There’s an old Beatles song that goes, “You say goodbye and I say hello.” I could easily say that about myself and the spring season, but in reverse – I’m saying goodbye as spring says hello.
As we see the baseball, track and crew teams get into full swing, I’m handing the columnist reins to somebody else for a bit. I had a hell of a time splitting attention this past winter between NU sports and my co-op at the Boston Globe. Truth be told, it was quite tough doing this gig after putting all my focus into high school basketball tournaments for the Globe.
Hopefully, my successor won’t have that problem. I’m taking a little break, but I’ll pop up from time to time until the fall – and Northeastern football – returns. But before I go, I have a couple things to talk about, starting with our “Diamond Dogs.”
I was wishing by the time you read this, the Huskies would have made it to the Baseball Beanpot title game after defeating Harvard yesterday in Lynn. Even still, so far the team’s had both highlights (ending a 21-game winning streak for Top 20-ranked UNC-Wilmington last Saturday) and lowlights (getting rocked by George Mason, 26-9, March 23) during the season.
But a definite boost for NU in 2008 has been the play of senior shortstop Mike Lyon, who took a .429 batting average, nine home runs and 26 RBI into the team’s first-round Beanpot date with the Eagles. That .429 mark currently stands second in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), and his slugging percentage (.847) is tops in the conference.
When I helped cover the baseball beat last spring with Nate Owen, head coach Neil McPhee always stressed the positive when it came to talking about his players. When he’s saying that Lyon’s having the best year of anybody he’s coached here at Northeastern, you have to believe he’s loving the work being turned in from his man at short.
I also have to give some props to both the men’s and women’s crew teams, who have both gotten out to strong starts as shown in Monday’s issue (“Outraced all in first regatta” and “Performance has some taking notice”). I’ll be honest – my knowledge of rowing is next to nothing. I think it looks fantastic to watch during the Head of the Charles and the Olympics.
But I also know that Princeton has gained a well-earned reputation on the water in recent years, and when you’re hanging tough with the Tigers like our boys did in San Diego last weekend, things are looking up. Same goes for the girls, who took care of business as well.
Finally, give credit to the track teams for sending their best to go up against stout competition recently in Florida at the Pepsi Relays. This can only make those runners stronger as they hit the big tournaments like the CAA championships later this month, and in May and June, which will feature the NCAA championship.
Please take the time out of your spring and summer to check out a game or a meet and show off your Husky Pride. I am a firm believer in the theory that solid support from fans can only help make better teams and a better NU athletics program as a whole.
With that, I say goodbye as spring says hello.
– Chris Estrada can be reached
