New England, U.S. – The start of the new National Football League year was officially Wednesday, March 9 at 4 P.M.
Teams wasted no time changing their rosters as this is also the time of year in the league when teams can sign free agents. NFL free agents are players that are eligible to sign with any team/franchise because they are currently not under contract with any team.
This year the free agent frenzy once again hit hard! Teams that missed out on the playoffs in 2015 took advantage of the opportunity to sign a number of highly coveted players. Some teams that did make the playoffs last year only got better on paper.read more
Boston, Mass. – Spring is upon us! And that means it is time for America’s favorite past time to start up again.
Spring training is over and done and now it is time to start another Major League Baseball season. At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the Red Sox get set for what should be a memorable 2016 season.
This year is the last season for fan favorite David Ortiz, or Big Papi, in the MLB. Big Papi has decided to call it a career after the 2016 campaign, sparking this farewell tour of sorts for the season. No doubt however the season plays out, the last regular season game in Fenway will be sold out just to see Big Papi play ball one more time.read more
Boston, Mass – TD Garden has been hopping lately. And with good reason, as the Boston Celtics are molding into a true contender for the NBA playoffs this year. 55 games into their 82-game season, the team has 32 wins and 23 losses (32-23).
The Celtics last win before the NBA’s All-Star break in February was a thrilling offensive showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Celtics came out on top in overtime 139-134. Point guard Isaiah Thomas was the team’s leading scorer in the game with 36. Thomas is leading the way for the Celtics this season having scored a team leading 1,185 points with a field goal percentage of 42.3%. After Thomas, the next closest points scored by a single player on the team is 773 by forward Jae Crowder. Not far behind him is guard Avery Bradley with 756 who’s been “money” from behind the three point line as of late, highlighted most recently in a game against the number one team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. Bradley aired out the game winning three-pointer with seconds to spare on Friday, February 5 to lift the Celtics to a 104-103 victory.read more
Boston, Mass. – Bruins fans bleed black and gold and pride themselves on the ol’ saying “Don’t poke the bear”. This usually refers to the team’s defense which has been its staple, especially since clinching their last Stanley Cup Championship in 2011 against the Canucks.
But halfway through this season, the team’s defense is just not getting it done consistently. They’ve had some inconsistency on the back end due to trouble finding solid defensive pairs. Long time players like Zdeno Chara, Adam McQuaid, and Dennis Seidenberg have been defensive staples since their 2011 Stanley Cup win and with last year’s up-and-comer Torey Krug, these veterans and this group of defensemen had high expectations coming into the season but just haven’t been as good as they might have hoped; injuries have played a part in some of the inconsistency, as well. Other key defenseman this season such as Kevan Miller, Joe Morrow, and Zach Trotman have all seen leads be blown or games start off all too quickly with goals by the opposing team.read more
Levi Stadium, Cali. – The Broncos earned their third Super Bowl trophy after the vaunted Denver defense did its job.
The Broncos defense was ferocious all season long with its consistent blitzing and stifling secondary play. The defense lead the way for the team, being 1st overall in yards allowed per game and pass yards allowed per game. The team was 4th in points allowed and 3rd in rush yards allowed. Stars like defensive ends Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Aqib Talib, and safety T.J. Ward highlighted the most fearsome group in the NFL this past year. Lead by their defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who was in his first year with the team, the group grew into a powerhouse that stifled the likes of quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers this season.read more
Despite numerous injuries, the Patriots prevailed against many odds this season. blogs.denverpost.com
New England, U.S. – The Patriots 2015 season came to a close after the team fell to the eventual Super Bowl 50 champion Broncos in the AFC Championship game in Denver this year.
The game came down to some questionable decisions, poor offensive line play, and ultimately a failed two-point conversion that sent the Patriots home for good in a stunning 20-18 loss to the Peyton Manning-led Broncos with an attack dog defense.
The game ultimately highlighted the Patriots 2015 campaign in the worst way. Head coach Bill Belichick elected to not kick a field goal late in the game that may have actually allowed them to win the game. This was one of the things that surprisingly plagued the Patriots in the second half of the season. Belichick is widely regarded around the NFL and by fans as one of, if not the best coach to ever coach the game; but this year he seemed to get in his own way a little bit. After key injuries to many of the Patriots players, especially on the offensive side of the ball, Belichick made some questionable decisions against the division rival Jets and Dolphins in the final two games that may have cost the Patriots a chance to play at home in the AFC Championship once again for the 6th time under the head coach.read more
A new Intramural Sports Program is being developed at the Mount and will be taking place at the Fitness and Wellness Center. A gym membership is not needed to participate. This is a noncommittal program so students can show up as often as they want. Currently the weekly time slot for activities is Wednesdays 11:40am to 12:30pm, with an option to stay until 1pm.
A variety of sport and physical activities will be available including basketball, soccer and volleyball. The program is still in development and is seeking ideas from the students to further improve it. There are plans in work for a 3 on 3 basketball tournament. Interested individuals or teams can stop by or call for sign-up information. The deadline to sign up for the tournament will be November 13th. Paula Richard will be available to speak with students about the program in her office, room 149 on most Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 2pm, or she can be reached via telephone at 978-630-9349.read more
The Boston Celtics have had their good seasons and their bad. The most memorable seasons were produced while under the direction of coaching guru Red Auerbach. The Celtics produced three dynasties winning 16 World Titles from 1957 to 1986 with eight of the sixteen being consecutive wins. However, in the years following, not as many positive things can be said about the Boston Celtics. The last glimpse of hope came in 2002 when they made an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. Although, there has been much talk of the 07’-08’ team bringing home another banner. With this being said, one must wonder what happened to the glory days? What brought upon such a downfall and could this year really be a banner year?read more
The Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League have not been a good team for the last few years, but with a new goaltender and an improved offense and defense from last year, this team has a good shot at making the playoffs this year.
The Bruins have not qualified for postseason play the last two seasons and have finished in the basement of the division. Over the last few years, the coaching and front office of the team have been looking for all the right players to fit their system and this year, it looks like they really have the right players.read more
The Red Sox, who led all major league teams with a 96-66 record, advanced to the World Series for the first time since they broke the curse of the Bambino in 2004. Similar to 2004, when they made the greatest comeback in MLB history by coming back from a 3 game deficit to the New York Yankees to win the series 4-3 and sweep the Cardinals in the World Series, the Red Sox came back from being down 3 games to 1 to beat the Cleveland Indians and swept the Colorado Rockies in the World Series.
Josh Beckett who had the best record in all of baseball (20-7) had his worst game of the season against the Colorado Rockies back in June. After coming off two great starts to help the Red Sox beat the Indians, and being crowned ALCS MVP, Beckett won his fourth game of the playoffs by beating Jeff Francis (17-9) in game 1 of the World Series by a score of 13-1. Beckett pitched 7 strong innings while allowing only 1 run. read more
