Sports

Columns

Keeping up with the 617: 3 biggest moves of Patriots' offseason (so far)

By Matt Goguen | March 22

Three weeks ago if you told me that Bill Belichick would be overly aggressive in this year's NFL free agency period, I would've simply laughed in your face. Belichick's philosophy has long been to sign bargain players and build the New England Patriots from within, but he has taken the complete opposite approach this offseason. As of March 21, Belichick has signed 19 players, many of whom were ranked as top free agents in 2021. Although some of these signings were for depth and familiarity with the Patriots system, Belichick was playing chess with a few of his free agency moves in the past week.

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Sports

Tufts athletic trainers keep Jumbos running

By Steven Landry | March 19

Tufts’ athletic training staff is invaluable to the success and health of all Jumbo sports teams. They help athletes get back on the field, and they connect with the hobbled Jumbos who can’t be practicing with their teammates. With March being National Athletic Training Month, what better time to meet Pat Cordeiro and Emily Young, two women that come to work with the goal of seeing athletes succeed.

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Columns

The Fast Break: The Eastern Conference in 5 years

By Aiden Herrod | March 19

A couple of weeks ago, I looked at what the NBA’s Western Conference could look like five years down the road. This week, I plan to do the same for the East, an admittedly far more difficult task. The talent distribution is more lopsided, and far more teams are in the uncertain phases of long-winded rebuilds. However, there are still plenty of franchises with bright, sustainable futures on the horizon. Let’s take a look at them now.

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Columns

3-Point Play: All-Star Weekend recap

By Matt Chen | March 18

The second half of the 2020–21 NBA season is underway after an eventful All-Star Weekend. This year’s All-Star festivities were condensed into one night in Atlanta, Ga. The NBA pulled off playing without fans in a traditionally fan-focused event, though not without some obstacles. From an action-filled All-Star Game to some memorable performances in the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest, let’s run through some of the highlights from this year’s All-Star break.

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Columns

Long Shot: Roger Mason

By Samuel Charlton | March 18

This week’s column is about Roger Mason, an 11-year NBA veteran and the current co-founder and CEO of Vaunt Media. Mason played for 7 NBA franchises, with the majority of his time spent on the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards.

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Basketball

Mask up hoops: Pickup in the age of COVID-19

By David Cooperman | March 17

For many, the recent shift toward warmer temperatures means shorts weather, a chance to lie in the sun on President's Lawn or a time to go on a nice walk around campus. But for a group of students here at Tufts, it has been the motivation for an outdoor exercise opportunity: pickup basketball. 

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Sports

The meaning of March

By Alex Sharp | March 16

The NCAA tournament is everything that’s great about sports condensed into three weeks of basketball. Rivalries, powerhouse teams, underdogs, comebacks, buzzer beaters — March Madness has it all. Since Magic Johnson and Michigan State defeated Larry Bird and Indiana State in the 1979 national championship, the tournament has become a staple in American sports.

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Columns

Olympic Torch: The Scoop on race walking

By Arnav Sacheti | March 16

“Who wants to work this hard to look this funny?”

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Sports

Spring athletes reflect on lost 2020 season, year without sports

By Ananda Kao | March 15

During halftime of a Tufts men's lacrosse game against Ithaca College on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, head coach Casey D’Annolfo pulled his team together for a halftime speech no coach could have imagined giving. D'Annolfo had to inform his players that the game, only the team's fourth game of the season, would be its last.

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Columns

Power to the Players: The NBA bubble and the questions it raised

By Isaac Karp | March 15

With basketball gone, many NBA players spent their time campaigning for racial equality during the summer's Black Lives Matter protests. Meanwhile, NBA executives were devising a way to finish the season in the hopes of saving some of the lost revenue.

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Columns

Wonder Women: Deja Young

By Nicole Setow | March 12

How does one cope when the very thing that brings them joy becomes a source of stress? Paralympic track star Deja Young’s story is one incredible example of overcoming adversity, prioritizing mental health and rediscovering joy in competition.  

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Track And Field

Coaching in COVID-19: How athletics staff adapted

By Keila McCabe | March 11

For almost a year, Tufts athletics has faced limited and distanced practices, uncertainty regarding when competition will resume and teams left waiting for the day when things turn back to normal. For coaches, scheduling, recruiting and connecting with their teams continues to be difficult. In the face of extraordinary circumstances, Tufts coaches have been forced to adapt to the challenges. 

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Basketball

In the Paint: Paige Bueckers is the future

By Jenny Lu | March 11

Paige Bueckers, a first-year on the University of Connecticut women's basketball team, has been an internet sensation since her days in high school and it’s easy to see why. On the court, Bueckers is an electric player whose playmaking abilities are really what makes her stand out. Although there is no shortage of talent and excitement in the WNBA, the internet fame that follows the new generation of athletes like Bueckers could bring more viewers to women’s basketball. 

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Sports

BREAKING: NESCAC teams to compete this spring

By Alex Sharp | March 10

The NESCAC presidents released a statement on Tuesday evening clearing the way for spring sports competition. Although the Tufts administration has yet to come out with an official statement, the Tufts University Athletics Department released a statement shortly after NESCAC's decision anticipating Tufts' resumption of varsity athletics after multiple canceled seasons.

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Baseball

Big bats, new faces and old rivalries: Previewing the American League East

By Ethan Grubelich | March 10

Since 2014, each team in the American League East has won the division at least once, made multiple playoff appearances and reached the AL Championship Series at least once. The fact that no other division in baseball comes close to boasting even one of these accomplishments over this seven-year span is a testament to the year-to-year competitiveness and unpredictability of the AL East division. 2021 appears no different, as three teams — the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and reigning AL champions Tampa Bay Rays — are expected to compete for this year’s AL East crown. Here is a look at each team’s situation heading into the new season, which hopefully  can help you determine how things will stand once the 162 regular season games are in the books.

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Columns

Off the Gridiron: Palcic's Revenge

By Henry Gorelik | March 10

It is clear that women are becoming increasingly involved in the NFL. While others have captured the national headlines recently, one very talented woman in the NFL has flown completely under the radar. On Friday, Feb. 22, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced that they had hired Amy Palcic to lead their public relations department.

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Columns

Power to the Players: Protesting the 2022 Beijing Olympics

By Isaac Karp | March 9

This week, the World Uyghur Congress filed a complaint demanding that the International Olympic Committee cancel the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The objection comes amid ongoing reports of human rights abuses by the Chinese government against Uyghur Muslims.

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Columns

Long Shot: Ryan Mundy and Alkeme Health

By Samuel Charlton | March 9

This edition of “Long Shot,” which explores athletes’ ventures off the field, is about former NFL player Ryan Mundy. Drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, he helped the team win the Super Bowl in his rookie season. During his successful eight-year NFL career, Mundy established himself as one of the best and hardest-hitting safeties in the league. 

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Columns

Keeping up with the 617: Assessing the state of the Celtics

By Matt Goguen | March 8

Entering the All-Star break at 19–17 and fourth in the East, the Celtics have been depleted for much of the first half of the season. Although they've won four straight, dating back to Feb. 26, they've had many questionable losses, including two to the bottom-feeder Detroit Pistons. What has gone wrong?

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Coronavirus

Boston stadiums expected to allow fans beginning March 22

By Emma Joyce | March 5

Massachusetts is expected to move into Phase 4 of its COVID-19 reopening plan on March 22, meaning that arenas, stadiums and ballparks will be allowed to operate at 12% capacity. In the near future, both TD Garden and Fenway Park may see fans in the stands for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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