9 in the conference jumping out of the gates 5-2. That includes a humiliating wire-to-wire loss at Fordham that snapped a stunning run of ineptitude in conference play for the Rams and pushed the anti-Kellogg hordes to the brink. This was followed by a crushing, but predictable, rout at the Bill at the hands of Dayton. Let’s stop talking about this before I break something.

A casual glance at the Minutemen (say, the same casual glance of the no-nothings who thought “hmm, team with mediocre record losing an overrated me-first scorer, let’s rank them 12th in the conference!!!1) would suggest parallels with last year’s finish. Yes, the Minutemen stumbled a bit after a hot start, closing conference play with a disappointing 2-4 run, but apart from this year’s Dayton debacle, UMass’s finish wasn’t nearly as crushing. The competition was certainly much stronger; they lost a heartbreaker at Temple instead of last year’s home game against the Owls which wasn’t as close as the final score would indicated. And this year’s finale against a horrible Rams team wasn’t pretty, but the result earned DK and the gang a 20-win season for the first time since Ford’s departure. No, UMass definitely didn’t back into the 8-seed this year – they tied for 5th and drew the shortest straw in an unfortunate tiebreaker situation. Long story short: we’ll take it.

This year’s 8-9 duel brings the Duquesne Dukes into town, a team that took advantage of horrendous officiating and cold UMass shooting on its home floor to take care of the Minutemen a few months ago, and which has done very little since. They did pull off a win at Dayton, but so did Rhody this year. They also got blown out at Saints Bonaventure and Louis, and got handled on their Senior Day by the Billikens. They also lost at GW along the way. Are they pushovers? Of course not. But this is the caliber of opponent UMass has handled at home all year long, en route to a 14-1 home record tarnished only by a one-point loss to La Salle fueled by one player catching absolute fire.

Work is going to make a Tuesday night trip to the Bill a no-go for the Fight Mass crew. But if you’re on campus, or anywhere close, or, eh, unemployed…you should be there. The fan support down the stretch this season has been spectacular, and gives me a lot of hope for next year (which should be helped by home games against BC, Miami, Dayton and Temple, and hopefully a couple more big names if DK can pull off quality scheduling). But we all know how fickle these fans are about hoops. It’ll take some sustained success to keep these crowds coming, just as hockey has continued to ride the ’04 and ’06 runs despite their Garden-trip drought.

I honestly, truly believe that any of the top 8 teams in the A-10 tourney have a chance of winning it all this year, UMass included. Barring that, if UMass can at least make a nice run and earn itself a top-4 NIT seed (they’re currently a 6), we’re talking more home games, and maybe another run to Madison Square. This team will be a big-dance contender next year, and we have to be patient and understand that. Anything they get this year is a bonus. But it’s a bigger bonus if there are extra home games involved. All of that starts tomorrow night. Go out, fill the Bill again, and let’s send the boys off to Atlantic City.

If nothing else, let’s shut those awful Duquesne radio guys up. Seriously, they’re the worst.

- Max

——

Oh by the way, look who’s ranked in the top 5 this week. Lax plays Albany at Garber tomorrow at 3. If you’re out of class early and/or in the area, go check out what is arguably this school’s most successful sports program of the past half-decade.

Mas

by bittym87

Worry no Moore. UMass procrastinated again, but the team handed in its year-long assignment the day before it was due this year.

Tonight, the pressure will be off up in North Andover, thanks to a 5-1 blowout that looked like it was destined to be another late-game classic between these two teams, who have played quite a few nailbiters over the last few seasons  aside from the LAST time we saw “Moorsey” between the pipes. The last two trips to Mullins particularly for the Warriors have been decided by disappointing last-minute goals for the visitors, and when Shawn Bates tied the score early in the third last night, we looked back at the myriad almost-goals for the Minutemen – and the close calls they got away with – and couldn’t help but feel that more heartbreak was a-comin’.

But a funny thing happened. UMass didn’t fold, didn’t fret about what could have or should have been. Instead, they played possibly their finest period of hockey all season long, got monster goals from their senior offensive stars, and, with five minutes left to go and the Freeing of Moore imminent, Mark Dennehy pulled Cannata in desperation. Merrimack’s season, after all, was on the verge of slipping away, their tenuous hold on an at-large bid and home ice against the Black Bears very much at risk.

Two length-of-the-ice empty-netters later, we saw the most beautiful moment of the entire season.

Free at last, free at last, free at last.

I’ve only met Kevin Moore briefly, when he lived with the freshmen during my junior year in the same dorm. But by all accounts, the “Rudy” chants that were started last night were fitting. This kid’s worked his ass off the last few years, juggling all the same responsibilities his teammates do, with nowhere near the glory to show for it. Granted, if UMass was out of the playoff hunt, I’d have no doubt that Toot would’ve given Moore the start last night, because fuck it, why not. But this was a must-win game, something I don’t think all of the students quite understood when they booed Toot’s refusal to pull Boyle in a three-goal game with 2:30 left. But after the second empty-netter, there was no doubt in my mind that Toot would find a way to make it happen. And after a brief scare immediately following that goal, where Boyle was still out there, the first whistle inside of two minutes gave Moore his shot.

I know there’s that very small contingent of us who got to see Kevin Moore play last year in the infamous blowout game at Lawler, and the ovation he got from the 20-or-so UMass fans in attendance was a very cool moment indeed. But it’s hard to top last night. The team deserves props for putting themselves in a position to make it happen, and congrats to Moorsey for earning it. Unreal.

So here’s where things stand now. A loss tonight clinches 8th place, and a likely date with the white-hot Eagles, winners of 10 straight since their earlier malaise, unless they lose to Vermont and BU finishes a sweep of the now-eliminated Huskies. A win, however, sets up interesting scenarios. Lowell plays Providence tonight at Tsongas, and if they win as well, the Minutemen hop into 7th over the Friars. BC is most likely to win the division, though the aforementioned scenario could drop them to 2nd and they’d play UMass anyway. More likely is a BC win/tie and BU win/tie, setting up a date with the Huskies, a team UMass has held multiple-goal leads against three times this season, albeit only earning three points out of those three games. The Minutemen led 3-0 once at Agganis before a meltdown, and won their last trip there. And let’s not forget that the comeback in the first game was largely keyed by contributions from Trivino and Coyle, and the Terriers are also now without Max Nicastro on the blue line. And on top of all else, the Terriers would offer an opponent that isn’t, you know, BC again for the millionth year in a row.

But here’s the most intriguing scenario: UMass win, BC win or tie, BU loss, Lowell win. It’s not at all out of the question, with the Huskies having nothing to lose on senior night against their most hated rival, and with Lowell playing its own senior night against the lackluster Friars. Lowell, much like Merrimack before last night, is just 2-1-3 in their last six, and would also provide the least expensive travel option for yours truly. I have my reasons, obviously, but how sweet would it be after what’s happened this season if UMass ruined Lowell’s magical year? (Although, to be fair, playoff wins vs. ANYONE would be sweet, and if the alternative plotlines are “avenging the last few years against BC” or “beating the team that had the scumbag rapists,” you really can’t go wrong with any of ‘em.)

Of course, any hope of getting not-the-Eagles rests on a win tonight, unless you think Vermont can beat BC tonight (in which case I presume you also think Newt Gingrich might be our next president). The last time UMass took the ice at Lawler was a 2-1 nailbiter that ended with a Merrimack player getting away with the most blatant delay-of-game ever, covering the puck behind the ‘Mack net with his glove for a good 15 seconds. Last night convinced me more than ever that these teams have gone in opposite directions since that game – maybe not as dramatically as we’d hoped, but the Minutemen, at least for the last four games, have outplayed their opponents and in some cases dramatically so, while the league seems to slowly be figuring out Dennehy’s magic.

I keep telling myself this. And then I remember that Lawler/Volpe/University of Sears is an awful awful place in which the Minutemen never ever escape with a win, no matter how good or bad the home team is in that particular season.

So, sigh, bring on the Eagles again, maybe this time will be different.

———–

Oh, also, baskettaball tonight. Walsh will be on-hand at Lawler for the whole game, along obviously with El Triangle (pronounced “tree ON glay”). Matt and I will be live-tweeting on @FightMass from the Rhody Rematch, and if the game’s a blowout we’ll leave at halftime to catch puck drop; otherwise we’re shooting to get up to Merrimack for period 2. Either way, EVERYONE GO TO THE FUCKING BASKETBALL GAME TODAY IT’S THE LAST ONE EVEN THOUGH REALLY IT’S ALMOST ASSURED THAT THERE WILL BE A PLAYOFF GAME HERE TUESDAY. WHICH YOU SHOULD ALSO ATTEND. Either way, this is the real “senior night” so let’s send Big Sean and Daddy Hill off with a 20-win season.

P.S. Let’s go ahead and jump on the “props to the Bench Crew” bandwagon for making #FreeMoore a success. Frankly, Toot doesn’t give a fuck what anyone thinks, but also frankly, there was no chance Moore wasn’t going to play last night if the opportunity arose. But more importantly is that it’s social media outlets like the Bench Crew that get kids excited about games and, gasp, knowledgeable about what’s actually going on, like the student fans at the other nine schools in Hockey East. THIS IS WHAT WE NEED MORE OF.

No Leap Just Yet

by bittym87

It’s not about this year anymore, right?

Ever since Cady Lalanne was basically ruled out for the season, I thought it was pretty clear that it was not to be for the Minutemen this year. The loss at Rhode Island, ghastly as it was, also served as a bit of a wake-up call – hey, they’re in over their heads, they could lose at any moment to any team, let’s not get carried away here, we’re still rebuilding, yadda yadda yadda. With the season visibly grinding Chaz and Carter mentally and physically (with no true backups at either position thanks to Cady’s injury and Laguerre’s ineligiblity), with bangs and bruises limiting the contributions of Hill and Farrell and sidelining Sampson Carter, it was hard not to see the Minutemen coming down to earth.

Indeed, heading into Philly for tonight’s duel with Temple, coming off an embarrassing rout at the hands of frigging Dayton of all teams, the Minutemen were 5-5 in their last ten, and almost sure to get run out of the building by just the second top-25 team they’ve faced all year. Our boys, once the darkest of dark horse bubble candidates, were now teetering on the brink of another .500 conference record, hoping that they could just survive this game with enough healthy bodies to avoid a second humiliation on Senior Night against Rhody.

For the first 30 minutes or so of game time tonight, it looked like UMass was going to make this a ballgame. They led by 5 at the break, the crazy three-pointers were falling, Chaz was dishing and driving and dicing up the Owl defense, and, despite a nearly-comical foul discrepancy, they were right there. Then, after a few more questionable foul calls (on top of that foul discrepancy, which, again, was nearing Adam Sandler levels of hilarity), all seemed for naught, as the Owls seemed poised to deliver the same killer blow that has carried them to a top-15 RPI all season long. When the lead was up to 9 with just a few minutes left, I even tweeted, “aaaand the team is done competing for the evening. shame.”

Then, as I also tweeted, the plot thickened. Chaz hit a 3. Stole the inbound. Hit a 3. 3-point game. It was seriously one of those College Hoops 2K8 moments that you never expect to actually see in a game, but there it was, the game was there for the taking. Then Sean Carter committed an over-the-back foul going for a rebound, which somehow led to another technical foul (it looked like it would be the latest awful flagrant call against the Minutemen this year, but somehow it was a technical on Freddie according to the Temple announcers) and the furious comeback was abated.

Or so we thought. All of a sudden, a wild Freddie Riley appeared, and he used “fire some random fucking threes because why not, I’m Freddie Riley!” Miraculously, it was super-effective. Mass finally got some missed free throws from Temple and a late lay-up to tie the game. Overtime in the battle of Bill Cosby’s alma maters! Jello Pudding Pops and free lobsters for everyone, ahh ahh ahh! Ahem – as you probably know by now, the fantasy finally came to a crashing end as the Minutemen couldn’t put away a six-point lead early in OT, nor a three-point lead in the final 90 seconds, and the Owls ended up winning the game on a pair of point-blank stops with a breakaway layup mixed in between. A chance to shock the basketball world goes by the wayside. Commence the endless bitching about the fouls and the Fire Kellogg chant. Blow it up, etc, etc.

Look, did UMass have – and blow – some chances to win this game? Of fucking course they did. I DID mention just now they were up six in OT, including 3 late, and had the ball in a tie game with under a minute to go.  And to the foul differential – yes, it was absolutely absurd that Temple had THIRTY more free throw attempts, but they did drive to the basket quite a bit more. UMass isn’t generally going to shoot more FT’s than basically anyone because of this shoot first, ask questions later offense, and they’re especially not going to do so against a team like Temple that plays a more aggressive and physical game. And, of course, that technical foul against DK is inexcusable in a tight game, and while you can’t assume the rest of the game would’ve gone the way it did (calling it “the difference in the game” because it was 2 points and they lost by 2 is ignorant of how timelines work, you nincompoop), it did seem like a turning point of sorts that led to Temple getting a big lead in the first place and forcing UMass to play catch-up.

Okay, back to the positives. I feel like I’m harping the same things, but honestly, they all felt amplified tonight:

-With apologies to Nicki Minaj, Chaz is a muthafuckin MONSTAH. Seriously. When he’s off, it can hurt the team big-time (see: Dayton, Rhody, Duquesne), but what he brings to the table would make him a force in any conference, and especially in THIS conference. Temple looked absolutely clueless as to how to stop him tonight at times, and this is with one of the conference’s absolute best coaches and no element-of-surprise to catch them off guard. He just really is that quick, and he’s got two more years left, so his game figures to only get more polished – especially if Laguerre lives up to even some of the hype and gives him a partner in crime.

-Sean Carter played a solid game, but he’s not “the guy.” He’s the only regular who’s graduating, and I feel pretty strongly that his production can be met, if not surpassed, by Cady, Esho, and Bergantino.

-Most importantly: the team played with heart. Last year’s team, aside from not having a chance to sniff a halftime lead, would’ve packed it in down the stretch. There was a level of fight in this team tonight that reminded me of – wait for it – Ford’s last year at UMass. And that was a year with a big NIT run and which set up what looked like a bright future, with the fanbase fired up and with some exciting players coming back the next year. And that was with Forbes and Milligan and Brower heading out the door and without nearly the same level of recruits coming in.

Really, what this all means is that UMass finally has a chance to get back to square one with this whole Ford debacle, where the school finally got the student and alumni base to care about – and get excited about – this team for a change, only for it to all fall back apart into “rebuilding mode” with Ford’s departure. Kellogg needed a few years to get there, but this sure feels like the precipice. Next year, they bring this entire core back a year older and wiser, with what almost has to be a more exciting schedule, a few complementary recruiting pieces, a healthy (fingers crossed) beast of a sophomore center, and of course the big question mark of what we really have with Jordan Laguerre if he can get his grades in order. I thought 20 wins was within reach if we had Jordan this year.

Now, in spite of the injuries and the bitter disappointment of having to wait for DK’s most touted recruit, 20 wins and a first-round home playoff game are on the horizon. And who knows? If they play like this, the Minutemen are a couple of lucky bounces in Atlantic City from making an even bigger leap.

One step at a time. Beat Rhode Island. Tear them limb from limb and get revenge. Otherwise, tonight’s near-win really will be as meaningless as anything else that happens on a Leap Day.

-Max