Roxbury Latin Alums Weitzel and Lowrie Prepare for NCAA Lax Final Four in Foxboro

Yale LSM Will Weitzel has helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA lacrosse Final Four, and could see a familiar face in the championship game...   Photo courtesy of Yale Athletics.

By Michael Abelson (@ABELS0N)

Foxborough, Mass. - Life is strange in how it connects and brings people back together.

Years after starring together on the lacrosse pitch at Roxbury Latin, Newton’s Will Weitzel and Foxboro’s Sean Lowrie are one win away from meeting each other for the NCAA Division 1 lacrosse national championship at Gillette Stadium.

RADIO: The High School Sports Lunchbox, Recapping National Signing Day in CMass

Leominster's Noah Gray was one of many athletes around the region who signed National Letters of Intent yesterday.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

On this week's episode of the Local Sports Lunchbox on WPKZ, we recapped all the biggest happenings from National Signing Day.

With players signing to play for schools at every level, there was a ton to cover, and we had Leominster star, and Duke signee, Noah Gray call in, then chatted with Carl Setterlund of the Telegram & Gazette.

It was a full show highlighting the top prospects from across the region, so listen in for more below.

Still a Blue Devil: Leominster's Noah Gray Signs With Duke

Leominster's Noah Gray surrounded by family, coaches and educators.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

At a ceremony in the Leominster High School library, Noah Gray celebrated making his long-standing commitment to Duke University official. The Gray family sent in Noah's National Letter of Intent earlier Wednesday morning, but the emotions were still flowing when Noah addressed the Leominster community around noon.

"My parents have been an inspiration to me, I look up to them every single day," Gray said, while choking up a bit. "I'm grateful for them, and my brother and my sister, they've been a blessing to me. I've just been blessed with amazing people around me."

From Leominster to Duke: Noah Gray Remains a Blue Devil

Leominster quarterback Noah Gray and coach Dave Palazzi talk strategy against Nashoba last season.

By Jason Siegel

Leominster starting quarterback Noah Gray will be taking his talents to Durham, North Carolina and Duke University in the fall of 2017.

The rising high school senior chose the Blue Devils over offers from Temple, Toledo, University of Delaware, University of New Hampshire, and Appalachian State.

Ranking the NCAA Tournament Field by "Likability…" Again

Grayson Allen is just the latest annoying white dude from Duke that you hate.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It's a new NCAA Tournament, and that means another ranking of the most/least likable teams in the field!

Just to be nice, I've even included Vanderbilt and Farleigh Dickinson (who?), the two teams bounced from last night's first pair of play-in games. That's how generous I'm being this year.

Now, I'm normally no fan of plagiarism, but I'd like to quote myself from last year so that I don't have to write an entirely new introduction for what is, essentially, the same story, only updated.

It would be like coming up with a new rap song every year for the Madden NFL video game. That's just illogical. Anyways, to quote myself:

"What usually makes a team 'likable?'

Well, we tend to want them to play "the right way." This means buying in on defense, hitting the glass, and being able to shoot the three. You know, all white guy basketball stereotypes...

Your 2015 Final Four Preview

Can lovable goofball Frank Kaminsky and his Badgers knock off undefeated Kentucky?

By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

No. 1 Duke faces No. 7 Michigan State. No. 1 Kentucky takes on No. 1 Wisconsin.

Saturday’s Final Four should be one of the best in years. For only the fifth time in history, 3 of the Final Four teams are No. 1 seeds. Combined, the four teams have won 15 national championships and made 46 Final Fours, so they are all accustomed to the big stage. The Michigan State Spartans are the only surprise team remaining, but honestly, it’s more surprising to see them as a No. 7 seed than it is to see them in the Final Four, where they’ve been in 7 of the last 17 seasons.

Let's break down both of the national semifinals.

Ranking the NCAA Tournament Field by "Likability"

Pictured: Noted basketball player that many people do not like, former Duke Blue Devil Christian Laettner.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Selection Sunday is over, and now it's time to start your office bracket pool.

Inevitably, your bracket will fall apart before the night games Thursday, so I'm not even going to try to tell you who is going to do what during the tournament (except that Kentucky is going all the way, and that Purdue got screwed).

What I will do, however, is remind you that there are some teams/schools that are just so fun to root against, and there are some squads you find yourself pulling for, for whatever reason.

What usually makes a team "likable?"

NCAA Tournament: Day 2 Preview

This lousy bum fell on the floor a bunch and cost me a billion dollars.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

So, my dreams of a billion dollar bracket were dashed yesterday, when all those reject Ohio basketball recruits beat the kids that were better than them in high school.

I'm talking, of course, about stupid Dayton beating Ohio State, and busting 83 percent of the brackets in the Quicken Loans Bracket Challenge. I know we're supposed to root for underdogs and all, but dang it Dayton, did you have to end my dreams of what I'd do with a billion dollars so quickly?

Oh well, as the kids say today, onto the next one.

Here is your day two preview.

Taking You to School: Basketball is Back

Has Duke's Jabari Parker been the most impressive freshman so far this year?

Our "Taking You to School" basketball podcast returns with host Joe Parello, editor Jeremy Conlin and Roundball Daily's Kels Dayton discussing the biggest hoops stories of the day.

This week, the gang tackles which fantastic freshman will have the best college season, and then NBA career. Plus, which disappointing team in the East can recover, and are the Clippers the favorites in the West? How about Michigan State, are they the best college basketball team in the country?

All that, and more, on this week's edition of "Taking You to School."

New Sports Podcasts with RF Sports Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Stupid Indiana is Fun to Watch and Should Win It All

My God, those stupid pants.

By Joe Parello

I hate Indiana.

Not the state. Not the university, or its athletic department as a whole, but man do I hate that basketball program.

A few years ago, when Kelvin Sampson illegally phone called them into a nuclear winter, nobody was happier than I was.

I'm a Boilermaker, and hating the Hoosiers is what we do at Purdue.

Studs and Duds: Katie Couric is Looking Studly

You know who the stud is in this picture.

By Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello

Studs and Duds is a weekly feature on Suite Sports. Who had a good week? Who had a bad week?

Studs:

John Wall Off The Bench

Since returning from his knee injury on January 12, Wall has been coming off the bench for the previously hapless Wizards. Before his comeback, the Wiz were dead last in the conference at 5-27. Since then they’re 4-3, including two road wins against Denver and Portland (they were 1-15 on the road without Wall).

Wall has averaged 14.5 points and 7.0 assists in just 27 minutes per game, and has a PER of 21.0 in the seven games since he’s been back, which would be a career high if sustained over a full season. He could see his first start of the season as soon as Monday against Portland.

-JC

Chris Ault and the Pistol Offense

Much has been made of Chip Kelly’s offense as the former Oregon coach moves on to coach the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, and rightfully so. But, there is another college coach that has influenced NFL offenses and this particular season much more than Kelly.

Though it had been previously used in lower level college football, former Nevada head coach Chris Ault perfected the Pistol offense in the Wolf Pack locker room in 2003, and found the perfect man to run it when then-sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick took over the Nevada offense in 2008.

Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, it is Kaepernick who now has many thinking that the Pistol run with zone read concepts is a viable NFL offense. But Kaep and the NFC champion 49ers are not the only team that ran the Pistol this season. Fellow NFC playoff teams Washington, Seattle and even Green Bay put their dual-threat quarterbacks in the Pistol at times this season, as did Pittsburgh recently to allow Ben Roethlisberger to play with a foot injury.

Will it last? I can’t see why not, as running a system like this gives all those teams that don’t have a Peyton Manning or a Tom Brady another way to score points, and it gives teams with less than dominant offensive lines another way to manufacture a running game. Still, you need to find the right guy to run it, and the risk of a quarterback injury is always there.

-JP

Katie Couric

I think it’s safe to say that when we decided to do this feature every week, I never imagined that I would put Katie Couric on the “studs” list, but here we are. Couric pulled no punches when she interviewed Manti Te’o this past Thursday about his now famous fictitious relationship with a young woman named Lennay Kekua.

Couric asked Te’o why he never visited this sick girl (Kekua was said to have died of leukemia and been in a car accident), or driven just two hours to see her at one point when Te’o was in California. She hammered home the questions that made everyone think he was in on the hoax, and she went so far as to say that he “must be the most naive person in the world” to have thought some of the things he did.

Oh, and she went there.

You know what I mean. The thing everybody was talking about, she asked Te’o if he was gay. Now, some will wonder if she crossed a line, but you have to applaud her for asking the question on everybody’s mind, even if she may face some backlash for it.

For Te’o’s part, he responded, “No, far from it, far from it.”

Now, try to interpret what it means to be “far from gay.”

-JP

Really Manti?? Far from gay??

Trey Burke

It’s been a very interesting week of college hoops, and this season has the makings of a wide-open race for the national championship. But, one player I wouldn’t bet against is Trey Burke. The talented Michigan sophomore may just be the best point guard in the country, and with his commanding performance Thursday night against Purdue, he has put the Wolverines in position to claim the No. 1 spot in the polls, assuming they can win at Illinois Sunday.

Burke is currently averaging nearly 18 points a game in the defensive-minded Big Ten on over 50 percent shooting from the floor and nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc. He also leads the Big Ten, by a wide margin, with over seven assists per game and is an 80 percent free throw shooter.

But when you watch his game, it goes deeper than numbers. Burke is always in control of the Wolverine offense, picking his spots to be assertive and dropping dime passes to cutters in other critical moments. He also never seems to lose his balance and provides great energy on the defensive side, applying more pressure to the ball than his 1.3 steals per game would have you believe.

The Big Ten is loaded this year, but if I had to put money on which team will go the deepest into the tournament, I’m taking the one with the best point guard in America.

-JP

Duds:

Duke Basketball

Speaking of that interesting week in college basketball, was there a bigger surprise than the total meltdown of No. 1 Duke at No. 25 Miami?

Don’t get me wrong, this is one of the better Hurricane teams in recent memory. The Canes already have quality wins over North Carolina and Michigan State, but this is also a team that struggled to escape Boston College the week before hosting Duke.

So, for the Blue Devils to get blown out by 27- and it could have been worse- in one of the weakest venues in college basketball, against a pretty good team... Let’s just say Duke is missing senior Ryan Kelly badly, and won’t make much of a run come March if he hasn’t fully recovered from his foot injury.

-JP

The All-Star Candidacy of Luol Deng

NBA coaches voted Luol Deng into the All-Star game for the 2nd straight season, and they made the wrong choice for the 2nd straight season. The argument for Deng has no leg to stand on whatsoever.

The argument can’t be that he’s an integral part of a winning team, because the Nets have a better record than Chicago but have no All-Stars. Meanwhile, Chicago has two.

And the argument can’t be that he’s putting up All-Star caliber numbers, regardless of the team he’s on, considering he scores at an efficiency level well below the league average, can’t create a shot for anyone besides himself, and has a net negative impact on his team’s ability to score points.

In fact, his entire candidacy is built around his abilities as a defensive player and a “glue” guy, only the Bulls are better both offensive and defensively when Deng isn’t on the floor. They have a net efficiency (points per 100 possessions) of +1.5 with Deng on the court, and +6.2 with him on the bench.

So where exactly is his value?

Brook Lopez, Paul Pierce, David West, Thaddeus Young, Kyle Lowry, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Kemba Walker, Greg Monroe, and Larry Sanders are all more deserving candidates for any number of reasons.

-JC

Pro Bowl Quarterbacks In The 2nd Half of Conference Championship Games

Both the Falcons and the Patriots, led by Matt Ryan and Tom Brady, respectively, were held scoreless in the 2nd halves of their conference championship games on Sunday.

Brady had the worse end of the stick, with both of his interceptions coming in the second half (although, in his defense, the first was a tipped pass and the second was forced into coverage after the game was effectively out of reach already).

After combining for 37 points in the first half of their games, these two high-powered offenses couldn’t make anything happen. The Falcons committed back-to-back turnovers in the third quarter and failed to convert a 4th-down with a minute left that would have put them in a position to take the lead. The Patriots took the reverse approach - they punted on both of their 3rd quarter possessions, fumbled near midfield in the 4th, then failed to convert a 4th down with 8:27 left before being intercepted on their last two drives.

-JC

The 100 Best Coaching Jobs in Football: 76-100

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald led the Wildcats to a Gator Bowl victory this season. It was the program's first bowl win in 64 years.

By Joe Parello

We continue our look at the 100 Best Coaching Jobs in football. For those of you that didn't read out first section (on the sad 11 programs that didn't even make the Top-100), here is a refresher on our terms.

The "best" coaching jobs are ranked by:

1. General Prestige- The guy who coaches this team is a big deal.

2. Chances of Being Successful- In college this amounts to how well a coach can expect to recruit and level of competition. In the pros, it is determined by the competency of the ownership group and front office. Pro teams are generally lower in this category because a. the NFL is a league of parity (sorta) and b. you have to rely on other people to pick your players (most of the time). Not to mention, there is a draft.

3. Length of Leash- Can one bad season get you canned at this job? Or, is the administration/ownership group understanding of the team building process? A job where you can actually work through that process is obviously more desirable.

Two factors not used in coming up with these rankings were a team's current roster and compensation. Personnel and pay-wise, this is an "all things being equal" kind of thing. Think of it as the best places to build a team from scratch.

The rankings take college conference realignment into consideration, and include 111 possible teams from the NFL, ACC, Big East (though it will not be a BCS conference much longer), Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC and Div. I independents.

So, without further ado, here is the second section of our rankings, the first quarter of our Top-100.

100. Jacksonville Jaguars: NFL

I mean, it's an NFL job, so it can't be out of the Top-100. But, with an incompetent front office, apathetic fan base and the constant threat of relocation, Jacksonville is definitely the least appealing job in the pros.

99. Kentucky: SEC

98. Kansas: Big 12

97. Duke: ACC

96. Connecticut: Big East

Let's just group these four together as the "basketball schools." While they have all had some success in the past 20 years (which is why they rank ahead of Indiana) these programs will probably always stay in the shadows of the historic hoops teams they share a campus with. Kentucky gets the low spot because they have to play in the brutal SEC with an apathetic fan base, and Connecticut grabs the top spot because talent in the Northeast doesn't have many other options for football.

95. Carolina Panthers: NFL

94. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: NFL

93. Tennessee Titans: NFL

Oh, the AFC/NFC South. Two divisions where, if you ain't winning, you're probably playing in front of non-sellout crowds. Add in the fact that you have to compete with solid front offices and emerging fan bases in New Orleans, Indianapolis, Atlanta and Houston, and these jobs are far down the Totem pole.

92. Washington St.: Pac 12

Playing second-fiddle to Washington is tough, but there is some talent in the Pacific Northwest. The problem is, USC and Oregon know that too, and they do an excellent job recruiting Washington.

91. Southern Methodist: Big East

This job has gotten more and more appealing in recent years with the effects of the NCAA "Death Penalty" wearing off and the school maneuvering its way into a major conference. With fertile recruiting grounds in the Dallas area and top notch academics to sell, a few good seasons could end with the Mustangs moving up to the Big 12.

90. Cleveland Browns: NFL

This may be the most incompetent front office in sports, but at least the fan base shows up. Plus, fans in Cleveland will latch on to any signs of life as reason to keep a coach.

89. San Diego St.: Big East

Like SMU, San Diego St. enjoys the luxury of having talent in its backyard, and should be able to sell itself in recruiting now that it is in a bigger conference. Now, can it sell games against Connecticut and South Florida to California kids? 

And, with news coming down that San Diego St. will be reinstated as a full member of the Mountain West, they are no longer eligible for our list. Shame, that 89th spot was very prestigious.




88. Northwestern: Big Ten

Northwestern has one of the smallest home stadiums in Division 1 and academic standards that make it difficult to recruit top players. Still, those same academics make it a good sell to players in talent-rich Chicagoland. Good coaches can succeed there (see above), but it isn't easy.

87.  St. Louis Rams: NFL

86. Oakland Raiders: NFL

85. Detroit Lions: NFL

84. Arizona Cardinals: NFL

The Rams are a mess of a front office right now, and don't play in a glamor town, while the Raiders didn't get any smarter after the passing of Al Davis. The Lions have a nice new stadium and a passionate fan base, but also a history littered with terrible personnel decisions. The Cardinals are a historic doormat, and the front office just fired the only guy that has ever led them to a Super Bowl. Still, the fan base is growing, and a new stadium makes the job somewhat worthwhile.

83. Colorado: Pac 12

Moving to the Pac 12 may come back to bite the Buffaloes, who now seem lost in the recruiting wilderness. Colorado produces some Division 1 talent, but not enough to run a program. Historic pipelines in Oklahoma and Texas seem to have dried up now that the Buffs no longer face the Longhorns and Sooners on an annual basis.

82. Syracuse: ACC

A move to the ACC should bring a boost to both the football and basketball programs. On the football side, the hope is that the upstate New York school will be able to recruit further south into the Mid-Atlantic and suddenly talent-rich New Jersey, along with further east into Pennsylvania.

81. Maryland: Big Ten

80. Rutgers: Big Ten

Time will tell if the move to the Big Ten will come back to haunt these two programs the way the move to the Pac 12 did Colorado. Maryland and New Jersey both have talent, but there are plenty of traditional powers that now pluck players out of there. So, with the Terps and Scarlett Knights playing their biggest games in Ohio and Michigan, will they be able to keep any of those kids home?

79. Oregon St.: Pac 12

Oregon St. has none of the advantages of in-state rival Oregon, but all the natural disadvantages. Namely, the fact that the state of Oregon doesn't produce a ton of players. Still, good coaches can sell the home crowd in Corvallis and bring in enough talent from Washington and California to compete.

78. Minnesota: Big Ten

Minnesota had a dynasty in the 1950s, but since the dawn of national television, the Gophers have struggled. Still, with a new stadium and totally refurbished facilities, along with a cool campus with "city life" to sell, Minnesota has the ability to recruit with rival Wisconsin.

77. Boston College: ACC

Boston College has some history, excellent academics and a beautiful campus to sell. But, talent in the Northeast is sub par and all college athletics seem to get lost in the shuffle in this great pro sports town.

76. Mississippi St.: SEC

They're in the SEC, and the state of Mississippi is up there with Louisiana and Florida in terms of NFL players per capita. But, LSU and Alabama recruit the state well, and Ole Miss has been able to keep more kids home historically.