There’s not enough money in sports. I know that LeBron James makes nearly $45 million every year, that the Golden State Warriors had a payroll over $175 million last year and that the NFL signed a media rights deal worth over $100 billion in total value. I know those numbers seem completely out of control, but I promise only the last one is. Hear me out.
Tufts men’s soccer faced mixed results in last weekend’s double header, although they were able to end the weekend on a positive note. The team’s Saturday game against Colby College resulted in a draw of 1–1. Despite this disappointing result, the Jumbos stepped onto Bello Field the following day and took care of business, picking up a resounding win of 5–1 against the Trinity College Bantams.
It’s the first year of the new 12-team format for the MLB postseason, which begins tonight. The first round will feature four wild card series, each of them a best of three games. The top two division winners in each league get first round byes. The Astros and the Yankees are the top two seeds in the American League, while the Dodgers and Braves secured byes in the National League. Those clubs will face the winners of the wild card round in a best of five games division series, which will be followed by the best of seven games championship series and the World Series, which begins on Oct. 28. This is a breakdown of the wild card matchups, predictions for each and some thoughts on who will win it all.
The women’s soccer team returned home to face Colby on Saturday and No. 16 Trinity (Conn.) on Sunday after a strong five-game road trip which included significant victories over Wesleyan, No. 22 Amherst and No. 19 MIT. These performances garnered a ranking at No. 6 for the Jumbos in the United Soccer Coaches national poll of NCAA Division III women’s teams as of Sept 27.
Field hockey had business to attend to over the weekend, with back-to-back days of conference matchups against Colby and previously undefeated Trinity.
A hopeful looping ball into the box by right-back Matthew Loton is dealt away by the outstretched left boot of Jan Vertonghen. Bouncing at the edge of the box, the ball lands at the feet of Heung-Min Son. Looking for options, Son advances the ball while scanning the diagonal runs of teammates Dele Alli and Lucas Moura, neither of which seem worth pursuing. Two retreating Burnley defenders shuffle from left to right as another pair begins pressing from behind. In a momentary glance over his shoulder, Son realizes he’s surrounded and the only way out is forward. In five quick touches, the Korean winger, a lone white shirt in a circle of maroon jerseys, darts past the half line. A hush of anticipation quickly turns into a roaring cheer as Son accelerates away from the chasing pack, his teammates slowly fading from the frame. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, Son opens his body and slots away another special goal.
As the crisp autumn air begins to appear across New England, Bruins fans begin to possess the most helpless feeling in all of sports: hope. With each coming year, the optimism within the TD Garden shrinks as this aging Bruins core, combined with its depleted prospect pipeline, begins to show signs of wear. To make matters worse, a new regime was hired by general manager Don Sweeney to propel this team for one more Stanley Cup run before the inevitable rebuilding process begins in Beantown. Sure Don, that’s been our problem for the past five years.
Volleyball defeated two NESCAC opponents in its home opener, bringing their overall record to 8–3 and conference record to 3–1. On Friday night, the Jumbos took down the Middlebury Panthers (25–22, 25–16, 25–18), and Saturday afternoon, they did the same against Hamilton Continentals (25–22, 25–16, 26–24). Despite both contests being consistently close in score in each set, Tufts was able to sweep both teams 3–0 to play the minimum of six sets for the weekend.
According to the NFL, there is no upper limit to how hard you can hit, so long as you do it legally. Most of the illegal ways of hitting involve plays that put a player at excessive risk of head trauma and concussions. These include leading with the crown of your helmet, grabbing another player’s face mask or blindsiding a defenseless player. These plays primarily attempt to limit concussions, generally considered the most dangerous long-term injury happening to football players since the discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 2002.
The Tufts football team secured a vital road win over the weekend, winning 35–28 over the Williams College Ephs. In their last 10 matchups, the Jumbos have been 6–4 against the Ephs, just losing to them in overtime last season, 32–29. Both teams were 1–1 in the conference, entering the game and looking to improve their place in the standings.
Aaron Judge is larger than life, and not just because he’s 6 feet, 7 inches tall and 282 pounds. The Yankee slugger is having one of the greatest hitting seasons in recent memory. All eyes have been on his pursuit of the American League single-season home run record of 61, set by the Yankees’ Roger Maris in 1961. After hitting his 61st homer on Wednesday in Toronto, he seems primed to break the record. But Judge’s remarkable 2022 season is about more than one record. It’s one of the greatest hitting campaigns of the 21st century. Here’s why.
Women’s field hockey continued its reign of domination with a 2–0 away victory over the Hamilton Continentals on Saturday, officially making them 7–0 for the season before dropping a 1–2 loss to Babson. Additionally, the Jumbos now lead the NESCAC at 5–0 in the conference season, outranking historically competitive teams like Trinity and Middlebury. While the game remained tied at 0–0 until the fourth quarter, the Jumbos led the game in offensive possession with 14 total shots on goal, six of which were in the first quarter alone. Offensively, this game belonged to Tufts as in addition to their abundance of shots, the Jumbos racked up 12 penalty corners in comparison to the Continentals’ one.
And then there were two. Heading into Week 4, the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins remain undefeated — a surprising duo according to most analysts’ preseason predictions. Yet these teams have a similar makeup. Each traded for a star wide receiver over the summer: Tyreek Hill for the ’Fins and A.J. Brown for the Eagles. Each have stout defenses led by top-notch corners, Xavien Howard and Darius Slay, respectively. Quarterback development is what’s truly propelling these franchises. Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts have each taken junior year leaps and are second and third in passing yards respectively.
In Tufts Director of Athletics John Morris’ office, a large crystal chalice, quite literally too large for the athletics trophy case in Gantcher, sits shining on a round table. It’s adorned with a removable top and the cup itself sits on a heavy black podium. The plaque on the podium reads “Tufts University, 2021-2022 Division III All-Sports Champion.”
Whether or not it seems fair, the winner of a soccer game is not the team that controls possession, has the most chances to score or even has the highest quality shots. Instead, the winner is decided by one simple fact: the number of times each team puts the ball into the back of the opposing team’s net. In Saturday’s NESCAC match against Hamilton, the United Soccer Coaches’ No. 6 ranked Tufts’ women’s soccer team experienced this first-hand. Despite their dominance and control of play throughout the game, they left New York with a 1–1 draw that would leave them hanging on to the top spot of the NESCAC by the skin of their teeth.
On July 13, 2014, the world witnessed two footballing giants go head to head in a final for the ages. Ironically, in Brazil’s iconic Maracanã Stadium, it was Argentina taking on its fierce rival, Germany. The biggest prize in the game, an 18-karat gold trophy standing just 36 centimeters high, stood between the teams’ dugouts at the edge of the touchline. The fairytale ending was almost a reality until Mario Gotze’s extra-time winner broke Argentine hearts. A month-long festival of football on South American soil culminated in German joy. Lionel Messi wore silver as semifinalist Brazil, having been demolished 7 ー 1 a few days earlier, settled for fourth.
On Sept. 24, the men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Maine to compete in the Bowdoin College Invitational. This was the team’s third meet of the season, and both teams are off to strong starts.
On Saturday, men’s soccer suffered its second loss of the season in its away game at Hamilton. While last season Hamilton was 7–7–1, Tufts’ sophomore center back Taylor Feinberg explained that their team still came off the bus with high intensity and locked in for this matchup.
Since a 2019 California law blew the lid off of student athletes getting paid, American governmental bodies have been gunning for the borderline illegal monopoly the NCAA and college athletic departments have had on revenue streams. The California law and subsequent measures held that student athletes could receive compensation for their names, images and likenesses, known collectively as NIL, a major step for student athlete compensation, but stopped miles short of actually paying them for their work.
Tufts football earned their first win this weekend, clobbering the Bates College Bobcats 35–7 in Lewiston, Maine. Both teams came into the weekend with 0–1 records, Tufts having lost to Trinity 26–23 and Bates having lost to Wesleyan 41–10. In their last seven meetings, Tufts has a 6–1 record against Bates. Their only loss came last season, when the team hadn’t gotten their footing yet.
