May 24, 2012

I came back to 14 Plympton Street to write this parting shot because it seemed appropriate. What I didn’t expect was to be enveloped one last time in the legendary LoveSac, a humongous blue beanbag, here for storage, that has been passed on between generations of Sports editors.

The passing down of the LoveSac is just one of the many traditions of the Sports Board. It is perfect timing that I ran into it—it is quickly evoking memories (some of them a little hazy) that I’d like to share.

Harvard Boasts Olympic Presence

April 20, 2012

The countdown to the London 2012 Summer Olympics reached double digits this week, meaning that it won’t be long before we witness the next feats of greatness by the best athletes on Earth.

Four years ago, American swimmer Michael Phelps captivated the globe by becoming the first athlete to capture eight gold medals in a single Games. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt also grabbed headlines for his other-worldly speed that has yet to be consistently matched. These are just two of the tens of thousands of athletes who have the honor to compete for their respective countries every four years.

A Trip For the Ages For H-Fans

March 20, 2012

Let me start off by saying that flights from Boston to Albuquerque are not cheap, which forced me (and the Crimson Sports board, with which I tagged along) to travel to Denver, where we rented an SUV to make the picturesque drive to Albuquerque, N.M. Thank you, NCAA committee, for that one, really.

Despite the remote location, I made the trip because I figured that, as a senior, it would be my last—and first—chance to go to the NCAA tournament as a student and root for my school.

BAC IN THE GAME: No Need For Tears Over Defeat

November 16, 2011

Tuesday’s Euro 2012 playoff contests saw eight teams either suffer heartbreak or erupt in celebration. For tiny Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, and the usually powerful Turkey, it’s time to go home and reflect on what had been a valiant effort to qualify for the European Championships.

The sadness on these players’ faces reminded me of what I witnessed on Saturday afternoon at BU’s Nickerson Field. After the final whistle, and the home team erupted in celebration while the visitors bowed their heads in disappointment. The Terriers had battled their way to the next round of the NCAA tournament while the result sent the Harvard women’s soccer team back to campus with a bittersweet conclusion to an otherwise bright season.

Crimson Rookies Support Soccer

September 13, 2011

With the departure of Katherine Sheeleigh and the Class of 2010, I was unsure what to expect this season as a new beat writer for Harvard women’s soccer.

It was the start of a new era, one that reminded me of last September when I was covering men’s soccer. The class of 2009 had been one of the strongest in recent memory, featuring Andre Akpan, who was the best senior in the country that year. Though Sheeleigh does not boast Akpan’s stats, both alums finished their careers as Ivy League Player of the Year and were vital to their teams’ offenses. Any team that loses that kind of talent inevitably will have to rebuild.