Sports squawk

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis is going to be a great college basketball player, and another in the line of great players to wear the uniform at the University of Connecticut.
But if you think the reigning Gatorade High School Player of the Year is getting the star treatment in Storrs, think again.
Mosqueda-Lewis is one of seven underclassmen - sophomores or freshmen - who are getting playing time for Coach Geno Auriemma's Huskies. The second-ranked Huskies haven't lost this year and have won 89 consecutive games at home, either in Storrs or Hartford.
The freshman from Southern California made her New England debut a year ago with her Mater Dei teammates at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield. Watching her play, you could understand what Auriemma saw in her to bring her across the country and play for UConn.
Twice, Mosqueda-Lewis has been the Big East freshman of the week. She scored 25 points in a win over then No. 3 Stanford - a team that undoubtedly was in the recruiting mix. She earned her second honor by making six 3-point baskets in Sunday's rout of Dayton.
As the Player of the Year, Mosqueda-Lewis comes with all kinds of baggage, the baggage that only the top players in America get to carry. Many believe she is the next Maya Moore or Diana Taurasi. In fact, around Storrs, Auriemma has dubbed her "Baby Jesus."
Mosqueda-Lewis' performance in a 90-34 win over Buffalo on Saturday was nothing to write home about. She was 0 for 8 from the floor and 0 for 5 from 3-point range.
"I never said she was the second coming and I never had her scoring 4,000 points and making everybody forget Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi and everybody else," Auriemma said. "And all those people out there who are saying I'm stupid for not starting her, I think she did it on purpose tonight, just to let everybody know Coach has a plan."
After Sunday's solid effort, the freshman seemed to get what Auriemma is preaching, and using a little tough love to get the result.
"He told me to stop being a baby and if I am missing, keep shooting," she said. "It doesn't matter. I'm not helping the team if I don't shoot."
Mosqueda-Lewis did have seven assists in that game, so it was obvious that she can help the Huskies without scoring.
So, if this UConn team doesn't belong to her yet, and Auriemma isn't going to hand it over to her now, it will soon enough.

- Howard Herman, Berkshire Eagle Staff

Posted by Matthew Sprague, Eagle Sports Editor at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Based on the games that have been played -- and based on my own predictions of games left to play -- here are my BCS bowl projections:

BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (BCS No. 1 vs. No. 2) -- LSU vs. Alabama

We can only hope that, should this matchup become a reality, it's more exciting than the regular-season matchup between the SEC West Division teams. That game, a 9-6 overtime win for the Tigers, was best described by some soccer-loving folks as "LSU 2, Alabama 2, LSU wins 1-0 in penalty kicks."

ROSE BOWL (Big 10 champion vs. Pac-12 champion) -- Michigan State vs. Oregon

I'll believe in Mark Dantonio's Spartans against Wisconsin (what happened? The Badgers were supposed to be a national-title contender) in the inaugural Big 10 championship game. After seeing the Bruins and their all-white uniforms dismantled by USC this past weekend, I have no reason to believe in UCLA winning a Pac-12 title as a sendoff for the fired Rick Neuheisel.

FIESTA BOWL (At-large vs. Big 12 champion) -- Houston vs. Oklahoma State

It's a shame that part of the plot of "Rocky" -- the little guy getting a shot at the champ -- never plays out in major college football. Then again, for that to even be a possibility, the aforementioned little guy (an unbeaten, highly-ranked team in a non-automatic qualifying BCS conference) has to be the real deal. Houston's unbeaten, but no one is screaming for them to get a shot at LSU.
Still, their road to a BCS game was paved by many of the little guys before them -- Utah, Boise State, TCU -- proving their worth in big bowls. A conference championship and a top-seven BCS ranking will be enough to get them on the big stage.
Assuming the Cowboys can beat in-state rival Oklahoma, this BCS berth is theirs. Of course, coach Mike Gundy and everyone else in Stillwater is decked out in Georgia red after the OU game, hoping the Bulldogs can beat LSU for the SEC crown. An LSU loss might let the Cowboys move into the title tilt.

SUGAR BOWL (At-large vs. SEC champion) -- Arkansas vs. Boise State

This assumes that LSU wins the SEC title and faces Alabama for the national championship, giving the BCS its choice of team. Money talks, and it makes the most sense to keep an SEC team in SEC country for this bowl, so Bobby Petrino's Razorbacks will head for New Orleans.
If the LSU-'Bama matchup happens, it SHOULD leave an at-large spot open for another "BCS buster" -- though, at this point, can you really label Big East-bound Boise State an underdog program? Yet again, they're one miserable game away from playing for the title. The Broncos certainly won't shed any tears if they can get another BC$ payday -- er, bowl! I mean BCS bowl!

ORANGE BOWL (At-large vs. ACC champion) -- Stanford vs. Virginia Tech

Andrew Luck's season-long early NFL scouting combine won't include a Pac-12 championship, but he'll get one final BCS berth before his inevitable No. 1 selection in the NFL draft.
Interestingly enough, it will likely be this rematch of last year's Orange Bowl, as long as the Hokies take care of business in the ACC title game.

What do you think?

-M.S.

Posted by Matthew Sprague, Eagle Sports Editor at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Matthew Sprague had an interesting story late last week about the Mount Greylock football team. Perfect for the second straight season, the top-seeded Mounties must again open the playoffs at No. 4 Mahar.
It seems utterly unfair if you're a Berkshire County football fan. It also feeds the conspiracy theory that the Pioneer Valley is out to "get" those in the far western part of the state.
Actually, it's not like that at all. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, those friendly overlords of high school sports in the Commonwealth, dictate that if a team's home field is a playoff site, that team must play there. It's a cost-saving measure that reduces travel. The NCAA has done it for years in college hockey.
The rule is a good thing. High school football is not the pros, where the competition is the only factor that needs to be taken into account. School budgets are worth considering, too. So it makes sense that travel should be avoided where possible, even if the least deserving team gets that privilege.
Short of finding an artificial turf playoff site in the county (that's a whole 'nother story), there's one thing the MIAA can do to make this alleged injustice a little easier to swallow. The Mounties are only playing Mahar because they're the fourth seed. If a school that isn't hosting a postseason doubleheader was fourth, this game would be at a neutral site like Holyoke or Westfield.
Wouldn't it make sense for the tournament director to ask Greylock coach Shawn Flaherty if he'd rather play a higher-seeded team at a neutral site instead of Mahar on its home field? That would give a perfect regular season some meaning. The Mounties have earned the right to determine their fate in some small way.

Posted by Matthew Sprague, Eagle Sports Editor at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)