Its the start of a huge weekend that could see several UMass teams claim Atlantic 10 crowns. The field hockey team begins the A-10 Tournament this afternoon as the No. 1 seed. The Minutewomen take on Saint Joseph's at 2:30 p.m., at Temple. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the Temple/Richmond match-up on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the A-10 final. The UMass men's soccer team could secure the A-10 regular-season title as the red-hot Minutemen take on No. 10 Saint Louis on Friday at 2 p.m. (note the earlier start time). UMass then takes on Charlotte at 2 p.m., on Senior Day. The No. 13 football team hosts Maine on Saturday at 12 Noon in a game that will be televised on Comcast SportsNet. The Boston Globe has a wonderful feature on Josh Jennings.
The Boston Globe has its second monster feature on a UMass individual this week as junior linebacker Josh Jennings is profiled by Marty Dobrow on Friday. This a super story of how Jennings has overcome various obstacles to succeed with the Minutemen.
The women's basketball team plays their only exhibition of the season as they Bishop's University from Canada tonight at 7 p.m., at the Mullins Center.
The Daily Collegian has a story on Katelyn Orlando being named A-10 Offensive Player of the Year in addition to various other accolades for the No. 18 first hockey team.
UMassAthletics.com Feature To Check Out: The 100 Seasons of UMass Basketball special webpage has been updated to include several new features.
Don't miss this: The No. 1 seeded UMass field hockey team tries to repeat as A-10 Tournament champions this afternoon when they take on Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia. Also, the NBA's D-League holds its annual draft tonight at 7 p.m. where former Minutemen Gary Forbes and James Life hope to be drafted. Both players have been in Amherst all week working out in preparation of the draft.
Thursday, Nov. 6
Listen To Tonight's Football Show | Ask Coach Brown
The first game under new coach Derek Kellogg is in the books and the Minutemen picked up a win, but know they have a lot to work on, on the defensive end. Check out various stories on the 91-87 exhibition win over Dowling last night. Thursday night brings the Bud Light UMass Football Show with head coach Don Brown. The gridiron head man will be joined by offensive tackle Ben Coblyn and defensive back Eric Dickson on Thursday at 7 p.m., the Hangar Pub & Grill. Thursday also brings a television interview with Derek Kellogg on CN8's "Out of Bounds" at 7:15 p.m. Finally, and its a big one, UMassAthletics.com has launched its online auctions with huge trip to the Memphis-UMass game including two seats on the team charter plane, hotel and two tickets to the game.
Out in Toledo, thw Rockets renovation of Savage Arena nears completion for the Dec. 3 game against the Minutemen, which is now a 7 p.m. start (a change from most printed materials).
The Sports Network has an overview of the FCS Playoff picture. The snipet on UMass is as follows: Massachusetts (6-3, 3-2) is in the same situation as Richmond. Win three games and the Minutemen are probably in, lose once and stay home for the holidays. UMass closes the year at home against Maine, on the road at New Hampshire and by entertaining Hofstra.
Looking ahead to next year, UMass FBS opponent Kansas State has fired their coach Ron Prince.
The Boston Globe has a note on hockey team as part of their weekly hockey notebook. The UMass line of Alex Berry, Cory Quirk, and James Marcou has combined for 28 of the Minutemen's 65 points, 43.1 percent of the total. UMass's 25 goals are the most the Minutemen have scored through six games since 2003-04, the season they advanced to the Hockey East championship game.
The Collegian also has a preview of the No. 19 hockey team's game with Merrimack this weekend.
Also on Wednesday, two former Minutemen ('08) P.J. Fenton and Mike Kostka squared off against each other for the first time as professionals in the American Hockey League. Kostka's Portland Pirates topped Fenton's Worcester Sharks, 5-3.
Don't miss this: Tonight, the Bud Light UMass Football Show comes to you from the Hangar Pub & Grill with head coach Don Brown. The head man will be joined by offensive tackle Ben Coblyn and defensive back Eric Dickson on Thursday at 7 p.m., the Hangar Pub & Grill. Thursday also brings a television interview with Derek Kellogg on CN8's "Out of Bounds" at 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 5
The day is finally here where UMass alum and Springfield native Derek Kellogg will get the chance to lead his alma mater as the head coach in a game, albeit an exhibition game. The men's basketball team takes on Division II Dowling tonight at the Mullins Center at 7 p.m. Be sure to get your tickets by calling 1-866-UMASS-TIX. Also pick up the Boston Globe for an outstanding story on Kellogg with great photos. Wednesday also brings the UMass Sports Luncheon where football's Liam Coen and hockey's James Marcou will be honored in the Cape Cod Room of the Student Union. They will be joined by guest speakers Derek Kellogg, football coach Don Brown and women's basketball coach Marnie Dacko.
Also in the Globe, columnist Dan Shaughnessy writes about Wake Forest transfer Anthony Gurley stating: Look for big things from Wake Forest transfer Anthony Gurley, who will be playing for the UMass Minutemen after sitting out last season. Along with Corey Lowe (now a junior at Boston University), Gurley paced Newton North to back-to-back state championships (53-1) before playing with the Deacons as a freshman in 2006-07.
As part of the Globe's preview they also have a glance at UMass and the Atlantic 10 (although it says ACC in the headline). The paper pegs UMass fifth in its preseason standings.
Up in Maine, as the Black Bears prepare for the Mnutemen this Saturday, the Bangor Daily News has a story on how Maine has hopes of an NCAA postseason bid as well.
The New England Hockey Journal has named James Marcou its Player of the Week. The notebook also states: Don't look now, but there's reason to think the Minutemen will be a player nationally this year. Despite not being in the top 15 poll-wise, UMass is fifth in the nation in goals scored per game (4.17), 11th in goals allowed (1.83), and the five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) they've put together since losing to Michigan State in the Ice Breaker Oct. 10 is the third longest in the country.
Don't miss this: Today is big day for UMass basketball as Derek Kellogg roams the sidelines for the first time as the head man when the Minutemen take on Dowling in their only preseason exhibition game. The Sports Luncheon also takes place at 12 Noon in the Cape Cod Room of the Student Union where Kellogg will be one of the speakers just hours before his debut.
Tuesday, Nov. 4
Get out and vote! Whether its McCain or Obama, make sure you cast your selection today. Plenty of coverage on UMass men's basketball media day with extensive coverage provided by Masslive.com with many videos. The football team is up to No. 13 in both the media and coaches polls as the Minutemen prepare for a huge game against Maine on Saturday. The hockey team is ranked No. 19, its first ranking of the year. JTAM also stories on men's soccer and women's lacrosse.
Ron Chimelis from the Springfield Republican has a story on freshman forward Tyrell Lynch following basketball media day. Lynch was sporting a new look as he shaved off his dread locks on Sunday and is clean shaving heading into this first playing season of college basketball.
Tremendous coverage of UMass basketball media day on Masslive.com with Erik Gallant and Ben Swasey at the Mullins Center. Check out these video interviews with the following Minutemen: Luke Bonner, Tony Gaffney, Anthony Gurley, Chris Lowe and Ricky Harris. There are also reports from media day filed by Gallant. Here are his reports on: the frontcourt and the freshmen.
The Sports Network's Atlantic 10 preview on men's basketball, picks the Minutemen fourth in the A-10. Check out this story with capsules on all 14 teams.
UMass basketball alums Gary Forbes and James Life were working out in the Mullins Center on Monday morning prior to media day as both players are hopeful of being drafted in the NBA D-League Draft which will be held this Friday, Nov. 7.
Also in the Republican, Garry Brown has a column on UMass football talking about the valuable lessons the Minutemen learned after their loss at new FBS No. 2 Texas Tech back in late September.
Things seem to be picking up for the Minutemen (7-6-3) after winning four straight and going undefeated in their last six games, but the team certainly didn't carry last year's postseason momentum with them into 2008. UMass got on a roll late last season that took them to the national semifinals, but the Minutemen stand virtually no chance of sneaking up on anyone this time around.
That said, plenty of other underdogs have fought their way to the top. From Loyola (Md.) to UC Irvine, smaller programs are proving just as capable of contending.
The Collegian also files this story on the men's cross country team winning their first A-10 title since 1995.
Former UMass women's lacrosse player Lauren Reid has been named the head coach at the University of Southern Maine in a return home for the Deering, Maine native. Here is the official release from USM.
UMassAthletics.com Feature To Check Out:Get your 100th Season Of UMass Basketball T-Shirt now on sale in the UMassAthletics.com Official Online Store. Also, all of the latest information on UMass' Athletes of the Week is available on the web. This week, a pair of Minutemen stars Liam Coen and James Marcou will be honored on Wednesday. Check out all the info on the weekly sports luncheons.
Don't miss this: Just one day to the debut of Derek Kellogg as the UMass head basketball coach. UMass hosts Division II Dowling on Wednesday at 7 p.m., at the Mullins Center. Get Your Tickets On Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-866-UMASS-TIX.
Monday, Nov. 3
Welcome back! What a weekend for UMass Athletics. A ton of wins and a lot of action for scoreboard operators! The weekend was highlighted by football's 49-0 blowout of Rhode Island on Saturday and hockey's pair of victories (9-4 and 5-1) over Providence. Also, the men's cross country team won the Atlantic 10 Championship for only the second time in school history. Not to mention men's soccer two key A-10 road wins. Check out this edition of Just Take A Minute which is highlighted by an article about UMass men's basketball's new dribble-drive offense. Monday is men's basketball media day, so look for coverage following the event this afternoon.
The Springfield Republican's Ron Chimelis has an excellent piece on new men's basketball head coach Vance Walberg, who is bringing his well-known dribble-drive motion to Amherst.
Jeff Thomas of the Republican writes an article about Tony Gaffney's drive to add more offense to his already stellar defensive game.
The Associated Press wrote a story about former UMass alum (and Amherst native) James Ihedigbo, prior to his NFL debut on Sunday.
The Providence Journal's Bill Reynolds noted Coen as "the best quarterback to come out of Rhode Island in at least the last half-century" in his For What It's Worth column.
In a look ahead to next week's football opponent, the Morning Sentinel had a piece on Maine's push for the postseason.
The Republican had a story on the men's cross country team, who narrowly defeated Duquesne by one point on Saturday to win the Atlantic 10 Championship.
The Examiner had a piece on the newest NLL expansion team, the Boston Blazers, who have a number of UMass connections, including Jack Reid and recently-drafted Paul Manesis.
UMassAthletics.com Feature To Check Out: Check out the photo gallery from the hockey home opener vs. Providence on Friday.
Don't miss this: UMass men's basketball media day will be held on Monday at The Mullins Center at 3:30 p.m.
