Just Take A Minute: Nov. 2-6, 2009

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   Friday, Nov. 6

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A monster weekend of UMass action gets underway on Friday at 12:30 p.m. as the A-10 Field Hockey Championships open up at Garber Field with defending champ UMass hosting No. 1 seed Richmond. We have hockey tonight at the Mullins Center vs. Niagara. Saturday's highlights include football vs. Northeastern at 12 Noon (with the debut of the new video scoreboard), the A-10 field hockey final and men's hoops exhibition vs. Dowling at 7 p.m.

In the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Matt Vautour has a nice feature on Trey Lang rejoining the men's basketball team after a year away from the program.

In the Springfield Republican, Ron Chimelis also writes about Lang returning, but also looks at the Minutemen's use of big men for this upcoming season.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette and Springfield Republican have previews of hockey's pair of games vs. Niagara this weekend. This is an odd weekend throughout Hockey East with just one Saturday game - Northeastern at Boston College - and no conference home-and-home series. Including UMass, seven Hockey east teams play on Sunday.

Ron Chimelis has a preview of the A-10 Field Hockey Championships being held at UMass this weekend in the Springfield Republican.

Women's soccer season-ending loss at the A-10s in Charlotte to Fordham is covered in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: The A-10 Field Hockey Tournament Central has preview videos of all four teams in Amherst. Check out the interviews done by UMass' Ethan Sobel.

Don't Miss This: Tons of action at UMass this weekend. It all gets underway with the A-10 Field Hockey Championships at 12:30 p.m. on Friday as host UMass takes on No. 1 seed Richmond at 12:30 p.m. Tonight at the Mullins Center, the hockey team hosts Niagara in the start of a home-and-home series.

   Thursday, Nov. 5

The postseason for UMass gets underway with the women's soccer team playing in the A-10 Tournament this evening against Fordham in Charlotte at 5:30 p.m. On campus, we are getting ready for a busy weekend with the A-10 field hockey championships and home games for hockey, football and men's basketball. Join us at the Bud Light UMass Football Radio Show on Thursday at 7 p.m., at the Hangar Pub & Grille. Seniors Corey Davis and Matt Silver will be a player guests along with head coach Kevin Morris.

In the Springfield Republican, Ron Chimelis has a very interesting column on the marketing of UMass Basketball with a look at Super Sunday. Chimelis writes: "Kellogg handled Sunday's event with typical class. Rather than dwell on the 9,000 or so empty seats, he focussed on those loyal fans who did show up."

Chimelis also has a story on the addition of transfers Hashim "Big City" Bailey and Sean Carter in the Springfield Republican. Bailey and fellow Carter will provide most of the size for a team that plays its only preseason game Saturday night against Dowling College at the Mullins Center.

The Sports Network has a preview of the Atlantic 10, where UMass is picked sixth.

The new D-League team the Springfield Armor will take part in its first draft on Thursday and UMass' Chris Lowe is being considered by the Armor. Masslive.com has a story.

After two tough road losses, the UMass football team will look to get back in the win column this weekend against visiting Northeastern. The Minutemen are undefeated at McGuirk, but have struggled on the road, generating just 21 points in back-to-back losses to Maine and Richmond. The Daily Collegian has a preview.

The Daily Collegian also a football notebook on various topics including the struggles on the road and Kyle Havens remaining the starter.

CBSSports.com's Dennis Dowd has a column on the resurgence of Temple football as the Owls are bowl-eligible. It mentions coach Al Golden talking about football in the Northeast where he mentions UMass. "We were placed strategically between the traditional Eastern powers: Penn State, BC, Syracuse [and] what I call the I-AA all-star teams, Richmond, Villanova, James Madison, UMass," he said. "I thought it was a great position to be in the marketplace, especially since we were the only one at that level on the East Coast."

Inside College Hockey's column on ESPN.com has a bit on the Mass Attack. Full credit goes to Massachusetts (4-1-0), UMass Lowell (4-2-0) and upstarts Merrimack (5-3-0) and Providence (5-2-0).

Hockey's Future has a bit on two UMass hockey players who are affiliated with NHL teams. UMass has also gotten offensive production from their blueline. The Minutemen were riding a four-game unbeaten streak until Oct. 31 when they were handed their first loss of the season by the Friars. Senior Justin Braun (SJ) has posted six points (one goal, five assists) in five contests, while fellow senior Martin Nolet (LA) has posted three points (two goals, one assist) also in five games.

The Atlantic 10 field hockey championships get underway at Garber Field on Friday. The Daily Hampshire Gazette have Daily Collegian have outlooks on the tourney as UMass seeks to win the title for the third year in a row.

UMass' Cher King will look to contain Sarah Blyth-Wood of Richmond this Friday, in the opening game of the Atlantic 10 tournament. The Minutewomen are the No. 4 seed, while the Spiders are the No.1 seed. The Daily Collegian looks at this key matchup.

The Collegian of the University of Richmond has a preview from the Spiders' perspective.

The Daily Collegian previews men's soccer this weekend. After splitting a pair of games this past weekend, the team hits the road for the final stretch of its conference schedule this weekend against George Washington and Richmond in hopes of making the A-10 tournament.

Former Daily Collegian reporter and UMass alum Matt Stewart has this nice feature in the Sentinel and Enterprise on women's soccer senior Katie Ruggles and her contributions over her four years with the Minutewomen.

Sports Illustrated online has a story on UMass alum Roxanne Modafferi, who is a women's Mixed Martial Arts fighter. It is an interesting read including: Modafferi spent her junior year in Japan, where her fistic and linguistic skills were put to the test. Having participated in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu throughout high school, she was a fan of MMA after watching Caol Uno compete in the UFC in 2001. In college, she sought out facilities at which to train, including the Amherst Athletic Club, a small gym partly owned and operated by Kirik Jenness, a pioneer of the online MMA community who will work her corner Saturday.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: Sign up for the Weekly UMass Newsletters with all the latest news on the teams here in Amherst.

Don't Miss This: Follow the women's soccer team on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. with live video and gametracker here on UMassAthletics.com.

   Wednesday, Nov. 4

Happy Wednesday, hope your Election Day was a good one. Join us this afternoon at 12:15 p.m. for the UMass Sports Luncheon in the Campus Center Auditorium. We will honor three Athletes of the Week as well as hearing from basketball coach Derek Kellogg, football coach Kevin Morris and head tennis coach Judy Dixon. JTAM also has stories on those coaches teams and more. Call 413-545-4930 for more info.

Michael Vega from the Boston Globe was out in Amherst on Tuesday to talk with basketball coach Derek Kellogg as well as senior Ricky Harris and junior Anthony Gurley. Vega's story on the Minutemen will run in the Globe on Nov. 12, the day before UMass tips off at UCF.

Matt Vautour has a basketball notebook in the Daily Hampshire Gazette which touches on UMass' closed scrimmage with BU being cancelled due to the flu infecting the Terriers.

The Daily Collegian's Adam Miller also has a notebook focusing on Kellogg still working out the roles for the five freshmen.

NBC 22 has a look at the hoop Minutemen as Kellogg begins his second season as head coach. The piece has a video as well.

In getting ready for the UMass basketball opener at UCF on Nov. 13, here's a story from UCF Sports.com that interviews senior Drew Speraw, is classified as a fifth-year senior, but in reality he's been part of the UCF Basketball program nearly all of his life. He was just entering grade school when his father, Kirk Speraw, accepted the Knights' head coaching position in 1993 and in a lot of ways he's grown up with UCF.

UMass alums Marcel Shipp and E.J. Barthel will be in action with the UFL Las Vegas Locos tonight as they take on the New York Sentinels at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. Here is a nice feature from the Casa Grande Dispatch on Shipp.

Former UMass hockey star Mike Kostka is mentioned on Hockey's Future. The site writes: A scoring blue liner during his time with UMass-Amherst, Mike Kostka is currently playing for the Pirates in his second full season of pro hockey. Adapting slowly but surely to the new demands of the AHL, Kostka has a long way to go before Buffalo comes calling.

In the Springfield Republican, Ron Chimelis has a feature story on Ludlow native Lauren Yelinek. The sophomore midfielder began he college career at Texas Tech before returning home this season.

With the field set for the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the No. 6 seeded UMass (6-10-2, 5-6-0 A-10) is set to play its most important match of the year on Thursday, when it takes on No. 3 Fordham in the opening round. The Daily Collegian has a complete preview. The paper also has an outlook on the six-team A-10 Tournament as Dayton and Charlotte are the favorites.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: Five exciting Auctions end on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Check out the items including a game-worn 2006 UMass football jersey No. 85.

Don't Miss This: The UMass Sports Luncheon is the place to be at 12:15 p.m., on Wednesday as basketball coach Derek Kellogg, football coach Kevin Morris, and tennis coach Judy Dixon will speak as well as the trio of UMass Athletes of the Week. Call 413-545-4930 for information.

   Tuesday, Nov. 3

Welcome back to Just Take A Minute on Tuesday. The UMass hockey team comes in at No. 19 in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports poll. Be sure to join us for the Bud Light UMass Hockey Radio Show tonight at the Hangar Pub & Grille on University Drive. JTAM also has stories on the football, basketball and men's soccer teams. There is also a piece on the opening of the new Recreation Center.

UMass hockey is listed 19th in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll. The Minutemen are listed as second among "Others Receiving Votes" in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll, placing them "17th" with 42 points.

The Springfield Republican and Daily Hampshire Gazette have stories on the UMass football team and how Kyle Havens will remain the starter at QB. "Kyle Havens will be our starting quarterback against Northeastern," UMass coach Kevin Morris said Monday.

UMass football is out of the national polls for the first time all season and just the second time since 2005. The Minutemen are listed among "Others Receivng Votes" in both the Sports Network Poll and FCS Coaches Poll.

The Lexington Herald-Leader ranks the UMass-Kentucky Final Four game in 1996 as the No. 9 best game for the Cats over the last 25 years.

Matt Vautour of the Daily Hampshire Gazette is compiling a all-decade UMass football team from the 2000s. He is looking for fan votes to add to his input. Check out his listing of candidates as the different positions and submit your votes to him at his email.

The Sports Network has its "Around FCS" column which has a section on UMass and its flickering playoff hopes.

In the Berkshire Eagle, Howard Herman has a story on the men's basketball team feeling disrespected after being picked ninth in the A-10 Preseason Poll.

In the Lexington Herald Leader, columnist Mark Story is counting down the Top 25 most memorable Kentucky basketball games since 1983-84. Coming in at No. 9 is the 1996 Final Four game between Kentucky and UMass. Story writes: In a game that many believed was 1996's de facto national title game, UK was ranked No. 2, while John Calipari and UMass were No. 1. The matchup proved one of the most intensely fought college basketball games ever played.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette has a story on the opening of the new Recreation Center. The 120,000-square-foot center is located on the east side of Commonwealth Avenue, across the street from the Mullins Center. The three-floor building includes weight training and fitness areas and a three-court gymnasium for badminton, volleyball and basketball surrounded by an indoor, three-lane jogging track. The rec center also features three multi-purpose rooms, locker and bathroom facilities, a juice bar and lounge space, as well as administrative offices. Funding for the new facility comes from student fees.

In the Springfield Republican, Ron Chimelis has a story on UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun welcoming AIC to Hartford for a preseason game on Wednesday night. The story mentions how Calhoun began his college career at UMass, but his father passed away leading him to transfer to AIC.

The Daily Collegian has a full recap of the swimming and diving teams sweep of Stony Brook over the weekend at Rogers Pool.

The /">Daily Collegian looks back at the A-10 Cross Country Championships. Despite adverse weather conditions, the Massachusetts men's and women's cross country teams placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships. Three Minutemen placed in the top 15, while freshman Courtney Baldwin finished 9th overall and earned the A-10 Rookie of the Year award.

The Olean Times Herald has a story on the St. Bonaventure men's soccer team's 1-0 win at UMass on Sunday. The win against UMass marks the first time Bonnies defeated the Minutemen since 1999.

The Daily Collegian also has an A-10 women's soccer notebook. The Dayton women's soccer team came up with a 3-0 victory against Xavier on Senior Night to compile its first-ever undefeated regular season. The Flyers will head into the Atlantic 10 Tournament next weekend as the favorites with the No. 1 seed.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: With the start of a new month, check out the November Calendar with all the UMass events on and off campus.

Don't Miss This: Come out to the Bud Light UMass Hockey Radio Show tonight at 7 p.m. The women's soccer team heads down to Charlotte for the 2009 A-10 Tournament on Tuesday as the Minutewomen prep for Fordham. The game takes place on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., in the Quarterfinals.

   Monday, Nov. 2

An up-and-down weekend for the teams at UMass. The women's soccer and field hockey teams qualified for their Atlantic 10 Tournaments on Sunday with wins at home. While the football team suffered a tough 19-9 loss at Maine and the hockey team split a pair with Providence. Super Sunday took place yesterday at the Mullins Center as fans interacted with the basketball team. JTAM has all the coverage.

The football suffered its second road loss in a row, 19-9 at Maine, on Saturday. Coverage comes from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Springfield Republican, minutemen-fall-to-black-bears-woodward-takes-over-at-qb-in-second-half/">Daily Collegian, Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Boston Herald, Bangor Daily News, Kennebec Journal and the Maine Campus.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette also has a notebook with a few other items from the football game.

On the Daily Hampshire Gazette website, Matt Vautour has a podcast interview with senior receiver Victor Cruz.

In New Hampshire there is a report about CAA Football expansion that is an interesting read with quotes from commissioner Tom Yeager in the SeaCoastOnline. "Nobody's thinks 14 is a good number," admitted Yeager, who on hand at Cowell Stadium to take in UNH's 48-21 win over Northeastern Saturday. "But, by the same token, there's a lot of benefit and commitment to making it work, as opposed to blowing it up and trying to do something else."

UMass' three alums in the NFL were all in action on Sunday. With the New York Jets, James Ihedigbo made three special teams tackles as the jets fell to the Miami Dolphins, 30-25. In the Baltimore Ravens' 30-7 win over the Denver Broncos, Matt Lawrence had a special teams tackle in the second quarter. In the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Jeremy Cain snapped nine times on punts and kicks for the Jags.

Cory Quirk in action with the Worcester Sharks.

The hockey team's weekend split (win 5-3 and loss 2-1) is covered in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Springfield Republican, Daily Collegian, Boston Globe, ABC40 (with video).

With the Los Angeles Kings, Jonathan Quick's dad is joining the team for a yearly event where dads travel with the NHL teams. The L.A. Times has a notebook. Quick said his father, Doug, a route salesman for Entenmann's bakery, arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday from Connecticut. "He's all excited. He's all fired up to be out here," Quick said. "He gets a week off from work and that alone will get him excited, never mind coming out here and getting to stay with me. I don't get to see him too often."

Also on Quick, he will start Monday, which will be his ninth in a row. He said he's willing and able to keep going indefinitely."I feel good. This is what you train for in the off-season," he said. "You want to play. I feel healthy and sharp mentally. I feel good. Every game I get excited to play. I like that. Just keep going."

Former UMass hockey standout Cory Quirk was mentioned and pictured in the Springfield Republican as he is seeing more time with the Worcester Sharks.

The field hockey team's 6-0 win over West Chester and achievemen of making the A-10 Tourney is covered in the Daily Hampshire Gazette and the Daily Collegian.

The women's soccer team making the A-10 Tournament for the first time since 2004 is covered in the Daily Hampshire Gazette and the Daily Collegian.

The basketball team's public debut on "Super Sunday" is chronicled in the Daily Collegian.

Men's soccer's weekend split with Duquesne and St. Bonaventure is covered in the Daily Collegian.

After walking on to Sam Koch's squad this summer, not knowing if he'd see the field, Morgan Brandso has worked his way onto the field and earned his first start on Sunday. Brandso has seen most of his time this year at midfield but got his first career start on defense. The Daily Collegian has the story.

Check This Out On UMassAthletics.com: The Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Championships take place at UMass this coming weekend. Check out the Tournament Central with all the info you need on the teams in the field including the host and two-time defending Champion Minutewomen.

Don't Miss This: A special announcement concerning the Bud Light UMass Basketball Radio Show will come on Monday. Look for weekly honors to be announced on Monday as well.

Look Back To The Week Of: Oct. 26-30 | Oct. 19-23 | Oct. 12-16 | Oct. 5-9 | Sept. 28-Oct. 2 | 709aaa.html">Sept. 21-25 | Sept. 14-18 | Sept. 7-11 | Aug. 31-Sept. 4 | Aug. 24-28 | Aug. 17-21 | Aug. 10-14 | Aug. 3-8 | July 27-31 | July 20-24 | July 13-17 | July 6-10 | June 29-July 3 | June 22-26 | June 15-19 | June 8-12 | June 1-5 | May 25-29 | May 18-22 | May 11-15 | May 4-8 | April 27-May 1 | April 20-24 | April 13-17 | April 6-10 | March 30 -Apr. 3 | March 23-27 | March 16-20 | March 9-13 | Mar. 2-6 | Feb. 23-27 | Feb. 16-20 | Feb. 9-13 | Feb. 2-6 | Jan. 26-30 | Jan. 19-23 | Jan. 12-16 | Jan. 5-9 | Dec. 29, 2008-Jan. 2, 2009 | Dec. 22-26 | Dec. 15- 19 | Dec. 8-12 | Dec. 1-5 | 13008aaa.html">Nov. 24-28 | Nov. 17-21 | Nov. 10-14 | Nov. 3-7 | Oct. 27-31 | Oct. 20-24, 2008 | Oct. 13-17, 2008 | Oct. 6-10, 2008 | Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2008 | Sept. 22-26, 2008 | Sept. 15-19, 2008 | Sept. 8-12, 2008 | Sept. 1-5, 2008 | Aug. 25-29, 2008 | Aug. 18-22, 2008

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