Johns Hopkins and the Future of Independent Lacrosse

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Chuck B '92
In football, there is BYU, Notre Dame, Army and Navy, the last independents in an FBS world of conferences and the payouts they generate for their members.

In men's lacrosse, there is Johns Hopkins, High Point, Marquette and Mercer - not exactly the same cavalcade of stars as in bowl football.

But one of those four, Johns Hopkins, the nine-time NCAA champions of the modern era, are superstars of the lacrosse world.  Founded in 1883, they are one of the founding fathers of the sport of lacrosse and have been involved in its play essentially since the founding of the university in 1876.

What the people say around this 130 year old lacrosse program matters - and they've said that finally, after 130 years of competing as an independent, they are finally joining a conference in men's lacrosse.

"In a letter to the Johns Hopkins community on Friday, May 17, President Ronald J. Daniels announced that he has accepted the recommendation of a special committee that the Blue Jay men's lacrosse program seek conference affiliation," the official release booms, effectively declaring the end of an era.
Read more »
Posted in Boston University, Football, Johns Hopkins, Kevin Cassese, Lacrosse, Lehigh, Loyola University, Navy, Patriot League | Leave a comment

Patsy Ratings: Georgetown’s Class of 2017

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Chuck B '92
(Photo Credit: Washington Post)

The term is "Hoya Paranoia", and back in the 1980s it meant the hoops legend of John Thompson, Patrick Ewing and the golden era of Hoya basketball.  There's even a blog dedicated to those teams in that time frame.

To Hoya football fans, though, the term Hoya Paranoia has meant something much different.

To them, head coach Kevin Kelly has been fighting a losing battle in the Patriot League, despite being one game away from the title in two of the last three years.  They say that the new reality that has football scholarships in the Patriot League is bad, bad news for the Hoyas, and that the inevitable decline of the program is right around the corner as a result.

In this reporter's opinion, in past seasons, the argument hasn't held water.  The past three seasons have seen the Hoyas come dastardly close to knocking off the Mountain Hawks, and they've beaten every

other team in the Patriot League at least once.

But this season - with the new realities of Patriot League football scholarships - are they right?

These Patsy Ratings certainly won't be the ultimate answer to the question - taking these "for entertainment purposes only" ratings and determining that would be folly.  (Take it from The Committee, who knows exactly how these things are calculated.)

But considering it's all we've got, below the flip, here is Georgetown's Patsy Rating for 2013.
Read more »
Posted in Football, Football Recruiting, Georgetown, Patriot League, Patsy Ratings | Leave a comment

Boykopalooza

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Chuck B '92
Future NFL players spend their drafts differently. 

Some spend it in celebration with friends in the city, or surrounded by family at home.  Some of the big names have the cameras embedded with the players, awaiting with baited breath their reactions, or their expressions of relief.

But LB Billy Boyko didn't do much different than he does many weekends.

"Boyko, the all-league linebacker from Northampton, spent Saturday working on cars at Maple Grove Raceway," the Morning Call reported, "where his family is immersed in the drag racing scene."

Working on his father’s dragster during "the season opener of the Sunoco Race Fuels Money Trail," a release from the Maple Grove Raceway said, he "kept two cell phones in his pockets at all times," awaiting the call from his agent about a possible late round draft pick or a late free agency pickup.

Saturday night, the phone rang with a call from the Raiders.
Read more »
Posted in Billy Boyko, Boykopalooza, Drag Racing, Football, Lehigh, NFL, Oakland Raiders | Leave a comment

A Most Exciting NFL Draft Weekend for Lehigh Football Fans

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Chuck B '92
There have been many football offseasons when I've covered the possibility of one, or perhaps two, Patriot League players getting signed as free agents playing at the next level.

This offseason, we might see something unprecedented.

Four Lehigh football players - QB Mike Colvin, TE Jamel Haggins, LB Billy Boyko, and, of course, WR Ryan Spadola - all have an excellent chance at finding themselves in NFL training camps in the next couple of months.

One - Spadola - is a strong candidate for being drafted this Saturday.
Read more »
Posted in Andy Coen, Billy Boyko, Football, Jamel Haggins, Lehigh, Mike Colvin, NFL Combine, NFL Draft, Ryan Spadola, Will Rackley | Leave a comment

Spring Game Roundup

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Chuck B '92
(Photo Credit: Stephen Flood/The Express-Times)

Below the flip get all the links and wrapups of this weekend's Spring Game.

In the meantime, check out rising senior S Rickie Hill about to deliver some punishment to senior WR Sergio Fernandez-Soto!

Read more »
Posted in Andy Coen, Brandon Bialkowski, Brown/White Game, Football, Lee Kurfis, Lehigh, Nigel Muhammad, Rickie Hill, Spring Football | Leave a comment

Brown 46, White 37, Final

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Chuck B '92
(Photo Credit: Kevin Mingora/The Morning Call/April 20th, 2013)

By any measure the defense probably had more of its share of concern - and attention from coaches and fans alike - in this Spring season.

They had heard the issues all Spring long - the fact that only three starters returned on defense, including four new starters in the secondary and three new starters on the defensive line.

“The defense needs to get better,” Coen said in the release before the Brown/White game. “They didn’t perform very well in our last scrimmage and our coaches have challenged them."

The defensive Brown team, led by new team captains senior LB Nigel Muhammad and senior FS Tyler Ward, responded to the challenge.

Using a modified scoring system, the Brown defense scored 14 points off of sacks and 12 points off of turnovers as the defense put up a solid performance in a 46-37 victory.
Read more »
Posted in Andy Coen, Brown/White Game, Football, Keith Sherman, Lee Kurfis, Lehigh, Nigel Muhammad, Rickie Hill, Spring Football, Tyler Ward | Leave a comment

Lehigh Spring Football – The Defense and Special Teams

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Chuck B '92
Last season, there was little drama on the defensive side of the ball going into the spring season.

With all-Patriot League names like DT Sajjad Chagani, DE Tom Bianchi, LB Billy Boyko and CB Bryan Andrews on the roster, you knew that the squad was more in a mode to "tweak" rather than to "retool".

This season sees not only these three position leaders graduate, but plenty more, making the defense much less experiences, and a much larger area of competition, than last season.

“The defense needs to get better,” head coach Andy Coen said in this week's release. “They didn’t perform very well in our last scrimmage and our coaches have challenged them. We haven’t had a lot of live tackling because we’re in a tailback situation. Last week we got more into it, we scrimmaged, and we didn’t tackle very well. We have to improve upon that."
Read more »
Posted in And Coen, Courtney Jarvis, Football, John Mahoney, Lehigh, Nick Marcello, Nigel Muhammad, Noah Robb, Rickey Layton, Rickie Hill, Ryan Kuntz, Spring Football, Tashan Mitchell, Tim Divers, Tim Newton, Tyler Ward | Leave a comment

Lehigh Spring Football – The Offense

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Chuck B '92
Can it be already that half of spring practice is already in the books?

While many of us were watching the NCAA Tournament, ripping up our office pools while watching Louisville upend Michigan in the championship, the Lehigh football team was getting better.

"We're just trying to learn and get better each day," head coach Andy Coen said in Lehigh's mid-season spring report.  "We've got so many young, young players... I think we have a lot of talented players here, but a lot of the guys haven't had the type of opportunity that they're getting now."

"I think this team is lacking experience," Coen told me, "but I don't believe we are lacking talent. We have been fortunate over the past three years to have some very talented players and they have kept some other guys off the field."

As we take a peek at the offense today, we see some of the players that have impressed the coaching staff thus far - and, what has to be top on Lehigh fans' list of wonder, how the battle for quarterback is shaping up.
Read more »
Posted in Brandon Bialkowski, Football, Josh Parris, Lee Kurfis, Lehigh, Matt McHale, Rich Sodeke, Spring Football, Stephen Sansone | Leave a comment

Lehigh Spring Football – The Hunger Games

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Chuck B '92
A 10-1 record.  A thrilling win on the road in front of over 17,000 fans over the Big South co-champs, Liberty.  Thrilling wins over Princeton, Holy Cross, and Georgetown.  And five straight over the Mountain Hawks arch-rival in Easton.

There was an awful lot for Lehigh football fans to celebrate from last year's 10-1 season, only the tenth season in Lehigh's nearly 130 year history in which the Mountain Hawks had more than ten victories.

So what's the first thing that head coach Andy Coen brings up as the spring football season and schedule got unveiled today?

“This group is all going to be about being hungry,” he said.
Read more »
Leave a comment

CSJ’s NCAA FCS Pick ‘Em Game

Posted on March 19, 2013 by lfnadmin

Can’t get enough bracket picking in March Madness? Here’s another one, courtesy of the College Sports Journal, with an FCS flavor.

The object of the contest is simple – pick the winners of the NCAA tournament games which happen to involve schools that host an FCS football team. Each game is weighted differently with a maximum number of 8 points per win.

The contest page will be updated with the leaders and the updated games to pick as the NCAA tournament proceeds. For Round 1 you have up until 5:30 EDT to pick the first game.

Good luck! The contest page is here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment