Good morning!
New coaching staff, same score for UMass football: 42-10 losers at Tulane. How bad was it? Let us count the nays.
Offensive coordinator Steve Casula’s two-quarterback system of Gino Campiotti and Brady Olson combined to complete four passes for 17 yards and threw three interceptions. The longest pass was 11 yards to Michigan transfer George Johnson.
What’s the saying, coaches who use two quarterbacks have no quarterbacks?
The only time it worked in these parts was when Mike Duprey used Ken Suhl and Brodie Conant.
East Longmeadow’s C.J. Kolodziey shanked his first college punt attempt, Tulane got a free play on an offside call and completed a 33-yarder to the UMass goal line, and Olson telegraphed a sideline pass that Tulane’s Macon Clark picked off. Tulane color announcer Steve Barrios called it “a gift by Olson.”
The box score didn’t include the attendance — it read zero — but crowd shots showed a sparse audience typical for a game between the 88th and 130th-ranked teams in the FBS.
Tulane sent in the subs late in the third quarter. “We’re starting to see a lot of fresh faces,” said Barrios. So was UMass, but for the wrong reasons. One of last year’s leading tacklers Te’Rai Powell limped off after recording one tackle, and much ballyhooed Vanderbilt transfer Marcus Bradley didn’t play.
Positives? Penn State transfer Tyler Rudolph made five solo tackles, and UMass rushed for 200 yards. Newcomer Tim Baldwin Jr. gained 66 yards, Campiotti had 60 and Ellis Merriwether had 36.
Maybe it’s time for Casula to roll out the wishbone.
Tonight’s opponent, the Toledo Rockets, cruised past LIU last week, 37-0, and are 28½-point favorites to hand the program its 30th loss in 32 games.
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The UMass hockey team has four weeks to prepare for its season opener at AIC on Oct. 8, followed by back-to-back home games against defending champion Denver the following week.
Practice started on Sept. 1 and UMass coach Greg Carvel gets only four hours of ice time a week to sort it out. “Another season where we have to onboard basically half of our team, 12 new skaters,” texted Carvel.
“Like last year it will take time for the group to come together, but unlike last year we don’t have any experience in the net and we will need to figure out who can stop the puck.”
“Need to see a lot more from the Arizona goalie but it’s early,” Carvel said of Arizona State transfer netminder Brady Cole. It’ll get late fast considering Denver led the nation in scoring offense last season.
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Being a freelance writer, I don’t have the resources to force UMass to show me basketball coach Frank Martin’s contract beyond the $8.5 million everyone knows he’s guaranteed.
After getting stonewalled by Asst. AD Kevin Wissmann for two months, I filed a freedom of information request with the Massachusetts Division of Records. On May 31, Supervisor of Records Rebecca S. Murphy, wrote to UMass Compliance Officer Christine Wilda: “UMass is ordered to provide a response in a manner consistent with Public Records Law within 10 business days.”
Again, nothing.
A DOR spokesperson told me not to waste my time. “This is a failure of UMass. We did everything we could,” she said.
“So now what?” I asked her.
“You can appeal again to our office, that would be the initial step.
If there’s still no response there’s always the litigation route, but that can get expensive.”
No thanks. We’ll see if Martin’s worth his $32,500 a week once the A-10 schedule starts.
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The high point of Saratoga this summer was the ham and cheese grinder Carol Bresciano bought me at Cardona’s Market on Washington Street. The proprietor is Saratoga’s version of The Soup Nazi. ‘Great food but not worth the abuse,’ someone posted on Trip Advisor.
As for the horses, midway through the card I put a $14 voucher into the machine, took my bet and watched the race. I lost but still had a $100 voucher.
Or did I? All I had was the $14 voucher. It dawned on me that I had put the $100 voucher into the machine and left the $86 balance for the next guy.
Shoot, I didn’t have enough cash to bet Byhubbyhellomoney.
The Carnegie Deli sold hot pastrami sandwiches for $23. “Hey there’s a horse in the seventh, Hot Pastrami!” yelled the guy behind the counter.
A security guy was checking IDs into a VIP area. He had retired from the New York Dept. of Corrections, and said he began as a C.O. and worked his way to become a prison warden. “Every bid you gotta take no matter how far away, and you work your way up. I had Tony Pro (Provenzano) a union guy. Nobody f— with him.”
Now he winters in Florida and runs the condo association. “I keep rich people in line. We have these guys, they bother us, we called ’em Pips — Previously Important Person.”
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SQUIBBERS: Revenge is a dish best served long and deep, as in Gary Sanchez’s two-run blast against his former team the Yankees on Labor Day. … Margaret Court told the Daily Telegraph that Serena Williams enjoyed the sort of luxury tennis players didn’t have in her day. “How I would love to have taken family and friends with me. We didn’t have psychologists or coaches with us, it was a whole different world.” …… Walt Bell’s Indiana offense went on a 12 play, 75-yard drive in the final two minutes to beat Illinois, 23-20, last week. Why can’t UMass get coaches like that? … After BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec got flattened in the fourth quarter against Rutgers, he put his hand up to get lifted off the ground and his linemen ignored him. … Trivia: Who said, “I won’t be active in the day-to-day operations of the club. I can’t spread myself so thin. We plan absentee ownership.” … If you had 124 points and the under in the No. Carolina-App. State game you lost. UNC won in regulation, 63-61. … A.J. Vinatieri’s new team, the Ball State Cardinals, lost 59-10 to Tennessee in front of 92,000 fans at Neyland Stadium. …. Suzyn Waldman told the Post’s Steve Serby her favorite John Sterling home run call is “Bernie goes Boom!” … The Green Bay Packers defense will start six first-round picks and two second-round picks versus the Vikings on Sunday. … Twins shortstop Carlos Correa popped out with the bases loaded in extra innings against the Yankees on Wednesday, then homered in a meaningless 7-1 loss in the nightcap. Correa has 48 RBIs and is a $35.1 million free agent bust. … The Twins are 2-23 at Yankee Stadium since 2015, according to statmuse.com. … Mets radio announcer Howie Rose, on the food concessions at PNC Park: “This is Pittsburgh. You just have to understand you don’t get good food in Pittsburgh.” … One year after Tommy John surgery, southpaw Tyler Glasnow is rehabbing his way back into the Rays’ rotation. … SI’s Albert Breer to podcaster Ross Tucker, on Trey Lance’s reaction to the return of Jimmy Garoppolo: “It’s like you start dating a girl and her boyfriend hasn’t moved out.” … Tucker ranks the Pats at No. 21 in Week One. “They don’t have a good roster, they’ve got a lot of questions at offensive play caller, and they didn’t look good in the preseason.” … Trivia answer: George Steinbrenner after he bought the Yankees in 1973.
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for four decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@icloud.com