Should and will Assumption College's Bob Chesney take the open Holy Cross position?

For a small, liberal arts, Catholic college based in Worcester, Mass., the Assumption College football team surely has made a name for themselves. This season alone the team finished with an 11-1 record, won its first two games in the NCAA Division II National playoffs and will take on the No. 1 Indiana (Pa.) Crimson Hawks. The Crimson Hawks are 12-0 on the season and are 18-2 in their last 20 games spanning across the last two seasons. A win for the Greyhounds on Saturday would be a huge statement.

            Behind all of the top athletes such as Deonte Harris, Ashton Grant, Ray Sarkodieh and everyone else on the team’s roster is one man, a common name on the college’s campus: head coach Bob Chesney. Chesney is in his fifth year coaching the team and has a 56-23 overall record (a .710 winning percentage).  His teams have ranked nationally among Division II programs in multiple seasons, have made the national tournament three years in a row and won one playoff game.

I once wrote about coach Chesney while at the school on his team and how they use film for preparation and recruiting. I’ve talked to many people close to the team who I trust. One piece of information stood out greatly.

People close to Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, an Assumption College alumni, told me that Kelly believes the school doesn’t know how good of a coach they have in Chesney. Multiple people close to the situation say that Kelly would add Chesney to his staff "in a heartbeat" if Chesney wanted, but does not want to take him away from the college. Notre Dame football. That’s telling of Chesney’s ability.

Back on Oct. 16, The College of the Holy Cross fired head football coach Tom Gilmore after a terrible 32-0 loss to Yale. Stationed out of Worcester as well, the opportunity seems like a great opportunity for Chesney.
And according to sources linked closely to Holy Cross athletics and alumni, Chesney is the favorite candidate.

Chesney has had success at the Division II level and it seems natural to move on to a Division I program. UCLA was not going to be knocking on any doors. But a good fit for Chesney is a program the likes of Holy Cross, or UMass Amherst, Yale those types of programs. What many believe would stop Chesney is moving his family. His father is on the sidelines for games, has littlel children and is in no danger of losing his job. Many believe Chesney has power within Assumption athletics. I have been told the main reason why Chesney would not accept the position is because he doesn’t want to move his family.

Insert Holy Cross.

Holy Cross is an ideal situation for Chesney. He doesn’t have to move. He takes over a Division I school and will have full reign to rebuild the program. Former Assumption College athletic director Nick Smith, who has a good relationship with Chesney, now works for Holy Cross athletics. Rebuilding would not be an easy task for Chesney. Assumption is in the same position however. They graduate their two quarterbacks, three receivers, their top running back and top players on the defensive line. Why rebuild at the DII level when you can rebuild at the DI level?

What would stop Holy Cross from making Chesney the next head football coach? I have been told they want to see him win playoff games. Prior to this season, Chesney's teams have only made the playoffs twice. Some believe Holy Cross feels his playoffs appearances indicate Chesney is a good coach but not quite there yet when it comes to the winning department. 

If Chesney is offered to become the next head coach of Holy Cross football but declines, expect Chesney to stay at Assumption College for many years to come.

How telling was last night's game about the Celtics and Brown?

What a Celtics game last night.

I watched all of it last night, a rare accomplishment with all the high school sporting events just begging my attendance. But with some time off from reporting, there was no better way to drown my sorrows with some more sports. For real though.

 I went into the game believing the Celtics would lose, it would be by how much, in which I decided the Celtics would lose by eight points. Just an arbitrary number I picked because I thought they would lose by less than 10 points but more than two.

At points, it seemed like the Celtics would lose by 20, 10 at other points. Frankly, the Warriors controlled the entirety of that game up until the Celtics’ four minute run where they went on a 19-0 run to pull ahead 68-66. The win is basically owed to Jaylen Brown and his control of the game during that span, netting 10 points with a total confidence look to him. In the following clip, notice Brown’s poise.

Jaylen Brown is getting it done for the C's! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/tLadQgBPVQ

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 17, 2017

The first basket comes from a legitimate basketball move. He catches Shaun Livingston leaning in, ready to defend the shot. Brown fakes it, and then crosses over, completely distancing himself from Livingston. Plays like that solidify the argument that Brown can compete against the best in the NBA. He’s no overhyped prospect, raw talent. He has legitimate ball handling skills, awareness and a good sense of the game. Remember Brown against the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals? The sky is the limit for the kid.

On a similar note, Kyrie Irving did not have a good first three quarters, I think largely due to the kind of coverage that was on him. But it’s hard to say that Irving cannot lead a team after watching that one. Irving forced himself to the free throw line in the fourth quarter, netting seven of eight free throws in the final five minutes. Irving knew what it took to win that game during the fourth quarter and executed it.

The last thing about the game too, I see both sides of it. I understand how someone can believe that it means nothing. Regular season games are not the postseason and with a healthy team turning it up during the playoffs, I understand that the Warriors would most likely beat the Celtics. But I find myself agreeing with the other side. The flip to this argument is that this indeed shows the potency of the Celtics. They entered the game with a 13 game win streak and the best record in the NBA. It was the perfect test. After losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers on opening night handedly, if the Celtics lost to the Warriors in similar fashion, the game would become telling just how far away the Celtics are from the top tier teams. So with the win, I feel as if this Celtics team can in fact give the Warriors a run. Last year, the championship was no match between the Cavaliers and the Warriors. It took the Cavs a historic performance just to beat the Warriors once. Can the Celtics win in a seven game series? I wouldn’t bet a whole lot of money. But can the Celtics make a series out of it? I absolutely believe so after last night’s performance.

'These kids aren't cheap anymore'

“These kids aren’t cheap anymore.”

Those were the words that Boston Red Sox beat writer said over the airwaves on Tuesday night on 98.5’s the Adam Jones’ show.

It’s true though. Between Xander Bogaerts, Drew Pomeranz, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts, the team is expected to pay out $30.8 million between the quartet and $48 million among all arbitration eligible players. That accounts for about 25% of the team’s payroll, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but becomes a problem when the rest of the team sits on dead money and overpaid contracts from Hanley Ramirez, Rick Porcello, Pablo Sandoval, Rusney Castillo, David Price, etc. And for a core that has had its ups-and-downs in the production department along with character flaws, well…

The Red Sox are rather strapped with the cash this offseason. Their entire payroll is expected to hit upwards of $190 million without any free agent signings and although general manager Dave Dombrowski said that the team is willing to go over the luxury tax threshold and owner John Henry backed that statement, but let’s not get silly here. I don’t think it’s wise for the Red Sox to spend crazy money on free agents, creating a payroll north of $230 million for this team. There are flaws and strengths alike but it just wouldn’t be a good business move.

Because of that, how likely are the Red Sox to spend on top free agents J.D. Martinez and Eric Hosmer. Yes, they need power in their current lineup. Yes, J.D. Martinez would fill that role with his career high 45 homers although finding a place for him between DH and first base would be inopportune.  Remember what happened with Ramirez, giving a big contract to a player that doesn’t really have a spot on the team outside of his bat? And the 25 homers and .318 batting average produced by Hosmer last season seems grossly undervalued for the type of contract he wants, six or seven years at $20 million annually.

It’s why I advocate and believe the Red Sox will sign Logan Morrison instead.

Morrison hit 38 home runs for the Tampa Bay Rays last season. He hit only .246 but you give a little to get a little. His walk rates were up, sporting a .353 on-base percentage and 38 homers is no small dosage. He’s also cheap. MLBtraderumors.com projects Morrison to sign for three years at a $9 million average annual value (They actually predict that the Red Sox will sign Morrison too). Morrison has been linked to the Red Sox in the past for how well his swing would match up with the left field wall in Fenway Park. Signing Morrison would be every reason why the team signed Mitch Moreland last season.

With a team full of highly paid players and personalities, the team needs to look for guys that will perform above their annual value, much like Moreland did last season. At $5 million paid out to him, Moreland produced at almost the same levels as Ramirez, who was dished out over $20 million. Morrison out produced both of them. That’s what makes the $9 million AAV so enticing.

I’ve always been a fan of creating a team around paying your top of the line players, surrounding them with quality talent and production at affordable, short-term deals, surrounded by cheap talent brought up through the farm system. Paying $20 million per year for six years plus for guys like Martinez and Hosmer seem like overpayments. They’re guys that produced above their average rates in a walk-year. I’ve never been a fan of signing those players. So I tend to favor a guy like Morrison, someone who produces, is a small investment and actually fills a role naturally instead of forcing a guy into a role like they would have to with Martinez. But we all have our own philosophies, including Dombrowski and co. The Red Sox have a lot of options this offseason. This could get interesting…

Does David Ross' Players Tribune article give insight into Theo Epstein?

The Player’s Tribune is nothing new, I’m pretty sure most people know what it is by now. On the website, I cam across David Ross’ article “Elite ‘Glue Guys’ 101.” I didn’t make it past the opening section before I was surprised and took to writing.

Ross describes his meeting with then-Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein at the end of the 2008 season. Epstein met with Ross and told him that he would not be returning to the team and straightforwardly told him that he has a reputation of not accepting his role and that he doesn’t understand his role on a team either. According to Ross, Epstein added that he’s selfish and a bad teammate.

First it took me by surprise for the fact that Ross could be classified as selfish and bad teammate. You hear all these stories about Ross being a great guy. I’ve listened to him talk on the Starting 9 podcast and on ESPN and he knows a lot about the game and seems like a generally good guy. He almost has this vibe as a hard-nose, confident person. Then I started to think about Theo Epstein.

It takes guts to address someone like how Epstein addressed Ross. To be so straightforward, that takes a lot to do. We all know that one person that is a blow-hard but we would never tell them they are. Epstein went straight shooting in this one.

But this led me to believe that this is what caused Epstein to be ousted as general manager of the Boston Red Sox. Epstein had fought, and I use that term loosely, with upper management of the team. He wanted a bigger role, move up into President of the team and operations and basically create what he got from the Chicago Cubs. Seeing how straightforward he was to Ross, it makes me wonder just how straightforward he was to ownership. Did he use the same bullish tactics towards Henry and Warner, telling them Larry Lucchino was basically useless? I don’t think we would ever find out. Everyone knows there was a power struggle coming from Epstein wanting more input and ownership wouldn’t give it to him. Maybe there’s something there in how Epstein talks and holds himself. He’s a smart guy and probably lets others know.

But you never know. Epstein did write in the Boston Globe when leaving the Red Sox that it was nothing about money or power and that he really liked ownership. John Henry was basically his mentor as Epstein went wherever Henry went. He also said that ownership offered him an expanded role. But you never know what went on behind the curtain.

I don’t know either way what happened. There’s always two sides to the story. The reports that Epstein wanted more power are just as valid as Epstein’s words as he left Boston. What I find interesting was how straightforward he is to players. It’s what makes him such a great baseball mind. He knows talent and knows how to negotiate. As Ross continued writing, it seemed like Epstein had all the power. Guys like Ben Cherington definitely did not command a room like this. Dave Dombrowski definitely does.

So take what you want from how I read into Ross’ words. It’s interesting to think about and something I would definitely want to follow up on.