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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 8, 2024 21:50:03 GMT -5
Thought -- even though the NCAA tourney is over, perhaps Holy Cross and UCONN could capitalize on "striking while the irons hot" and schedule a "New England Women's Basketball Championship" game at the DCU Center this coming weekend. Bueckers v. Powers-Cassidy. Would be a nice little bump in economic activity for downtown Worcester. UConn doesn't play any non conference games against New England schools usually.
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 8, 2024 21:31:09 GMT -5
And he picks Lowell's big gym which they barely play in. The dump they play a majority of their games in is probably the worst building in the country.
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 6, 2024 20:06:59 GMT -5
Lost 9-7. Seemed to lose focus in second half. No moral victories but based on what we knew about Lehigh going in, not a horrible loss. You play to win the game
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 5, 2024 19:49:20 GMT -5
Depressing to see these results, the program has great support from alums and parents. They deserve a lot better. BU is a fully funded program and just beat Army. But we need to be more competitive. They have never been competitive at the D-1 level
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 4, 2024 20:55:01 GMT -5
It is my understanding that there was once a proposal many years ago for America East to take over control of Hockey East. Hockey East had less members then and AE schools made up a majority of its membership. BU was however not for it and it failed to go anywhere. This wasn't that long ago. Maybe 4-5 years ago. America East should be looking to spearhead a football conference first and foremost. They have the numbers now. It would prevent then from opening themselves to the possibility of Albany and/or Bryant leaving for the CAA in all sports. Plus, Sacred Heart and Merrimack are there for the taking. I'd be all for HC going all in on America East in all sports if football was on the table AND if we could leverage the relationships in conference to get into Hockey East for Men's Hockey. Merrimack is in America East in men's lax already so there is a relationship but they are leaving when Merrimack goes down to the MAAC. America East Lacrosse > MAAC Lacrosse
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 4, 2024 15:26:51 GMT -5
I had forgotten Binghamton was starting a team....A split is likely coming to Atlantic Hockey soon. Could America East start their own conference? They have UNH, Maine, Lowell, Vermont, Binghamton. I think they need one more program for an autobid. Without the Boston teams a good nickname for the new conference would be the Country Bumpkins. America East is actually physically located in Boston unlike Hockey East.
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 3, 2024 20:52:33 GMT -5
Meghan Gebbia is the Wake coach and we know she came from AU- her coaching seat is pretty warm going into next season after a 2-16 ACC record this year and many outbound portal defections - I’m not sure Johns can help much in that league Hardest job in the ACC? So far only 1 into the portal for WF this season. BC might be tougher...
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 3, 2024 19:38:08 GMT -5
I had forgotten Binghamton was starting a team....A split is likely coming to Atlantic Hockey soon. Could America East start their own conference? They have UNH, Maine, Lowell, Vermont, Binghamton. I think they need one more program for an autobid.
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 3, 2024 19:22:20 GMT -5
The Fitton Diamond had dried nicely and now another extended rain. The Worcester Bravehearts get baseball weather for their season. I hope HC players who want to play for the Bravehearts are given favorable consideration when the roster is constructed. Or just get turf like most D-1 schools play on in New England.
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 3, 2024 10:46:26 GMT -5
Would think with the difficulty of both filling the seats and even getting venues to submit host bids, the NCAA would be hesitant to increase the field. 16 of the 60 teams (26.6%) already make the men's hockey tourney. There is a percentage of teams that can make an NCAA tournament and I believe the hockey tournament is slightly over it right now.
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 2, 2024 9:38:23 GMT -5
I'm most concerned with winning all three CAA games and hoping at least two of those would be considered quality wins. We'll see. Should be concerned with winning the Patriot League auto bid which they couldn't do last year
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 2, 2024 9:09:22 GMT -5
Larry died today according to media reports....
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2024 22:27:22 GMT -5
Non-renewals at the end of contracts or is UNH actually eating years of pay to fired coaches? UNH isn't firing coaches...she is letting them go at the end of the contract or they are moving onto bigger jobs like NC State Men's Soccer.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2024 19:12:32 GMT -5
Would you rather play in a 2500 seat sold out arena in Missouri or a 14k seat arena with only 3k fans? I take option 1. I agree in theory, but in the case of the West regional with those teams, the demand would exceed the 14k total. I think the NCAA needs to re-evaluate their revenue demands. Just do a rotation like we saw for years in the East/Northeast with Albany, Worcester, Providence, and Springfield. Maybe Grand Forks, Denver, Omaha, Twin Cities could alternate. Omaha is a host this year in Sioux Falls, SD which is 2.5 hours away. FYI, Manchester last year had official attendance of 3,631 for the doubleheader and 7,143 in the final. Bridgeport had 4,462 for the doubleheader and 4,557 for the final. There was three New England teams in Bridgeport and only one in Manchester. The last time Worcester hosted in 2022 they only drew 2,848 for the Regional Final and they got 6,002 for the doubleheader.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2024 14:09:09 GMT -5
The new AD basically has fired or let go every head coach since she has come in except the two hockey coaches who just got extended. Both have not returned UNH to former glory.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2024 12:39:14 GMT -5
TV viewership isn't even a part of this debate. What does that have to do with anything? Even more take into consideration the fan experience. Would you rather play in a 2500 seat sold out arena in Missouri or a 14k seat arena with only 3k fans? I take option 1.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2024 10:08:02 GMT -5
Foley: Like you, the NCAA statement is BS. If that is true, change the GD specs. The playoffs are for the student/athletes and their supporting fans. Talk to some of the 2006 players about the atmosphere and how that helped them. No way we beat Minnesota in a 2,500 capacity facility with no NoDak fans. I was there sitting next to the Minnesota AD. Never experienced anything like that at the college level. To the NCAA: You make tons of money off collegiate athletics. You can afford to cut back a bit on on revenue!! Here is an article from 2021, the NCAA Hockey tournament only draws 191k TV viewers. It isn't a big enough draw for the NCAA to care. medium.com/run-it-back-with-zach/how-much-could-each-sports-ncaa-tournament-command-on-the-open-market-1f5409a4e9e4It should be noted that North Dakota hosted last year and will host next year in Fargo in a 6k seat arena.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 27, 2024 22:50:58 GMT -5
Stonehill (2nd year in D.1) with 4-16 record sweep HC Very bad sign BU is 27-3 on the year with multiple wins over the Big Ten and a national rank of 25th in the country.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 27, 2024 21:39:31 GMT -5
I do agree, Cruskater31. I admit, I do not know the Maryland Heights facility, there are a bunch of other factors involved in the decision. Locker rooms, Media rooms, food venues, TV production rooms, suites, etc. are also important things to look at when picking a venue. I hope that the food is not a food truck out in the parking lot. I hope there was some type of inspection. I still would prefer a top top venue, if these things do not meet the requirements. But do not tell me, NCAA, there were no venues to bid. Back in the day, we had several venues to choose from. No venues is just BS!! Here is the quote that was in the Detroit News "The NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee evaluated all bids for the 2024 regional sites in the winter of 2020," the NCAA spokesman said in a statement to The News. "However, only a few venues in the western part of the country submitted bids for the four-year cycle. Given the limited number of sites in the geographical area, the committee chose the best options to enhance the experience of the student-athletes and coaches.”
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 27, 2024 11:09:45 GMT -5
On another note...it is interesting that folks have been advocating the last two seasons for the WBB tournament to go to neutral sites for the round of 64 and 32, but coaches and others want the NCAA ice hockey tournament to leave neutral sites for home rinks. I think the spirit of NCAA tournaments is more aligned with neutral sites and remove home court/ice advantage. The only way I'd be content with home ice is if the higher seed hosted it in a nearby city but at a different rink. That being said, would it be strange to have an East Regional hosted by BU at Agganis Arena and then a West Regional hosted by BC at Conte? Theoretically the NCAA cash grab would still exist just as it does for FCS playoff games. It would be harder for schools to under report attendance if Conte was completely full and they claimed 2k attendance. I think there needs to be a better revenue sharing agreement which would open up more bids and more competitive bids. The other issue with home ice is that some of the Western Schools: NoDak, Michigan, Denver, etc. as well as BU and BC, travel very well. It would be very challenging to get teams to agree to a visitor's allotment I am sure. The Northeastern regionals never have a problem selling tickets but the "western" ones have always been an issue as the teams are more spread out. How many D-1 Teams are within a five hour drive of Worcester? 30?
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 26, 2024 22:34:36 GMT -5
The NCAA is greedy. They want more and more revenue from hosting facilities, ie parking, concessions, etc. That is why Washington will not bid for a frozen four. That was one of the best frozen fours. There are many, many facilities that can bid on these. Maryland, a western venue! Give me a break! get another eastern facility (Worcester, Manchester, etc) or something down south. The regional attendance numbers mostly come from the teams and then from hockey fans. Any facility that host would get more from a regional than 2,500. Maryland Heights, the arena in question, is in Missouri outside of St. Louis. It would be like if the New England Sports Center in Marlborough hosted an NCAA Regional. If no one bids too bad for the West. Find a third venue out East. The New England Sports Center hosted the World Juniors games one year...
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 26, 2024 9:26:04 GMT -5
That’s crazy ! Never seen such a thing Maybe I can add to our start to the season ‘and the most miles traveled’ thru 23 road games Foley, Can you find a team to compete with that ? UConn with trips to Cal, UC Santa Barbara/Southern California spring break, Auburn, and Tampa on different trips. They might be close.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 26, 2024 8:07:04 GMT -5
I’m willing to bet that no other D.1 team has started their season with 23 road games (and only one at a neutral site). Yes, this is not a great roster but these players deserve credit for 8 wins so far. Meet UMass who doesn't have a home game until April 12th umassathletics.com/sports/baseball/schedule
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 25, 2024 21:57:18 GMT -5
First one ever for HC. Awesome stuff. ** Anyone on here have a pot of money available for Liam's NIL deal? Yes, I'm serious and yes this is a thing at Holy Cross. There is currently no Hockey NIL Collective at HC. If someone has a job/promotional offer for a player on teams other than MBB and FB, for instance a local Irish restaurant wanted to feature BPC in a local Spectrum TV ad tasting the beef stew and saying "it tastes just like home," couldn't they contact the athletes directly without breaking rules? Is the collective just to facilitate and encourage NIL arrangements or is it the only NCAA approved way for a student-athlete to earn money from their name, image and likeness? Bridgeport doesn't have a collective for their NIL deals for their gymnastic athletes.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 25, 2024 21:54:34 GMT -5
Give three full scholarships per year 2 full for pitchers 1/2 for an up the middle defender I/2 for a power hitter We could be very good, top 25, in three years I don't want to hear how others break things down If we offer fulls to pitchers we can outbid many other top teams Obviously this is NOT allowed by the NCAA. You are only allowed 11.7 scholarships per team.
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