Fill Fitton Field - September 1, 2011 vs. UMass

I hope this message finds all the supporters of the Holy Cross Football program doing well. While we wish Coach Gilmore, staff, and team the best both on and off the field as they are now actively engaged in spring practice, I want to take this opportunity to keep all of you up to date on developments in and around the HCGLC and our mission of being "committed to excellence in helping Holy Cross Football win on and off the field." 

There are a lot of very good things happening so I will dispense with the formalities and dive right into the mix.

1.Spring Football Game on Saturday April 16th. 

Major high five to Dan Adams '07 for his tireless efforts in rallying the troops for the upcoming Alumni football game as part of the spring football game on Saturday April 16th. Dan's enthusiasm and leadership are infectious and deeply appreciated by yours truly and all members of the HCGLC. Please make every effort to get back to campus to take in the spring game, catch up with friends, and get a sneak peek at the 2011 Crusader gridiron contingent. If you want to play, Dan can be reached at either:  daniel.adams@sunlife.com, usafootball43@gmail.com,  

Following the game, the cookout is always a great take. For those mentoring a current Crusader, this day presents a fabulous opportunity to catch up with your student-athlete and further build a rapport and relationship which will change lives on both ends. OurHCGLC 90-Wide Mentoring Program now encompasses 120 alums. GREAT JOB, gentlemen!! 

During the cookout, the HCGLC will once again present the Jackie Mo' Lifetime Achievement Award. This year the HCGLC is extremely pleased to present this award posthumously to the man, the myth, the legend, the one and only former trainer for HC Athletics Jack "Skitchie" Scott. In short, as some have said, we may not have been blessed with Jackie Mo's presence atop Mt. St. James if Skitchie were not there first. Embrace the tradition!!  

Post cookout festivities will take place as well. Will confirm and make sure the name of the fine local watering hole is properly disseminated. We can toast Jack and Jackie more than once.  

2. Holy Cross Football Annual Golf Outing 

SAVE the DATE

Friday, June 3rd
Blackstone National Golf Club
Sutton, MA 

Shotgun start in the AM (Believe it is 9am) followed by lunch and awards. Will confirm the time and make sure more details are sent out in the coming weeks. This Friday June 3rd is the beginning of Reunion weekend. For those in reunion years, come back early and get your weekend started on the right note.  

$250 per person includes range, golf, cart, lunch, and the company of a hundred plus of your closest friends. $200 per person for those out in the last 10 years.    

To save headaches the day of the outing, I believe it is best that we make this a pay in advance. I will check with the person who really runs HC Football, that being LuAnn Hennessy, and let you know how this will work. For now, BLOCK THAT DATE and get your boys and girls rounded up for a day of fun both on the links and at the 19th hole.  

3. NIGHT FOOTBALL COMING to FITTON FIELD http://www.goholycross.com/sports/m-footbl/2010-11/releases/20110325cr05x1 

Major kudos to Athletic Director Dick Regan and the HC administration for making this a reality. 

>SAVE the DATE

>Thursday evening (pre-Labor Day weekend) September 1st. 

>Your Holy Cross Crusaders will take Fitton Field under the lights against the UMass Minutemen. 

>Scheduled for a 7pm kickoff.    

>The HCGLC in conjunction with the Athletic Department is targeting this evening to have the second induction of honorees to the Building the Brand/Ring of Fame at Fitton Field. A reception beforehand will be held to properly honor this year's inductees. The online voting at www.goholycross.com for this year's honorees is scheduled to launch in mid-to late April with the honorees announced by mid-May. 

Let's set the scene: as the sun is setting on Fitton Field on Thursday evening September 1, let's presume that Jon Morris is strutting to mid-field to see his name unveiled on the back wall of the visitor's side of Fitton Field with the home side Holy Cross faithful going wild, an overflow contingent of HC's Worcester subway alums rallying another hoiah and a chu chu rah rah, and the legendary UMass band being drowned out as 22k plus fans make history. 

Can you say Field of Dreams? THIS IS OUR HOUSE!!!  

Major high five to Brendan Devlin for already purchasing the domain name www.fillfittonfield.com. We will look for major support from everybody to make this event one to remember. 

Hope to see many of you on April 16th. Please spread the word on all these fronts to all your friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks again to Coach Gilmore for his inspiration and passion which inspire us all.  

LET'S WIN!!!   

Larry Doyle '83

Chair, Holy Cross Gridiron Leadership Council

HCGLC Mission: Committed to excellence in helping Holy Cross Football win on and off the field. 

Joe Tutino '12 Weighs in on the Colgate Trip

Although it is coming a little later than usual this week, Joe Tutino has fabulously provided his great insights to our trip to quaint Hamilton, NY. I cannot think of a single part of the trip that Joe left out, other than myself having some serious digestive problems on our drive from the hotel to Colgate on Saturday morning; there definitely was something peculiar in those sausage links.                

            Figuring that we have a bye week this week, I thought I’d delay my recap so there would be something to read about over this weekend. It’s only been a week, but the excitement of the Colgate win is still fresh in everyone’s minds. After a long ride through the winding roads of western Massachusetts and eastern New York, a huge win over the 1932 National Champions proved to be a huge momentum booster heading into the bye week as the boys prepare to take on the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh University this coming Saturday. All things considered, the winner of this game will be in complete control of its destiny for the Patriot League Championship (as I write this, Lehigh dismantled Colgate 44 to 14 on Senior Day in Bethlehem). This week proved to be big as injured guys have slowly made their way back onto the field and into pads, enthusiastically preparing for another potent offensive attack in Lehigh. But, for one last time, let’s take a look at the game that kept us alive in the hunt for another PLC…

As Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ chimed through the speakers at Colgate’s Andy Kerr Stadium, the sun slowly descending behind the hills of Hamilton, NY, the Holy Cross football team erupted into unrestrained jubilation after upsetting the preseason Patriot League favorite Raiders of Colgate University, 31 to 24. To those who were not there, it is extremely hard to put into words the anxiety of scoring early, losing the lead and then scoring on a really bold play to win the game. Recording the first road win of the 2010 campaign and the first road victory at Colgate since Kerr Stadium had a grass surface back in 2000, the Cross took full control of their own postseason destiny as they have the last couple of seasons, not to mention taking at least a few more years off of Coach Gilmore’s life. Something felt very different about this game almost from the very beginning. As soon as we arrived at the locker rooms to the time the boys stepped on the turf for warm-ups, the entire team was vocal and upbeat, something that was not really seen or felt before last week’s defeat at Dartmouth. The hangover from the Hanover trip was almost nonexistent and that was evident in practice this past week. The entire coaching staff did a great job of keeping the guys loose, yet focused on correcting mistakes from Dartmouth and, boy, did it show. The boys were talking a good game on the field, but they brought the intensity to back it up against what appeared to be an arrogant Colgate squad.

LeBron James to the Miami Heat

Is it possible for an NBA team to go 82-0? The Miami Heat may be able to now.

LeBron Comes to Greenwich

LeBron James will come to the basketball capital of the world tomorrow to announce the team he will be playing on for the foreseeable future.

Wait! Greenwich and basketball? Isn't Greenwich, CT commonly known as the rich suburb outside of New York City, where belonging to country clubs and flaunting one's wealth is the norm? Greenwich, if anything, is about polo, croquette, or sailing . . . but basketball?

Well, tomorrow night LeBron James will grace us with his presence in Greenwich. For at least one night, Greenwich will be the basketball capital of the world. Look for more on this story in tomorrow morning's post.

                                     Greenwich, meet LeBron James

Where is LeBron Going?

The answer is, no one knows except him. I find it comical that many of the major media outlets have predictions and inklings as to where LeBron James will be playing next season. There are about six different teams that are in serious contention, and it seems as if each team has made a compelling presentation and offer to him.

I understand that this is easily the biggest story of the day, and will most likely be the biggest story each day until he finally signs with a team. I will, however, choose to dissuade my interest in the entire free agent saga until players sign with teams. I could care less about all the story lines and lucrative offers that are made to each players, most notably LeBron, of course. Until then, I will watch my Red Sox.

Fearless Prediction: The Red Sox will be leading the Yankees at the All Star break.

South Carolina: College World Series Champs

As great as the College World Series is, it unfortunately gets lost in the shuffle of other major sports in the United States. Sure, it gets pretty good publicity with ESPN covering the games, but much of the media's attention is focused on the NBA Draft, NBA free agency, Major League Baseball, and the major Golf and Tennis championships, Heck, even the OTA's (Organized Team Activities) for football seem to attract more attention than College Baseball. 

Regardless of whether the CWS deserves more media attention or not, the South Carolina Gamecocks played a near perfect final series en route to becoming National Champions. South Carolina's pitching and defense was truly remarkable in its two games against the Bruins from UCLA. In 20 innings (Game 2 was 11 innings long), the Gamecocks allowed two runs, 11 hits, and struck out 17 batters. 

While I followed the CWS relatively closely, it is quite hard to know who the stronger players are and what the weaknesses and strengths of a given team are. This is not College Basketball or Football where countless regular season games are televised over the major networks. Rather, College Baseball truly begins from the media perspective during the selection show where 64 teams are placed into a bracket.

There have been many memorable games at the historic Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, NB, but the stadium will close its doors as a new stadium is slated to open for next year's Championship. South Carolina, winning its first National Championship in any sport, can proudly say they were the last team to hoist the Championship trophy and plaque at Rosenblatt. 

LeBron Going to Miami...

Is this good for the NBA?

Much of the debate on ESPN has been of whether LeBron James going to the Miami Heat is a good thing for basketball. It would not just be James, however, that would be making his new home in South Beach, but Chris Bosh as well. Is stockpiling an NBA team bad for the game itself?

The answer is an emphatic, N-O . . . NO!

Did the Boston Celtics not do the same thing several years ago when they added KG and Ray Allen to the squad? One could argue that James and Bosh are better than Garnett and Allen, but it is the same principle. The NBA needs all the publicity it can get during the regular season; the playoffs are entertaining enough.

I could not even imagine another team drawing up a game plan to take on Wade, Bosh, and LBJ, that is downright scary.