The months of waiting have finally paid off. It’s officially time for the first tip-offs of the 2023–24 college basketball season. With many fascinating storylines and loads of new talent to be displayed, here are my favorite games for each day this week in college hoops.
“Are we seriously putting them in a World Series conversation right now? I’m sorry, I feel like that’s kind of a joke.”I uttered those fateful words when asked about the Texas Rangers on April 3rd of this year.
Coming off a disappointing playoff exit last spring, the New York Rangers feel they can win it all this season, and rightfully so. Their well-balanced and talented roster starts in the net, where elite goaltender Igor Shesterkin resides and consistently dominates.
The Tufts cross country program competed in NESCAC championships held in Amherst, Mass. this weekend. In a field of 11 teams, the women’s team finished sixth and the men were third in the best finish for the men’s team since 2016.
Nobody beats the Denver Broncos 17 times in a row. Certainly not after the Broncos ended a 16-game losing streak in a 24–9 victory against their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs. The victory also ended Patrick Mahomes’ NFL record 16 straight divisional away victories.
On Oct. 29, 2022, the men’s soccer team had a date with Williams in the NESCAC quarterfinals and held a 1–0 lead in the final 25 seconds of the 90 minutes. Then, on an Ephs long throw-in, the game turned upside down: The referee called a penalty kick on an off-ball push, which was converted into a goal, sending the game into overtime. However, the two full overtimes were not enough to settle it, and the game headed to penalty kicks. The Jumbos ultimately fell to the Ephs in the shootout 4–3. The upsetting final image of the game was one of then-senior outside back and All-American Ian Daly staring in disbelief at the trajectory of his shot, which sailed over the crossbar.
In their last games of the regular season, the Tufts women's volleyball team won two back-to-back games against Bowdoin College on Friday and Connecticut College on Saturday. The two victories were decisive, with the Jumbos winning all three sets against both Conn. College and Bowdoin. The team came into last weekend’s games with both excitement and determination. Senior libero Megan Harrison explained that Bowdoin and Conn. College were both strong competitors, so she was excited about the games.
The Jumbos were confident walking into their first overnight travel game of the season for a game against the Hamilton Continentals in upstate New York on Saturday. The game started with a solid drive for Tufts, as senior wide receiver Jaden Richardson and junior running back Chartellis Reece grabbed first downs. Reece ran left into the endzone to cap off the 75 yard drive, making the score 6–0. Sophomore kicker Vaughn Seelicke made it 7–0. Continentals’ first-year quarterback Luke Kurzum then stepped onto the field, throwing to first-year wide receiver Chester Boynton for a 36 yard gain. A tackle in the backfield by Javier Rios, Tufts senior defensive lineman, stopped any momentum on the Hamilton drive. With the ball back in Tufts’ hands, Reece rushed for a 37 yard gain to get to the Hamilton 22 yard line. A seven yard throw to junior wide receiver Cade Moore put the team in field goal range, but Seelicke sent it wide left, keeping the score 7–0. He went one for three on field goal attempts on Saturday, his first two misses of the season.
Many view the Columbus Blue Jackets as a last place, bottom-tier team. However, I expect the Blue Jackets to surprise doubters this season, as they have a nice balance of young, talented players and established veterans. The team is led by star experienced forwards Johnny Guadreau and Patrik Laine, as well as talented and up-and-coming players like rookie forward Adam Fantilli and defenseman Zach Werenski who will have the opportunity to develop their games. Columbus won’t be a playoff team this season, but expect the squad to make many strides with their nice balance of skilled youth and veterans.
We are roughly a third of the way through the NFL season, and narratives are beginning to take hold of teams. Contenders are separating from pretenders, and jobs are being won … or lost. By week 10 of last season, two coaches had already been fired and three more would be on the way out by the end of the season. Now, this season’s most vulnerable coaches are beginning to face the pressure to either perform or be ousted. With that in mind, let’s look at who is most vulnerable, and who may be showing up in headlines in the coming weeks.
For any Tufts team, playing away games at Middlebury is a challenge. In addition to the general quality of its teams, the three or four-hour bus ride to the Western side of Vermont is quite a journey. On Saturday, when the women’s soccer team traveled north to take on Middlebury, they not only dealt with these obstacles but also the wet, rainy conditions.
The Beatles. The 1990s Chicago Bulls dynasty. One Direction. All good things, all came to an end, repeatedly reinforcing the age-old cliché. The Tufts men’s soccer team experienced this harsh reality this past weekend. Their nine-game unbeaten run concluded on Oct. 21, as the Jumbos were defeated 3–0 at the hands of the Middlebury Panthers. The matchup was billed as a clash of the NESCAC’s elite. The Panthers entered the game ranked as the third-best Division III program in the nation, per the United Soccer Coaches poll, and the NESCAC’s top dog, having not lost a game all season. The Jumbos came in as the NESCAC’s No. 2 ranked team, tied with the Amherst Mammoths, who handed them their only previous loss. Thus, in terms of postseason implications, the contest was critical to both sides’ futures.
My preseason World Series prediction — Atlanta Braves over Houston Astros — sounded great way back in March, and with both teams having first round byes in the playoffs, it looked pretty good in October, too. But baseball isn’t that easy. The 2023 World Series will instead feature the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s the first time since 1991 that two teams with losing records the year prior have met in the World Series. Here’s the tale of the tape between these two clubs, and my almost certainly inaccurate prediction for the series.
The Tufts Jumbos are getting good at playing football in the rain. The Saturday game against Amherst featured stormy weather, just like every Saturday football game this season. Junior wide receiver Cade Moore commented on the weather they’ve had to manage.
As the countdown continues to opening day for college hoops, the speculation over the season awards only grows. Anything can happen this year, but for now, these are my 2023-24 preseason individual awards.
Junior quarterback Michael Berluti has been a big part of Tufts football for almost the last three seasons. In 2021, he threw for 1,835 yards and 13 touchdowns, and ran for 326 yards and two touchdowns. In his 2022 season, starting all nine games for the Jumbos, he threw for 2,749 yards and 26 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 69.12%, which was first in the NESCAC.
I’m starting to feel like a broken record when I say that baseball is unpredictable, but this postseason has surpassed anything I’ve ever seen. Any and all trends that were established in the regular season have been firmly shattered this October. Here are just a few crazy things that have happened in the 2023 playoffs.
The Buffalo Bills faced some unwelcome déjà vu while facing off against the New York Giants in week six. Towards the end of the second quarter, Bills running back Damien Harris suffered a dangerous hit that left him lying on the field for several minutes and required an ambulance to take him to a local hospital.
The Montreal Canadiens are clearly continuing their rebuild, which began at the start of last season following their appearance in the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. Apart from their two young star forwards Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, Montreal does not have any notable pieces, emphasizing the fact that they are eyeing future success, keenly focused on developing their young prospects. The Canadiens finished last season with 68 points. Since the front office did not make any key improvements during the offseason and is focused on their rebuild, the club will finish in about the same spot they did last season.
The Tufts cross country program had a successful weekend at the Connecticut College Invitational. The team provided strong performances in all four races at the invitational, with the men’s team finishing second overall and the women’s team finishing ninth in the more competitively seeded Blue races. The program showed its depth by handily winning the White races across both gender divisions.
