Sports
Womens Lacrosse | Amherst scores in last seconds to beat Tufts in close matchup
April 15With only 13 seconds left in regulation during the No.17 womens lacrosse teams game Saturday on Bello Field, No. 10 Amhersts senior tri-captain attacker Marta Randall made a run down the field after a Tufts turnover to score the go-ahead goal that pushed the Lord Jeffs to a 6-5 victory over the Jumbos. Despite outshooting the Lord Jeffs 27-13 and controlling possession in the final minute, Tufts could not find the back of the net enough for the win and instead dropped to 6-5 overall and 2-5 in the NESCAC.
Women's Lacrosse | Amherst scores in last seconds to beat Tufts in close matchup
April 15With only 13 seconds left in regulation during the No.17 women's lacrosse team's game Saturday on Bello Field, No. 10 Amherst's senior tri-captain attacker Marta Randall made a run down the field after a Tufts turnover to score the go-ahead goal that pushed the Lord Jeffs to a 6-5 victory over the Jumbos. Despite outshooting the Lord Jeffs 27-13 and controlling possession in the final minute, Tufts could not find the back of the net enough for the win and instead dropped to 6-5 overall and 2-5 in the NESCAC.
Dhingra to chair sociology department this fall
April 10Professor of Sociology Pawan Dhingra, who joined the Tufts community last fall, will assume the position of chair of the Department of Sociology beginning in the fall of 2013. Dhingra accepted the official offer to serve as chair last February but opted to spend his first year on campus teaching classes, ...
Inside the NBA | NBA postseason awards
April 9The NBA season is entering its final week, and though the playoff seeding for both conferences has yet to be determined, with an anticipated furious finish for the final spot in the Western Conference, its time now to direct our attention to the post-season awards. The Daily breaks down some of the more intriguing races:Most Improved PlayerWith all due respect to Greivis Vasquez, whose 9.2 assists per game are impressive considering the lack of established talent on the Hornets, and Nikola Vucevic, who has gone from being a castoff in Philadelphia to a double-double machine in Orlando, the award will most likely go to a member of the Houston Rockets. Just a season ago, all of the teams most important players had smaller roles, but their rapid maturations this season have pushed the Rockets into good playoff position heading into the last week.James Harden went from being the sixth man in Oklahoma City to carrying the offensive load in Houston, and his resulting 25.8 ppg on the leagues highest-scoring team legitimized his star potential. Jeremy Lin shook off a slow start to become the teams ambiguous primary/secondary ball-handler who makes the offense click, and Chandler Parsons went from being a second-round pick to a solid bench player, but now has been put into the starting five and has blossomed into a sneakily athletic, do-everything, stat-stuffing, offensive small forward.But the player who will probably get the award is Omer Asik. Known for getting bench minutes for the super-subs of the Chicago Bulls, Asik has been logging heavy minutes down low for a team that really needs him. He has been the sole player setting picks for a team that loves the pick-and-roll, grabbing rebounds for a team that loves to run and finishing easy buckets for a 3-point-shooting team. Because his role is so important and he has the numbers to back it up, Asik is a great candidate for the MIP award.Winner: Omer AsikRookie of the YearThis award has been pretty much locked up since the seasons first game, but the rookies have proven that there is a lot of potential in the 2012 NBA Draft Class. First overall pick Anthony Davis has performed well for the Hornets with his rebounding rate and shot blocking abilities despite being thrust into a difficult role his rookie year. And Bradley Beal in Washington and Dion Waiters in Cleveland have proven that they can provide the outside-shooting for their brilliant young point guards John Wall and Kyrie Irving, respectively.But Damian Lillard has had the award won since he laced up the sneakers for the season. What more can be said about the sensational rookie? He came into the league with a chip on his shoulder, incredible poise and unreal range. It seemed that as soon as he stepped past half court, he had the license to shoot the ball, and he would make buckets all season. Whether it was shooting the three or driving and finishing in the lane, it was obvious right from the start that Lillard can score, and he has proven it scoring 18.8 points per game. In a disappointing season for the Portland Trailblazers, who thought they could be serious contenders for a playoff spot with the growth of All-Star Lamarcus Aldridge, Lillard has given the fan base hope moving forward, as he has already established himself as a leader of a young and incredibly talented starting five.Winner: Damian LillardiSixth ManThe easiest measure for the Sixth Man of the year award is to look at points per game for a bench player. If thats the case, than Jamal Crawford easily jumps out. He has been the best scorer off the pine for a Clippers team that absolutely loves emptying out the bench for long stretches, but thats exactly what hurts his candidacy. Because all of the Clippers bench players are so good, it downplays the importance of Crawford as a Sixth Man. If there were a Bench-Mob MVP, Crawford would win hands down, but he isnt the most important Sixth Man in the league.In Golden State, Jarrett Jack is a player who doesnt fit the mold of bench scorer only because the Warriors have so many gifted scorers. However, he is arguably the biggest reason why the Warriors are currently the No. 6 seed in the West -- what, were you thinking Andres Biedrins? He allows the team to go extra-small -- just try covering Steph Curry and Klay Thompson running off screens at the same time -- scores if the team needs him to, has made Carl Landry comfortable coming off the bench and has served to be the veteran presence that a young team like the Warriors need to make the playoffs (shout-out to Mark Jackson, by the way).The most likely winner, however, is J.R. Smith, which is an interesting choice given his reputation as a self-serving player prone to jacking up contested jump shots and finishing drives only in the open floor. But ever since Smith came back from China during the lockout season, his game has evolved to eliminate those inefficient jumpers and include more drives to the bucket in the half court, which has opened up the floor for the Knicks, who live and die by the 3-point shot. He has hit a number of game winning shots this year and has played every game this year for a team maligned by age and injury. But more importantly, he has accepted the role of Robin to Carmelo Anthonys Batman, and the two combine for a lethal 1-2 scoring punch off the wing.Winner: J.R. SmithMost Valuable PlayerEver since the Miami Heat won the title last season, the league has deservedly come under LeBron James control, and if there were any questions of be a championship hangover for LeBron, they were squashed almost immediately. From nearly breaking the record of consecutive 20-point games, to more recently leading the Heat to 28-straight wins, LeBron became even more efficient shooting the ball from all spots on the floor while adding a lethal pull up jumper to his offensive arsenal. Until LeBrons prime is through, the MVP will always be his, barring an injury or a superhuman performance from a feel-good story (See: Derrick Rose, 2009).However, there are other players who deserve to be in the conversation for the MVP award as well. Over in New York, Carmelo Anthony is putting together an MVP- caliber season for the current No. 2 seeded Knicks. With a hot start, Anthony hinted that he could be MVP this year, but after Knicks began a huge dip in their form everyone began to scoff at his candidacy. But now the Knicks have played their way back to the No. 2 seed, and it all starts with Anthony. The ball is moving a lot more freely with Anthony as a willing passer, and the Knicks are starting to get the open threes they saw when they started the season. More importantly, though, is that Anthony is back to doing what he does best, scoring the ball, and the Knicks are starting to win behind his prolific scoring.The most interesting candidate for MVP, however, is none other than Kobe Bean Bryant. He nicknamed himself Vino and has been doing what wine does best: getting better with age. Kobe has actually become one of the most fun players to watch this season.LeBron gets all the highlights with his incredible athleticism that gets the crowd off their feet, but watching Kobe is like watching someone who has perfected the craft of playing basketball. You, and his defenders, have no idea what hes going to do: is he going to pull up for a jumper? Is he going to try a three with a defender in his face? Is he going to fake into a leg-kick-jumper a la Dirk Nowitzki? Or is he going to turn the clocks back and put someone on a poster? When Kobe is successful, your face cringes with admiration as you just watched him school some poor young sap. You cant help but watch what he does next.But his biggest impact is in what he means to the Lakers. Their season has been extremely trying, from the coaching change five games into the season to incorporating future Hall-of-Fame players to the changing offensive system to the injuries and everything in between. But Kobe is singlehandedly willing the team to the eighth seed in the West, and you see that he has no shame or embarrassment in doing so. Kobes season should be appreciated for what it is, regardless of whether he wins the MVP.Winner: LeBron James
SMFA courses canceled over low enrollment numbers
Jewish students, unfiltered
