Better With Mustard

The National Championship Write Up

2009-05-22T13:21:00.000-04:00

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Thursday May 9th starts at 5:03 am for me. Jesus is yelling at me to wake up. I'm a heavy sleeper, and I enjoy long slumbers. I tend to go to bed later than I should, so 5 in the morning is usually right past my first REM cycle.

It's so damn early and I'm so damn tired. It's hell. All I want to get do is get into a bus seat and pass out again. Luckily, I was packed already and all I needed to do was literally roll out of bed, put pants on, throw on a sweatshirt, pick up my bag, and walk out of the apartment. Mission accomplished.

My other two roommates had left the night before and headed to beautiful New Jersey where they were staying between, hopefully at the time, games. They were planning on meeting us at the Verizon Center before the game. Almost everyone I know who was going was getting to DC in different ways. Luckily for me and about 20 other fans we managed to get seats in the band bus, which is a treat in itself.

We get to the bus at like 5:25 and depart at about 5:33. I think I fell asleep before we even made it to the Mass Pike. Lovely.

Despite my quick pass out, I was deeply troubled that I didn't get to sit with Jesus. Since we got to the bus later than we probably should have there were only individual seats left. On almost every other bus trip to a sporting event Jesus and I have sat next to each other. It's become only natural. Not sitting next to him on this leg was unusual to say the least.

Anyways, before I knew it I was awake and in New Jersey. No, it wasn't a nightmare, and no it didn't seem like the wealthier part of the so-called "armpit of America."

We stopped at a rest stop which means two wonderful things for me: a bathroom with some leg room and Burger King Breakfast!!!!!!1!

As one of my high school friends describes it, "BK breakfast brings it hard." Ain't that the truth:

Unfortunately, the Meatnormous isn't at BK anymore

I love breakfast. But making it a BK breakfast just takes it to another level. I'm getting carried away right now and salivating far too much.

After everyone ate people start to head back to the bus. I realized that I had to drop the Cosby Kids off at the lake and didn't want to get left behind. I found Band Director Chris Parks and asked him if I have 5 minutes. He says, "to drop a deuce? Surely."

Oh BDCP, you know me too well.

Mission accomplished in the toilet and before I know it I'm back on the bus and passed out again. Lovely.

I came to to the sounds of Frank the Tank getting beaten by Dean Pritchart in Old School. He's saying I'm so cold and I'm realizing I'm so unhappy to be awake. This time I don't think I'm going to be able to fall back asleep.

Luckily, I see the BET headquarters (all black building of course) and I know I'm close to DC.

The bus is stuck in the worst type of traffic - straight gridlock without movement. It's 2:30 and Jesus and I have a trek to George Washington University ahead of us once we arrive at the bands hotel. We want to get there, relax, and leave ample time to get back to the Verizon Center for the games. We don't have much of a plan at this point since we have no idea where or how to get to GW.

After what seemed like an hour, but was probably about half of that, we make it through the gridlock and what seemed like an absolutely terrible neighborhood on the outskirts of DC, and enter the clean downtown area. We roll through Chinatown and I can see the Verizon Center. I immediately get physically aroused thinking about Frozen Four hockey.

Within minutes we pull up to the Hyatt and the band starts unloading. Jesus and I gather our stuff and call our friend who goes to GW, who we'll call Howie D. Why? Because in high school this guy performed one of the greatest renditions of the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way." He drew on a SICK chin strap beard and was nearly identical to Howie D.

We hit him up and find out we have to walk about 13 blocks to GW. It's a GORGEOUS day and we're in DC so we don't mind at all.

Fast forward a half an hour and we're at the heart of George Washington University, which we quickly deemed "BU South." That would mean BU is "GW North." Seriously, the similarities are scary, and the schools are so similar - down to the price.

Anyways, we meet Howie D and head to his apartment in a building called New Hall. When we walk in we smell a stench that seems like wet dog, we see maintenance workers tearing apart the kitchen, and more of them in Howie's bathroom, some of whom are literally in the ceiling. Apparently there was a big time leak in the building and the place that go hit the hardest was Howie's 7th floor apartment, which he rightfully named "The Slaughterhouse." That's what I'm going to have to refer to it as from now on.

After unloading out bags we realize we don't want to be in the apartment with these maintenance workers doing whatever they're doing, so we head out to see some places of interest.

The only people Howie stops and chats with on the streets are girls (no surprise) and we have about 5 of these encounters in 2 blocks. He takes us down to the National Mall which is mobbed with sightseers. We attempt to walk up to check out Lincoln, but there are far too many people, and our tentative dinner plans are drawing closer. Knowing we don't have much time we start walking back to campus. Strangely, down on the Mall I saw three, count it, three people wearing Oregon State Beavers gear. I found this unusually interesting.

We walk back to The Slaughterhouse and change into what we've deemed as our "lucky" outfits. For me that consisted of blue, red, and white argyle socks, boxers with little wiener dogs on them, slacks, my Tom Morrow Coast-to-Coast shirt, my brown wristwatch, my MSH hockey bracelet, and of course my road BU jersey - all of these items are unwashed since the Hockey East semi-final game.

I take a deep breath, knowing that I'm about to encounter feelings, emotions, and nerves that I've never experienced in my life.

Howie D has the opportunity to join us in the Verizon Center, since my family acquired an extra ticket. He seems just as excited as Jesus and I do, which is odd since he's never seen a college hockey game in his life. This isn't really surprising. Before I came to BU I had only ever seen one Frozen Four game on ESPN in my senior year of high school.

We depart at around 4:45, with plans to meet the Hot Dog family at the Verizon Center, get some dinner, and roll back into the VC. Howie D leads us to the Metro station, which is conveniently located about a block from the Slaughterhouse.

The Metro Stations in DC are something special - they're all underground and they all look the same, with this kind of Greco-Roman ceiling architecture.

There are huge escalators that lead down into them. I thought to myself how hard it would be to try to run up one going the opposite way. It had to be at least 50 feet - that would be a work out right there.

We get our fare cards and walk down to the Foggy Botton stop, headed to Metro Centre. When we walk onto the platform we see a pack of about seven BU jerseys. Sure enough, it's our broomball team. We all scream in elation that we've made it to DC and are hours away from experiencing a Frozen Four game.

A 15-minute, crowded Metro ride later we arrive 5 blocks from the Verizon Center. It's still nice and sunny out so walking is not an issue at all.

Once we get to the Verizon Center the entire area is mobbed with people, most of whom are wearing hockey jerseys. Finding the Hot Dog family is a little difficult, but after a phone call, looking around, and then waiting 40 seconds to cross the street I get to see my family.

I'll say it right now, the Hot Dog's are a basketball family. We pride ourselves in our love of the basketball. Mr. HD especially loves Final Fours. I think he may be working on FF number 8 or 9. It's like that.

Hot Dog (unmasked) and Cocktail Weenie at the 2009 Boston Regional.
I gotta rep the AEC

Don't get me wrong, we really enjoy all sports and my mom and dad are avid attendants and all the high school sporting events, but if you took a tally of all the sports we've been to basketball would be ahead of the pack by head and shoulders. I would be surprised if hockey had 1/5th of the tallies bball does.

Regardless, my parents knew the magnitude of these games and really wanted to see what a college hockey atmosphere would be like on this level, so they shelled out a 5-spot for 4 tickets in section 427. Even I was impressed.

After greeting them and we walk over to a Tex-Mex restaurant about one block away from the VC. By this point I am so nervous for the impending game I can hardly eat. I get a beer to try to loosen up but it doesn't really work. My chicken sandwich is only half eaten by the end of the meal and I'm working on controlling my breathing more so than my digestion.

Once everyone at the table finishes up we walk back to the VC and enter. The Hot Dogs and Howie D head up the escalators to section 427 while Jesus and I make our way to our ticketed section - 114.

We were fortunate enough to meet an alumnus of BU (class of 78) who helped us avoid the whole ticketing fiasco that Agganis forced onto the students. He was able to secure us two tickets next to him, which worked out beautifully for us.

As we're walking over we hear Howie D calling for us, telling us the Hot Dogs told him to sit with us for the time being.

We stroll into section 114 and find Al, our alumnus friend, who has been there from puck drop of the first game, which is tied at 0 right as the 2nd period was starting.

The seats are great and the arena is really breathtaking. I don't know what it is - I've been to a lot of stadiums and arenas that are comparable in capacity to the Verizon Center, but there's something about the place that makes it seem HUGE. The upper decks feel like they continue on forever into darkness and the building really feels alive.

I look to my right and see the Bemidji State fan section full of green and white and tons of signs. Most of which are poking fun at the fact no one really knows where Bemidji State is located.

The Miami fans across the arena are all standing and in mostly red.

As a fan of BU I was clearly pulling for the underdog. How could I not?

A band to my right starts playing and I look immediately - I knew that Bemidji State's band could not make it to the Frozen Four due to a prior engagement, so the Beavers borrowed the George Mason pep band. This band is one that, as I was told, was the best in the CAA. It certainly helps when the band legitimately dresses as a pimp:

Their band brings it. To me, they're no VCU, but I can see how they're so loved.

I'm really not paying so much attention to the BSU-MIAMI game, because well, I'm in awe of the arena and too nervous for BU's game.

I can tell you that by the end of the second period Miami had gained a lead and gotten it to 3-1. At that point I decide to go check out what the view from above looked like in section 427.

It's quite an adventure trying to get to the upper regions of the stadium, but I make it. I see tons of BU supporters I recognize, and some I don't on the way. One person who says "Hey" to me, I think is one of my COM professors. But, as I've mentioned, I'm in such a nervous state, I can't be sure.

I find the Hot Dog's and join them. The first thing I notice about section 427 was how dark it is up there. Not like dark, like evil, but how there was an absence of light. I mean, I think a lot of stuff that was rumored to go on in the 700 level at the Vet could've easily been pulled off in the 400s at the VC.

I watch most of the third with my family and talk about how none of us had ever heard of Bemidji before this tournament. My dad is insistent on knowing what the school's population was, to which my brother finds to be a little over 4,000 people.

They could tell how nervous I was, but knew there isn't anything they could do. This state would only be shook when the BU game was over.

With about 5 minutes to go in the first game I head back down to 114 to sit on my hands and wait for game 2.

Miami, of course, won 4-1, leaving one side of the championship bracket settled, with only one game to go. The big board at the VC said 60:00 and I let out a sigh of frustration. I mean, I knew it would be that long, but I don't want to have to wait an hour to see my team. I want it all, and I want it now.

It seems like more than half the arena clears out because the place looks empty as BU comes on the ice for warm ups. This doesn't really bother me since I know the place will be full again come puck drop, minus maybe the BSU section.

I see Chris Parks and the rest of the band taking the place of where the George Mason band just was in section 116. I notice that the band is only going to fill up, maybe, half the section. A light bulb goes off in my head. My roommates have found us, I know where a lot of other friends of mine are, and really, no one is together. We're spread out all over the arena.

I light jog over to BDCP and ask him about the empty seats in this slightly elevated section that probably fits 50-70 people. He says, "fill them in." I do a fist pump in my head and rush back over to Jesus and my roommates. I immediately text some of my friends, "come down next to band. There are seats." Just like that the section is filled and I have a comfortable position right next to the band and a great view of the entire ice - no blind spots.

I call my family and let them know that there are seats open next to Al. I have to break the bad news to him that Jesus and I are going to sit next to the band, to which he doesn't recieve too well. I felt bad leaving him after all he had done for us, but I'm only two sections away. The Hot Dogs join Al and all seems to be worked out.

Al is relentless though in calling my brother "cocktail weenie." I know that this is a contributing reason why my brother didn't choose BU as his college choice. I can't believe I'm revealing this, but "cocktail weenie" is going to BC next year :0 AHHHHHH!!!!1!

The wait until game time isn't so bad because I'm with the band and throwing out song suggestions to BDCP. Two of which - Hey Ya and Let It Rock. For whatever reason I want these two to be played tonight. In addition I'm with people I know and have loved being with at hockey games over my college career. One of whom, John Condakes, whose voice cures cancer, somehow snuck or sucked his way onto the MTBA Charlie Card.

Since Jesus and I have made it clear we carry a picture of him in our wallets, he does the same. Pictures are taken:
Manton, a face I haven't seen in far too long, comes down to visit Jesus and I, as seen in the picture above. He was the sole person to get us into being such hockey fans and what we are in the student section. Manton was a face and person I can't forget and whenever I see him at a hockey game, it instantly becomes a much better game. I can say this despite his fetish to force my face into his crotch, to which I have to begrudgingly accept:

America!

The next couple of hours are a bit of a blur because of my fragile emotional state. I know I am sitting in the correct order - Jesus to my left and my roommate who we'll call Feet to my right.

BU has the honor of playing the National Anthem, during which, like always, I hold the America flag high over my head. Because of this, or because of BU playing such beautiful melodies, our little section of BU fans gets a lot of face time on the screen. It's an honor.

The game starts off with a bang and continues through the first period. BU has the commanding 2 goal lead going into the locker room. But as most of the people I know say - a two goal lead is the worst lead in hockey.Typical Goal Celebration

That theory is quickly realized to be truth as Vermont poured on three unanswered goals. It becomes pretty clear that Kieran is not playing his best hockey and the team is slipping up. Moral is going down and I'm getting depressed, flirting with thoughts that all the money I've spent on this trip could be going to waste.

Luckily, Nick Bonino receives the puck on a powerplay with a minute and half left, and puts together some moves that don't seem fair, finding Vinny Saponari right in front of the net for the game tying goal. I feel like BU is lucky to head to the dressing room with the game tied, but I have no choice but to accept it.

The third period starts and it's back and forth, grind it out hockey. Lots of close calls in both ends. No one gets on the board until there is 11 minutes left, when a UVM defender scores his first collegiate goal on a powerplay shot from the point that Kieran can't find.

Again, I feel defeated. I have thoughts, once again, that I've wasted so much money coming to DC. I sigh, breathe, and look up to see there is still plenty of time left and just about anything can happen.

And something does happen four minutes later. Higgins carries the puck down the right side of the ice (from where I am) and throws it towards the net. To me, at first, it looked like J-Lo hit the puck in, but upon replay inspection, Higgy got a lot of help from a UVM defender. It's knotted at 4 with 6:54 to go. I'm beginning to like how this is going, but again, I know that the next goal is probably the winner.

Fortunately for us, it comes quickly and off the stick of Colin Wilson. He wins the faceoff to Higgy who immediately shoots it at net. Madore blocks it but right into C-Wils' stick. After that the rest is history. You can't give C-Wils something like that. He does his version of Ovechkin:

Goal. Bam. Victory. I think.

BU does an absolutely amazing job at holding the puck for the remainder of the game. UVM never really gets a good look or really brought it into the BU zone. It's a pretty anticlimactic ending to a very, very good hockey game.

Everyone in the BU section embraces knowing we are going to get to see one more hockey game, and that one hockey game will be the biggest anyone's ever seen. I'm elated at this point. My nervousness is gone and so is my voice.

That's alright though - BU is playing in the National Championship. I felt like doing jumping jacks, and I HATE JUMPING JACKS.

The BU band plays "The Song" for what seems like the 1,000th time of the season and everyone was more fired up than ever. One. More. Game.

After the game I walk down to the area where the BU alumni and parents are sitting. I spot Mrs. Yip, who spots both Jesus and I, and all scream in elation. You my girl, Mrs. Yip.

This is awesome. I’m on cloud nine – nothing can bring me down. I say goodbye to my parents and brother as they look at me unable to comprehend the emotions I personally felt that game. They know that the game was exhausting for me and know that there’s only one thing I need to reenergize me: alcohol. Just kidding. No, but seriously, they know.

My family departs and Ned Brown and BU Today steps in to get some post game audio and Jesus and my thoughts. They were following us throughout the whole adventure as you can hear/see here. We explain that our minds are still blown that we’re here. We huddle up with the other fans that BU Today is doing a piece on and take some pictures with the Verizon Center ice in the background. All this while the security guards repeatedly tell us, “alright one more picture then you gotta go.” For some reason they want to get out of the Verizon Center. This type of mindset escapes me.

Jesus, Howie, and I all make it to the street. Even Howie, a GW Colonial, is jumping up and down with joy. Jesus and I are still wearing the costumes and Howie really wants some more entertainment. He asks us to continue to walk down the street, 5 blocks, to the Metro station in costume.

Being the attention whores we are we oblige and make the walk with some incredibly strange looks. The best was when we walked by a nightclub called UltraBar. It looks super sleak and totally 22nd century. The only people waiting outside are Hispanics and African Americans, so needless to say (even though I’m saying it) they freak-the-f-out when they see us.

“Yo Jesus, what up brother?” “What the f**k, is that a the hot dog?” “Yo, look at these crazy mother f***ers." And of course the loud, "ohhhhhh, sh*tttttt."

Hey-o, we laugh, give some waves and high-fives, take one or two pictures with people too drunk to understand what is going on around them or why there are two 20-some year olds dressed up in costumes in the middle of April.

We make it to the Metro station, unharmed, and rip off the suits. At this point Howie is enthralled by the looks and reactions we got on the street.

The Metro ride seems meaningless and incredibly quick. I don’t think any of us are over the fact in two nights our team is playing for a Title of meaning.

All of us make it back to the GW campus where celebration begins. All of Howie’s roommates are out all ready. Luckily we’re all of legal celebrating age and hit the glorious George Washington bar scene that leads us to the Georgetown bar scene. Upon every BU-Vermont highlight that comes on any TV in any bar we’re at we stop and admire in awe. Then we celebrate all over again like we don’t know what had happened hours before.

Our crew makes it back to the Slaughterhouse still overjoyed at around 3 am. I’m up 6 hours later and getting ready to meet up with my family. I can't believe I just used the word "slaughterhouse" and the word "family" in consecutive sentences. Sigh.

Friday, April 10th, 2009

This day off from hockey is kind of strange. Jesus headed to Baltimore for the day to see some family. Howie was going back to Philadelphia to surprise his mom on her birthday, so I was basically on my own for the entirety of the day.

I started by meeting the Hot Dog fam at the Newseum, hands down, one of, if not the coolest museum I have ever been to.

I cabbed it along the mall all the way down to the museum where I was fascinated to see the front pages of a newspaper from every single state outside.

I called the fam and found them inside and we began to explore.

The Newseum is the museum of news and journalism. Being a TV major, this was the place for me. We started on the top floor and worked our way down. On the top floor, like outside, they have all the front pages displayed in addition to a digital format of each. My fam went through all the papers of all the teams at the Frozen Four. Out of all of them – Minnesota, Vermont, Ohio, and Massachusetts, BU was the only team that didn’t make the front page. CRAZY!

The museum was amazing. It gives great history about journalism and has one of the better 9/11 exhibits I’ve ever seen. With the antenna from one of the twin towers and an incredibly moving 11-minute video documentary, it was hard to hold back some tears.

I mean, every person remembers exactly where he/she was and what he/she was doing when the news broke. I was in the tech-ed room at middle school. I had forgotten a pencil and needed it for my social studies class. I went into the class, grabbed it, then the announcement came over the loudspeaker. I ran back to social studies and the school watched the TV for the rest of the day.

Wow, that was a tangent, and a depressing one that. Anyways, if you have some spare time in DC I highly recommend the Newsuem. You could spend an entire day in there reading, and my family almost did. We finished the day off with the sports journalism theater, where they had a fascinating piece on Muhammed Ali. I was blown away by the way he spoke and handled himself. He reminded me of Terrell Owens, but not a total douche.

I grabbed some lunch with the fam and said goodbye. I thanked them for joining me at the best game I had seen all year and they thanked me for letting them enjoy the experience just as much. They went to their car, and I started to walk towards the Verizon Center.

It was right around 12:30, which was when BU was practicing. Up until this year I had never seen the Terrier team practice. Walking into the Verizon center I realized that this was going to be the third practice I would see this year.

I found a seat right at center ice, sat back, relaxed and enjoyed myself. I never played ice hockey while growing up, so I don’t know any of the drills or what they work on. Whatever I’m seeing on the ice isn’t equating to anything that could be used in games, at least for me.

The only thing I knew about was the shootouts, which was the most entertaining part. Every BU player got a shootout shot. If the player made it he stayed on, if it was missed the player was eliminated. Slowly the team widdled down until it’s just Zach Cohen and John McCarthy. I’m so pumped to see Z out there. I want to stand up and just yell, “GO Z!!” but I know that would be out of place.

Unfortunately, probably because I didn’t get up and yell, Z loses. The team starts to file off the ice. All around the tunnel there are screaming kids. They only want one thing: a stick. I’m in disbelief by this. A puck is one thing, but a stick, come on now.

Probably just gave his stick away

Surprisingly, some players give away their sticks. I’m shocked. It’s funny to watch the player try to maneuver the stick around the railings and give it to the little kids, who have tons of trouble getting it out of the tunnel and into the seats. Regardless, that happened.

Pretty soon it was just the freshman working out with Coach Bavis. I get tired of this pretty quickly and head out to the closest Metro.

I make it back to the slaughterhouse where I kill time on the internet. Now, T’s Pub used to have that great catchphrase: T’s Pub: The Place To Meet. I gotta say the internet is the real place to meet. One place in particular in regards to BU hockey: the USCHO message board. That’s the real place to meet. I check out the board and see everyone’s reaction to the semifinal game.

Not surprisingly it’s a flame war between some UVM people and a UML fan. I don’t really care about this because it doesn’t concern me, but the UML guy is pretty on in saying Milan didn’t play his best game. That sums it up. That and the rest of the BU team was better than the UVM team.

After about 3 hours on the internet a game of Madden and some ESPN I see that it’s 5 pm. The only thing on my to do list the rest of the day is the Hobey Baker ceremony. I should have been working on a 5-7 page paper, but you know, the motivation just wasn’t there. How could it be? I’m not tryin’ to think about Europe in the 19th century when I’m in DC during the Frozen Four weekend.

I head out of the slaughterhouse and hit up a place called PotBelly’s. In addition to the Newseum Potbelly’s is a place you should eat. It’s like Quizno’s on steroids. If it was a baseball player it would be Rafael Palmerio, not cause of the roids, but cause of the Viagra and everything. Potbelly’s brings it and brings it hard (Viagra style). I discovered it while I did Model UN in high school, and I was glad to see it existed on the GW campus.

It was a beautiful day so I walk all 20-ish blocks to the Verizon Center. The highlight of the walk, beyond the sandwich is definitely the African American gentleman who was walking in front/behind/with me for the last 5-ish blocks.

This guy is something else. I am first introduced to him when I’m waiting to cross the street. All of a sudden I see this guy walk past me on the right straight into oncoming traffic. It’s like this guy is the real black Jesus because he just walks right through – no cars really come close to him – he just walks all the way across the street.

I failed to mention he is drinking some cranberry-red drink and smoking a black and mild on this walk.

I swear, after every female he passes, who is walking opposite way, he continues to walk, but turns his head completely and tilts it as to check out the woman’s rear end. He occasionally mumbles to himself in his either pleasure or displeasure in what he sees.

On some corners, where a woman is waiting to cross the street, the man will just look at the woman, kind of stare, then say the same thing each time, “you got a beautiful smile.”

The woman usually responds, “oh, thank you.” The gentleman says, “NO, thank you. Damn, you beautiful.”

At this point the woman feels awkward and turns the other way. The gentleman continues his sex-driven walk. I stare on in amusement.

On my walk I notice two things about the city of DC, and try to tell me this isn’t true: 1. It’s very clean – there isn’t much garbage on the sidewalks or the streets and 2. For as clean as it is there are a TON of homeless people. Way more than Boston, way more than Philadelphia. I don’t know if there is any relation between how clean it is and the homeless, but I wouldn’t be completely surprised.

I get to the Verizon Center only to see a man dressed in a bunny costume just dancing outside. To me this isn't out of the ordinary. You must remember what I wear to sporting events.

Upon entry there is a long, long line to get some autographs from the entire BU team. I think about it for a second and decide not to get any. I don’t need it, I convince myself. After I find prime seats facing the Hobey ceremony and sitting there for a while I come to realization that I should get some autographs. I don’t know when I could use it, but a sheet with the player’s signatures I had watched all year would be cool to have.

I walk to the line and wait. Immediately I’m informed that there is a chance they will shut down the autographs before I get to the players because of the Hobey ceremony. I say, “okay, whatever.”

The line moves quickly because right outside, and to my left, I get to watch that bunny just dance and take pictures with people. I think to myself, this really is amazing. People love people in costumes. Anything out of the ordinary, people respond to. This bunny was getting plenty of attention – people were filming him, taking pictures of him, hugging him, high-fiving him. It’s sweet.

I make the cutoff and grab a sheet of fancy Frozen Four paper. Gryba is the second Terrier in the line of players. I had a strange request, which he obliged to, sign the back of sheet as big as he can. His signature is still the only one on the back of the sheet.

I go through the line, some players recognize me (out of costume), some don’t. All in all I’m happy to own something with all their names on it together.

Jesus shows up, straight from Baltimore and we find our seats, which are conveniently located behind the BU team.

The Hockey Humanitarian Award presentation is first, which was going to a Northeastern Huskies woman’s player, Missy Elumba.

Now pardon me, Elumba did some great work and some great Humanitarian work, but I don’t know if I have ever heard a worse acceptance speech. Now I understand she is religious, but she really, really sucked off religion for a good 7 minutes. After a minute I got the point, but she went off about God, Jesus, Christianity, and everything in between. I was raised Roman Catholic, so I understand where she is coming from, but Gilroy sure didn’t felate God in his speech. I wasn’t looking for this girl to do such a thing. I know she's passionate about Christ and I'm all for that, but, it could've been way better.

Regardless, she got her award and got off. I was then subject to an ESPN broadcast style award ceremony. Rather interesting as ESPN presented the 3 finalists of the Hobey Award to an audience who seemingly doesn’t know anything about hockey.

They present Gilroy, Theissen, and then Wilson in that order. I really only learn one thing: Theissen has a blog, and it is pure gold. Countless hours of entertainment for you right there.

Wilson’s mom was a regular comedian talking about the flooding going on back in Winnipeg.

Matty Gilroy was poised as always and his Mom and Dad are so cute together. That's a weird thing for a guy to say, but you really can't disagree with me on that.

It was fun to be in the background when the camera would go to the team. Jesus and I would both raise our arms and attempt to high-five, but usually we would get cut off just before high-five was completed.

I think most people knew it was Gilroy’s to win, and rightfully so. It was great to watch him and his family and his career culminate at that point. I wanted him to win. Despite holding the “Wilson for Hobey” sign since game 1 of the season, at that point, Gilroy was hands down the most deserving.

After the ceremony the BU hockey team headed out. The ice was cleared by like 25 workers and the players in the skills competition began warming up.

I was expecting the skills competition to be totally awesome. Just action non-stop, possibly some hits. NO.

It wasn’t. Dare I say the highlight is boo-ing both BC players Brock Bradford and Andrew Orpik? It might be.

The competition is the puck control relay, the speed skate (which I almost fall asleep during), the hardest shot, rapid fire shooting, accuracy shooting, and then the penalty shot.

I mean, I am bored. It was a bit of a buzzkill. There isn’t one “wow” penalty shot. There isn’t really one “wow” moment during the entire thing.

The skills competition did answer one question: during Thursday’s game I noticed a lot of taller people walking around in full gray NCAA jumpsuits. I realize now at the Skills competition that those well-clothed people were the lucky few chosen to be in DC without their team.

Jesus and I leave right as the competition ends and discuss what this weekend must be like for the participants. Like, you don’t know anyone too well there, you have to probably room with someone from another team who you’ve never really interacted with before. Do you keep practicing by yourself after your season ends if you know you’re coming to the competition? So many unanswered questions.

Before we go back to our current place of residence I tell Jesus he has to check out Potbelly’s. I eat my second “The Wreck” in a day and Jesus agrees that place brings it.

The Wreck

We make it back to the slaughterhouse where we stumble upon bros watching a movie. Howie explained that the boys of the slaughterhouse, who are all members of the Pike fraternity. The bros have a big flag football tournament on Saturday so they’re all taking it easy with a movie night. How cute.

But seriously, they’re watching The Patriot, so it’s cool. That’s totally a BA movie, so they’re totally BA too.

No, but seriously, they’re good dudes. Not like the frat guys at GW North (BU). They have morals and dignity in the south.

Jesus and I don’t let this stop us from exploring DC. We call up another one of our high school friends who goes to GW and decide to hit up an area called Adam’s Morgan – the hot spot of DC bars.

Adam’s Morgan reminds me of a little more well-off, more exciting Allston. We go from bar to bar and experience different beers and feels of bars. We run into the occasional Bemidji State fans who still wear their gear and get more plastered than anyone else in the bar.

After about 3 hours of bar hopping we head back to the GW campus where we hit up the closest bars last call. After a pit stop at 7-11 (2 hot dogs for $2 – you can’t beat that!) our friend leads us down to the Washington Mall, which is literally right across from his apartment.

We start at the World War II memorial, which I have never seen before. Upon arrival there is exactly one homeless person fishing out pennies in the water/fountain area. Hey, if you’re gonna do that, I guess there’s no better time than in the middle of the night.

Jesus, our friend, and I walk along the mall and it’s a great night. Good temperature, good visibility, good buzz going – just a pleasant night. I’m at ease, not tense about tomorrow night’s game.

We make it to the Lincoln Memorial and climb up the steps. I’m in awe – it’s just open, anyone can come up to the Memorial and just chill whenever he/she wants. It was at this point when I started to think how cool it would be to go to GW or a school in DC. Then I realize there isn’t hockey down here on the college level, and I would never get to experience some sort of championship hockey run.

After minutes of deep introspective thinking we depart. Jesus and I go back to the slaughterhouse and our friend heads to his apartment. I’m content and ready to get plenty of rest for what will be the most exhausting game of my life the next day.

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

I wake up at 12:30 pm, which is only kind of late. Jesus and I both get our stuff together and revisit Potbelly’s and Dunkin Donuts. We go to the GW student union area and get woken up with some iced coffee. Strangely, we see two other kids in BU jerseys. Another girl, who must go to GW, asks us what we are doing there in BU jerseys. We explain to her the magnitude of our visit, but it’s not as big of a deal for her.

We eat, drink, and roll out. Where are we going? The Verizon Center of course. On Thursday we found out there is an open skate from 1 pm – 3 pm I believe. Our roommates and other friends are already there and telling us the skates are running out quickly.

Upon arrival we both line up in our respective skate sizes, which I don’t know how to judge, so I just go with my shoe size.

We arrive a little to close to the cut off, but the people running it still let us get in line. Jesus gets skates, but I get shut out. For whatever reason Jesus gives his skates off to me and lets me partake in the open skate. I try to make sure that he’s completely okay with it, but it’s clear I’m more wanting to skate than Jesus is.

I put them on and then walk from the bowels of the VC to the side of the rink. While waiting to get on I say, “hey, I should wear the hot dog!” I run back to the lounge-type area and put on the costume.

Once I hit the ice I look absurd, although, I know that if I fall I’ll be nicely cushioned on the way down. The people running the whole thing all continue to skate over to me and ask me why I’m wearing the costume. At this point I have no explanation.

Another security person who is skating, if you can call them that, approached me after I Ovechkin-ed into the glass. Apparently, if you don’t play hockey, you can’t jump into the glass like that.

My friends and I get some pictures at center ice, around the boards, and of course, me kissing the ice. Another female fan and her daughter saw me on Thursday night and told me how much they’ve enjoyed the season and the Jesus and Hot Dog. Before I went onto the ice I saw them coming off. The woman told me I needed to kiss the center logo for good luck, because her daughter did too. I didn’t want to let this woman down, so mission accomplished.

Our group had about 15 minutes on the ice. At around minute 7 one of my roommates, who we’ll call Feet, who played hockey in high school and throughout his life was pulling another one of my friends, Heather. She’s not a good skater, and he knows what he’s doing.

Heather pre-accident

I’m kind of skating beside them and tell Feet, “hey, throw her in to the boards!” He of course fakes like he’s going to whip her around him and just toss her right into the glass.

As you can see, I can see what's coming

Unfortunately, on one of these fake attempts Feet goes a little too far and ends up nearly bumping into a Bemidji State fan. He stops short, while going backwards, trying to avoid this girl and ends up going down, taking Heather with him. They land hard and I can tell Feet is fine, it’s just Heather who is down and not getting up.

Our group of friends pretty much all say, “Oh no,” this might mess up plans for the rest of the evening.

I continue to skate around, but watch all that is going on where Heather is down. She seems like she’ll make it, but there is a kind of troubled attitude among all of us. They bring the stretcher out, take off Heather’s skates, and assist her on to it.

The staff must bring her to the hospital because she couldn’t get onto the stretcher on her own. That’s some messed up rules. She is shoeless, strapped into the stretcher, immobile, and holding all my friends tickets in her purse.

They take her to the GW medical hospital on the stretcher as we watch on from the lounge area. She is actually fine – she knows this, we know this, the staff knows this. But to be safe, they have to take her for evaluation.

It’s like Heather blessed the ice, because exactly where she went down like a ragdoll, hours later, Colby Cohen would win a National Championship from that spot.

Once outside, after laughing off the situation a little, everyone who wasn’t Hot Dog and Jesus went to the hospital to rescue Heather. With hours to kill until we could get into the game Jesus and I went to the BU pregame party.

We figured out where it was and joined in the sea of Red and White. Both of us were pretty nervous – not for Heather, but for the upcoming game. The answer, as it is to most of life’s toughest questions – alcohol. We split a pitcher and before we knew it we felt a lot better than we had.

After the pitcher, and being bought a drink by last year’s hockey team manager, and reminiscing with some of the BU hockey community, we worked our way outside where there was a lot more people our age drinking to excess.

We shoot the breeze with a lot of them and then all of a sudden the BU band is setting up shop before our eyes. It’s great.

People who aren’t even associated with BU are stopping on the street to watch and listen to the band. They are jamming out and everyone is getting pumped. Everyone is doing cheers, everyone is amped to get this thing going.

At 5:15 Jesus and I roll out. We can’t get into the Verizon Center until 5:30, but we want to get there as soon as we can to assure ourselves seats where we were last game – right next to the band.

On the way to the game I run into our favorite alumni, Al, the one who hooked us up with the tickets. He shows me the check list he’s been carrying, which has listed every title, accomplishment, award BU could win this year – the only one missing was a National Championship. Al then whips out a cigar holder, which I think is holding a victory cigar. Instead it’s a sharpie, the pen that will finish off the list. I like the optimism.

Once we get into the entrance way to the VC we have to wait in the long, wrapping line, of fans of every team to get in. Both Jesus and I can’t figure out what we want to get in for more – to get seats or to go to the bathroom.

After about 15 minutes of waiting, which seem like forever, we’re admitted in, and sprint to section 116 to set up shop next to the band.

Once we settle we take turns going to the bathroom, while waiting for the rest of our friends and crew. We have a while to kill and we know this.

The BU players are sitting on the bench wearing the “Burn the Boats” shirts and wrapping their sticks. I began to wonder what they were thinking right now, if they were nervous, and most of all, what those shirts meant.

I knew that I would be finding out, win or lose, what the shirts stood for after the game, but I still had to wonder what the message was.

I got food, I peed, I socialized with BU fans of every age. I began to mentally and physically prepare myself for the game.

It may sound stupid but I felt like I needed to prepare just as much as the team. That’s a lie, not as much as the team, but I had to get myself ready. There hadn’t ever been a game I cared more about in my life. Sure the Phillis winning it all was unreal, but that wasn’t really stressful, just because of the way Game 5 was played.

This was different. This was one and done, and in hockey that is a terrible, terrible way to handle it.

Of course, before puck drop, things just ran together. The atmosphere kind of reminded me of Red Hot Hockey, not because of the magnitude of the game, but because the arena was dominated by red and white, and the majority of the people there, who weren’t from BU or Miami were pulling for the Redhawks.

Even during the National Anthem when “red” was sung, about half the crowd yelled, “red.”

It’s grueling hockey right from the start. Back and forth action – to me BU seems better, but Miami is really bringing it, especially with the physical aspect of the game. They were hitting much more than Vermont was and I think that was effecting the play. What the hell do I know.

Connolly is the first to get on the board on a great rebound put back. BU faithful has to feel good about that one. I’m feeling great at this point.

After one period Jesus and I interview with BU Today.

I tell them I feel good and winning a National Championship is as easy as playing defense and not letting the puck hit the back of the net. It’s really not that easy though.

We're obviously happy with the way the game is going right now

We take some more pictures, get interviewed by Puck Daddy who can't get enough of us, and I even get into it with t=he woman and her daughter about kissing the ice. We agree it's a good luck charm. So I thought...

That’s proven 2 minutes in when Miami evens it up. It’s a cluster-f in front of the net and somehow Miami sticks find the puck, which in turn finds the back of the net. It’s a whole new game and the nerves run high.

Back and forth for the rest of the second, which makes it super tense, come the start of the third.

The pacing back and forth in the concourse during intermission doesn’t do anything. Jesus gets an iced coffee from Dunkin D's. I still haven't eaten the turkey sandwich that I got before the game even started, so I know that I will just be wasting money if I buy a coffee. I think the pacing will settle my nerves but it really has no effect.

3rd period action begins and to say I’m nervous doesn’t capture the true feeling I have.

7 minutes in Miami strikes first with another put back goal, this time by Tommy Wingels. At that point it was like Vermont all over – no one in the building seemed to lose any faith in the Terriers. I didn’t.

However after the third Miami goal, which came just 3 minutes later, I began to. It was crushing. A BU turnover in their own end turned into a shot from the point from Trent Vogelhuber, which beat Milan. In retrospect these goals are completely forgotten by everyone who was there, and everyone who was watching on TV.

I was defeated. I put he hot dog top on, and I only do that when things are bad, when I don’t want to be seen, looked at, or for my emotions to be on display. Cheering was tough.

I thought, did this team really just get all this way only to be stopped so close? Did they accomplish all these great accolades to have them not really matter in the end? Then I got to thinking, what if I just walked out? What if I couldn’t take it anymore and just headed towards the exit? What if?

In the midst of all my what if’s Parker called Milan to the bench for the last 3-ish minutes. I’m thinking, well, this is definitely it. It being the end.

It’s tough to think about. A terrible reality, really. It just didn’t seem fair – all the cards were in place before the game started, and even through the first period. Just not fair.

Then something happened. Looking back on it there was something afoot – something in the air, something in the arena it was something. I can’t even tell you exactly what it was but the team felt it, the BU fans felt it, even I felt it. It was confidence, it was hope, it was knowing that 3 minutes can actually be a lifetime.

However, it wasn’t until the last possible minute that heroes were made.

You know what happened:

The feelings were unreal. Emotionally distraught, shaking, with an amazing sense of hope after Z’s goal. If they could get one they could certainly get two.

And they did. After two really good chances – one from J-Lo and one from Bonino, the third one was the charm. Again, you better know what happened:

There was nothing like the goal celebration on that one. It was tackle whoever is next to you and go crazy. It was insane. I was underneath everyone, getting crushed against the seats. I really didn’t want to die via goal celebration so I freed myself with all my might.

I look up to check to make sure this is reality and sure enough it is. This is unreal. That’s the only word that actually encompasses my life at that moment – unreal.

There was a scare with a second to go as Kieran bobbled the puck to the left of the net. Tense moment averted BU headed to the locker room with one goal separating them and the National Title. I headed to the concourse hallway in hopes to calm down, not throw up, and not cry.

Only one of those was achieved – the not throw up part. I couldn’t calm down once I got outside. There was an eerie sense of disbelief among everyone. It wasn’t overly loud and there wasn’t too much talking. It was bizarre. I saw Jack Parker’s secretary walking through the hallway with tears in her eyes. That got me as I tried to hold mine back. Such an emotionally powerful moment will do that to people.

As you can see, dry tears

The 15 minutes that separated the end of the third and overtime flew by. Before I knew it I was back standing in my usual position, asshole tighter than ever, hoping that somehow, someway this would be a quick and painless overtime.

It was back and forth but the overall feel was domination on BU’s part. It seemed like they weren’t going to lose this. They had come this far, and they weren’t going to go down now.

BU had many opportunities and plenty of looks. Out of all of these good looks, none of them found the net. One did though. It wasn’t the prettiest way to win, but it was a way, and from exactly where Heather had gone down about 8 hours before the game winning moment.

During the next shift the BU band finally played a song I had been requesting the entire trip: "Let It Rock."

For whatever reason I decided I liked the song about a week before the trip. Since it's fresh I wanted the band to play it. BDCP would always say, okay I will, but then not do it. I guess they were running low on songs because it took them 11-ish minutes to play it into the OT. And sure enough BU let it rock.

I don’t know if anyone in attendance could actually follow the puck in. All I saw was a shot, and then reaction. I was immediately buried again in celebration and immediately crushed. I got people off of me because I wanted to see the celebration that was going on. I wanted to see the team jump all over each other in absolute jubilation, while I did the same thing in the stands.

It was amazing. So amazing. I don’t know that a moment in my life can ever achieve a level like that.At this point my headband was lost in celebration, as was Jesus’ beard and wig. It really didn’t matter at all though.
There were cheers and chants a plenty as everyone watched the boys celebrate, then line up, and shake hands in that order. I whipped out the “That Just Happened” sign because that actually just happened.

Colby Cohen was about to get interviewed on ESPN but decided at the last possible second he was going to go shake hands instead. Whatever, he wont the National Championship, I guess he can do what he wants.

I was staying put in my seat, standing of course. I wanted to soak it all in. I wanted to admire the red and white banners all around the sidings of the arena that read, “National Champions.” I wanted to watch each player in how they acted, who they hugged, and who they might be looking at in the stands.

After Parker shook hands with the Redhawks he made his way towards the BU side of the arena and raised his arms in joy. It seemed like he pointed at Jesus and I, but that’s just me being silly.

Everyone in attendance admired as the team got the trophy and held it to the crowd. Some took pictures with it, some kissed it, some just held it. No matter what each player did once he got the piece of hardware, it seemed special.

Men’s college hockey has the longest season from start to finish. While most if not all college sports require the full year worth of practice and work, hockey starts in October and doesn’t end until April. That’s pretty much the entire year.

It’s a long season and one that is no doubt grueling. To have the players win it after all the games they played, everything they won, it was special.

Luke's eyes freak me out

It was special to be a part of it all.

As soon as the game ended a wave of texts flew in. Friends from school, from other schools, from everywhere, all saying things along the lines of, “wow, congrats.”

Funny thing is, I didn’t even play!

Very different post game reactions

After everything died down a little bit Jesus and I saw Mrs. Yip again. We high-fived and screamed a little, then Mrs. Yip demanded Jesus put his costume back on so she could get a picture with him. I’m still waiting to see that picture.

There were more pictures to come. I still had my gear on and everyone who supported the Terriers was riding high. We were all extremely friendly and I was more than willing to do just about anything any of them wanted.

My joy can be seen in this photo with Jesus (out of costume) and the Assistant Dean, Darryl Deluca:
I look like a 12-year old boy!

After waiting in line for a championship t-shirt or hat, and giving up on it, Jesus and I started to head back to GW. We wanted and needed to drop our gear off and head to the post game celebration.
The streets were filled in Terriers rejoicing, high-fiving, and just being those happy assholes you hate when you’re not happy.

After a Metro ride and spring to the New Dorm Jesus and I dropped our stuff off, ripped some victory shots, and headed to the Mayflower hotel where the team was and the post game celebration.

We arrived downtown and asked some people to direct us the right way. Once we got into the Mayflower lobby it was just a sea of red and white. We, of course, were also in jerseys so we felt right at home.

Tons of people I knew. Fans, friends, players, administrators. Everyone. It was an overjoyed atmosphere. Like two nights previous, whenever there was a highlight from the game on TV people would stop and admire what had just happened.

Jesus and I were able to make rounds to people we knew and some we met for the first time – like Mr. and Mrs. Milan who said they were happy the game was on ESPN because their friends from home could finally watch Kieran play. We made sure to thank the captains John McCarthy and Matt Gilroy:

Jesus gave him some career advice, which he actually almost listened to: sign with the Flyers. So close yet so far.

Then, somehow, Jesus and I found ourselves talking to Mr. and Mrs. Gryba. We saw Eric as soon as we got there and he had shaved already. However, he wasn’t anywhere to be found later, and instead we got into it (in a great way) with Mr. Gryba. This means that I believe I have now met the entire Gryba family, his sisters included, and I must say, if I had to be adopted by any one family it would have to be the Gryba's.

The Gryba sisters and yours truly

We learned that Eric was a nasty basketball and football player in middle school and into high school. He just settled on hockey after his parents requested him to pick. Also, I had to ask if Gryba has always been the last player to leave the ice. Mr. Gryba said yep, that’s just part of who he is. He told me that at a young age Eric was told to always give out autographs for whoever ask, because of a bad experience the Gryba’s had at an Edmonton Oilers game.

We all got to talking about Eric’s future in the NHL, how his parents want him to graduate, and how much he enjoys all the cheering and chanting directed towards him. Jesus and I made it clear to Mr. Gryba he’s a fan favorite.

Mrs. Gryba was just wonderful. Very happy to meet us and very happy about the result of the game.

Finally, we also found out what Mr. Gryba really thinks about some members of the team. Wouldn’t you like to know!?

To end it all Mr. Gryba opened up a bottle using another bottle. He just sealed it for me with that – he is the most badass dad, and hands down coolest, on the team. I know Mr. Wilson introduced himself to me in a game earlier in the season, but I didn’t see him open any bottle using another bottle! That was crazy.

The alcohol kept flowing and more and more people started to disperse. Jesus and I had showed up too late to real Parker and the National Trophy. We did get to hang out wit the cardboard cut out version, with the Beanpot.

Jesus and I decided to head out to another bar and celebrate some more with BU band members. What? Oh, why yes, of course Flute Guy was there. We got our drink on, I rudely informed people on why I was wearing a hockey jersey that said Boston when they asked. I lived it in. This was a highlight of my life and I wanted to soak it in as best I could.

The night ended and Jesus and I made our way back to GW via cab. We fell asleep at God knows what hour and had to wake up pre-9 am to make it to the bus that was leaving at 10:30. As soon as we found seats I passed out and slept until we hit up Burger King on the return trip. I nourished myself with some food of only the highest standards and the bus continued on its way.

I’d say we got back to Boston at around 7 pm. Once Jesus and I got back to our apartment what do you think the first thing we did was?

You got it. Watch it all again and relive this moment.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me. It’s been special and got me all happy on the insides. And thanks to Olo/Candycanes99 for the youtube vids.

First the Phillies, now this? In the words of KG, once again:

The Coach For Me

2009-04-29T21:14:00.001-04:00

I don’t know what I did to deserve this –– maybe it was my buttering up of Athletic Director Mike Lynch (“Superhuman athletic director,” Feb. 17, page 8) or my ridiculous coaching suggestions (“Coaching options,” March 31, page 8). I’m not really sure what it was, but whatever I did (or didn’t do) may or may not have caused a coaching hire for the men’s basketball team that couldn’t fit me personally any better.

We have plenty of connections, starting with new BU coach Pat Chambers’ college: Philadelphia University. The coach of Philadelphia University for the last 42 years and the third-winningest coach in NCAA basketball, is Herb Magee, commonly referred to as the Shoot Doctor.

Magee is a shooting expert who ran camps all throughout the Pennsylvania area. During camps, he would lecture attendants while effortlessly swooshing free throw after free throw, to the point where you began disliking basketball.

Little known fact: Hot Dog used to be a shooting prodigy and occasional shooting model for Herb’s instructional videos. For whatever reason, I picked up on Herb’s lessons at one of his camps, to the point where he noticed my abilities and signed me up for some films. Before I knew it, I was a 12-year-old video-shooting example who didn’t look a day over seven.

Anyway, Pat Chambers played for Magee, and PC no doubt knows what I’m talking about with the shooting. However, Chambers wasn’t a shooting pro at Philadelphia –– he was a disher, and a good one at that. BU’s newest coach is the all-time career leader in assists at Philly U with 709.

Want some more connections?

Chambers was an assistant at Episcopal School –– a prestigious private high school known for one thing in 2005-06: hoops. The team featured Wayne Ellington, Gerald Henderson and one of my childhood best friends, Charlie Barks, who ran the point. I saw many games that season, but never knew at the time I would be watching the future coach at my future university.

Then Coach got a job at Villanova –– my hometown team that’s about 10 minutes away from my house. Now, he’s coaching five minutes from my residence at BU.

So yeah, I almost feel like Coach Chambers is family.

I interviewed Coach to talk about all that has happened for him in the last month. He was on a recruiting visit but took some time out of his busy schedule to let me fire away with questions over the phone.

I started off by asking him why he chose BU, why it was a good fit.

He said one of the first things that drew him here was the university’s academic standard. Coach compared it to Villanova, and he really valued the school’s dedication to graduating student athletes. He also touched on the long tradition of BU basketball and his love of the city of Boston in general.

I asked him what he thought about coaching basketball at a hockey school.

Surprisingly, he said he loves it. He wants to build off the energy and passion the hockey team has created for the school. He said he plans on learning from Jack Parker, a man Chambers said does things the right way.

I moved on and asked coach where he would prefer to play –– The Roof or Agganis?

His vision is to see BU as Gonzaga East. He said he doesn’t plan on hiding his expectations and desire to become a basketball-excited school. He wants everyone to get excited about the team and hopes that the excitement can carry into Agganis.

I tried to challenge coach with some difficult questions, but he had all the right and respectable answers. Like when I asked him what he thought about Jake O’Brien’s decision to look elsewhere.

His answer was genuine and perfect –– Jake’s a good everything –– a good player, a good student and a good person. He said that if he wants to test the waters, he’s by all means entitled to, and he wishes him the best. That’s not to say that Coach doesn’t hope Jake returns, because he would make a valuable impact.

I asked Coach something I really had to –– a lot of people tell me they see him around campus in a golf cart, often times with recruits and their families.

Coach said it beats walking, and the parents always love going for a ride. He said they respond well to it, which is probably why Coach is in the process of bringing in a UMass transfer who was lucky enough to let Chambers speed him down Comm. Ave. in the cart.

I really enjoyed talking to Chambers on the phone. He brings a new type of energy and passion, even in one simple 15-minute interview, that I never saw or heard from Dennis Wolff.

Next year’s season is a fresh start and the last chance for an extremely talented senior class to win a conference title. I have the utmost faith in how Chambers will handle all the responsibility and pressure he has on him. This program is going to change with the new life that Pat is bringing with him.

The Best Year Ever

2009-04-22T01:06:00.000-04:00

If you’re a student at BU right now, do me and yourself a favor: run to the closest phone and call home. It’s time to thank your parents for fornicating on purpose, or by mistake, and giving you life in the timeframe of 1985-1990.

Why?

Because you just experienced the single greatest athletic year in your university’s long history. As VH1 would say, BU had the best year ever.

The 2008-09 sports year was simply awesome. It’s mind-blowing all the accomplishments various BU teams and players on each team accomplished.

Obviously, the true mark of success is that national championship trophy that’s sitting in Parker’s office. That is the milestone that sets this year apart from the rest.

Looking at the four other years BU won a national title, it’s clear that this year stands apart from the rest –– not only by hockey accolades, but with all other Terrier sports, too.

First, hockey-wise, Parker did call this team the best he’s ever coached. Thirty-five wins –– an all-time BU record. Twenty-seven wins for Kieran Milan –– an all-time BU record. This team likely boasted at least five future NHLers, two confirmed already, and an insane 11 20-point scorers. And let’s not forget about having two 50-point scorers, the only two 50-point scorers on a Terrier hockey team this decade.

The seniors won 100 games in their careers, including all six tournaments and seven championships up for grabs this year. The team ended eight teams’ seasons and lost only two games after Thanksgiving. Oh, this team also had a clean sweep in terms of awards: Hobey Baker, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and four All-Americans. So yeah, they’re pretty damn good.

Women’s basketball had its best season in program history –– 25 wins, an undefeated America East regular season, its first postseason tournament win ever and the best senior class in program history –– America East Player of the Year and eighth all-time leading scorer Jesyka Burks-Wiley, all-time 3-point leader Kristi Dini, Defensive Player of the Year Amarachi Umez-Eronini and all-time assist leader Christine Kinneary.

Men’s basketball had a winning record! Where was their parade?

Men’s and women’s soccer were the first duo since the reformation of the America East Conference to win both the men’s and women’s titles in the same year. The men got an NCAA Tournament win and featured one of the most exciting teams in recent history. It helps when Jon Jonsson is leading the team in pregame stretches and postgame kumbayas.

Women’s lacrosse hasn’t ended yet, but past BU records have –– Sarah Dalton has shattered the goal mark and point mark. Not to mention opening up a nine-game winning streak since losing to their arch-nemesis: the University of Pennsylvania. The real test for the ladies will come when they play their perennial third-round matchup, the Quakers, again in the big dance. Penn has won three straight over BU, but the ladies can make history if they can just score more goals than those Ivy League hot-nerds.

The rest of the women’s sports have been, some would say, too dominant. The women’s track and field team won its fourth straight indoor title. Women’s swimming and diving won its first since 1994. Meanwhile, women’s tennis goes for its 12th straight title. And finally, the softball team was the first America East team with 30 wins this season, not to mention Cassidi Hardy has pitched three no-hitters and Shayne Lotito has broken single-season and career records for stolen bases and runs. Are you kidding me?

Mike Roberts will go down as one of BU’s best wrestlers ever with eight more wins than the hockey team’s senior class. He qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times –– quite a feat for someone who competes all by himself.

Women’s hockey has gotten better and better with every season. And with every season, it has gotten more wins –– this year besting itself with 18 wins and its first postseason win in program history.

Hell, even the BU cheerleaders existed for all eight months of the school year!

Boston University is easily going to win its seventh Commissioner’s Cup in the last eight years. This cup is given to the school recognized as having the strongest athletic program in the America East. If hockey was part of America East, the cup would’ve already been presented to BU, but we have to wait until the spring sports end. However, BU is a shoo-in and the class of the conference.

What we’ve seen, what we’ve experienced, what we’ve lived has been so outstanding this year. The athletics at Boston University have never been as good as they are right now. It’s a testament to the coaches, the players, the fans, the administrators –– everyone involved who has made BU sports what they have been.

As Dean Elmore once said, “This campus is floating.” When athletics perform and achieve at such a high level, it rubs off on the rest of the school. BU is on top of the conference and on top of the world. It’s stood out high above the rest, and I am oh-so happy to be a part of it all. I hope you are too, and I hope this fantastic year carries over to next year.

Reflections From DC

2009-04-14T19:17:00.001-04:00

Wow.

There is really only one word in the English language that sums up what Saturday night was like for me, my friends and the Terriers of Boston University: UNBELIEVABLE.

Honestly, that’s the only word that truly captures the experience.

I’ll let you in on what my night was like on Saturday –– what I was feeling, what I was thinking, what it was like to be part of arguably the most epic, most exciting, most amazing national championship in the history of the sport.

Let’s just jump to the 17-minute mark of the third period: the score is 3-1 with a faceoff coming in the far end. Coach Jack Parker elects to pull the goalie, and when I see Kieran Millan skating to the bench, my thoughts are something like, “This is it. We’ve come all this way, accomplished all these great accolades, but the dream is over. It’s all for naught.” I can’t help but sigh, clasp my hands around my head and put the hood of the hot dog on.

I’m clenched up, my palms seem as if they’ve been immersed in water for an hour; my fingers are pruned. I’m fighting to hold back the tears of complete and utter defeat.

Play continues, and it doesn’t seem very good –– a minute ticks away, now with only two to go. The extra attacker is still on, and I’m wincing every time a pass is made or a dangle is performed –– anything really. I’ve become exhausted.

I strain my eyes to see the far end of the ice as best I can –– Nick Bonino shoots right into the goalie, and a RedHawk gets the puck. This unfortunate soul is about to clear it, but Nick shoots his stick in and pokes it right to Zach Cohen. Call it puck luck, call it Zach’s glorious aim, call it what you will, but all I see is a red light and Terrier skaters’ arms fly into the air. One goal down, one to go –– we haven’t won anything yet, but with one minute to go, I’m starting to become a believer again.

BU wins the faceoff and sets up the offense to get the extra man out there again. The seconds tick away –– 59.5 seconds go to 40, then 30, then 20. After some good looks, close shots and great hustle, Matt Gilroy receives the puck at the point. I quickly say to myself, “This is good.” He fakes a RedHawk out of his skates and gently leaves the puck perfectly for Bonino. The next 20 seconds for me are a blur.

I hear the obnoxiously loud goal horn go off. The Terrier bench is going crazy, my fellow fans and I are grabbing each other, hugging each other, screaming as loud as we can –– this can’t be happening. We just tied this game?

No. Way.

I’ve fallen onto the seats behind me, I’m getting dogpiled by my friends, I can hardly breathe, and for a minute, I think I’m being suffocated. I get myself out of there and look at the ice to make sure what I thought I had just seen was actually true.

Yes, it was.

I think now, just kill these last 17 seconds and let me try to gain some sanity before overtime. It wasn’t pretty, but we get to OT.

My voice is completely gone. I am still shaking uncontrollably. I can’t put together a coherent sentence. I make for the concourse hallway, and there is an eerie sense of disbelief among everyone walking by.

I see Jack Parker’s secretary in the hallway and her eyes are wet with tears –– at this point, I can’t hold back my emotions as I feel tears trickle down my face. I can’t believe this just happened.

Jumping to 11:47 into the overtime period, Colby Cohen fires that puck at the net, it hits a diving RedHawk and I lose sight of it. All I see is Vinny Saponari throw his arms up in the air –– then another pile-on. I embrace Jesus, he embraces me and everyone else around us piles on.

That. Just. Happened.

My legs are destroyed from getting slammed into the seats and arm rests around me. I couldn’t care less. I’m being suffocated again, but I break free in time to watch the Terrier bench empty and make for Colby to jump on.

A wave of text messages come in, all with a similar message –– “That was unreal. Congrats.” A wave of phone calls come next, but I know there’s no point in answering. I wouldn’t be able to be heard because A) I have no voice at all, and B) It’s complete pandemonium around me. While I struggle to hold back tears of joy, I try screaming out in victory, but I can’t even hear my own voice.

This is what it’s like to win a national championship? Jesus, there isn’t a better feeling in the world. Nothing can top this. Surely, BU did it in the most dramatic, gut-wrenching, spectacular way, but I’ll look back on my Saturday night and remember it as the highlight of my life. I will rewatch that last minute and overtime on my DVR and immediately become overjoyed.

UNBELIEVABLE.

It All Comes Down To This

2009-04-14T19:16:00.000-04:00

This is it. This is what it all comes down to. I’ve dreamt of this for three years. And after those three years of hopefully watching, the Terriers have arrived at the Mecca of college hockey: the Frozen Four.

Year to year, the hockey team is one of the only teams at this school with real national championship aspirations. In most sports at BU, it’s good enough to win the conference, but in hockey, sights are set much higher.

Because of these high expectations, most of the BU hockey teams since 1995 have been considered failures only because they didn’t bring home the ultimate hardware. Now, none of them are actually failures. A failure is a team like Merrimack’s, which hasn’t played postseason hockey in six years, or UNH, which has never won a national champion. Also, any of the teams in the Futile Four would certainly qualify as failures.

BU hasn’t failed –– they’ve had some very memorable teams and players pass through in the last 14 years, but never have any of these teams had the potential this year’s team does. If this team does go on to play and win on Saturday, there is no doubt that it will go down in BU history as the greatest team to ever play at this school. Simply put, here is why:

With two more wins, this BU hockey squad will become the winningest BU team in school history with a would-be 35 wins. Kieran Millan has already become the single-season winningest goalie with his 27th win of the season against UNH last Sunday. On top of that, Millan has never lost a game away from Agganis Arena. I like knowing that as I pack my bags for a different city.

This team has 11 20-point scorers, four of whom are defensemen. The other Frozen Four teams compare as such: Miami –– nine 20-point scorers, Bemidji State –– four 20-point scorers, and Vermont –– five 20-point scorers.

The Terriers were 4-7 in one-goal games last year. What a difference a year makes: this season BU has a solid 8-3 record in such contests. This also means half the losses have only been by a goal. I don’t like losing, but if we’re going to lose, at least it’s not so ugly I have to look away most of the third period.

BU has put 301 more shots on target than its opponents. Obviously, when you shoot that many more times, you’re going to score much more than the teams you play. Sure enough, that must be why BU has scored an outrageous 168 goals to its opponents measly 84. Strangely, despite all this, the Terriers are undefeated when their opponents outshoot them. They’re also undefeated when leading after two periods. Remember these things come Thursday night –– if BU is winning and has posted less shots than UVM, it’s a very, very good sign.

The only question remaining is: what will happen if there is an overtime game? BU has tied in all four of its overtime games this year. At this stage in the season, if a game is forced to continue past regulation, it’s sudden death until someone wins or a player actually has a sudden death (I can’t remember that happening anytime recently, though). I’m afraid that BU will keep playing overtimes, reminiscent of the 1991 heartbreaking NCAA championship game in which BU lost 8-7 in a triple-overtime thriller to Northern Michigan.

You can see all these statistics and whatever other ones I haven’t included, and you’ll understand this BU team is superb. They’ve been the No. 1 team for most of the season and are heading to D.C. for a reason.

All that this stuff means is that you shouldn’t be missing out on anything that happens Thursday and, potentially, Saturday. If you don’t have a ticket to the games, figure out a way to get one –– there are plenty of people selling extras; StubHub.com is loaded with them and there will be scalpers a-plenty in front of the Verizon Center.

Can’t figure out a way to get to the nation’s capital? Chinatown bus it –– it’s cheap and goes from city to city, and, even better, it occasionally flips. Spend the money –– take a train. Hell, fly: JetBlue is legit and relatively inexpensive, and if you do a little crying at the ticket desk you might even get a discount.

The bottom line is that you need to get there –– you need to be a part of this. I don’t care how old you are, or where you live, or even how many games you’ve even been to this season or in your life. BU is playing in the Frozen Four. No one knows when or if this will ever happen again.

You don’t want to look back 10, 20 or, God forbid, 50 years from now and say, “I wish I had gone to D.C.” Screw class, screw responsibility, screw it all: this is Frozen Four hockey.

Potential Coaches

2009-04-01T22:24:00.001-04:00

I’m a little offended. Come on –– I went to every single home game this past season, even over break. I attended four games away from the BU campus. I even figured out ways to watch five of the road games on the Internet –– legally and illegally.

So, how come Athletic Director Mike Lynch hasn’t asked me for my input on the hiring of the next BU men’s basketball coach?

Now, I know the AD must have a lot on his plate right now –– dealing with multi-million dollar firings and hirings and now having to figure out logistics for the men’s hockey team’s journey to D.C.

That said, I’m going to give you and Lynch 10 potential hires. These potential coaches don’t always fit the mold of a “great basketball coach,” or even someone associated with basketball, but they certainly fit the mold of someone who could bring people to the seats. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what the program needs?

1) Bob Knight –– this one is pretty obvious. Knight is currently seen on ESPN as a college basketball analyst. You’ll never see him in a tie, unlike some of the other talking heads that don’t know what the hell they’re saying (Digger). Knight, on the other hand, knows college basketball like I know condiments. He sits at 902 wins, so all he would need is 98 more for 1,000 –– that’s like four, maybe five seasons in The Hub. The only thing I fear is the fear that some of the players on the team might have of him when he threatens to strangle them and their families during practice for poorly executed screens.

2) Pat Summit –– everyone’s waiting for a female coach to make the jump to men’s basketball. Everyone also suspects it’ll be Pat Summit. Let’s have BU make history by signing a lady to a multi-million dollar coaching contract. If she’s asking for too much, just go with Kelly Greenberg –– she could make the jump.

3) Jack Parker –– similar to a woman jumping to men’s ball, everyone is also waiting for a hockey coach to show off some versatility and jump to basketball. Parker has proven that he knows how to coach hockey. Time for basketball!

4) Bill Clinton –– “Bubba” likes basketball. And I can guarantee you his bracket looks better than Obama’s does. Why not bring in Bill, who’s been out of work for a while, assuming the role of first man for his wife with the occasional solo sax session –– something he can’t possibly enjoy. The only condition he’d probably ask for if named head coach is bringing in Al Gore as an assistant. I’m okay with that.

5) Samuel L. Jackson –– you might question this option. I have little hesitation. Although in most movies Samuel plays a bad-ass black man who likes to curse and kill people, let’s not forget he did play a touching role as a basketball coach in “Coach Carter” –– he has experience and enough money, so you probably won’t need to pay him too much.

6) Joaquin Phoenix – he has gone crazy. Or he’s just a really good actor. The bottom line is Phoenix went from being a great Johnny Cash to a semi-alright white rapper. His publicists clearly haven’t been helping him make proper career choices, so it’s time for a complete lifestyle change. Get him some basketball coaching classes and get him on that court. He’s sure to draw national coverage with his antics.

7) Bob Saget –– anything Bob Saget touches turns to gold. Think about it –– “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Full House” and, at times, “Dumb and Dumberer.” He’s a dirty, dirty comic, but I’d bet he would make a great, dirty coach.

8) BU Jesus –– little known fact: as a coach for my intramural basketball team, Jesus went 3-1 on the regular season and 0-1 in the playoffs. Statistically speaking, that’s the same record Wolff had when he began his career at BU. Jesus may be young, but he’s been known around the intramural circuit as a prodigy. But then again, what do the intramural people know about anything?

9) Tall people –– to me, there’s something very funny about humans above seven feet tall. Now, I would laugh the entire game if BU could bring in someone like Dikembe Mutombo or Manute Bol or even Gheorghe Mureﬂan. Although their English may not be the best, they’re sure to provide laughter for everyone in attendance.

10) Matt Wolff –– if BU gets really desperate and doesn’t know what to do, they can always call upon the former coach’s son. Just make sure he doesn’t hire his father as an assistant.

There’s a brief list. And hey, if nothing’s working out, we can always bring back DW for another go-around. Right?

Superhero Athletes

2009-03-25T18:40:00.002-04:00

It seems like at least once every three months there is an “epic” superhero movie released. Recently, it seems like most of these movies end up being huge disappointments. The most recent example of this is “The Watchmen.” I didn’t see it, but I know there’s a completely blue guy in it who isn’t Tobias Fünke, some girl who wears spandex and a hero who looks like one of the killers from the movie “The Strangers”.

This got me thinking, which Boston University athletes could be superheroes, and which ones would they be? So, without further ado, I present to you my list of BU’s Superhero Athletes. I apologize for leaving many athletes and superheroes off the list, but the world can only have so many idols.

Let’s start with the men’s ice hockey team, which definitely has some super-human athletes. Obviously the first player to consider is Eric Gryba. Clearly Gryba could be The Hulk or The Punisher or even Donkey Kong. However, I like The Thing, not because Gryba’s skin looks like large palates of sheet-rock, but because before every game, Gryba says, “It’s clobbering time.” Then he goes out and nearly kills half the opposing team. He’s a fan favorite, just like The Thing. I also believe after hockey, Gryba will have a successful career as a scientist, just like The Thing!

John McCarthy is Captain America. Seriously, you don’t get more perfect than Johnny. The man is a TA who has office hours! Coach Parker has said that John’s the best at everything he does, and I don’t doubt that. It’s said that Captain America was enhanced by the United States to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum. I don’t think John took steroids; he’s just that perfect.

Chris Higgins must be Batman because he’s the object of roughly 65 percent of this school’s female population’s affection. Since he’s Batman, Jason Lawrence must be Robin. Linemates, roommates, best bros, partners in crime prevention. All Higgy needs to do is talk in a raspy, pissed-off voice all the time. I know they both probably have the skin-tight suits.

Kevin Shattenkirk is the Six Million Dollar Man, because well, that’s his worth. The Colorado Avalanche will make him extremely happy to be Kevin Shattenkirk one day.

Brandon Yip is Super Shamou. Who? Upon a Google search of “Eskimo superheroes,” Super Shamou is the first one that comes up. Thus, Yip equals Super Shamou. It’s all good though: he can fly!

Colin Wilson is Iron Man because he’s basically unstoppable. I was originally hesitant to list him as such because he doesn’t have the sweet facial hair-mustachio that Robert Downey, Jr. wore as Tony Stark. Regardless, when he puts on that No. 33 jersey, that’s his power suit. Good luck stopping him.

I don’t want to stop at athletes. Our Athletic Director, Mike Lynch, must be Master Splinter. Now, don’t get me wrong, I AM NOT CALLING THE AD A MUTANT RAT. Mike Lynch is the father of BU athletics and rules them stoically, much like Splinter.

Since Mike Lynch is Splinter, members of the BU basketball team are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’m going to say Carlos Strong is Leonardo, Tyler Morris is Donatello and Mike Schulze is Michaelangelo. The TMNT’s “bad boy turtle,” Raphael, is clearly Valdas Sirutis.

Corey Lowe is The Daredevil because he can make a shot anywhere on the court, even without vision.

John Holland is Superman. There shouldn’t be need for an explanation, but come on, he wore an “S” on his chest during the dunk contest at Midnight Madness, and he’s the only person I know who has the ability to fly.

Jesyka Burks-Wiley of the women’s basketball team is the Bionic Woman. I say this because I heard Jes had a terrible skydiving accident years ago and was rebuilt to be an unstoppable force in the America East. Operation successful.

You have to give the other three seniors for the women’s team super heroine status as well. There’s no better group of three than Charlie’s Angels –– Christine Kinneary, Kristi Dini and Amarachi Umez-Eronini. Instead of Charlie’s Angels, how about head coach Kelly Greenberg’s Angels?

Superstar runner David Proctor must be Flash. I can’t keep track of either of them when they start running.

I hear Chuck Norris is a superhero. The closest BU athlete I can come up with is wrestler Mike Roberts, who’s qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times and finished his career with a whopping 108 wins.

Shaun Taylor of the BU soccer team is the X-Men’s Wolverine: you DO NOT mess with him. Shaun won’t slash your face with claws, but he will physically and emotionally mess you up.

BU women’s lacrosse all-time leading goal scorer Sarah Dalton is Wonder Woman because I have always wondered how she does it. How does she score that much?

Finally, there is one BU athlete who is a superhero in and of himself –– Jon Jonsson. His music cures cancer, so Jon, please have a show soon.

Let’s see if these superheroes can help out our school with some conference championships.

High Expectations

2009-03-25T18:40:00.001-04:00

I have only one expectation for the BU men’s hockey team, and it’s outrageously high. It’s win a national championship or bust, and I think for most BU hockey supporters this is the accepted attitude.

It didn’t start out this way. I’ll take you back, way back, all the way to October of 2008 –– boy, that feels like it was a long time ago. This country wasn’t even in a recession yet! BU was picked preseason to finish second in Hockey East only to BC (that didn’t pan out like voters thought).

In the first USCHO poll of the season, the Terriers were voted as the ninth best team in the country. That would be the lowest the Terriers would be voted all season. From their first game on, the Terriers climbed the polls, hitting the No. 5 spot, then falling to the No. 6 position, then jumping back up to No. 3 on Nov. 1.

A week and a half later, BU was voted as the No. 1 team in the polls only to slip up in their first game as “the best team in the country.” BU dropped to No. 2, then got swept by Vermont in what would be the last real hang-up of the season. This sent BU to No. 8 for one week. After that week, BU hit the No. 7, 5, 4, 3 and 2 positions.

Then, on the first day of the of the Beanpot, BU was voted as the best team in the country. Until yesterday, it had been that way the entire rest of the season. Of course, the Saturday slip-up against Maine cost the Terriers the top ranking.

Boston University has been the best college hockey team in the country over the course of the year. Some westerners would make a case for Notre Dame, but the level of play that the Terriers have shown night in and night out and the wide margins of victory say that they are the best team that the country has to offer. Even without Shattenkirk and Wilson in the Denver Cup, BU’s been the best.

So, because of this, the initial expectations of an NCAA Tournament appearance as a season success have turned into an NCAA championship. Anything less will be seen as a failure, and that’s extremely unfortunate.

The stakes are so high at this point in the season. Honestly, no matter how BU does in the Hockey East Tournament, it’ll be a number one seed in the regional –– either Manchester, N.H. or Bridgeport, Conn. Then comes the biggest two games of the season. The Terriers will draw a cookie-cutter team in the first round that they will no doubt dominate.

The second round might present a challenge with the potential of playing a Hockey East foe for what would be more than the third time this season. Win that, and we’re all going to D.C. for the Frozen Four. Lose that, and this season was a bust.

These expectations are so high because BU is the best, but as recent history has proven, the best team during the season doesn’t always become the national champion. BC peaked at the right time last year –– they weren’t the best team last year throughout the whole year (I mean, come on, BU tied them with Brett Bennett in net!), but they peaked at the right time.

That could be any team this year, and BU might be unfortunate enough to draw a team at the wrong time.

It’s one and done, and that’s really scary. We don’t get to mess up like we did Saturday night –– if BU doesn’t play their game for all three periods for four games straight, there won’t be a banner hanging in Agganis.

All I’ve ever wanted since I became a college student is to see a national championship. Weeks ago, I said I think the women’s lacrosse team can do it, but there isn’t a better chance or opportunity than for the men’s hockey team.

And it’s gotten to the point where most everyone knows they should win. It’s a matter of whether or not they will. If they don’t, the Beanpot championship, the Hockey East regular-season championship, the Denver Cup and the IceBreaker Tournament title will all be for naught.

Please boys, don’t disappoint the thousands of fans at this school, the thousands not yet in this school, the thousands of alum who still come to games, or those who track the team from around the world.

All signs indicate that you should be skating around the Verizon Center with a national championship trophy in your hands, waving to the Terrier faithful in scarlet and white, knowing, feeling and being national champions.

Pete MacArthur said he would bring a national championship to BU in his time here –– that didn’t happen as Petey had to graduate with nothing but a quarterfinal exit in the NCAA Tournament as his high point. Keep Pete’s promise –– bring us home this school’s fifth national championship.

Statistically Staggering

2009-03-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

I can’t waste any words –– this year at BU has been statistically staggering. I’m jumping into it immediately.

Let’s start with the incredible exposure the school has been enjoying on SportsCenter’s Top 10. Mike Lynch has to be happy about this –– Jason Lawrence has weighed in at number four and number two, and Brandon Yip has placed seventh.

Then, there’s John Holland, who is the proud owner of a number one play, although about three other dunks of his could have made the list on the show this season.

Sarah Dalton scored eight goals against William & Mary on Saturday. That is not a typo. Eight goals is a school record (clearly), and the fact that one player can put up nearly three hat tricks in one game blows my mind. With these eight, Sarah now has 166 career goals. With 11 more, she’ll break the BU record for goals in a career. If she doesn’t break the record, I swear I’ll never wear the hot dog costume again.

The senior class of the women’s basketball team has been in on the fun as well. Christine Kinneary set a BU record of her own this season, in assists. Last year, she set the school record in minutes played (1,201) and assists (214) in a season. This year, she broke the career mark at BU, and is still trucking with a total of 505 career assists.

Kristi Dini set a BU record and an America East record for 3-pointers in a season –– currently at 82. With only two more three pointers, she breaks the BU career mark (172).

Jesyka-Burks Wiley became the 17th 1,000-point scorer in BU women’s basketball history and currently sits eighth on the Terriers’ all-time list with 1,195 points.

All in all, this women’s basketball senior class is extremely good. I tried to think of a more profound word than extreme, but there isn’t one. They’re the cream of the crop, and boast a 73-45 record in their time here. The 73 wins are another BU record, by the way.

They are conference champions for the first time in 21 years. Dini told me she makes all her 3s for me, so I’m confused –– should I be thanking her or should she be thanking me? I’ll just thank God for letting me go to this school while these ladies are playing in scarlet and white.

Corey Lowe is in on the fad as well, joining 27 other men’s players in the 1,000-point club. Corey now has 1,301 points in his career, which puts him 10th all time in BU’s 100 years of basketball. He’s number one on the BU all-time list in career 3-pointers with 232. It helps when you also hold the record and the second best mark for 3s in a season (92 last year and 79 this season). If I may, I’ll take a great quote from Corey himself: “Buckets is buckets.” Only he likes the ones that get you a third point for.

John Holland. At one point this season, the man was averaging almost 42 minutes a game. I’ll have you know there are only 40 minutes in regulation college basketball games. He averaged 39.7 minutes per game in conference play, which means he sat out for about 20 seconds every game.

Jake O’Brien, Corey Lowe and John Holland –– the best group of shooters BU has ever seen. There isn’t a three-headed monster that comes close to the accomplishments of these studs in BU’s illustrious history. Together, they’ve scored 215 of BU’s 255 3-pointers. The big three alone were 17 treys away from breaking BU’s school record when the season ended. On top of all this, they’ve combined to score 1,354 of the team’s 1,983 points –– 68 percent of the Terriers’ total points.

The program now has 1,001 wins in 100 years. I shouldn’t need help with this math, but as a COM student I do –– that averages out to just more than 10 wins a year. Look at the bright side though –– BU only has 984 losses. Not quite Philadelphia Phillies status yet.

It’s a little sad that it’s taken the basketball program 100 years to get 1,000 wins, given that Jack Parker only needed 36 years to get 800. He’s sitting at 806 right now –– I’m hoping that at the end of the year that number will be 816.

Kieran Millan makes me happy, mostly because he is playing completely opposite of how Brett Bennett played. (Side note first: Brett Bennett was signed by the University of Wisconsin. The pressure is on the BU athletic department to figure out a way to get the Badgers to Agganis next year.) Anyways, Millan’s wining percentage at times this year was higher than his save percentage. Right now, his save percentage is a Curry-like .926 and his winning percentage is a nice .833. I like his non-loss percentage, which is .958. Wow.

BU’s overall record this year is an impressive 248-75-16. I can’t stop saying this: it’s a good year to be a Terrier, and it’s not over yet.

Which BU Team Could Win It All?

2009-02-24T13:25:00.001-05:00

My best guess is that people assume that year-to-year, the Boston University athletic team that has the best chance of winning a national championship is the men’s hockey team. They’re the only team to have won any national titles in Division-1 athletics for the school.

I know this must be news for some of you, so let me divulge. This school is the proud owner of four national championships –– all in hockey. Sure this doesn’t seem like much, but it’s one more than that outhouse on the hill (Boston College) has in total. Comparatively, BU has 96 fewer titles than the outright leader, UCLA.

BU’s four national titles came in 1971, 1972, 1978 and, most recently, in 1995. The last two of these came while Jack Parker was the coach.

So, if you just look at the history, it tends to repeat itself, which is why the men’s hockey team is given the most confidence and the most pressure to perform at the absolute highest level.

This is a great year for the program, and it’s definitely the best I’ve seen a BU hockey team play since I got here. That includes being better than a team with Tom Morrow on it. That’s hard to believe, right?

Despite this, I believe there is another team at BU that has an even better shot at winning it all this year. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love it if BU had two national champions this year, and I legitimately think the hockey team could win hardware, but I’m banking more on this other team.

Of course, I’m talking about the men’s basketball team. HA! PSYCH! Just kidding.

The team that could do it is the women’s lacrosse team. And it’s not because they’re the hottest looking team on campus (next to the dance team, of course), but because they have the talent and experience to get to the NCAA Tournament and win their way through it.

I know that national championships don’t come like America East titles. It’s a tough thing to capture after a year, sometimes more, of preparation. Let me be real: I don’t really expect to see a BU team win a national championship in my time here. It’s not a common thing. However, it has been 14 years now. It wouldn’t be a shock to see the dry spell end.

The most important player returning to the Terrier team is Sarah Dalton. Dalton was an All-American and the Hot Dog and Jesus Award winner for best female athlete at BU last year. Dalton scored 71 goals in 19 games –– almost four a game. With returning goalie Rachel Klein, the team might only need two players –– forget the rest.

Actually, don’t forget the rest. I need some eye candy.

The Terriers are losing the enforcer and the leader of last year’s team, Lauren Morton. Beyond that, BU only lost one other senior –– midfielder Molly Collins. I can kind of say it’s okay: Molly’s sister, Rachel, returns for another year.

Boston University was picked ninth in Lacrosse Magazine’s preseason poll. They were picked No. 10 in the coaches’ poll. Both of these are a little low if you ask me. BU will play five ranked teams during the season, including conference rival No. 14 UNH.

On top of all this, 10 of the 12 Terrier starters from last year return, including six America East All-Conference selections. There was no doubt that BU would be the preseason No. 1 selection to win the conference.

Coach Liz Robertshaw has never missed the NCAA Tournament, and has won the America East championship every year while coaching at BU. She’s an impressive 64-16, and has gotten this team as high as third in the national polls. She knows how to win (80 percent of the time), and unless something catastrophic happens, it’ll be the same old routine for another year.

Finally, lacrosse has been on the team’s mind the entire year. Do you know how I know this? Because they’ve been at almost as many BU sporting events as I have, trying to sell whatever they can for money.

This money they make is planned to go to a huge trip for the team to play lacrosse in Australia. That’s what they’ve been telling me for a whole semester, at least. I wouldn’t really mind if they’ve been lying to me. With collective looks like theirs, even with the goggles on when they play, how could I possibly be mad?

Regardless of all this, I only see one major obstacle that BU runs into: seven home games to nine on the road. I’m very confident that this won’t stop the Terriers. They can and will win the America East, earning them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They have experience in the tournament, and putting together a very competitive non-conference schedule should benefit them come May.

I have faith and confidence in women’s lacrosse, whose quest for a title begins tomorrow at 4 p.m. on Nickerson Field. And hey, if they can’t do it, there’s always men’s hockey. Or men’s basketball!

Superhuman Athletic Director

2009-02-17T14:41:00.001-05:00

Let me start with this –– you really don’t understand how lucky you are to be a Terrier this year. I don’t know if this school will ever enjoy another year like this, with the amount of talent that is displayed on a daily basis on the field, court or ice.

Okay, sure, Boston University has been the most dominant America East school for the last three years, but this year seems more special than any in recent memory. The Terriers are the reigning three-time AE Commissioner’s Cup winners –– an award that recognizes the strongest athletic program in the conference. And right now, BU is again the front-runner for this year’s Cup.

Surely, this is just a testament to the work of Mike Lynch. Lynch took over as the BU athletic director in 2004 and brought with him this relentless wave of success. It’s insane. The man pretty much breathes success.

Lynch has done amazing things for this school, transforming it into an unstoppable America East powerhouse. Yeah, so maybe the America East isn’t a powerhouse conference, per se, but with the help of the athletes, Mike Lynch has put BU on the national map: BU finished 76th in the Director’s Cup Standings last year –– standings that rank every college in the country based on sports.

Under Lynch, the Terriers have captured over 30 percent of the conference titles: that averages out to about six per year. BU teams have reached the NCAA Tournament and actually won games. The Beanpot dominance hasn’t slowed down, and BU teams of every variety are on TV more often than ever.

And let’s not forget about one of, if not the greatest, large-scale events Lynch has put together: Red Hot Hockey. Mike Lynch orchestrated a Boston University hockey game at Madison Square Garden. Sure, it may have been like home ice for the opposing Big Red of Cornell, but Lynch gave me a reason to go to New York City and be in the national spotlight in the world’s most famous arena.

And good news –– from what I understand, Red Hot Hockey is coming back next year. You can send your thank-you cards to Mr. Mike Lynch, Boston University Athletic Department, 285 Babcock Street.

Alright, well what’s so special about Lynch beyond the unparalleled success as the Athletic Director? A lot.

No one who currently attends BU has ever played in a national college championship game. Mike Lynch has. In 1989, Lynch played in the College World Series for Rollins College, and, from what I understand, his fastball was hitting 90 miles per hour. He went on to pitch in the minor leagues for the Peoria Brewers. For those of you who only believe in the Red Sox, good news: Mike Lynch also pitched in their farm system.

Before BU, Lynch worked on the baseball staff at Union College and as the assistant athletic director for the Miami Hurricanes. I don’t doubt that he helped Clinton Portis develop at least four of his “characters” in his time there.

Before he was promoted to athletic director, he worked as the assistant vice president of development for athletics and student life for four years at Boston University. In that time, he increased monetary support for athletics by 200 percent.

This alone might be why Agganis, FitRec and the Track and Tennis Center all exist. Again, you can send your thank-you letters to Mr. Mike Lynch, Boston University Athletic Department, 285 Babcock Street.

All this is pretty incredible considering the type of environment this school has to operate in. Boston University isn’t usually a school people think of as a sports powerhouse, unless you’re talking about hockey.

The Terriers have to compete with the unrivaled popularity of the big four professional Boston teams, the unfairly high budget of the BC athletic department and everything else that is at students’ fingertips in the city. Lynch has more than doubled the number of donor-endowed athletic scholarships and given the more than 500 student-athletes pretty darn good reasons to stay at BU.

This guy is ridiculous. The perfection of this human being only rivals one other person. And if you don’t attribute all of BU’s athletic success to Mike Lynch, you have to attribute it to this other perfect human being: Jon Jonsson. As long as one or both of these men are at BU, there isn’t a doubt in my mind BU will continue to dominate athletics across the board.

When Lynch entered into his job, he said, “I would like to see Boston University’s athletics program grow and become more visible, and for the community to see the quality of the complete program we have here.”

I don’t think you can argue –– in Lynch’s limited time here, he has absolutely achieved his goal and helped better this school as a whole.

BU Basketball Is Streaking

2009-02-10T18:10:00.001-05:00

There’s this amazing game that has only just recently taken over my life. I’m so in love with it because I actually play it –– I’m not just a spectator like I am for every other sport. This game I speak of is addicting, cruel and unforgiving. And fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, in the last month and then some, it’s taken over my life and taken my attention away from school or other work.

The game I speak of is called “Streak for the Cash,” on ESPN.com. There’s only one aim of the game –– predict the outcome of 27 consecutive games –– one more than the consecutive number of wins for the men’s basketball, women’s basketball and men’s hockey teams combined –– that are listed on the website. It’s a lot harder than it seems since the matchups ESPN puts up are literally toss-ups, while the games that seem easy are usually trap games.

For instance, one day, I chose that the University of Iowa would make more 3-pointers than Michigan State University –– a toss-up. Another day, I chose Wake Forest University to beat the University of Miami –– that was a streak-busting trap game.

The thing is, the game is free, and the grand prize is one million dollars. I get to see how good or bad I am at picking athletic events I traditionally have little interest in. Then, once I select a pick, I become invested in a game to the point where I will watch Missouri Valley basketball, or stay up to see if the University of Hawaii can beat Fresno State University in hoops.

Anyway, I was hoping that the Beanpot championship game would be listed as a Streak pick. But to no avail, No. 1 Boston University vs. No. 3 Northeastern University was not listed. I know I would’ve been able to start at least one streak with that pick.

Now, my longest streak is eight games. Not bad, but I know I can do better. There’s one group of people who have tied my longest streak just recently. And they do it in real life –– they actually control their wins and losses.

Of course this group is the red-hot men’s basketball team. Sure, the women’s team has crushed every opponent that they’ve come in contact with, but it’s the men’s basketball team that is crushing expectations moreso than the women’s team.Let me explain –– BU men’s basketball was picked to win the conference. But then, Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong go down with injuries, and even I said that would be the end of the season –– we were bound to finish in the middle of the America East conference.

Somehow, someway, the Terriers have gained control of first place in the conference this late into the season for the first time in since 2004. BU is playing inspired basketball, and it controls its own destiny.All this comes as the biggest games of the year approach –– at the University of Vermont and home against Binghamton University. Last year on Valentine’s Day, BU literally stole a win from the Catamounts up north. They try to even the series with UVM on regional TV. Streak pick maybe?

Then there’s Binghamton –– a team riddled with discipline problems that has only won once at BU since it joined the conference in 2001. This one probably won’t be a streak selection.Then, two of the remaining three conference games are against the last two teams in the conference.

The bottom line is, if BU gets through Vermont and Binghamton with wins, the conference is all but locked up. And that means at least an NIT bid.

This blows my mind. I can remember right as January began, after suffering five losses in a row, I thought the season was done for, and Dennis Wolff would probably have to go.

Then, all of a sudden, this team did a complete 180 –– Dennis Wolff is looking like the coach of the year, and there are smiles all around.

I think what it is is that everyone on the team knows their role. Corey Lowe leads BU in every aspect: he brings the ball up, he’s the clutch scorer and recently he’s been outrebounding his much taller teammates. I think you and I both know that Matt Wolff isn’t in there to score buckets, but to play shutdown D and get his teammates open shots.

John Holland and Jake O’Brien score, and score in bundles, and Scott Brittain is that inside presence that the team so desperately needed in non-conference play. He’s carrying my America East fantasy team.

Everything is clicking right now, which is why I don’t like it –– I hate being optimistic because I’m setting myself up for disappointment. Like in Streak for the Cash –– when I had my eight streak going, I was putting hours upon hours into researching my picks, but knew it would end badly. It did.

I don’t want the same fate to happen to BU. BU can get an 18 streak going –– that would be enough for an NCAA Tournament bid. They’ve crushed just about every expectation I’ve had for them this season. I don’t expect 18 straight wins this season, but does anyone really expect to pick 27 Streak for the Cash games right, or for BU to actually win the conference. The answer has to be no.

But with BU basketball, there’s one thing you can expect: the unexpected.

Does the Beanpot Matter?

2009-02-03T13:19:00.001-05:00

During my freshman year, I learned a valuable lesson that I’m going to pass on, a couple of months too late: don’t schedule class on Monday nights, second semester. Sure, you’ll get that class off during the third Monday in April with the glory that is Marathon Monday, but you’ll be missing a seemingly more important event. This is assuming you aren’t in CGS and actually have to attend class.

What I’m talking about is the Beanpot. If you had class last night you probably missed the Beanpot –– an event that is marked on Boston calendars from the beginning of the year. It’s a rare game in which students who have never been to a game before get to attend. It’s big at BU –– you probably already know this by now.

There’s a good reason it’s so popular: BU basically owns it. If the Terriers hadn’t had the success they’ve enjoyed in the first two Mondays in February, would the program be at the level it’s at for the BU faithful? That’s debatable.

Of the 56 Beanpots previously held, BU has won exactly half of them, finished second in 18 of them and only finished last in three. Boston College, the next closest school in terms of Beanpot titles, has half the number of titles BU does –– 14. BU has enjoyed unrivaled success at the Garden.

But does this success, or even this tournament (if you can even call it that) matter? What good is it to have a tournament (again, if you can even call it that) in the middle of the season and have each round separated by a week? Plus, what good is it to have three teams in it that play three times every year anyways?

Think about this –– including the Beanpot, it’s possible that BU could play BC or Northeastern a maximum of eight times during the season. Is that bad? Is it necessary? Is the Beanpot really worth not scheduling Monday night classes for?

This is an argument, a discussion, a town hall style meeting I’ve had a number of times. Each year a different BU team goes into early February with expectations to bring home a Beanpot title –– there’s a banner that hangs above 118 that counts BU’s number.

It’s become a right of passage to chant, “Where’s your Beanpot?” on winning years (and even sometimes losing years) to Northeastern and Boston College. So is it that BU cares more about the Beanpot than the other schools?

Many people say the tournament is worthless, but in the past couple years, it’s been the turning point for Boston College hockey teams. Two years ago, after losing in the finals, BC turned their season around and won game after game after game all the way to the national championship game.

Last year –– God, do I really need to go over what happened? Fine, but this pains me so I’ll keep it short –– BC won the Beanpot and kept winning all the way to the national title.

It’s a midseason tournament. If not for the history, would students be giving up their Monday nights for hockey?

I can ask all these questions, but all the signs and evidence indicate that this thing matters a lot to this school. It’s like in college football where all these schools play for the most random trophies ever that make little to no sense.

I’d say this “tournament” matters because of the tradition it’s left behind. The first year the Beanpot was played, it took place on the first two nights after Christmas in 1952 to “help the Arena on off nights.” Back then, the game was played at Matthews Arena –– now the official home of Northeastern (one college’s trash is another’s treasure!)

Since then, it’s enjoyed major national success and has drawn the largest crowds for college hockey other than the Frozen Four.

I get so excited after the Super Bowl ends because I know all of Boston University is now thinking about hockey. They’re thinking about adding another title to the BU resume, they’re thinking about how BC or BU have always been in a Beanpot final game, and how Northeastern and Harvard have never met in the primetime hour on the second Monday. The first and second Monday in the shortest month have become exclusively about hockey.

So what that these four games come in the middle of the season? There’s nothing like the Beanpot. No regular season victory against Boston College or Northeastern (or Harvard, I suppose) feels better than a Beanpot win.

There’s never any other point in the year when taking a 30-minute T ride is actually enjoyable. There’s no other time when the BU community comes together like it did yesterday (and it will again during next Monday’s title bout), and enjoys the best team and best sport at the school.

Bottom line –– every year a Beanpot championship goal is featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays. That’s when I knew for sure that it matters for something.

Know Your AE Mascots

2009-01-28T00:04:00.001-05:00

This past week, students have been sweating through tryouts, vying for the most important position in Boston University athletics: Rhett the Terrier, mascot extraordinare. Mascots really fascinate me. I can relate to them because I wear a costume at sporting events, too. However, they have it made: they can do things completely incognito, and they don’t even have to speak.

Anyway, I got to thinking about the America East mascots. We could talk Hockey East, but the America East mascots are far more germane to our daily sporting lives. Like everything in my life, I ranked the mascots. Here they are, from worst to best:

9. Howie the Hawk (Hartford) I hate Howie. I hate his big shoes. I hate the fact that he looks more like a duck than a hawk. And I hate the way he celebrates. I’ve been fortunate enough not to have to see many teams win conference titles other than BU, but one of the rare times I did was at Hartford for the women’s basketball title last year. I had to sit there and watch Howie attempt to stir the crowd into a frenzy. Something about that made me angrier than I could imagine.

8. Wild E. Cat (UNH) To me, the UNH mascot looks like the would-be child of Bugs Bunny and the Wile E. Coyote –– which could be why his name is Wild E. Cat. There’s really nothing cool about Wild. He doesn’t make me want to watch UNH sports, and when I found out the college used to keep an actual Wildcat in a cage and bring it out for games back in the ‘20s, I realized that things were much cooler back in the ‘20s, and it’s all Wild’s fault for ruining that.

7. True Grit (UMBC) He’s rather new to the mascots of the AE, and he’s kind of lame. He’s not muscular or big or intimidating. He’s just a Chesapeake Bay Retriever who used to be called Fever. Now, for whatever reason, he is True Grit and only my seventh favorite AE mascot.

6. Rally Catamount (Vermont) What is a catamount? It’s really a cougar, but until I arrived at BU, I had never heard the word “catamount.” Rally has only been around since 2003. Like Wild E. Cat, there’s really nothing special about him. There’s nothing catchy about his name; he doesn’t look especially cool. He’s just really muscular and just a little bit better than three other AE mascots.

5. Baxter the Bearcat (Binghamton) Bearcats sound like a bad ass mascot, right? In actuality, a bearcat’s body size resembles a bear, but its head and its behaviors more closely resemble those of a house cat. And its tail acts as a fifth hand. Baxter follows suit –– he’s got huge whiskers, glossy eyes, and, like Baldwin from BC, little dignity. Baxter belongs in the middle of the pack.

4. Damien the Dane (Albany) He looks like a hungover Scooby Doo, so that’s kind of cool, right? That’s part of the reason he cracks the top half of the list. Actually, that’s the only reason.

3. Bananas T. Bear (Maine) Bananas is so highly ranked simply because of his name. If I had a pet monkey, I would name it Bananas. If I had a bear, I would definitely name it Bananas. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and say Bananas is the coolest name for any pet or animal. Hell, I’m not even gonna stop there –– my first born is getting named Bananas.

2. Wolfie the Seawolf (Stony Brook) Here’s a little anecdote explaining why Wolfie is the second-best mascot in the America East:

In 2005, at the America East men’s basketball tournament, during the fourth media timeout in the first half of a game between Stony Brook and Northeastern (which was in the AE back then), something epic happened. JJ Jumper, a mutant frog mascot that resembles what I picture would be an offspring from Courtney Love and a teenage Hulk, was parading around on the court, trying to get the crowd pumped for T-shirts.

JJ Jumper was the official mascot of the NCAA, but really, who would know that? Certainly not many of the people in attendance at the game knew. During JJ Jumper’s feeble attempts to hype the AE crowd, Wolfie decided to take it upon himself to clothesline JJ. Then, as JJ Jumper tried to get up, Wolfie finished him off with a Terry Tate Office Linebacker-esque tackle.

The crowd stood and cheered in disbelief and complete approval, while the PA announcer told Wolfie that wasn’t good behavior. The NCAA frowned upon Wolfie for hurting its poor, pathetic-looking mascot. But the crowd loved it, and isn’t that all that really matters?

1. Rhett the Terrier (BU) There’s no one better than Rhett. It’s rumored that Rhett is in line to get his own “This is SportsCenter” commercial; of course, it’s all speculation. Regardless, Rhett’s a diesel –– 6’3”, 200 pounds –– and, as Baldwin remembers well from the 2006 Beanpot, Rhett plays a mean game of beer pong. He also has one of, if not the most, creative name in the conference. Plus, I’ve grown to love Rhett in a completely nonsexual way.

That’s my list. Good thing Stanford Tree isn’t part of the America East. That thing is a god among mascots.

Unselfish Leaders

2009-01-21T13:08:00.001-05:00

I don’t watch very many regular season NBA games from start to finish –– I don’t have that much time. However, on Monday night, I made an exception because of one matchup –– Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James.

In the first minute of the game, Kobe dislocated his finger. I thought this would dramatically alter the results of the game, but it didn’t. Kobe had the team’s trainer pop his finger back into place, and he was on his way, finishing up with 20 points, 12 assists and the most important stat of them all: a 17-point victory.

After the game, Kobe described the injury as the most pain he’s ever had to play with, and he said even if surgery is recommended, he’s going to continue to play, no matter how painful. This is a man playing with a torn ligament in his pinky finger, in addition to the new dislocation. He’s sacrificing his own comfort for the sake of the game and his team.

I think, “Where at BU can one find players like this? Where can I find absolute unselfishness for the good of the team?”

I actually didn’t have to look far at all. Had you walked into Case Gymnasium Monday, you would’ve seen one of these unselfish athletes, as John Holland played all 60 minutes of the longest game in BU men’s basketball history – four tense overtimes.

Considering how hard John plays in games and how much he throws his body around, I can only imagine what injuries he quietly deals with. I’m guessing with the amount of ice he uses on his body daily, you could construct at least five ice luges for any of your favorite of BU’s fraternities.

However, that’s not the player I think of putting on Kobe-esque performances –– Corey Lowe is.

First off, Corey is playing with bruised ribs, which cause some sort of pain any and every time he moves –– or breathes, for that matter. So going out there on the court, getting bumped, pushed and jabbed in the ribs the entire game, and breathing even harder than usual must be extremely uncomfortable and unsettling. The thing is, you would never know that Corey is probably in extreme pain while on the court. His face never shows it.

On top of this, Corey’s had to adopt a new role. Usually, you’d see Tyler Morris handling BU’s point guard obligations, but after Morris’ season-ending ACL tear, Corey has had to run the point. Instead of finding shots and looks while getting open away from the ball, Lowe has to bring up the rock, run the offense and then score his fair share of points. Thus far, somehow, Corey hasn’t flinched at his injury or his new role –– he’s dishing off more assists and scoring just as much.

How does he continue to do this?

At the end of the second overtime, Corey fell to the ground on the defensive end and lay there in obvious pain.

I could tell right away that he wasn’t going to miss a second of action. Corey let the trainer come over, rub the back of his neck for a little, whisper sweet nothings in his ear, then he was good to go. He played 56 minutes and scored a game-high 33 points. Remember: he did this with bruised ribs and God knows what else ailing him.

A similar case was seen Saturday night at Agganis Arena. I showed up for the game against Boston College knowing Chris Higgins was concussed and Matt Gilroy had dislocated his shoulder during the Merrimack game. Obviously, when I heard that neither of them would be in the lineup, I gave up and said, “great, BC is gonna win.”

What a fool I was. How would Matt Gilroy let a dislocated shoulder prevent him from playing? He wouldn’t, because he has the same killer instinct that Kobe and Corey have. Even after having his shoulder popped out the night before, Matt played and scored on a wrist shot I couldn’t have made, even with two healthy shoulders.

Then there’s Shaun Taylor, on the men’s soccer team, who is in a category all of his own. Jon Jonsson told me that for most of the season, Shaun was playing with just two of his limbs, as an injured hand and an injured foot hampered him. Despite this, Shaun still led the team in goals. The word “manbeast” comes to mind when best trying to describe Mr. Taylor.

As students, as fans, as spectators, we’re lucky we get to watch these standout athletes. Their hearts sometimes seem to override their skills, and their instinct to win fascinates me. I have little doubt that these athletes will play every game they can, regardless of how much pain they may be in, because they’re too good not to. Because of this, they’re some of my favorite athletes at Boston University.

Jon Jonsson: International Pop Sensation

2008-12-17T16:55:00.001-05:00

Every now and then, a player comes along who just wows the fans. Not with skill, not with his or her performance on the playing surface, not even with looks –– OK, sometimes with looks –– especially in this particular case.

These athletes wow fans with their uncanny ability to become a fan favorite. Fans cling to these players and adore every single thing they do –– good or bad. Fans will defend their favorite player until he or she graduates.

I think you know I’m talking about Jon Jonsson –– one of the biggest fan favorites at BU this year. Yes, Jin Oh’s fanbase did rival Jon’s at games, but look beyond Nickerson Field and you’ll see that we’re all just peons compared to Jon.

For my final column of the semester, I requested to interview Jon to penetrate his mind to see what he thinks of BU, society and his superstardom. Of course, being a fan favorite, he obliged and allowed me to step into his presence for the best hour of my life.

Honestly, I wish everyone could experience what I got to experience. Jon is one of those people who makes you feel better just by being around him. He’s the Michael Jordan of good feelings. When I asked Jon to describe himself in one word, he chose “happy.” I had to question why whenever I see him he is always so goddamn happy. Jon’s response was more of a life lesson than anything else:

“I’ve been lucky in life,” he said. “Not too many bad things have happened to me and I’ve learned to appreciate it. Just take each day and be thankful. Of course there’s times where there’s some things wrong, but then I just go with it –– being happy just motivates you more to get through anything.”

Jon’s life motivation transcended onto the pitch, especially this season. He said the only times he would lose his temper was when he saw his teammates not putting in the effort.

“I get so mad because you should be putting everything into it. It’s a sport you love and you’ll never know when you won’t be able to play anymore,” he said. “I’ve never been the most technical player, but I always put 100 percent in.”

It’s been an uphill battle for Jon this season. During the summer, he plays for a professional club team in his homeland of Iceland and he’s been starting there for a while. When Jon arrived in Boston for preseason this year, he was told he wouldn’t be starting like he had the last two years. He described this as the biggest disappointment of his season.

“At first I was mad,” Jonsson said.

That anger didn’t last long –– Jon embraced his role coming off the bench, as did Oh. Jon said neither wanted to waste his senior year on the bench. So, they assumed roles that fit them and the team perfectly, as their fresh legs halfway through each half gave the team a spark when it needed it most.

His playing style is similar to the way he is off the field –– energetic and dynamic. This definitely carries over to his other passion: music. When I walked into Jon’s apartment, he had a guitar in his hands, strumming beautiful melodies as we prepared for the interview. Jon has been playing guitar since he was eight years old. When he goes home during breaks, he records new songs that he writes with his hometown best friend.

Now that he won’t be practicing and playing soccer every day, he’ll have plenty of time for his music, which he is more than willing to share with anyone. In fact, Jon’s first concert of the year is happening tomorrow at BU Central at 8 p.m. From what I understand, his music has been known to cure cancer.

In our conversation, we talked a little bit about the fans. Jon acknowledged the students who showed up. He said, “when fans are there and shouting, it’s so motivating. It feels so good, you want to perform well for a crowd like that.”

Jon’s final words of wisdom to me –– don’t mess with Shaun Taylor. He will mess you up. I needed clarification, so I asked who would win in various steel-cage matchups. According to Jon, Shaun would win any match against any of his teammates, coach Neil Roberts and even Dean Elmore. He did say the only close match would be Shaun “The Brute” Taylor versus Dan Schultz.

I wish I could write more about Jon. Like how he calls his bike a girly-boy bike, or how he roots for Liverpool, or how his least favorite word is “envy.” He’s become one of my favorite athletes in any sport.

He deserves success on every level, and I have no doubt he will achieve it. Jon, thank you for being you. When you graduate you will be missed, on the field and off. I won’t forget this year in BU soccer and I’ll live by words you told me: “Be happy and love what you do.”

It's About Damn Time

2008-12-03T23:23:00.001-05:00

Imagine Tunde Agboola, a walk-on for the Boston University men’s basketball team two years ago, starting for the Terriers. OK, now imagine him averaging 35 points per game and being in serious contention for the national Player of the Year award. Imagine him leading the Terriers to an NCAA Tournament berth. Imagine him doing this for three years. Then imagine Tunde graduating college (the College of Engineering, no less!) and being signed by an NBA team.

This actually happened, except not in basketball, and not with Tunde. The person I’m referring to is none other than the greatest college hockey goalie I have ever seen play in person –– Johnny Curry.

Half of the current student population has probably never heard of Johnny Curry, and if they have it’s only been tales of his legend.

Johnny walked onto the team his freshman year. He got his first opportunity to play that year –– for five minutes –– and decided he liked his position on the team. He continued to play, and play at a supremely high level. Night in and night out he would make saves that he shouldn’t have had any business making.

Furthermore, he was small –– he wasn’t a goalie with size like Grant Rollheiser or former Maine goalie Ben Bishop. I mean, he was bigger than Michigan State’s Jeff Lerg, but then again so are Willy Wonka’s Oompa Loompas.

I can say Curry was the main factor in most, if not all, of the Terriers’ success my freshman year (his senior season). He was in hot contention for the Hobey Baker Award until the last five games of the season when he began to falter.

Curry was reliable and rarely took nights off. I don’t think anyone truly understood his impact on the Terriers until the next season when Karson Gillespie and Brett Bennett took his place.

Oh, Brett Bennett. Your name lives in infamy at this school. Your career at this school resembles the 2008 Detroit Lions. Except somehow you got a couple wins, something I really don’t see happening for the Lions.

Anyway, Curry was an outstanding goalie for the Terriers. He is a legend in a sense. This school hasn’t had a goalie like him since, and I think I speak for most Terrier fans when I say I truly miss seeing No. 36 in net.

Switching from the college game to the pro game –– there is one NHL team that has made the smartest executive moves possible over the last couple seasons. I’m of course talking about the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Then their management blew me away, again, when they picked up Johnny Curry after his graduation. Talk about excellent decision-making.

Johnny stuck it out in the AHL and led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the Calder Cup. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the Penguins’ current goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury –– who has suffered through injuries and hideous mustard yellow pads for years –– went down with an undisclosed injury, which lead to Curry’s call up to the big show.

It wasn’t until last Wednesday night that he saw time –– he entered a 3-0 game in which the Penguins were down. He was all like, “efff this, I want to win, GD,” and proceeded to stop all 11 shots he faced in the remaining 30 minutes of the game, earning his first of probably many NHL wins.

Two nights later he had to go to Buffalo. He had a decent game, stopping 28 of 32 shots, but was dealt a loss. He was up against a Hobey Baker goalie, the Sabres’ Ryan Miller. However, Curry did stop more shots than the Michigan State alumnus.

When Fleury returns, I’m hoping there will be a major goalie controversy in the works –– BU hockey style. I really hope Johnny Curry succeeds to the fullest, and I don’t doubt he will. His story is one of perseverance and dedication, and he deserves to be rewarded to the fullest.

I may not love the Penguins, but I can’t help but root for them when I see Curry guarding their goal. Go Crosby! (Ew, I can’t believe I said that.)

I think the only piece truly missing in their quest for the Cup last year was their goaltending. Might I suggest a BU Terrier to make up for the lack of college experience (and knowledge) of Marc-Andre?

I can’t help but be reminded of better times when I see the statlines from Pittsburgh games. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with our frosh goalies, but I miss Curry. I know we could sure use him this weekend –– the biggest of them all –– BC weekend. BU hasn’t beat BC since Feb. 12, 2007 when Johnny was on the team. Sigh.

I can only imagine what these Terriers would be like and what they could do against the Eagles with JC36 playing behind Colin Wilson, Nick Bonino and the rest.

Oh Oh He's Magic

2008-12-03T23:22:00.001-05:00

Superstitions are as much a part of sports as the games themselves. You know, I try to figure out what I contribute to a win or a loss –– I’m not going out onto the field, court or ice, so my performance, and thusly the team’s performance, is based on whether I properly execute my pre-game traditions.

My superstitions vary from sport to sport, and once one goes awry I make a conscious effort to switch things up –– it’s like me switching from man-to-man to zone –– it’s the only adjustment I know how to make that will turn my team’s luck around.

Take for instance this past weekend with men’s hockey. BU got swept at home for the first time in 16 years –– obviously something went wrong in someone’s superstition. For me, I’m looking to try to see what I did to cause this.

My traditional get-up at hockey games consists of firstly my Tom Morrow coast-to-coast shirt, followed by my red Terrier hockey jersey, then the hot dog costume and red headband. Here’s what went wrong –– my Tom Morrow coast-to-coast shirt hasn’t been washed all season. I couldn’t wash it –– every game I had been to had been a Terrier victory. And there’s no way I wanted to break that up by washing anything I’ve been wearing. That’s a basic of superstitions. So, on Friday, to try to deal with the smell and mass amount of body odor that has accumulated on the shirt, I wore another T-shirt underneath the Coast-to-Coast. I’m sorry, men’s hockey, for not forcing myself, and those who sit around me, to suffer through the wretched stench from that shirt. I blame myself entirely for the loss.

It’s not just me. Jesus, the most loyal members of the Dog Pound and I make sure we sit in a specific order at games. I have to be on Jesus’s right or for all I know the Earth might explode! As I found out last week in the FreeP, Jon Jonsson brushes his teeth before games. I heard women’s hockey goalie Allyse Wilcox puts all her pads on exactly 10 hours before a game, showers in them and then hangs them out to dry until gametime. Someone even mentioned to me that Eric Gryba forces Joe Pereira to kick him square in the jaw exactly three times minutes before puck drop. I tried to find out if he did this with his helmet on, but my source was unsure.

People have their own rituals and mannerisms that no one should really question before games. Superstition is kind of like oxygen –– you can’t see it, but it’s there and people depend on it for survival.

However, once the game starts, whatever a superstition was turns into a strategy –– things are done every game that stay consistent to a specific game plan the entire year. Sometimes it’s executed well, other times poorly.

I have never seen strategy executed as well as that of the men’s soccer team, and one player in particular. He has possibly the sweetest name on campus –– Jin Oh.

Let me tell you a little something about the men’s soccer team’s strategy –– I’ve gone to every postseason game the men have played this season and what has stayed consistent is coach Neil Roberts’s use of Oh, a 6-foot physical specimen from Dededo, Guam, who plays forward.

About 15 minutes into the first and second half, Jin will begin warming up on the sideline, most of the time with international pop sensation Jon Jonsson. Roughly five minutes later, you’ll see Jin enter the game for the first time, usually for Shaun Taylor in the first half. Tea time usually falls around then. No one denies Shaun Taylor his tea.

In every game of the postseason, Oh has scored a goal –– most of the time it comes as the game-winning goal. Simply put, Jin Oh is as clutch as an athlete can get.

When it matters the absolute most, Oh has stepped up to a level that isn’t comparable. The Terriers have been in need of goals and have been able to go to Oh for the answer. He scored only one goal the entire season, but come playoff time, when the season has been on the line, Oh has proven himself to be the team’s go-to guy. This isn’t to discount his teammates, who have set him up time and time again, but sometimes the hardest part is just putting it in the back of the net, especially when it feels like it’s 20 degrees outside. (Who plays soccer in this weather?) Regardless, Oh has made a statement.

Plus, it’s so easy to cheer for him once he scores –– you just yell a lot of “Ohs,” make your “Oh” face and say the 15th letter in the alphabet as much as you can. His fanbase has grown larger each and every game. And on top of all this, he wears red shoes.

I’m sure later today when the men’s soccer team faces the No. 3 team in all the land –– St. John’s University –– Oh will be called upon to find that late goal in each half that the Terriers will need. Whatever superstition he’s been doing, he needs to keep it up. If so, I’m confident in saying Mr. Oh will deliver as he has this entire postseason.

Oh, yes, he will.

Three Thoughts Consuming My Mind

2008-12-03T23:21:00.001-05:00

There’s so much on my mind after this weekend in Terrier sports. I don’t want to neglect anyone, so I figured I’d talk about more than one thing. No time to waste:

I. Jon Jonsson

I wish more athletes were like Jon Jonsson. I’m not even talking about at this school –– I mean in this world. Jon is a senior midfielder on the men’s soccer team. He hails from Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, and I really can’t say enough good things about this athlete.

Jon makes it fun to be a fan –– he acknowledges his fanbase, and I legitimately believe he wants to make The Dog Pound happy. Jon went Tom Morrow on everyone this season –– he didn’t score a goal his entire BU career until his senior year, in which he scored two –– exactly what Morrow did.

Not only that, Jon is just a talented individual. At the athletic date auction –– Terrier Takeout –– Jon opened up the event with his own song, which, no joke, brought a tear to my eye. His music is beautiful. He plays the guitar and sings –– it’s like Jack Johnson without the suck. When I listen to Jack Johnson, I end up hating myself. When I listen to Jon Jonsson, I end up loving myself –– and even my enemies. That’s what Jon’s music does.

As fans stormed the field after the Terriers won the America East title Saturday, Jon gathered his teammates in front of the students who stayed to see the award presentation. Despite coach Neil Roberts’ repeated attempts to get him to bring the team to the awards table, where Binghamton sobbed and waited for their second-place trophy, Jon led the team in an “Oh when BU . . . goes marching in” chant.

II. Stop Playing Basketball Games in Agganis Arena

“I hate playing in Agganis.” Those were Corey Lowe’s words to me after his 2-for-15 shooting performance in the men’s basketball home opener overtime loss to George Washington University.

You know what? I hate basketball in Agganis Arena, too.

Hear me out –– I know what Agganis can and does do for the basketball program –– it makes it seem legit. More than 4,600 people showed up and watched a BU basketball game –– the most since the Agganis opener Feb. 12, 2005. I know that getting people out to the games and attendance is important, especially if BU aspires to join a conference stronger than America East. But the most important part of college sports is winning games.

BU is an abysmal 3-10 all-time at Agganis. The team has shot 247-for-715 (34.5 percent) in the building. This deviates from the team’s normal 40-ish field goal percentage. The Terriers have only scored more than 60 points twice and have been held to less than 50 points six times in HAA.

Look, the BU men’s and women’s soccer teams were a combined 16-3-2 on Nickerson Field this season. They practice on Nickerson and play every single home game there. That is their field, no doubt about it.

The basketball team does not practice in Agganis. They play games sporadically at Agganis. It is not their home court. There is no advantage at all to playing at Agganis other than filling seats.

This season, BU plays six games in Agganis and eight at The Roof. The Terriers are losing their home-court advantage for almost half their games.

Let them play on their home court every game of the year. Don’t make them hate playing home games.

III. Thank goodness BU teaches discipline and good behavior

Last week an America East student-athlete made front-page headlines across the sporting nation. Binghamton Bearcat Malik Alvin, a highly regarded basketball transfer from Chipola Junior College in Florida, was charged with third-degree assault last week after attempting to steal 36 condoms from a Walmart. In his getaway, Malik ran over a 66-year-old woman who had to be taken to the hospital. I couldn’t even make this up.

The irony in all this? Fake BU (Binghamton) gives free condoms to its students. Malik has been suspended from the team.

But really, thank Jesus (not the one who stands next to me) BU doesn’t ever have anything this dramatic happen to its athletes. I’m thinking Jon Jonsson is teaching all the Terriers a thing or two about how to be perfect human beings.

Unrealistically Real Predictions

2008-11-13T21:06:00.000-05:00

It’s actually basketball time. Sure, you can say Terrier Tip-Off started the season, but we all knew in actuality that nothing would happen for two weeks.

Some things happened, but nothing the common fan got to see. In these two weeks, the men’s team scrimmaged two top Division-II teams –– Bentley College and Merrimack College. They beat them both.

Now, here we are on Wednesday, Nov. 12, just two days away from actual college basketball –– the women’s team plays Friday at 5 p.m. at Rhode Island before the men open up at 7 p.m. against George Washington at Agganis Arena. If things go well, everyone will be bumpin’ and grindin’ to “Gangsta’s Paradise” at the Coolio concert by 10.

I really don’t think preseason coaches polls matter in college basketball. Last year, the men’s team was picked first and finished sixth. UMBC and Hartford were picked fifth and sixth and finished first and second, respectively. The coaches are good at picking the basement dwellers year in and year out, I’ll give them that, but beyond that I trust them as much as I trust Pinocchio with a fully erect nose.

For a couple of months I can go with BU being the No. 1 team in the conference. However, everything will change once we get to see a taste of America East basketball. Predictions don’t mean anything at that point.

However, if the coaches can do it, I don’t see why I can’t. You know, just for kicks and giggles. But I don’t want to go along with the norm –– I want to make some predictions regarding the entire state of BU basketball. Here are my unrealistically real predictions for this season:

1. Corey Lowe will shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc this year. Come conference play, he’ll be dropping 20 a game. He will be in a heated race with University of Vermont Mohawk enthusiast Marqus Blakely for the conference’s Most Valuable Player award. In addition, he’ll score his 1,000th career point by, at the very latest, the eighth game of the season. Corey’s potential will be fully realized this year.

2. Carlos Strong is going to break out. The dunk contest is a clear indicator of this. Basically, if you win the dunk contest, you’re destined for great things. Why do you think Christine Kinneary attempted to get the crown? John Holland won it last year and look what happened –– America East Rookie of the Year. Well, this year it’s going to be the single game, 3-point record holder at BU –– ’Los Strong. He’ll get 15 a game in conference play and add a different dynamic to BU rebounding, which was at the bottom of America East last year.

3. Episode III: The Return of Tyler Morris. I’m confident in predicting that Tyler Morris will once again be different from the way he was the previous season. Last year Morris was plagued by a lingering leg injury that changed his play from 2006-07. This year, like the rest of the team, he’s healthy. I see Tyler’s assist total going way up in addition to leading the team in 3-point and free-throw percentage. His presence alone will change the way opposing teams defend the Terriers. Couple that with the threat of Lowe, Holland, Strong, Scott Brittain and a deep bench, and all of a sudden you’re looking at a team that reminds me of the 2007-08 Denver Nuggets –– with defense.

4. Christine Kinneary will be an America East First Teamer and in the discussion for conference Player of the Year candidates. Not only that, Christine will break Debbie Miller’s program assist record to become the career leader. Christine needs 97 assists to break Miller’s career total of 477. She had 214 last year. Even I laughed when I actually saw that astronomical number. I knew it was high in 2007-08, but more than 200 assists? I’m just hoping Mike Lynch agrees with Jesus and I to retire her number after the season.

5. The men’s team’s new jerseys will be considered the “hippest” in the conference. It’s always dangerous to put last names on the back of jerseys –– it takes care of a lot of the work that opposing fans would need to do (i.e. buying a program). Matt Wolff is obviously always the biggest target when on the road, as fans can’t help but to make it known, as loudly as they can, that Matt is indeed the offspring of the coach. Matt will silence hecklers by standing out as one of the top defenders in the conference this year and look stylish in the road reds doing so. It runs in the Wolff family.

6. Case Gymnasium will be the place to be this year. I don’t just mean this for students looking to have the most fun at any sporting event –– I mean it for each team, too. I don’t see BU loosing a home game all year in Case –– the men or the women. The men’s team is riding a four-game winning streak at The Roof, while the women’s team is going on 12 straight dating back to two seasons ago.

7. Record-wise, the men’s team will finish an impressive 22-8. In non-conference games, BU will go 9-5. I’m throwing in a difficult BracketBusters game on the road in February that will prevent the men from 10 non-conference wins. In conference play, BU will claim the top spot with a solid 13-3 record –– good enough for first place and a possible America East championship game in the intimidating confines of Case Gymnasium. The women’s final record will look something like 19-9. Even with a challenging non-conference schedule, BU will finish 7-5 while going 12-4 in America East. This is going to be good enough for third again, but with experience carrying over from last year in nearly an identical situation, I see the Terriers prevailing in the conference tournament.

I’m just one hot dog who watches a lot of BU basketball and is clearly dangerously optimistic. I love being in Case Gymnasium watching both basketball teams and I know they’re going to give you and me a fun and wild ride this season. If I’m totally off on these predictions, shove it right in my pie-hole. However, I don’t believe I will be –– these basketball teams will give you great, mid-major basketball when you get tired of seeing the men’s hockey team dominate foes over and over again in embarrassingly good fashion. The road to Albany/Hartford starts Friday.

I won’t just predict, but I’ll guarantee this is going to be a great year for Terrier hoops.

Too Good To Be True?

2008-11-06T11:41:00.001-05:00

I’m not from Boston, so I’m not used to this. I’m not used to winning. I was raised in Philadelphia and am a true Philadelphia sports fan. In other words, I’ve trained to lose and lose consistently. Actually, I’ve come to expect it.

Last Wednesday, the Philadelphia Phillies did something even Steve Irwin couldn’t do –– beat the Rays. After Game 5 was delayed for two days, I convinced myself that this would lead to another horrendous downfall and the eventual demise of any Philadelphia championship hope.

I was wrong, and I’ve never been happier to be wrong.

All of a sudden, winning surrounds me. It feels so unnatural, so very wrong. I keep on saying to myself, “When is this going to end? This can’t continue.”

This winning isn’t just coming from a World Series championship –– it’s shining through with BU athletics on a level I have never seen.

I touched on all this last week, but every Terrier team has seemed to elevate its game even further. Let’s look a little deeper into all of this:

BU men’s and women’s soccer both finished at the top of America East. The women’s team went undefeated in conference play and the men lost only one game.

The men’s team is ranked fifth in the Northeast and the women are fourth. Both are clearly among the best in America East as their respective conference tournaments begin. The women have already earned a spot in Saturday’s championship game at Nickerson Field.

Field hockey has had an up-and-down year, finishing 10-9 in the regular season. What matters most is that they won when they needed to and secured a spot in the conference tournament. I would say they are at more of a disadvantage than any of these other BU sports in that they have to play every game at MIT. Who really wants to do that? I went to a game, and I kid you not, half the people walking around campus were wearing capes. Of course that’s gonna get into your head.

If you get CN8, you probably saw what the third-ranked men’s hockey team did to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday. The game was pretty much summed up in one play –– Brandon Yip transforming into former New Jersey Devil hitman Scott Stevens and making 5-foot-6 Peter Lenes his Eric Lindros. Yip skated across the ice and lowered his shoulder right into the skull of Lenes. It was a clean hit, but the refs decided it was so good that it had to be called as a penalty. Of course, when Lenes got hit his feet flew up and he did a 180-degree spin to the ground, where he sobbed for a few moments. I think I saw UVM captain Dean Strong try to help him up via elephant walk.

It’s really hard not to feel overly optimistic about this team. Even Jason Lawrence is shutting me up –– he scored a goal by slapping the puck out of the air on Saturday. He’s now tied for fourth on the team in points and is looking like a perfect fit on the first line.

Women’s hockey is suddenly emerging as a force to be reckoned with –– ranked seventh in the nation and riding a seven-game unbeaten streak. What’s more, they keep winning the newly implemented and crucial Hockey East shootouts.

What? Really? This is BU athletics?

The men’s basketball team was picked to win the conference last Monday then proceeded to beat the third-ranked Division-II team in the nation Saturday in Bentley College (which went 34-1 last year). From what I heard, they also won a fight that broke out between Matt Wolff and some questionable characters on the Bentley roster. My guess is that Jeff Pelage went in clean and came out bloody –– none of his own blood, of course.

The women’s basketball team was picked third in the conference behind powerhouses Vermont and Hartford. It’s clear that they have claimed a spot as one of the three elite powers in the conference.

All this winning is well and good, but the thing that’s really taking it over the top for me is how well every single team is playing at their friendly confines.

There hasn’t been a loss on Commonwealth Avenue since Oct. 10. That’s almost a month ago. (I’m excluding field hockey of course, because, unfortunately, they play across the river.)

Women’s soccer is 8-1-0 on the year at home, with its only loss coming on Aug 23. If nobody was on campus to see it, did it really happen?

Men’s soccer hasn’t lost since Oct. 4, and is sitting pretty with a 5-2-2 record at The Nick.

Women’s hockey last lost Oct. 10 to Mercyhurst. On the year, they’re 6-1-1 at Walter Brown.

Men’s hockey hasn’t lost at Agganis since March 15 of last year. Including the exhibition, they’re 5-0-0 at The Greek and have outscored opponents, 23-7. Now that really is just silly.

I think all these teams have been inspired. Not by the Philadelphia Phillies, not by the untimely death of Steve Irwin, but by the women’s basketball team. Want to talk about a team of a different bread? It’s the Lady Terriers. The last time they lost on their home court of The Roof (not Agganis, that really doesn’t count in hoops) was two seasons ago –– Feb. 10, 2007. Since then, they’re 12-0 at Case.

Now, I really hope I haven’t completely jinxed BU. I know they haven’t won anything at all yet, but they’re still winning and winning a lot.

I want you to jump on the BU bandwagon. There is a level of success unmatched by any other America East school right now. You need to come see what’s happening on Comm. Ave. Be part of this winning tradition, because who knows how quickly it could end. I’m not taking any of this for granted.

These Costumes Have Potential

2008-11-03T00:55:00.003-05:00

Most of my weekend sports memories last year revolved around disappointment. This year, I’ve already experienced Terrier success on a whole new level.

It really started last Thursday when the women’s soccer team clinched the America East regular-season crown. Around the same time, the women’s hockey team made a pretty loud statement of its own, topping the then-No. 4 team in the nation –– the University of New Hampshire.

Friday, Boston University slapped me upside the head with Terrier Tip-Off. Let me tell you, BU did it right –– way right.

There was something spectacular about the Tip-Off. It may have been the lighting. It may have also been the filled bleachers or the overall energy in The Roof. I’m not positive what it was, but if the Tip-Off is any indication of what type of year it’s going to be –– well, it’s going to be a season worth remembering. I certainly won’t be forgetting about the Tip-Off anytime soon.

Saturday, the women’s hockey team again played at a top level. They “shook that bear,” if you will, beating UMaine 8-1 at Agganis. That’s just silly.But, hours later on that same ice, the men’s hockey team silenced any criticisms/haters with a convincing 7-2 victory over Michigan.Are you freaking kidding me?

Is this actually the state of Boston University sports right now? The men are the third-ranked team in the nation, the women are eighth, both soccer teams are ticketed for the America East Tournament and the men’s basketball team just got picked as conference favorites.

I could go on about how much I’m loving everything about everything right now, but you wouldn’t get anything out of that. You already know how awesome it is to be a Terrier fan right now.

Instead, I want to give my yearly suggestions to BU athletes. On Friday, the world gets to celebrate the fourth greatest holiday known to man –– Halloween. So, for the second year in a row, here are some suggested Halloween costumes for some of your favorite BU athletes.

John Holland –– The obvious choice would be the legend of a man from the “Unforgivable” YouTube video. But I think a better choice is Superman. Anyone who was at Terrier Tip-Off on Friday knows John Holland stripped off his jersey to reveal an “S” on his chest during the dunk contest. Unfortunately for everyone in attendance, John didn’t successfully throw one down. I think I know the reason –– he didn’t accept the cape that I offered him before he dunked. Had he worn the cape, I’m positive John would’ve been quicker than a speeding bullet and stronger than Eric Gryba. John would just need to rock the cape on Halloween and through the rest of the basketball season. Then I know we’d all become witnesses to John’s ability to fly like a Boeing 747.

Victor/Vinny Saponari, Matt/Kevin Gilroy & the Shea twins –– A pack of bros. Jesus and I were going to go as one of these pair of bros, and when I say bros I mean frat bros. Pop the collars, bring out the Gamecube and get set for a lovely night on the town. A lot of the preparation is already done. They’re already brothers, they just need to work on the bro aspect.

Jeff Pelage – Kimbo Slice. I mean, I think if he takes his shirt off he’d be all set. And maybe grow an Eric Bruntlett-esque beard.

Christine Kinneary – Spud Webb. Christine basically became Spud Webb during Friday’s dunk contest. She actually dunked (kind of) despite being less than six feet tall. Watch out, Candace Parker, you’re not the only female on this earth who has ups.

Shaun Taylor – Hitman. You can’t tell me that when Shaun Taylor stares at you, you don’t ruin your underwear in utter fear. If Shaun dressed up in a suit and tie and put a barcode on the back of his skull, he would have the same effect as he normally does –– scaring people, only he could do it on an appropriate holiday.

Marisha Schumacher-Hodge –– I can’t pick up a FreeP and not see her mentioned when the women’s soccer team has a write-up. And every time I see her name I’m like, “I bet that girl can Bend it like Beckham.” So, Marisha’s costume should be the lead from that movie –– not Keira Knightley. I’m talking about Parminder Nagra or “Jesminder ‘Jess’ Kaur Bhamra.” The only difference is that a movie about Marisha’s soccer life wouldn’t suck.

Kodjo Wilder –– Joe Biden. What is the reasoning on this? If you have ever seen Kodjo smile, you automatically fell in love with him. That’s actually written into security agreements you sign during orientation. The only person who can rival a smile of Kodjo is Joe Biden. So, Kodjo, you have to downplay yourself a little and act like the potential future vice president for a night of trick-or-treating. Don’t forget to vote, people!

Scott Brittain – A hero. Oh wait, he wouldn’t have to dress up at all for that. Then again, some of the best costumes are when you go as yourself. I really just want Scott to be a hero for my America East fantasy basketball team (yes, one does exist) –– I need him to pick up the slack for all the UNH and Stony Brook players I drafted.

I wish I could go on and give costume advice to all the athletes at BU. God knows I know a thing or two about dressing up and looking foolish, and I do that on more occasions than just Halloween. Folks, I hope you have a safe, exciting, scary and wonderful Halloween. I like how BU gave everyone –– athletes included (minus women’s tennis) –– the night off to obtain as much candy as possible and hopefully throw up in joy/candy poisoning the following day. Happy Halloween.

Embracing the Tip-Off

2008-10-22T11:59:00.000-04:00

What’s more entertaining than watching the Boston University hockey team light the lamp five times in one night? You’re right, Brian Strait learning the hard way that ice is slippery.

OK, well then, what’s more entertaining than watching the Terriers assistant captain eat it hard during introductions?

If you said Terrier Tip-Off (0.7 percent of those reading), then you are correct.

What the hell is Terrier Tip-Off?

Well, have you ever heard of Midnight Madness? It’s kind of a big deal in major basketball schools (those in the ACC, Big East, Big 12, SEC . . .). Traditionally, on the first day that the NCAA allows its men’s and women’s basketball teams to practice, schools hold festivities for that practice –– most of the time at the first possible moment a team can start conditioning –– at midnight. It’s a late night for players, coaches, staff and students, so BU has taken a slightly different approach.

Midnight Madness = Terrier Tip-Off = 8 p.m. start time = CGS logic.

Even in my junior year, I am just now about to lose my Madness V-card. Two years ago, an event like this didn’t exist at BU. Last year, I was out of town at my step-brother’s wedding. (No worries, I wore the hot dog suit on the altar to remind myself of what I was missing.) And this year, I’m actually going!

It’s only Tuesday, but it’s all I can think about. Sorry history midterm, you’re going to take a back seat –– and a massive grade deflation –– because all that’s running through my head is BU basketball.

The last time I saw BU basketball was March 16, when the women’s team lost the America East final to the University of Hartford. That’s a long time to go without watching basketball, especially with the bitter taste of a loss for almost six months. I’m getting a physical and emotional release with anticipation of the Friday night events.

This is exciting stuff. I got to throw out some suggestions to the athletic department for this year’s Terrier Tip-Off. I just want to share some of the ideas I gave to BU athletics that were shot down almost immediately.

1. Operation Dumbo Drop. In honor of the 13-year anniversary of this epic Danny Glover movie, I proposed a special twist on a dunk contest. Rather than getting creative, I thought there should just be a clear mission that each contestant must complete. Then, if need be, in Round 2 they could get stylistic. A simple proposal: Each participant in the dunk contest must jump over a baby elephant, then dunk. See, you’re slightly interested. Unfortunately, I overlooked the amount that baby elephants defecate and was informed that any stunt like this would put The Roof out of commission for about a month.

2. I say it every year, be it at a Midnight Madness event or at a game, but once again my dream won’t be realized –– the BU dance team versus the BU cheer squad in the only fair form of competition: mud-wrestling. Think about it –– this year the cheerleaders have two males on the team. How would the events of a mud-wrestling contest play out with two men and 30 dancers/cheerleaders? What would it all be like? What would be expected? The answer is just one word: hotness (if you take away the men). The minute I started to pitch a playful competition between cheerleaders and dance teamers and said “mud,” I was cut off and rejected, much like I was at junior prom.

3. Both men and women’s teams enter Terrier Tip-Off in a choreographed dance routine of “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, climaxing with Dennis Wolff jumping out of a coffin that would be wheeled onto center court. Everyone already knows who has the best dance moves on either team –– Tunde Agboola. It would just be riveting watching how men, women, boys and girls work together to present a feast for the eyes –– and a funny opening. However, the University of Maryland already did this, so it’s just not for BU.

4. A Dennis Wolff look-alike contest. Who would completely rid their body of hair and get pissed off for four hours straight to ensure a throbbing forehead blood vessel before the event even began? That prize should be worth a couple thousand dollars. However, athletics didn’t quite like the idea due to the risk of aneurysms and heart conditions.

5. Chicken sandwiches and some waffle fries, courtesy of John Holland –– only because every time I watch the YouTube video “Unforgivable” I believe JH23 lives in black and white and has an anger issue while dwelling in the middle of the woods. And he wants a chicken sandwich with some waffle fries . . . for free!

6. The choosing of an actual dog as the BU mascot. This wasn’t my idea, but it’s so good I can’t not mention it. Here’s the idea –– Athletics “rents” out four actual Boston Terriers. Line them all up at one end of the floor and then let them loose. The first one to get to the center-court logo is named the schools’ official mascot. It’s name is changed to Rhett and Dean Elmore gets to keep him/her in his humble abode with the responsibility of bringing it to every single sporting event. I guess we were asking for too much.

7. Pyrotechnics. I thought it would work until I realized The Roof is called that for a reason –– the Roof’s roof is 2.5 Matt Killens high. We probably shouldn’t burn that mother down until Agganis Arena starts selling out non-stop.

Regardless of what won’t be there, it’s really a matter of what will be there –– and there’s going to be a lot. Both men’s and women’s basketball teams, the dance team, the cheer squad, the drumline, a Lil’ Phunk performance. (Good thing there’s an “n” in their name because they’re essentially a child dance team.) There will also be free T-shirts, a real dunk contest, 15 Terrier rewards points, free Qdoba from the Kenmore location afterward and much more.

All this will be there, but will you?

I hope you come because I am promising that this year BU basketball is going to be different. Be there from start to finish, because if the fans make it happen, the basketball teams will, too.

BC Is Owning Us This Year

2008-10-14T14:50:00.000-04:00

According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, “basketball is typically the hot-button sport in the America East Conference, though most rivalries bridge across all sports.” When looking through the America East rivalries,

Boston University is found to rival the University of Vermont.
Is the University of Vermont really Boston University’s rival? I don’t think so. This “rivalry” was never spelled out for me at orientation –– I never received anti-Catamount literature and was never taught that the biggest game in any sport at BU is when the “hippies” of UVM make like tourists and come to Beantown.

I was, and still am, under the impression that Boston College is BU’s rival. There isn’t a school that I’ve been conditioned to hate more than BC. It’s reinforced at hockey games when I maliciously yell, “Rough ‘em up! Rough ‘em up! BC sucks!” upwards of five times per game. “The Song” is a hate song aimed at BC.
But here’s the thing –– BC isn’t in Boston University’s conference in all sports. And there isn’t a guarantee that every BU team will play the school on the hill each season.

The men’s basketball team hasn’t competed against the Eagles since an 80-74 loss Dec. 11, 2004. I hear that BC is afraid that someway, somehow BU will pull off a victory and leave its precious basketball program hurting worse than the Pats post-Brady knee injury (see Robert Morris, Jan. 7, 2008). The last time the women’s basketball team tipped off against Boston College? Dec. 18, 2005. It’s been a while.

It’s obvious in hockey –– the sport that is most valuable to this school –– that Boston College is Boston University’s rival. There is nothing better than the Green Line Friday/Saturday early December matchup. I get to feel clean, happy and comfortable one night in the lovely confines of Agganis Arena and then follow it up the next night with a little self-hating, disrespect, disgust and probable fog out in Conte Forum.
But what about all the other sports at BU? Can we say Boston College is our rival even though we don’t compete in the same athletic conference, even though every game we compete against BC –– except in hockey –– is billed as non-conference?

Let’s say we do. Well, that’s terrible news because BU has not beat BC in any sport since April 9 of last year, when the women’s tennis team sank the Eagles, 4-3. That victory was the first time BU beat BC in women’s tennis since 2002. Three days later, the Eagles hockey team went off and won their third national championship, beating who it considers its “rival,” Notre Dame.

This year alone, BU has a 0-3-1 record against the Eagles. Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams began their seasons in Newton and both lost — 1-0 for the women, 2-1 for the men. Midway through September, the field hockey team traveled down Commonwealth Avenue, where it was routed, 4-2. The tie? That happened in a women’s softball exhibition game in the first weekend of October.

What’s worse is that even in non-team sports and tournaments, BC is still winning! Take cross country: The men’s team has been doing pretty well this year –– a fourth-place finish in the Dartmouth Invitational and a second-place finish in the Ted Owen Invitational. Then came the first tournament in which BC was represented. Eric Ashe of BU was the highest-placing Terrier, finishing 13th. In that same race, the winner was Tim Ritchie of Boston College. To be fair, BU finished sixth in the tournament to BC’s ninth. That kind of counts as a win, right?

The women’s cross country team was enjoying similar success before the appearance of Superfan-athletes. The lady Terriers finished third in the Dartmouth Invitational, first in the Ted Owen Invitational and fifth in the New England Championship. Who won the New England Championship? Boston College.

And get this: This past weekend, the women’s golf team teed off at the Rutgers Invitational –– its third tournament of the year. BU finished tied for 14th. Boston College won the whole thing.
When will the pain be subdued?

This is all just silly. BC is curb-stomping us this year and not stopping. It hurts so bad to consistently lose to your “rival” with no real end in sight.

The Eagles do enjoy the luxuries of being in a conference with the prestige of the ACC. They do more recruiting and are, I would say, slightly more well-known in athletics than Boston University.

But there are some games in which recruiting and talent shouldn’t matter –– games where willpower, desire, motivation and adrenaline take over. Those games should always be against Boston College.

BC men’s hockey began the season as the nation’s top-ranked team. The Eagles beat Wisconsin, 5-4, with two short-handed goals and two power-play goals last Friday to remain No. 1 after one week of play.

During Friday night’s BU hockey game, the radio voice of the Terriers, Bernie Corbett, said something interesting: “I don’t think BC is going to lose this season until they run into BU.” As much as I want to see BC lose every game they play in every sport, if BU gets to crush an immaculate record then I would get a massive amount of satisfaction from it. But I don’t want to be waiting that long to see a BU team beat BC.

When’s the next shot we have to topple Newton College? The women’s hockey team gets its first crack Nov. 22 at Chestnut Hill. All the pressure is on you, ladies. Things need to change. Because for the good of this fine, private institution, we need to start beating Boston College.

Ten Things I Learned Sunday

2008-10-07T16:24:00.000-04:00

Two years ago, the men’s hockey team played the University of New Brunswick in an exhibition game. Eric Gryba scored with 1:24 left to win it in regulation. Coach Jack Parker gave all three of his goaltenders some work, including Brett Bennett –– who had six saves to his one goal allowed. Nearly 5,000 people showed up after a 2005-06 season that saw 26 wins. The 2006-07 team went 20-10-9 and played NCAA Tournament hockey.

Two days ago, BU hosted the University of New Brunswick once again in exhibition play. It’s the only time during the whole year that you get to hear the Canadian National Anthem –– and only 3,069 of us did. The Terriers set the tone early and didn’t look back. They didn’t really look forward either. They just played stalemate hockey well enough to win, 4-1.

For the many Terrier hockey fans who didn’t attend at 2 p.m. on a Sunday (I really don’t blame you), there were some things I took away from this game. Here are the top-10 things I learned –– which I’m sure you would have learned, too, had you gone:

10. Agganis Arena has a goal: Have the best college arena concessions. First off, sweet potato fries are no more –– instead there are onion sticks. In addition, the snack areas now offer backed potatoes! Are you kidding me? Sour cream, melted cheese, strips of bacon, not just the bits, but strips, all on a potato. I’m salivating right now.

9. BU and Agganis worked hard on the pre-game videos. There were so many of them, and they all looked pretty cool. Animated player pictures during warm-ups and after a player scores –– it reminded me of Monday Night Football: Professional and uncomfortable, but it works. The pre-game pump-up videos didn’t do as much as I thought they would for me. I got gooesbumps, but I just wasn’t full-throttle pumped. I think the lack of crowd was the only reason for that.

8. Grant Rollheiser refuses to take off his black, generic goalie mask. During the entire first period and into the second, Rollheiser was wearing it on the bench. Then, obviously, when he went into the game he also adorned it. Some may think he did this because of superstition. I’m guessing he wore it for safety reasons –– you never know when a puck might try to slap you in the face. This reasoning must also be why he wears his mask in the shower, in class and when he sleeps.

7. BU has a goaltender controversy! This is the second year in a row I’ll show up to a game on a given night in the first month of the season and not know who will be between the pipes. However, unlike last year, this goalie controversy seems to be good. 2007-08: Brett Bennett vs. Karson Gillespie –– it was like choosing between dog food and cat food for dinner. This year –– Kieran Milan (such a balla’ name) vs. Grant Rollheiser –– now it’s like I have to choose between crème brûlée and a huge banana split –– for freakin’ dinner!

6. Colin Wilson exudes confidence. I felt it in the stands. I guess being the No. 7 overall NHL draft pick will do that. He was dangling in and out of traffic, setting up the offense, challenging all the opponents on the ice and playing exactly how an NHL prospect should. His play was artistic and makes me oh-so-happy he’s back this year.

5. These freshmen are good. Vin Diesel (a.k.a. Vinny Saponari) already knows what’s up –– two assists in the second period and playing like he’s been here before. Oh wait, he has (last year with the U.S. Under-18 Team). Jesus was doing some deep thinking before the season about what the last names on the jerseys would look like for the Saponari brothers (Vinny and Victor). He concluded that the only way he could be satisfied would be if Vinny spelled out his entire name, much like late Denver Bronco great Darrent Williams. We all found out Vinny’s only gonna rock a “Vin” before Saponari. There’s still time to change that –– he’d be an instant fan favorite, even more liked than Gryba and his powerful fists.

4. We won’t be missing our graduated forwards (Tom Morrow, however, is someone we’ll never forget). Losing the top two scorers in Hockey East (Boomer Ewing and Pete MacArthur) won’t seem so bad with their replacements on the ice –– Nick Bonino and Colin Wilson. Bonino was the best player on the ice Sunday, and I can only conclude he’s going to have a big season. Colin Wilson is Colin Wilson. I’m still convinced he bleaches his hair or frosts his tips. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

3. BU cheerleaders on the premises. I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I first walked in: BU cheerleaders (men and women) at the entrance of the arena, giving out face paint jobs and God knows what else. While it’s nice to see them showing support for the school, I’m not fully counting on them yet. They need to prove their dedication and be there come November, like the dance team –– God’s customized gift to this school.

2. Jason Lawrence is on the first line? That’s not really something I learned –– that’s something I question. Lawrence got a goal in the game –– an empty-net goal. I’m not saying Lawrence is a bad player. He does good things on the ice, just not first line things. If Parker is trying to balance the lines, then sure keep him on the first. But if this team wants a dominant first line like last year’s MacArthur-Higgins-Ewing trio, things need to be changed. I just think J-Lo should be on the third or fourth line. I would love to see a Wilson-Higgins-Bonino first line.

1. This team looks good. I can’t remember the last time I felt the way I do about Terrier hockey. It’s a good thing. Everything was working, and working well. The only thing that needs to change is for the team to play a more complete game than it did Sunday. The exhibition showed the potential BU has –– the goalies are good, the defense looks so solid, the returning players are great, the captains are better than last year’s and the freshmen stepped it up to another level. This game meant nothing, but I think it was a good indication that this is a season everyone will thoroughly enjoy.

Hockey, I'm Happy With You

2008-09-30T12:39:00.000-04:00

I've been at Boston University for two years, and every year I receive the same Facebook group invitation. Strangely, it seems to be a different group each year with the same goal. The message: "Sign this petition so we can get BU football back." I refuse to sign. Call me un-American if you want, but remember, I carry an American flag with me wherever I go.

Listen, there will not be football at BU during your time here. Chances are, there will not be football at BU ever again. For those of you who are just finding this out, let me fill you in.

Football was part of BU from 1906 until 1997. In '97, then-President John Silber - who I'm told looks like The Emperor post-electrocution in "Star Wars: Episode VI" - and the Board of Trustees voted to disband the team. The reason? Football was burning a $3 million hole in the school's pocket every year. We here at BU know that is completely unacceptable - profits must be made or people must be killed.

BU was the first of many large private universities to disband its football team and solved a lot of problems by doing so. Sure, they made then-current students and students for years to come rather unhappy, but they saved a couple million dollars to support Title IX. In turn, students were given the Fitness and Recreation Center and Agganis Arena.

Hold your tears. There is a very satisfying replacement to college football: college hockey. We are some of the few students in this country who get to experience the joys of college hockey. To most of your friends from home - especially if you live outside of New England - college hockey is a foreign subject.

But for those of you who have been to a Terrier hockey game, or two or 20, chances are you know more than just the 10 teams in Hockey East. You recognize names like Chris Higgins and Brandon Yip.

You followed the NHL draft this year because you wanted to see how high Colin Wilson would go. You knew that if he was a top-five selection, he was gone for this year. You know your team isn't ranked in hockey unless they're in the top 20. You know you're not a Terrier sports fan until you own a scarlet and white jersey. You know hockey and you've grown to love it, despite what the rest of America thinks.

The game is fast and full of excitement. Hockey is sometimes called the fastest game on ice. Screw that - it's the fastest game, period. However, the speed and action is not what got me hooked. I know some of you may think it was he-man Tom Morrow who got me hooked, but I'll have you know it wasn't even him.

What made me fall in love with college hockey was everything surrounding the rink -- the culture of the game. It's unlike anything you can experience with any other sport. Seeing all the red and white that goes 360 degrees around the ice still gives me goosebumps. And, like it or not, when you attend a Terrier hockey game, you become part of this unique culture.

Fans add to the experience at a hockey game, but it is the pep band that will keep you wanting more. What other sport has the band playing certain songs at certain moments in a game while mixing it up the rest of the time? It dictates breaks and keeps everyone involved.

For example, when the other team gets a penalty I know I'm going to here 2 Unlimited's "Get Ready For This" -- a song usually reserved for cheerleading routines and, most memorably, "Jock Jams 1." And BU didn't really have an actual cheerleading team these last two years, so I couldn't enjoy my Jock Jams. Hockey let me enjoy it.

The "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" song blasts after the first stoppage in the second period, while an entire section of students bobs up and down like they're humping horses.

In the third period, I can only imagine what the rest of Agganis Arena witnesses when the band plays "On Wisconsin." Students alternate between a standing position and a 3/4 standing position only to follow with the "Tequila" wave. If the Terriers are losing, I know I can at least look forward to yelling "Let's get drunk" after each of these songs in the third period.

And now, even band director Chris Parks, also known as Mr. Clean on musical steroids, is getting creative -- he just started adding Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" after "Tequila," allowing an entire body of college students to yell, "Let's get sober." There's no chance any other school in America screams that. Ever. Oh Chris Parks, you're so clever.

Another thing -- hat tricks. My, oh my. There's no other sport where you're encouraged to throw headwear onto the playing area. And there's definitely no other sport in which the arena's owners give away chips and salsa from Qdoba if an individual has a great statistical night. Simply magical.

Freshmen, pay attention to all that. Memorize what you just read, because knowing these actions and procedures will help you Sunday. You won't look as awkward as I did during my first game, wondering what the hell these cracked-out Dog Pound members were doing as I stood there in a Red Wings jersey, because I thought it was the closest thing to a Terrier jersey.

Now, I'm not trying to say the only good thing about college hockey is the stuff going on around the rink. I could go on and on about why hockey is the Tom Morrow of college sports. But I want you to embrace the sport because it's such a rarity in college.

You're in the minority in America -- you're one of the few who get to take part in college hockey, and you'll be a fan of it for the rest of your life if you embrace it. You'll make friends and get to know people just because you're fans of the game. Take pride in the environment, what you've been given and forget what's been taken away.

Is Corey Lowe The Next Carson Palmer?

2008-09-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer used to be a stud. Then it all came crashing down, as did the Bengals' hopes on Jan. 8, 2006 when Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen hit Palmer's left leg, basically mangling it and tearing both his MCL and ACL.

Since that injury, Palmer has never been the same -- Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna is playing better than him (although, to be fair, Kitna's best friend is Jesus -- the real Jesus, not Boston University Jesus). Heck, his backup in college, Matt Cassel, is playing better than Palmer. Did anyone see this coming? I never expected this. For God's sake, Carson has Ocho Cinco -- he shouldn't be blowing it worse than the great Brett Bennett.

Transitioning from the National Football League to BU basketball, last year something horrible happened before the season began -- Tyler Morris was sidelined for the first nine games. It was diagnosed as tibia stress syndrome. It didn't require surgery, but the injury was a huge setback for not just him, but the entire team.

Morris dealt with ankle his entire freshman year, which is part of the reason he redshirted in 2005-06. He came back in 2006-07 and proved himself in America East by winning the Rookie of the Year award, starting all 30 games and averaging 13.4 points per game. He was the best 3-point shooter in the conference and proved to be the go-to guard when the game was on the line. Morris's play earned the respect of his coaches and teammates, leading to his appointment as the co-captain of last year's team.

Before last season even began, the Terriers knew they'd be without Morris for at least part of the year. He played just 20 games, starting 19. His points-per-game average dropped to 6.5, and his field goal percentage dipped from 46.2 in '06-'07 to 31.1 last year. Tyler was a changed player. He wasn't what everyone was expecting, and no one can convince me his play did not affect the entire team. They needed the '06-'07 Tyler Morris last year.

So if Tyler Morris is Carson Palmer, what's going to happen to Corey Lowe?

Last week The Daily Free Press reported that Lowe injured his knee in a pick-up game -- just two months before the season begins. If you have followed BU basketball (like roughly 4.7 percent of this school's students), you definitely thought of the Tyler Morris situation of '06-'07 and started associating Lowe with Morris.

I know I did. I'll tell you I ruined my underwear when I found out about Lowe's newest injury. It was a messy situation.

Can Corey still be the player everyone wants him to be? A First-Team All-America East player? A player who averages at least 15 points and three to five assists per game? A player who averages about 33 minutes a game and a player everyone in the conference fears, even if he has a Mohawk?

Sorry to put all this pressure on you C-Lowe, but if BU is going to win America East, all these things need to happen. And a lot of John Holland dunks. Those will help, too.

I'd like to think that it can be done. Corey has been injured a lot, and it has never seemed to slow his play down. In '06-'07, he missed four games with a foot injury but still made the America-East All Rookie Team. Last year, he missed three games with knee bursitis and still set a BU single-season record by knocking down 92 3-balls. That equals 276 points - more than Maine scored all year. (Just kidding, but not really . . .) Also, he gained Second-Team All-America East honors.

At the end of the season, Corey had surgery on ligaments in his right thumb, which hurt his video game abilities more than anything else. Jesus put a repeated whooping on him in NBA 2K8, something Corey will never, ever forget.

So he'll take the court this season after going under the knife twice in five months -- he'll be almost more machine than man. The question is, will Corey Lowe return to being one of, if not the best, player in America East?

As much as I would like Matt Killen to step up and become a 3-point specialist, that role is already reserved for Corey. Who else can get away with launching shots from five feet in front of half court without Dennis Wolff having an aneurism?

Terrier Nation in unison: "Matt Wolff!"

OK, you're right. Forgot about Wolff. I mean, I only expect that behavior out of Corey.

So, Corey, please fix yourself - make yourself healthy. Don't be like Tyler Morris or Carson Palmer. Enter the Terrier Tip-Off on Oct. 24 in a wheelchair, then miraculously stand, do five back-flips and dunk over Scott Brittain.

Or just be able to play in the season opener on Nov. 14 the way this school knows you can. We need you.

Terrier Tailgate Blows My Mind

2008-09-16T23:35:00.001-04:00

The Terrier Tailgate is one of, if not the best, event the athletic department has hosted in my time at Boston University.

For the past two years, BU has put together a tailgate cookout and a giant meet-and-greet for the youngins. For about an hour before the game and during the first half, freshmen get to eat free food, socialize with people who they only recognize from Facebook and watch men's soccer. Then, once halftime arrives, roughly half of the people in attendance head back to their dorms for what will be one of, if not the, lamest nights of their college careers.

I haven't been a freshman for either tailgate, but I've felt the responsibility to take on the role of male cheerleader -- in a hot dog costume. For whatever reason, those freshmen sitting in the stands at Nickerson Field occasionally get pumped up when I try to start leading cheers. At this point in their college lives, they have no idea they'll see me at more than just this one sporting event. I don't even know what they think of that Jesus fellow who hangs around me, but they join in my cheers for a couple minutes, which always makes me feel a little better about myself.

Anyway, Terrier Tailgate was much improved this year.

I'm accustomed to seeing Agganis Arena completely sold out -- up to, but not limited to, 6,300 people in attendance. To get half that number in Nickerson would be no problem -- if BU had a football team. Because of the poor following that most Terrier sports receive, and because this school is a hockey school first, getting more than 200 people to Nickerson is a challenge.

What I can't grasp is why so many students attended the soccer game against UMass. Most of the spectators at Agganis for hockey games are alumni, or just fans of the university - not even students. In fact, there are only about 1,000 to 2,000 students at any given hockey game -- sections 118 and 108 can hold roughly 500 students, while 117, 119 and the pockets around 108 hold no more than 1,000 combined. That means more than half the people who pack into The Greek don't attend BU.

So I scratch my head in amazement at how many students a) could find Nickerson and b) made it there to watch soccer -- a sport that most everyone played at one point, but have come to loathe watching.

This year the attendance was 5,935. Last year it was 5,111, which was a number that is rumored to be slightly inflated. This year's total is all real and an America East record for soccer attendance. As of right now that number ranks as the second highest attendance in NCAA soccer this year -- stupid Clemson and their backward Southern ways, beating us in attendance, while packing their lips full of tobacco, watching NASCAR on their hand-held TV's and blasting The Dixie Chicks.

I can't wait for next year's tailgate.

This year there was a dunk tank. That's no typo - there was a dunk tank. David Barth, a co-leader of The Dog Pound, threw out this idea when we (the Dog Pound "leaders") were brainstorming what would be fun at the tailgate. I loved it, but thought there was just no way BU would allow such a contraption. I was wrong. Even better, anyone in attendance could get a chance to dunk a women's or men's basketball player.

Again, most of the freshmen probably didn't know Krystyn McIntyre or John Holland, but it's the idea and the fact that there was a dunk tank that counts.

In the middle of the game, I looked at the crowd and saw people throwing out bags of Snyder's cheese pretzel sandwiches and other snack foods into the audience.

Does it get any better?

It would've if the band had played "China Grove," but we can't always get what we want. And again, I don't think the fans in attendance got what they wanted at the end of the game -- a Terrier victory.

In fact, anyone who stayed witnessed what might just be the worst loss in Terrier soccer history. The Minutemen scored to tie the game with three seconds left and proceeded to win the game on a goal from midfield just eight seconds into the second overtime.

It's a shame such a perfect event had to end in tears. While the Terrier Tailgate is a great chance for the freshmen to get introduced to Terrier sports, everyone should be expecting the worst next season. After all, BU is 0-2 in its first two Tailgate bouts.

But there is always next year. Let's hope for a win.

A one-on-one interview with Jason Lawrence

2007-12-11T15:06:00.000-05:00

Folks, this is my last column of the semester, and there's really only one thing I want to write about. I could go on about the mediocre records of the men's basketball and hockey squads as we enter break -- or another men's basketball player quitting the team. I could even get into the Baby Tiger Four.

Well, four hockey players were suspended last week for an undisclosed reason. I, along with numerous others, am convinced the only way coach Jack Parker would take such action was because of the release of a baby tiger on Commonwealth Avenue. I don't see anything wrong with hockey players releasing baby tigers back into their natural environments, but I guess that didn't fly with Parker.

Anyway, I want to explore one of the more startling developments of this semester: Jason Lawrence's decision to change his number from 22 - a number he wore his first two years at BU - to 21 only a year after the half-man, half-God known as Tom Morrow graduated.

I had a chance to sit down with Lawrence recently. I was determined to learn the truth on why the sudden - and slightly disrespectful - switch occurred, and a little bit more about what makes J-Lo tick.

Last Wednesday, I entered Agganis Arena, walked downstairs and waited outside the fitness room. The square footage of that room is probably equivalent to the College of Arts and Sciences. At least that's how it seemed to me -- Keith Tkachuk and Chris Drury are generous donors.

Usually, I don't think too kindly of J-Lo, solely because he stole Morrow's number. Tom Morrow was a 6-foot-7 he-man. He scored two goals in his BU career -- both in his senior year. He often took the puck the length of the ice to the tune of "COAST-TO-COAST" chants. Like I've reiterated time and again, when Tom scored it was almost the second coming. Glorious, to say the least.

I saw Lawrence working out in the fitness room, rehabbing his injured shoulder back into playing shape. I looked at him and thought about what he must be going through. He knows he is a vital part of this team, and I can tell he wants to do all he possibly can to come back. I thought of J-Lo as someone like Tyler Morris at this moment. Both are key parts of the team, both are injured and both are eager to do just about anything to get their squads above .500.

J-Lo left the fitness area and greeted me with a handshake. We walked upstairs to Parker's office to start our interview. I was expecting more of a cold greeting from Jason. When I booed him at the skills showcase earlier this season, he stared me down. I thought I saw him mouth "I hate hot dogs" when he was on the ice.

We sat down, and the first thing I noticed was J-Lo's Boston University hockey Nike shirt. It read Boston University with the No. 21 under it. I couldn't help but be reminded of my Tom Morrow Coast-to-Coast t-shirt, which had an uncanny resemblance to Lawrence's training shirt.

I asked him, "Do you have a Tom Morrow Coast-to-Coast shirt?" His response: "No, but I have to try to get one. I'm thinking about stealing Strait's." Brian Strait: Listen to me, if you don't want your amazing Tom Morrow shirt stolen, keep it out of J-Lo's sight, or it will soon be missing.

Anyway, the interview didn't heat up too much after that. I tried asking some juicy questions, like "Which goalie should this team start?" Jason, of course, answered "Either one."

I found out that Jason has a bit of a man-crush on Chris Higgins, but then again, who doesn't these days? Higgy has the body of a Greek God and can rock the Blue Steel pose of Zoolander anytime he wants. I often find myself getting lost in Chris's eyes. J-Lo said Higgins is the funniest kid on the team and has the best hands. I wouldn't be surprised to see the two roommates sharing a couple burritos at the Towers dining hall (J-Lo's favorite dining hall) whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears.

When I asked Jason about fan sections, he revealed some very interesting things. First off, Jason hates playing against Northeastern. He said he has a sour taste in his mouth when BU plays the Huskies - home or away. But he hates playing against Maine at Alfond Arena the most. It might be because when BU parents stood and cheered after the Terriers scored, the Maine faithful started an "UGLY PARENTS" chant. I don't care where you're from, that cheer hurts. J-Lo's favorite song from the pregame playlist is "Two Step" by Dave Matthews Band. I wasn't surprised by that answer. Jason said the team thrives off the energy from the fan section, which is probably why his favorite song the band plays is in fact "The Song" at the beginning of the second period.

Then I got to the real difficult questions. Here's the dialogue:

Hot Dog: What do you think of Tom Morrow?
J-Lo: I love Tom. Tom was a great kid and a great teammate.

Hot Dog: What is your history with No. 21, and is it true you had a gold necklace with the number on it?
J-Lo: Yeah I did. I was always No. 21 when I was growing up. Then I went to Ann Arbor and played out there. I was going to be 21 for my second year, but I lost a coin flip. The first year I played in Michigan we got crazy numbers. I think I was 39. Second year, we got to pick our numbers. I was 21 my whole life and I was just waiting for Tom to leave.

Hot Dog: So 21 has always been your number?
J-Lo: Yeah, it was a family number.

Hot Dog: Did you let Tom know you were going to take his number?
J-Lo: Yeah, I told him I was taking it when he was leaving. He liked the idea. He passed it down.

So there it is. If the mighty Tom Morrow liked the idea and passed down his number, I cannot argue. The interview with Jason made me change my opinion of him. I'm not saying Jason will be my new favorite player all of a sudden, but he will no longer be my least favorite for taking Tom's number. That peaceful exchange of numbers and J-Lo being a stand-up guy makes me want to see him back on the ice as soon as possible. I look forward to his return.

The BU sports weekend from hell

2007-12-05T21:45:00.001-05:00

I cried myself to sleep last night. And I cried myself to sleep the night before that. And guess what I did Saturday night? You're damn right. I curled up in the Nathan Gerbe/John Muse position (the fetal position) and cried myself to sleep.

I don't know where to begin. This was almost the worst weekend of my life. It all began Friday night at Conte Forum when I was removed from the building. I really thought my hate for Boston College was at its peak. Boy, was I wrong. I hate the Eagles with an undying passion.

Jesus and I didn't go in costume, so I really don't understand why the usher had to target us. We were sitting in the section directly next to the Superfan student section. Much like any student section, the Superfans stand during action on the ice. This presented a problem for Jesus and I because we couldn't see anything when the puck went near the boards in front of the Superfans. We really couldn't stand during play because that would be disrespectful to other people, BU and BC fans alike, in our section. So, we did the next best thing: We stood during breaks and sat when play resumed.

For whatever reason, this didn't fly with the usher. He pulled me aside and took me out of the section. He got as close as anyone has ever gotten to me without kissing me or being my doctor. He had eaten either fajitas or tacos for dinner, because his breath smelled of something south of the border. The man warned me if I continued what I was doing I would be removed. I had to comply, and I tried to as cordially as possible. However, I quickly learned, that one phrase of agreement should never be uttered at BC or else it's verbal trespassing: "fair enough."

Nothing is fair at BC. Nothing. I was removed for complying, and told I was being kicked out for verbally trespassing at Boston College. If I had stayed on campus in Chestnut Hill I would have been arrested. Fair enough? The game was 4-1 at that point, and the only bright spot about being kicked out was not witnessing Gerbe's hat trick. When I arrived back at a real university in the real city, I found out the Terrier women's basketball team had lost to St. John's.

Saturday night, a doubleheader with so much potential started out terrible and didn't get much better. Jesus's hands froze during our walk to The Roof. He had difficulties maneuvering his pockets to find his ticket. Then my Eric Gryba cardboard cutout lost out a battle to the wind and broke in half. When we arrived at Case we saw a Boston community group of young boys and girls wearing black shirts taking up the first three rows of "Section 2" and no cheerleaders. Dance team, but no cheerleaders.

I was mad. I was starting to really get to know/love them. They approached me at games, gave me words of encouragement and showed me genuine spirit. Someone told me that the cheerleading squad had more quitters and is now reduced to only four members. WHAT THE HELL? I know there are numerous hot ex-cheerleaders just hiding their abilities at BU. Ladies, step up. We need cheerleaders, as it showed on Saturday.

Sure, Corey Lowe and Carlos Strong proved that if they wanted to they could dominate play, but we need someone else to step up. I patiently wait in eager anticipation of Dec. 22 and Tyler's projected return against Delaware. This team needs a win. But it also needs some support. I was extremely disappointed to see a meek crowd at The Roof. There were only two people in the stands, and unfortunately I made up half that number. If you come to The Roof, get pumped, show your school spirit and support this team. There is nothing better to perform to than the sounds of encouragement from a strong student body. Oh, here's another incentive: the dance team. Enough said.

After watching another loss, Jesus and I paraded to Agganis. Fairly normal occurrences until the teams came out. What I noticed shocked me. First, our captain wasn't playing? I feel like I've seen a lot of hockey, definitely a lot more than most people, but I've never ever seen a captain not play a game.

You know, there are some things that you can begin to expect and look forward to every year: your birthday, Thanksgiving, the 4th of July, Jesus's birthday and the BC game at Agganis. Because, on that day, Eric Gryba gets to pound Nathan Gerbe, and pound him so hard for a good 60 minutes every time the two are on the ice together. Sure enough, my disappointment continued when I saw Gryba was a healthy scratch.

About halfway through the third period I look toward the glass in 119. There he is. The usher who kicked me out of Conte is working as security at Agganis. We stared each other down, we both knew what was up. I made sure to direct all my "you suck" chants toward him.

I'm not gonna lie, the team played well. But as well as they played, it wasn't enough.

On top of that, 118 was weak. Students weren't going along with any "Go Terriers" or "Go BU" chants. People, if that chant is started, it is said three, if not four, times in succession. Section 118 was consistently going only one-and-a-half or two chants and then out.

About midway through the third period I looked down to see three fans sitting down. Wait, why did I just call them "fans?" If you are in 118 you are standing. That is what being a part of the Dog Pound and 118 is all about. That's what being a fan is about.

People constantly ask me why there's not a football team, and if it will ever come back. How could this school possibly support a football team when there is little support for our biggest sports on campus? Don't sit in 118, don't sit in The Roof, because there is no way to get goosebumps as a fan while sitting. That feeling, goosebumps, is an amazing feeling.

Look, our teams don't have good records, there's no dodging that, but you can't possibly tell me there is no potential. I am confident that these teams will pick it up. But it's only going to get delayed as long as the support isn't there. For your sake, I don't want these teams start dominating in Vestal, N.Y. at the America East tournament or in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East when most people are home for break. I keep on being reminded of how awesome the Dog Pound was in Walter Brown Arena, before I got here. I heard it was so loud, so ferocious, so intimidating. I want that, and our teams want it.

Oh, so why wasn't this the worst weekend in my life? Simple: an invite to the Boston University Dance Team Holiday Party. Pinch me, I must be dreaming!

A running diary from the 'World's Most Famous Arena'

2007-11-27T09:33:00.000-05:00

Until Nov. 24, 2007, I had never been inside Madison Square Garden. Amazing, right? I have been to a Super Bowl, a Final Four and an NBA Finals game, yet I did not step foot in the World's Most Famous Arena until I was 20 years old.

Thank God BU hockey gave me the opportunity -- rather, forced me to go to MSG. I feel like this is a special event in any hot dog's life, one that should be heavily documented.

I'm taking this as an opportunity to describe not only what it feels like to follow a college hockey team to such a high-profile venue, but also to describe the gamely preparation Jesus and I undergo before each game. I was going to chronicle my day from the moment I woke up, but it's kind of irrelevant that I had breakfast with my family, or that I took a bus from Philadelphia to New York with Jesus. Thus, I'll start with where I became the hot dog -- in a shady courtyard area a block away from the Garden.

Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007

6:36 - We hail a cab to MSG. Traffic is horrendous and we get out about two blocks shy of the Garden. When we change into our gear, people begin to take notice of us.

7:05 - We enter the concourse. There really isn't a bad view anywhere in the arena. It's completely different from what I'm used to. It's so circular.

7:06 - Jesus and I find the BU band and nab seats right below it. We have this looming feeling that people won't go with the whole 'General Admission' thing and we might be moved. Nonetheless, we remain in our unoccupied seats and take in the Garden as it begins to fill.

7:13 - An older gentleman in Cornell gear calls out Jesus as "historically accurate but unsophisticated." Jesus busts out a "dubious," to which the Cornell fan requests, "No big words." Ironic.

7:21 - A young man, probably about my age, approaches the BU student and band section. He's decked out in Boston College gear, so naturally he's already an enemy. He looks at me and asks, "Is your band director's name Jobe?" I thought to myself, why would he possibly want to know Chris Parks's name? I respond, "No, it is not. You can leave now." He is speechless. He tries saying something but I just interrupt, "Goodbye, goodbye." He has no choice but to walk away in shame. People of his kind (BC) make my blood boil. Then, I realize this upcoming weekend is indeed BC weekend. I begin to get fired up.

7:25 - The teams take the ice. I notice a couple things -- Piccolo ("little" in Italian) Joe Pereira is in for J-Lo (Jason Lawrence). He's going to try to earn that spot for the next four to six weeks. Kevin Kielt is also back. And they're using the BU pregame music playlist at the Garden. Things already look good.

7:34 - Jesus turns to me and says, "This truly is Red Hot." Looking at the stadium, red is overly dominant. It's everywhere.

7:36 - My good friend, Mike Anton, arrives. He high fives me and tells me he's 10 Yuenglings deep. He also informs me Cornell doesn't have an opening video montage to play because its arena has no video screen, so someone is cutting one together at the moment.

7:38 - The Cornell video montage begins. It is simply pictures that dissolve into one another, with the most pansy music I have ever heard. The BU faithful begin "This is boring," "This is stupid" and "This is too long" chants until the BU video comes on.

8:00 - The teams come out and the National Anthem plays. Right after, Jesus and I are kicked out of our seats by a single Asian woman, who proceeds to SIT DOWN. We move to the row ahead of us, but again we're quickly moved by two others who arrive as the puck drops. They too sit down. I'm furious. Jesus is pretty mad, too.

8:06 - Jesus and I find seats with some BU fans behind the net, far away from the band and student section. I'm kind of mad at first, but then Nick Bonino feeds Piccolo Joe for his first goal of the season. Then Lucky Luke scores seconds later. And finally, Brandon Yip nets a third. Within minutes, BU is up 3-0. Unbelievable.

8:47 - The first period ends with BU on top, 3-0, but despite fronting the home whites, I can tell the BU fans are heavily outnumbered in the Garden.

8:49 - Jesus and I decide to get refreshments. Sometimes it's tough being in these costumes because drunk men really love us. On my way to the bathroom, I get into a conversation with someone clearly over the legal limit. He keeps asking me something that sounds like, "Where are you sitting?" Only after the seventh time do I realize he's trying to find out what I'm studying. And my God, people had numerous questions for Jesus. The Cornell fans are really confused why we're walking around dressed the way we are. BU fans, in contrast, have come to accept it. This is part of the reason we don't go in costume to away games. Tired of being harassed, we head back to our seats.

9:25 - The second period has started, but it isn't until about eight minutes in that Cornell scores. Finally, I see how many Cornell fans are in the Garden - probably about 70 to 80 percent. It's insane.

9:35 - BU tallies another score to secure this three-goal padding and help that reassuring feeling flow back over me.

9:50 - The second ends with BU up three. During the intermission, there is a tribute to Mike Eruzione and other members of the 1980 Gold Medal-winning Olympic team and a video tribute to Jack Parker. Unfortunately, the tribute runs pretty much until the 10-second mark of intermission. The band plays over it, and it simply becomes a sloppy mess.

10:00 - Colin Wilson scores the fifth goal. It's painful trying to keep up with all the sieve chants. Cornell fans look quite depressed. One woman turns around from the Cornell section and looks at Jesus and I. We were in the middle of a "your band sucks" chant. The only reason we were chanting that is because the Cornell fans have a ridiculous hand motion when their band plays Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part II." It really looks like they are terrible stage magicians. I notice a woman who has turned around, and I call her out. I won't share what I said, but know this -- the Cornell section beneath us knew not to look at us again.

10:31 - Cornell has scored its third goal, but the Big Red fans still chant, "It's all your fault" at Brett Bennett. Mind you, there are three minutes left in the game. Barring some miracle, that goal won't matter. And what the hell, a "Big Red" can't possibly be a mascot. It's the name of a gum.

10:43 - Game over on the empty netter. Perfect Pete is so kind. He got the puck in open ice, but instead decided to get Boomer a point by dishing to him for the ENG. It feels so good as the final buzzer sounds: the first win Jesus and I have witnessed since Nov. 3. We march over to the band and the other students to sing "Hey Baby" while we hug and embrace lovingly.

10:47 - Pictures bombard us. We head out of the Garden only to be grabbed by drunk Cornell moms and their daughters for pictures. It's easily the funniest part of my evening. More drunk people keep questioning Jesus on the way out. Jesus whispers into my ear, "Get me out of here."

11:00 - We make to the mezzanine and Cornell fans continue look at us in complete befuddlement. BU fans high five us. We find a corner and strip off the costumes to become normal citizens again. What a trip. It was totally worth it.

Nothing's better than the Dance Team

2007-11-20T15:33:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was one of the roughest to be a Terrier fan, and it was especially difficult for Jesus and I. It began Friday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, when the women's soccer team made an early exit from the NCAA Tournament. Like the field hockey team, the women's soccer team won the America East Tournament but couldn't do anything in the NCAAs.

It only got worse when the women's hockey team got shut out on home ice against St. Cloud State. I honestly don't know where that school is located, but it's a cool name.

Things started to look up later that evening, when the men's hockey team absolutely pounded Vermont. Someone must have told the team, "Hey, some parts of the country will be able to see you guys play tonight because this game is on CN8." That's the only reason I can explain why the team scored NINE goals. First they net seven at home against UMass-Lowell, then nine on the road. At this rate, in two weeks - when the Terriers host BC - they should score a record 11 goals at Agganis. I can't wait.

Unfortunately, the momentary bliss I enjoyed Friday night didn't last. What I predicted would happen did in fact happen: After scoring nine goals the night before, the Terriers lost by one Saturday night to the same team in the same building. I guess the Terriers really need to be on TV to shine. Sadly, this wasn't the only loss Saturday.

For the second night in a row, the women's ice hockey team dropped a game to St. Cloud State. Over in Agganis, Jesus and I witnessed back-to-back basketball losses -- something I never want to experience again.

First, the women's basketball team lost to Ohio State University. Later, the men shot a porous 37 percent from the field in a loss to St. Joseph's University -- a team the Terriers really just cannot beat.

I stood in the front row as the clock ran down Saturday, staring at Jesus, questioning my existence.

Through all the tears, turmoil and trouble I experienced this weekend, there was some success. And when I say success, I mean HOT success.

See, there is a team at Boston University that remains undefeated and has stayed unbeaten since the team's inception.

If this team were a hockey player, it would be Tom Morrow. If it was a meal, it would be dessert. If it was a place, it would be paradise. The Boston University Dance Team: collectively, they are a perfect 10 and God's greatest creation.

The BUDT attends all basketball games, and if it was up to me it would be at all hockey games, too. Northeastern University has cheerleaders at its hockey games, so why don't we one-up them (as BU usually does to NU) by featuring the dance team at Agganis? I can guarantee attendance records would be absolutely shattered.

I remember at last year's men's basketball America East Tournament that almost every other school had a dance team. Looking at the other dance teams was like looking at a car crash -- so horrific, but I couldn't stop staring in complete disgust.

As soon as the Terrier dance team walked out, the other squads stepped aside. The intimidation factor was tremendous. The BUDT is on a whole different level -- it can compete with most, if not all, NBA dance teams. When you see the BUDT, enjoy it, because it doesn't get much better.

The dance team stands behind the basket near the entrance to Case Gymnasium. There is a reason for that, which I finally realized this season: The opposing team shoots toward the entrance of Case in the second half of every game. Imagine trying to shoot free throws while 14 gorgeous girls are shaking their moneymakers in your face. Not easy.

Last year, the team thrilled Jesus and I. We went to the first basketball game unaware such a pleasure existed. Now, when there's a break in the action, Jesus and I divert all of our attention to the dancers' perfectly choreographed routines.

Now, I'm not knocking the cheerleaders -- I like them too. But there's something very special about the dance team. Perhaps it's that it really is a team -- they each have numbers, an official roster and names that Jesus and I have memorized just like the basketball and hockey roster.

My dream this season, you ask? Yes, I want to dance. Yes, Jesus wants to dance. Yes, we want to dance with the dance team. I don't know if we're good enough to be included, but if the dance team allowed us to be incorporated into one of its routines, my life would be complete. I wouldn't know what to live for anymore.

These ladies are the real deal - perfection, honestly. At Agganis, they paint faces and give out temporary tattoos. You can't miss them at Case. If you attend a basketball game this year, make sure you stay in your seat after the first 20 minutes because the BUDT always perform and never disappoints. Jesus and I appreciate all they do and hope the team continues its undefeated dominance. You go, girls.

BU Hoops is where it's at

2007-11-13T13:18:00.000-05:00

Thank Jesus's dad that it was a three-day weekend, because after Saturday night I was drained in every way. It began Friday night when Jesus and I pulled off a doubleheader between basketball and hockey and culminated Saturday evening at Northeastern University.

My suggestion to the BU athletics department is never to schedule basketball and hockey so close to each other on the same day ever again. It wasn't fair.

Unfortunately, this won't be the only time that such an intense evening occurs. Dec. 1, the one and only night "Newton University" visits Agganis Arena, follows a Terrier basketball game against Manhattan College. I don't want to think about what my voice may sound like the morning of Dec. 2.

Obviously, I knew this weekend was going to be intense, and I really was hoping to walk out of Matthews Arena on Saturday having successfully seen two Terrier teams win three games. The only thing that can really be said about a 1-1-1 weekend record is, well, it could have been worse. Maybe. The Icedogs are the only team in Hockey East who did not receive one top-20 vote. Even Merrimack College got consideration.

I guess it might just be a hoops year. I am not surprised that the BU basketball team pretty much controlled the flow of the game from the tip at its home opener. The Terriers may have trailed for a large part of the first half, but that is only because St. Bonaventure shot a ridiculous percentage from beyond the arc. I knew that wouldn't last, and sure enough, it didn't.

The moment the game changed, and really my life as well, was when easily the greatest slam-dunk I have ever seen in person was thrown down. I've seen some special dunks. But nothing can compare to what I felt when Carlos Strong drove down the left side of the floor on a fast break, staring down two defenders.

What I thought Strong was going to do at that moment was attempt to split the defenders and go for a layup on the right side of the hoop, drawing a foul in the process. Carlos probably thought the same to himself, laughed a little and sarcastically said, "Yeah right." He took the ball in one hand and cocked it behind his head, elevating from an insane distance to the hoop and threw it down right on two Bonnies. My goosebumps were so big I thought it was the second coming of chicken pox.

Thank Jesus's dad that it was a three-day weekend, because after Saturday night I was drained in every way. It began Friday night when Jesus and I pulled off a doubleheader between basketball and hockey and culminated Saturday evening at Northeastern University.

My suggestion to the BU athletics department is never to schedule basketball and hockey so close to each other on the same day ever again. It wasn't fair.

Unfortunately, this won't be the only time that such an intense evening occurs. Dec. 1, the one and only night "Newton University" visits Agganis Arena, follows a Terrier basketball game against Manhattan College. I don't want to think about what my voice may sound like the morning of Dec. 2.

Obviously, I knew this weekend was going to be intense, and I really was hoping to walk out of Matthews Arena on Saturday having successfully seen two Terrier teams win three games. The only thing that can really be said about a 1-1-1 weekend record is, well, it could have been worse. Maybe. The Icedogs are the only team in Hockey East who did not receive one top-20 vote. Even Merrimack College got consideration.

I guess it might just be a hoops year. I am not surprised that the BU basketball team pretty much controlled the flow of the game from the tip at its home opener. The Terriers may have trailed for a large part of the first half, but that is only because St. Bonaventure shot a ridiculous percentage from beyond the arc. I knew that wouldn't last, and sure enough, it didn't.

The moment the game changed, and really my life as well, was when easily the greatest slam-dunk I have ever seen in person was thrown down. I've seen some special dunks. But nothing can compare to what I felt when Carlos Strong drove down the left side of the floor on a fast break, staring down two defenders.

What I thought Strong was going to do at that moment was attempt to split the defenders and go for a layup on the right side of the hoop, drawing a foul in the process. Carlos probably thought the same to himself, laughed a little and sarcastically said, "Yeah right." He took the ball in one hand and cocked it behind his head, elevating from an insane distance to the hoop and threw it down right on two Bonnies. My goosebumps were so big I thought it was the second coming of chicken pox.

You can kiss my patented beige hat goodbye

2007-11-06T14:13:00.000-05:00

It's hard for me to describe the countless array of emotions that I felt this past weekend. From Thursday all the way to now I've experienced every possible feeling a human and/or hot dog can go through: pain, anguish, suffering, jubilation, intense jubilation, near satisfaction, Eric Gryba-angriness and amazement.

The BU men's hockey team turned it on this weekend, and I've never felt more relieved and happy - 12 goals in two games, including seven goals at Agganis Arena on Saturday night. The seven goals scored by the Terriers were the most they've ever scored in Agganis and were the most in a BU home game since 2003. It felt unbelievable. I was exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally and vocally by the end of the seventh "Rough em' up, SIEVE" chant, but that final empty-netter against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell ranks up there in the top five moments of my life.

Ten different players scored against Providence and Lowell. Seventeen different players tallied at least one point, and one goalie (Brett Bennett) got two wins, an assist and hopefully earned a starting position.

Almost everything was clicking, except the power play, which surrendered as many short-handed goals as goals scored. Coupled with the field hockey team winning the America East title, this was the type of weekend every Terrier fan hopes for.

I can't wipe this ear-to-ear grin off my face. The team is still a painful 2-4-1, but it leads the Hockey East in goals scored, with 23 through seven games. That's the offensive production that needs to continue through the entire season, especially if there is going to be a question mark in the net and on the depth chart before each game.

I'd like to attribute all success or failure of this team to something I've done - I mean, I feel like I make almost as much an impact on the game as Karson Gillespie does. I know what happened this weekend to make Agganis filled with some very happy Scarlet and White fans. I know why this team actually won two games: my apparel.

Now, let me explain. Every single game, I wear the same exact thing. Not just the hot dog. First comes the Coast-to-Coast T-shirt from last year. The 6-foot-7 Tom "the Chuck Norris of BU" Morrow may have graduated last year, but his memory lives on -- and definitely not through Jason Lawrence for whom I am still waiting to change his number back to 22. Going to a game without my Morrow shirt on would be like Eric Gryba not accumulating at least two minutes of penalties each game - it's just messed up.

On top of my Coast-to-Coast shirt comes my away Terrier jersey unwashed for a good half a season now. Luckily, I have been able to keep mustard and other toppings off of the sweater.

Of course the hot dog costume comes over the jersey and then, depending on my mood and BU's opponent, I will throw on a various topping or two. This Saturday I was adorned with sauerkraut. I should have just worn a sign saying "this is sauerkraut" with the amount of times I was asked what that "mop-looking thing" was running down the side of my wiener.

Finally, to top it off, I wear my beige Boston University hat with Rhett on the front and "BU" on the back. I love that hat, even if it is a little Connecticut bro-ish. I had worn it to every game I had been to, home or away.

I'm not a hat type of hot dog. I don't wear hats unless it's a real bad hair day, but I always attend sporting events with a hat on. I had, at least, until Thursday.

As I approached Schneider Arena in Providence, R.I. on the first day of November (yes, of course I took the hour train to watch the Terriers get their first win of '07) I noticed I was missing something. I turned to Jesus and said, "Oh, Jesus, my hat." He promptly asked me where it was, to which I responded, "Back in Boston." It was the litmus test of all litmus tests -- I knew if the Terriers won I couldn't possibly give that hat another chance.

Of course the Terriers won, and in spectacular fashion (thanks, Bennett). On Saturday night I felt awkward with my head of hair exposed to the air while wearing a hot dog suit. I showed up to the game with my hat on. After the 2nd period ended, when BU was down 4-2, I said, "Forget this," and off came the hat.

Sure enough BU virtually kept the lamp lit in the third period as soon as I tossed that beige POS in the seat behind me. It was like the team hated that hat and was yelling at me through the amount of goals they were scoring, "SCREW THAT HAT!"

And you know what? That hat will never be worn again at a Terrier sporting event. I'm sorry, beige hat, we've been through a lot, you and me; some great moments, some tear-jerkers, but I'm not ready for what we're getting into. I think I've found someone else - my exposed supple brown head of hair, or another hat. I haven't decided yet, but I know we can never be together again. So sorry.

This Friday is the most diabolical, mind-boggling Friday of any Terrier fan's life. The doubleheader of all doubleheaders - men's basketball's season opener at 5:00 p.m. at The Roof followed by hockey in Agganis against UMass-Amherst at 7:30. You'll see me at both, but you won't see that hat. The hat's life ended on Saturday around 9:00 p.m. Nonetheless, I'll be ready for (hopefully) another roller coaster of emotions when the mayhem ensues Friday night. Jesus, help us all.

BU Athletics Halloween Costume Party

2007-11-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, just behind my birthday and Jesus's birthday. There's nothing better than having people expect that you dress up and pretend to be someone or something else for an entire day.

My costume, year in and year out, is set -- if I want to take the easy way out. However, I like to mix it up; sometimes I feel like wearing a banana costume. If I'm feeling festive I might even wear my taco costume. Either way, Halloween rocks.

The best part about this holiday -- trick-or-treating -- will take place tomorrow night, and I thought I could do some Boston University athletes a service by suggesting costume ideas, just in case they are still scrambling to put together the perfect outfit.

Kevin Keilt -- Professor Charles Francis Xavier, X-Men's Professor X. The resemblance is uncanny -- be it that Kevin is actually bald or he just loves looking totally BA, he could easily pull off Professor X as a costume. All he really needs is a fresh suit and wheelchair.

Colin Wilson -- I would suggest Colin considers going as another Wilson -- Owen Wilson, post-suicide attempt. Bandage the face, maybe get touched up with some fake blood, and he'd be in business.

Karson Gillespie -- a sieve. This costume wouldn't really require much. All Karson would have to do is wear his pads. It's a shame I have to even suggest this outfit for him, but much like a Steve Irwin costume last year, it's too timely not to suggest.

Nick Bonino -- Legolas of Lord of the Rings. Nick, I'm not calling you an elf, because you're not. You should go out as Legolas because your footwork is as nimble as his. You can probably walk on snow without leaving tracks, just like Legolas. Plus, I know you'd love rocking those green tights.

Boomer Ewing -- Chuckie. Whenever a redhead asks me for costume advice I immediately think of Chuckie. Not the scary puppet Chucky from Child's Play -- I'm talking about Charles Crandal Finster II from Rugrats. What's great about this costume, Boomer, you can poop your pants and get away with it because you're pretending to be two years old, and you'll get all the sympathy/cute points with the ladies. How could you say no to that?

Eric Gryba -- Is there any question here? The Incredible Hulk. Gryba, all you would have to do is rip your shirt (probably an easy task for you) dip your body in green paint and punch a lot of people and things. That actually sounds like a normal Friday night for you anyway. I would be scared of that costume.

Luke Popko -- Luke Skywalker, only because you are the one Jedi on this Terrier hockey team.

Jason Lawrence -- Tom Morrow. But let's be serious -- Jason tries to be Tom Morrow every game, so him going as Tom Morrow is like me going out as a hot dog. Before I reveal what Jason should actually be I have to give him a little bit of credit for netting half of BU's goals in Michigan. Good job Jason. However, when Tom Morrow scored, he made sure they counted -- he got wins in every game he scored. Show me you can do the same, Jason. Anyway, you should dress as C3PO from Star Wars. It would go perfectly with Luke Popko's costume and you'd take less criticism from me by not trying to be Tom Morrow one night.

Colby Cohen -- Eric Gryba. Not only would I like to see Colby try to be Gryba tomorrow while he's trick-or-treating, I would love to see him try to be Gryba every game. What does this entail? Mass poundings, reckless hits, a consistent pissed-off look and at least one game misconduct each month.

Scott Britain and Brian Strait -- before I even started to write this, Scott had already picked out his costume, as I found out this weekend: Superman. Let's be serious here, they both are, so why even bother dressing up? Canadian Superman and American Superman, there's nothing better.

Valdas Sirutis -- Only because I hear he has hairy feet, Valdas should go as Frodo Baggins, Keeper of the Ring. I know the height thing doesn't really work out for him, but with the right amount of makeup on the ears and by going barefoot, Valdas, you would rake in more candy than a determined seven-year-old.

Tunde Agboola -- Master Chief from Halo. Tunde is nasty at Halo 3. I know because I've played with him. He also talks more smack than anyone I've ever played with. Yeah, Tunde. Anyway, a full-body Master Chief commands attention and respect -- there's nothing you need more than that.

I hope we can all rake in a healthily unhealthy amount of candy, and I hope this great holiday can motivate our Terrier hockey squad to get a win the next day in Providence. Happy trick-or-treating, everybody.

One poke away from domination

2007-10-23T10:28:00.000-04:00

For the first time since I've been at Boston University, our Terrier men's hockey team is not ranked in the top 20 nationally. The No. 23 Terriers, after a winless start, are slapping me in the face, giving me a feeling I have never had -- a cold, unranked feeling.

Last year's Terriers started October with a 2-1-1 record. This year's squad could possibly be 0-4-1 by the end of the month. If that happens, it would be the first time since 1998 that the Terriers ended the first month of the season without a win. That team finished 14-20-3. I really don't want to see that happen.

This team hasn't won a game, yet it's only been trailing at the end of a period three times. It's not like the Terriers are playing bad hockey, it's just they're only playing half games.

That was clear Friday night against the University of New Hampshire. The Terriers controlled the first period despite racking up seemingly endless minutes of penalties and still sat in the driver's seat by the 10-minute mark in the second.

Then New Hampshire completely stole the show. First, the Wildcats silenced the crowd right before the second intermission with 45 seconds remaining. Then six minutes into the third. Then again eight minutes later and finally, an almost too-easy goal by the second pick in this year's NHL Draft, James vanRiemsdyk.

It was frustrating to watch loads of Terrier faithful exit the arena while the NASCAR-loving, awkward-smelling New Hampshire fans high fived and made finger gestures to Section 108. I hate watching opposing fans look remotely happy in Agganis.

Who's to blame for the third-period collapse? I would like to blame Jason Lawrence, for not being Tom Morrow. I might also like to blame Nick Bonino for dancing so gracefully through a plethora of UNH defenders only to let the puck bounce gently off the post. Stop teasing me, Nicholas. However, I am not going to blame any player at all. That would be cruel. I blame myself.

What could I have possibly done to cause such a defeat, you ask? I'm just one hot dog, watching from the stands. I tried my hardest to lead cheers and harass the goalie. I think I did fine in that respect.

What I executed so poorly was my group leadership in TOCOTH, aka The Official Committee of Threats and Harassment." That sounds terrible, but if you received more than 50 pokes on Facebook.com all at once you would understand that this group really does harass and threaten people's livelihoods.

The group, created by myself and Jesus last season, protects the honor and dignity of BU sports through threats, harassment and most actively, the poke mechanism on Facebook.

There's really nothing like logging onto Facebook only to find you have been poked by anywhere from 50-400 people. You know none of them.

When you poke someone on Facebook, there are only two options that person has. They must choose between removing the poke or poking back. When that person chooses not to touch the pokes, everything on the person's Facebook homepage is moved down -- meaning if there is a friend's birthday approaching and this poke victim doesn't bother to clear those pokes, someone's feelings could get hurt by not getting b-day love. Pokes can affect so many lives in so many different ways. Plus, poking is just annoying.

TOCOTH has inspired some crazy interactions among the BU faithful, players and managers of all different sports. These players usually do some investigating and stumble upon the group to see that we are the creators. These players usually contact us, like Maine goalie Ben Bishop, who called me a "duster," a completely new word to me that apparently refers to "someone who rides the bench" in the hockey world. This was in a Facebook message - I didn't react.

Then there's David Strathman, a defenseman on the Northeastern hockey squad. He was a freshman last year and when he was poked he chose to challenge Jesus' intellect. This comes from a kid who goes to NORTHEASTERN. Strathman finished out the year by failing not one, but two drug tests.

Finally, there is the Providence College hockey manager who did the fighting for his roommate, goalie Tyler Sims, last year. The manager's name was Ryan Kelley, and he challenged Jesus and I to come to the BU-PC game in Providence during last year's Winter Break. After much debate, Jesus and I agreed to go. At the game the manager challenged me to a fist fight. I fight with my words, not physically - I'm a hot dog, for God's sake. My verbal fighting skills got quite a reaction out of the kid, who was only good enough to tape sticks and give water to a mediocre Friar squad. Ryan Kelley proceeded to spray water on Jesus and I. A cop then escorted us out of the PC hockey arena. I never spoke to Ryan Kelley again.

All the people mentioned above were poke targets of TOCOTH; clearly, poking on Facebook - in masses - psychologically messes people up.

There were poke targets for UNH, but I couldn't figure out a way to send a message to the current members of the group to poke hard and often. That is where I failed. If we had only poked Kevin Regan a couple more hundred times, perhaps maybe he would have let in another goal or two.

So, my plea: Help me help the hockey team. Join TOCOTH on Facebook and do your part in harassing BU opponents before they even take the ice, field or court.

Let's really show the University of Massachusetts-Lowell how serious we are about harassing players before they even lace up their skates Nov. 3. That way, we'll start the month off right.

A look at the roster shows disrepect for recent greats

2007-10-16T14:12:00.000-04:00

There are many special moments for me throughout the hockey season. There's the day the schedule comes out, when I do nothing but analyze what time the home games start and what BU's record might be by Christmas, by the Beanpot Tournament and by season's end. There's the day I go to the ticket office to re-reserve my section 118 season tickets. There's the day I go to the ticket office to pickup those season passes. There's the day of the first home game when every thought on my mind is hockey -- screw PH265: Minds and Machines.

And there's the day in early August when the hockey team's rosters are revealed and I can finally see who the new crop of freshmen are. Last year my obsession with No. 7 intensified when I found out that the Brian Strait would be wearing that number for his next four years. Or so I thought.

I always knew that freshmen could choose their numbers -- numbers I thought would be theirs for the rest of their collegiate careers.

The realization that players can change their numbers occurred when I noticed that Zach Cohen, formerly 14, switched to 11. I can only assume that Cohen founded a firm belief in metaphysics during the off-season - the Darren Daulton type of metaphysics.

You see, Daulton, a former Philadelphia Phillie and.245 lifetime hitter, went a little crazy and became obsessed with metaphysics. He now has some sort of sick fetish with the supernatural and the number 11. He is quoted in Sports Illustrated as saying, "I'll wake up at night and look at the clock and it's 11:11. I'll turn on the TV and see a baseball game tied at 11 in the 11th inning. I'll look out the window and see a car passing with 1111 on the license plate. The car will turn into a driveway with 1111 on the mailbox."

I can only assume Cohen went through a similar phenomenon this summer, but if helps him stay on his feet this year, then so be it.

Who is the only other player on the team to change his number - after two years of all things? Jason Lawrence. He's done a respectable job in his time here, but we can't expect him to be Tom Morrow, right?

Lawrence thinks differently. He actually believes that he can be Tom Morrow. I have no clue what makes him think this. Lawrence is wearing No. 21 this year. How dare he.

The season after the 6-foot-7 inch Morrow -- who grows to nearly 7 foot on skates -- finished his four years of service wearing 21 and leaving a complete legacy of greatness in that jersey. Lawrence has effectively dumped all over that legacy by changing his number.

If I may, I would like to reacquaint you with some of the accomplishments Tom Morrow achieved during his four years at Boston University. Most memorably, Morrow waited until his senior year to score a goal so that when he did actually decide to score, it would be so magical that people's lives would change forever. Lord knows mine did. I remember the moment so well. Playing against Harvard University on Nov. 21, 2006, Morrow unleashed a shot from the point 3:50 into the game. I cried tears of joy, like half of the arena did, as the team lovingly embraced Morrow at center ice.

Morrow is probably next-best known for breaking Nathan Gerbe's nose during the Beanpot final. I have little affection for Gerbe, the 5-foot-6 Boston College forward who spends most his time on the ice taking dives. And for Morrow, breaking someone's nose and going through a caged helmet to do it -- what a feat. What was so great about Morrow was that he knew when to lay down the law on a whiny, annoying hockey housewife like Gerbe.

Finally, there's Morrow's ejection during his last college game during the NCAA tournament. Considering the Terriers got dominated, 5-1, by eventual champion Michigan State University, I give credit to Morrow for ending his Terrier career in style.

Morrow may have only scored two goals in his career, but he was a fan favorite. He put people in the seats and motivated spectators to want to achieve more in their own lives. Anytime there was a dull moment in Agganis and Morrow was setting up with the puck behind the net, you could guarantee that you would soon be chanting "Coast-to-Coast" as that Herculean defenseman gracefully skated down the ice begging entire teams to take him on.

So imagine my horror when I found out Lawrence was stealing Morrow's number. It's disrespectful and uncalled for. It's not like Karson Gillespie robbed John Curry's 36. If you're going to go and do something like this, Jason, you better step your game up.

It's too soon, Jason. Too soon. You had just better prove to me that you deserve to wear that number. After the Nye Frontier Classic, you're off to a decent start with a goal and an assist, but I need to start seeing some wins on top of that if I'm ever going to forgive you.

Missing out on Madness

2007-10-09T22:38:00.000-04:00

For the past week I have had tears streaming down my face. I have been constantly holding in my depression, anger, frustration and complete emptiness.

Wanna know why?

For two years in a row now, I haven't been able to attend the spectacle, the supposed birthright of Terrier fans, that is Midnight Madness/Mania.

Let me clarify: Midnight Madness is basketball insanity at 12:00 a.m. Midnight Mania is the same thing, only on the ice (and with pucks, not basketballs). Last year was Midnight Mania, this year it's Midnight Madness. And I can't go.

How? Why? I'm the Hot Dog, damnit, I have obligations. There is no way this should happen, that I have to miss this. But sometimes your half-brother gets married and you have certain responsibilities at that wedding. Don't worry, folks: I refuse to wear the brown and white tuxedos that everyone else in the wedding will be wearing. I'll be in the Hot Dog costume (American flag included). Nothing says wedding more than a properly garnished wiener.

So what will I be missing? Let me give you a sneak peak.

Case Gymnasium will open at 10 p.m. Friday night. Get there early, file in and make sure you get a proper seat. This year there will be a BU basketball fan section. Hockey has 118 (and 108 on a good day), basketball has Section 2.

Why Section 2? Well, it's right next to the band, right across from the opposing team's bench and caddy-corner with the BU dance team. You'll want a good look at all three.

The Dear Abbeys will sing some beautiful melodies to set the tone for the evening. Chris Parks and the BU band will give you a sample of what they've worked on in the offseason. Then the real fun will begin: the BU cheerleaders followed by the BU dance team.

Both the men's and women's basketball teams will be introduced, including the freshmen. Before you all get to see them for the first time, free food will be given out, including breakfast burritos. Breakfast burritos? Are you kidding me? I live for breakfast burritos, and now, the planners of this unbelievable event shove the fact I'm missing it right back in my face by giving them to everyone else. Despite how much I like sports, I would go simply for the breakfast burritos. I hate weddings.

The teams will be introduced and run some drills. Once loose, a slam dunk contest will go down. My guess on the contestants: Scott Brittain. I mean come on, he threw one down last year. Matt Killen. He's a 6-foot-10 freshman from Kansas - what better way to show what he is all about by throwing down a 360-degree dunk reminiscent of Space Jam. Carlos Strong, simply because he jumps like he has metal legs. Kasey Devine - a forward on the women's team who is 6-foot-3 and rocks No. 0 in games. I bet Kasey would love to make an impression on the BU faithful with a back or front flip dunk. You choose, Kasey.

In addition to the dunk contest, both men's and women's teams will compete in a 3-point contest and other showtime drills. Don't think the coaches are getting off easy - it's been rumored that both men's coach Dennis Wolff and women's coach Kelly Greenberg will be schooling audience members in one-on-one games the entire night.

Finally, the night will culminate in a fan throwing one up from half court for a chance to win $50,000 tuition for a year.

That is absurd, ridiculous and incomprehensible. If anyone mentioned I could have one free chance to win tuition for a year, I don't care what it was, I would be there.

Entrance fee to this spectacle, you ask? Nothing. Enjoy your free tuition.

Obviously, the planning committee worked hard on this event. I love everything they're busting out Friday night, but here are a couple things that should be at Midnight Madness.

BU Basketball Dance Dance Revolution Contest

The apparent favorite would definitely be Marques Johnson, based on the fact he was an extra on the movie "You Got Served." Saying he knows a thing or two about how to dance is an understatement. Despite this, I would actually pick Valdas Sirutis to win a Dance Dance Revolution contest. Valdas is 6-foot-7 and has the body frame of a dancer - a DDR dancer. That's no disrespect, Valdas. I just know you got moves.

Trampoline Slam Dunk Contest

This would be so cool. Put a trampoline down in front of the hoop with a couple big blue pads beneath the rim and let the glory begin. The women's team would be throwing down, Rhett would be tossing jams down, even Tyler Morris would treat the crowd. Hell, why stop at just one trampoline - I say put down trampolines all over the court. You got it, reinstitute the game of Slamball. Trampolines on nearly every square inch of the court, mid-air collisions and so many slam dunks you would get tired of seeing white men jump.

BU Dance Team versus the BU Cheerleaders - Mudwrestling

It's like Coke versus Pepsi, UNC versus Duke, Yankees versus Red Sox. There is really no good way to settle who is ultimately better between the cheerleaders and the dance team. In my opinion there is no better way to solve any dispute between two opposite but equal forces other than a quick match of mudwrestling.

Shot Blocking Contest

A BU basketball player starts in the corner, a number of audience members start at mid-court. On the sound of a whistle, both a player and the contestant start at the same time. Hopefully the BU baller will swat whatever shot and or confidence that contestant has. I would love to see Corey Lowe do this. I know he's got hops for shots.

Tug-of-War

Men's basketball team versus the women's basketball team. Some people would think this competition would be a one-sided affair. I beg to differ. You don't play Division I women's basketball and not pump as much iron as Ib Konate. And if the women's team needs some help, just throw Jesus in at anchor.

I guess we'll have to wait until next year for these solid ideas to be added to Midnight Madness.

Track and Field fronts a crazy cast

2007-10-03T15:21:00.000-04:00

Everyone's favorite walk-on at Boston University graduated last year. Curry tried out for the team and made it without having been recruited. Little did he know, and little did coach Jack Parker know, he would go on to help the team win three Beanpots and make two appearances in the NCAA tournament.

The hockey team didn't take on any walk-ons this year. Surprising? Not really, for a team that pretty much has one of the best-recruited classes in the land.

There is a team, though, that takes walk-ons consistently. This year the team took 10 walk-ons and might take even more. You're probably asking: What team is made up completely of walk-ons, and how can I join?

The team that I'm talking about is track and field. Let me tell you, they shouldn't be called the track and field "team," they should be the track and field "family."

Seriously, I've never ever seen anything like them. Not only is this group of people a family without any blood relation, they have a cast of characters that rivals the Ocean's 11 series -- so deep, and such personality.

The bonds they have with each other are borderline remarkable. I'm shocked and awed by the spirit, tenacity and most profoundly, the personality of each of team member.

I sat in on a practice, spoke to the players and experienced some major aspects of the team, minus an actual meet. How many people have been to a BU track and field event?

First off, that needs to change. But I will get to that. I want to familiarize you with some of the more interesting individuals competing every weekend. This team's like the crew from Entourage, except with nine times as many people.

I approached The Daily Free Press about writing a book, simply based on the personalities, characters and variety of athletes on the team. They seemed interested until I told them I anticipated the book would total more than 1,000 pages, with roughly a chapter on each member. They sanctioned me and told me to just write one column instead.

David Barth

Since 5,111 of you went, do you remember seeing that really crazy kid at the Terrier Tailgate? I'm talking really crazy, like cape crazy. Well, that's David, and he runs the 55m and the 200m. David has been on "The Price is Right," he attends as many BU sporting events as humanly possible while sporting a cape, and if the weather permits, goes shirtless underneath. If David had his way he said the Track and Field uniform would consist of a BU cape and headband. That is all. He is often paired with another runner on the team, Max Esposito, who runs the 200m and the 400m. Max sports the Viking cap and cheers just as much as David.

Mike Salem

If BU did superlatives, Mike Salem would win year after year after year. Here's a brief list of what he does: He plays trombone in the BU band, has an internship at the State House, coaches little league baseball at Mission Hill and is an active member of the Dog Pound. Talk about the complete package. He competes in the shot put.

Kodjo Wilder

Basically equals Van Wilder of BU, minus seven years of enrollment and hailing from the suburbs. So what, Kodjo once lost to a guy with one leg at a race at Duke University? He is fast and he has the best smile I have ever witnessed. It gives me butterflies just thinking about it. He runs the 55m as well as soaring through the air in the long jump.

David Proctor

Who would win in a race? Chad Johnson, a horse or BU runner David Proctor?

Well, the horse was outrun by "Ocho Cinco" earlier in the summer but my new computer running simulation program has confirmed that David Proctor would beat Chad Johnson. I'm also factoring in Proctor's record-setting sub four-minute mile time into all of this. Proctor is the real deal. If he was about 100 pounds heavier and was trained in football, he would probably be drafted to the NFL. He's just that fast.

Have you ever heard of gymcraftics? It definitely rivals foxy boxing in its eroticism and ability to hold my attention. Basically gymcraftics is movement that incorporates balance, cooperation, strength and performance, which come together to show people in amazing body contortions and positions. It's hot. Pole vaulters on the team specialize in this hobby, including Mimi Maritz, Fiona Romeri, Gregg Dagget and Jordan Crumper.

There are so many members of this team, I'm upset I could only highlight a few of them. At practice, all of them seem to cheer each other on as hard as they run. It's funny to watch a sport where there is nothing but running, the faces a person makes when focusing on just running.

As Barth puts it: "We run in circles. We are crazy. Our sport is other sports' punishment. The way we have fun is that we are outgoing, weird, crazy individuals. I wouldn't trade that for anything. Nothing."

Track and field is a unique sport and the characters on the team are just as unique as the team itself. The women's indoor team is looking to repeat as America East champions and I know there is nothing they would like more, along with the men's team, to race in front of a packed house of spectators just watching some people run in circles. Let's show some support and show off our Terrier pride for a team that takes more walk-ons than almost any other every year.

Even though the cold is bitter, I can't wait for winter

2007-09-26T13:39:00.001-04:00

My freshman year at Boston University was filled with many ups and downs as a fan. I witnessed a lot more wins than I did losses, along with a lot of ties in 2006-07.

I'm not here to tell you what I hope will happen. I'm here to tell you what will happen, and why 2007-08 will be the highlight of my career as a fan so far.

I think it'll start in the winter. Don't get me wrong, I plan on going to some soccer games and, hell, I'll even cross the river and get myself to a few field hockey games, but I am counting down the days until Oct. 12: the return of Midnight Mania, basketball-style.

I am most excited for basketball season. I mean, come on -- this is going to be a great season for BU basketball. I know it, rather, I can feel it. BU will have success in front of a full house more than once this season.

Add on a player who dropped 23 points with 17 rebounds a game in high school (Will Creekmore) and the next Omari Peterkin (Matt Killen) to the mix and you can see this team is building a dynasty. Twin towers like Creekmore and Killen (6-foot-9 and 6-foot-10, respectively) is something completely unheard of in America East basketball.

With Joe Trapani gone from the University of Vermont and Jamar "Being the best player in America East equates to playing 10 minutes with most NBA practice squads" Wilson graduated, I can't imagine what team could possibly be ranked higher than BU in this year's preseason coaches'polls. Put on your Dancing Shoes, because this is the really the year we'll make it to the NCAA Tournament. Or at least have a winning record.

While I could go on and on about the basketball team, I'm equally as excited for the men's hockey home opener against the University of New Hampshire on Oct. 19.

Looking at this year's team compared to last year's, I don't see that much has changed between the two. Sure, last year we had John Curry, who was expected to have an All-American season (and until the final couple of games, he did). People constantly ask me, "Who is going to be the goalie -- who can possibly replace Curry?"

Curry was largely a product of our defense. He did make saves worthy of "the bow," but you have to remember who was right in front of him on the ice: Strait, Schaeffer, Gryba, Keilt, Sullivan, Gilroy and how could anyone possibly forget, Tom Morrow -- I know I won't; I still am determined to name my firstborn after him. This defense was the second-ranked unit in the nation. Second. Curry was ranked fourth in goals-against average and sixth in save percentage, largely a product of the Terrier defense.

By no means am I criticizing Curry. He got what he deserved -- a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the legacy of winning three straight Beanpots, and some breathtaking top-10 moments. However, I give a lot more credit to Jack Parker's defense than to Curry's play in the crease.

This nasty defense seems only to have gotten better. It's very difficult to replace a type of player like Tom Morrow. Not only did he put on great performances on the ice, he put fans in the seats. From an economic standpoint, Agganis Arena will probably miss him the most. However, despite the tremendous loss of Morrow, BU somehow recruited the hell out of the nation.

Our defense this upcoming year will feature the 14th and 45th pick from this years NHL draft - the two highest draft picks that BU currently has. There will be a lot riding on Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen and I believe (and hope) that they will live up to the hype.

A few of my friends who played hockey in high school played against Colby Cohen. They call him a big kid who loves to fight. And if you check out YouTube.com, you too can see that Cohen is a tough kid. I really hope Parker treats the fans to a Cohen-Gryba defensive line -- a line that would set single season records for penalty minutes, fights, game misconducts and ejections. God, that pumps me up. Come on Parker, don't disappoint.

And finally, one more extremely important aspect of the hockey and basketball season aged like fine wine in the offseason. You got it: the BU Pep Band. I love music, but I've never loved music as much as I love it when I hear it coming from the trumpets, tubas, other assorted brass instruments and drums in the "Sound of the Pound." I received privileged information that the band has indeed built up its repertoire this summer. Expect even greater things than "Shipping Up to Boston" and "The Final Countdown." Get pumped.

I am looking forward to many games, many new faces, many new friends, many new toppings (for my hot dog, incase you somehow managed to forget) and many wins.

Burning Questions

2007-09-26T12:35:00.000-04:00

You're probably wondering why I dress like a hotdog. I'll get to that, I promise, and stop at some other questions I'm commonly asked along the way.

Who are you?

My name is Brian Fadem. People probably won't recognize that name, but most people can identify my alter-ego -- the Hot Dog.

How many Boston University sporting events did you go to last year?

I attended a total of 40 different BU sporting events last year. Jesus accompanied me to all of them. Not the actual Lord and Savior, but my friend who dresses like Jesus.

Did you have season tickets last year, Hot Dog?

I did, and it was the best $168 I spent on sports. It's my recommendation that everyone do the same. Or at least pick a ticket up with your sports pass as often as you can.

Do you have any pregame superstitions like the players?

Yes, I do. I share most, if not all, of my pregame rituals with Ross (Jesus). We always walk to the arena in costume. Be it from West Campus, as was the case last year, or from our new residence near South Campus, no matter what the weather is, no matter how cold it is -- we walk. Also, once at the game, we have an unbreakable order we sit in. I always sit on Jesus's right. Next to Jesus sits our friend named Mark (not dressed as anything special), when he can make it to the games. If not, you better believe all the randoms take homage on Jesus's left side. If you saw us sitting in a different order, it was pre-superstition. We didn't have our act together. We also usually enjoy a meal before the game and proceed to consume a Mountain Dew and an Agganis Arena chocolate chip cookie during the game. If you haven't had one of those cookies, you haven't lived.

Why doesn't BU have a football team?

BU doesn't have a football squad because the Athletics Department disbanded the team back in 1997. Since then we are 0-0 -- undefeated -- a rather miraculous feat if you ask me. The reason for cutting the team can be best summarized in a Daily Free Press article written by Mike Metz in 2004: ". . . due to the constant persuasion of then-Chancellor John Silber, the Board of Trustees voted to disband the team. The disbanding was the first of its kind in United States history amongst large privately owned institutions. Boston University, the third-largest private university in the country, all of sudden had no football team. The decision was made to squelch the almost $3 million a year deficit the team created, and in doing so, use the funds to support the newly passed Title IX (equal spending on women's and men's sports)." Thank you, Mike.

How can we get a football team back?

Simple. I have no clue why there isn't just a men's and women's football team. In all seriousness, looking toward the future, having a football team is probably not a likely goal for any current students. If it were to happen it would happen once we are alumni.

Who is your favorite hockey player?

I really don't like to play favorites, I cheer on the entire team. Don't get me wrong, I do have some players I like more than others, but supporting every Terrier in scarlet and white just works better for me. Last year it was a no brainer: Tom Morrow. How could the graduated gargantuan not be everyone's favorite player? First off, he broke Nathan Gerbe's nose. For those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about, Gerbe is a dwarfish forward for Boston College who is notorious for falling to his knees more than his feet during games. Second off, Morrow knowingly chose to wait his entire Boston University career to score a goal. He loved the fact that when he scored, the world would change. People would start naming their children Tom Morrow despite any respect they may or may not have for their real surname. Tom Morrow had a shirt made in his honor in addition to an entire chant that would fill 118 (and some of 108) whenever he got the puck. Tom Morrow was awesome and those are huge skates to fill.

So who is your favorite player on this year's team?

The early favorites are Eric Gryba, simply because he has no regard for the law, and Brian Strait, because if we could only be a team of Brian Straits we would not only win the NCAA Division I championship, but most likely the Stanley Cup and the Olympics on a consistent basis. I just hope he stays for four years.

Big question here: If there is a basketball game and a hockey game on the same night, which one do you go to?

I really despise you for asking this. I wish I had a definite answer for this question, but I don't. See, I actually enjoy the basketball games a lot. You're real close to the action, the players can hear you and many times acknowledge you with unkind words or finger gestures, and I feel like I make more of an impact on the game. However, the hockey games are consistently packed with people. So I guess it comes down to each team's opponent. I'll leave that question open ended like that.

What is T.O.C.O.T.H.?

T.O.C.O.T.H. is a facebook.com group that Jesus and I created last year. The mission of T.O.C.O.T.H. is to protect the honor and dignity of BU sports through threats, harassment, ignorance of the new policies, and most actively, the use of the "poke" mechanism on Facebook. With a little bit of success from last year, we are hoping that we can make an even bigger impact on the opposition this upcoming season before they even take the field, court or ice. I encourage all to join. We have big plans.

What are those big plans?

For T.O.C.O.T.H.? Well, we have found many new ways to really bother the players by creating different Facebook celebrity profiles, digging deep for really juicy information on assorted players, many more pokes and, of course, personalized messages.

Any other plans for this season?

New toppings on my dog. I can't say what, though.

Finally, why the hell do you dress like a hot dog?

Because I did it last year. And also, not everyone believes in my partner to every game, Jesus. And because BC sucks.