Carlotto | My dream fall classic

9/30/08 10:46 AM

(The Daily is proud to introduce Alan Carlotto, our new online sports columnist. Carlotto will offer his opinion and analysis on a regular basis here on The Score.) If you’re a Red Sox fan like me, I’m sure that by now you can recite every line in NESN’s terribly corny "Mission: Soxtober" commercials. Since I had seen the ads a bagillion times, I was sure I had become numb to them.  But much to my surprise, the other night the commercial managed to strike a nerve: A grin stretched across my face as thoughts of postseason excitement and drama filled my head.  That’s right, Sox fans, the mission is almost complete and our beloved Red Sox will soon enter the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six years. The road ahead will not be easy:... 3 comments

Friday Afternoon Quarterback, Week 2

9/26/08 5:14 PM

There were few surprises in Week 1, as the NESCAC's top five teams defended their home turf against the five worst. But this week brings a huge matchup of perhaps the two best of the 1-0s -- traditional league powers Trinity and Williams kick off in Williamstown tomorrow. It's only Week 2, but this weekend's winner has to be considered a favorite to go all the way. Middlebury at Colby There will be no sophomore slump for Donald McKillop, the Panthers quarterback who won Rookie of the Year last year and brought a NESCAC title home to Vermont. McKillop's stats were eye-popping -- 27-for-31 for 344 yards -- in the Panthers' shootout win over Bowdoin in Week 1. The Mules are 0-1 and still looking for an identity, as well as some more tangible things like a quarterback and some receivers....

Friday Afternoon Quarterback, Week 1

9/19/08 5:01 PM

As American as apple pie, as exclusive as Skull and Bones, and as exciting as... well, as exciting any Div. III league can get -- that's right, it's time for the return of NESCAC football! Not the most exciting week to open the season, as five clear favorites open 2008 at home against five clear underdogs. Who knows... maybe an upset's in the works somewhere. But if not, expect Saturday afternoon's action to turn out a little something like this: Wesleyan at Tufts The Cardinals went 4-4 last year and return 19 of 24 starters, but there's a big gaping hole at quarterback, and time will tell whether sophomore Joe Giaimo can fill it. The Jumbos, 5-3 last fall, have a wealth of returning playmakers on both sides, and incoming transfer Anthony Fucillo shows promise under center. The...

Brady's bad luck...

9/8/08 2:02 AM

If you're looking for an escape from the Tom Brady-induced panic that's swept New England, you're looking in the wrong place. The word is out about Brady's injury, and according to all sources close to the Patriots (anonymous as they may be), it isn't good. A torn ACL appears likely, which would mean an eight-month vacation for the Patriots' starting quarterback of their last 128 games. Goodbye, 2008. Where's the silver lining? Well... you have to look really hard to see it. But I suppose Patriots fans can take solace in the fact that this team is more than just its star quarterback. An 86-26 run over seven years never happens solely because of one man, even as godly a man as Tom Brady. The Patriots still have one of the league's top five defenses, they still get solid production on...

Call it in the air...

9/8/08 1:45 AM

Today, the Tufts Daily's first foray into sports blogging officially kicks off. As the only daily newspaper in the NESCAC, Tufts' Div. III athletic conference, the Daily offers in-depth print coverage of Tufts and its rivals in each day's paper. But there's so much more to say. This new, interactive space, will be one of two blogs on TuftsDaily.com devoted to sports news updates, analysis, opinions and extended coverage -- not to mention some videos and live-blogging -- from the Daily's sports staff. In this blog, The Score, our sports editors will give their takes on the most interesting, engaging and important sports-related stories happening nation-wide -- with a particular focus on Boston sports, of course. Our second blog, which will go live later this week, is set to...