Category / Daily Noontime

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Friday, Nov. 13, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Happy Friday, everyone – we made it!

It’s been a busy week of blogging to producing some new content for our social channels – we’ll recap it later today in during our Friday Rewind post – but in the meantime let’s dish out a late morning edition of the Daily Noontime.

So tomorrow will be a special day for our New England NCAA D-III football fans with Coast Guard Academy competing against the United State Merchant Marine Academy with kickoff scheduled for 12:05 p.m.

Fans can stream the game between the Bears and Mariners on ESPN3 – here is a preview of tomorrow’s Secretaries’ Cup.

Sticking with college football, some big-time matchups for this weekend have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. So does this mean college football is in trouble? I think so!

According to Sports Illustrated, there seems to be growing concern about not just the remainder of the college football season, but also the college football playoffs. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby knows the college football world is heading into some serious uncharted territory, but as of now, no games and bowls have been canceled, including the traditional New Year’s Day contests, so please remain calm, everyone.

Switching gears to college basketball – what is college basketball again? – it appears as if 40 teams will compete in ‘Bubbleville‘ at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut later this month. 45 games will be played over an 11-day period with the final contests scheduled for Saturday, December 5.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has started its college basketball season, but things have not gone smoothly due to the coronavirus. It’s likely every NCAA men’s and women’s basketball team will be impacted at some point this winter by the virus. And that could mean games – not just a few, but many – will get postponed or canceled.

Alright, that will do it for now, but stop by later and as always, make sure to smile, everyone!

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020)

By NoontimeSports.com

Welcome to Thursday, everyone!

It is rather gloomy outside our home office, but that won’t stop us from thinking positive thoughts – we are an upbeat, positive media outlet. You know that right?

Alright, let’s get to some news, beginning with yesterday afternoon’s exciting announcement from the Hockey East.

The Hockey East Association plans to drop the puck for the 2020-21 season next Friday, November 20. Games for the opening weekend, as well as the first few weeks will be aired on NESN while other contests will be seen “through its partnership with ViacomCBSDigital.”

“We’re excited to make this announcement today, and very appreciative of all the hard work by so many in making it happen,” said Steve Metcalf, who is the league’s commissioner, in a statement.

Metcalf would continue by adding, “We’ve worked closely with all our member institutions in establishing protocols in an effort to play as safely as possible, while also giving our teams a complete and meaningful season.”

According to Wednesday’s release from the Hockey East, the league’s 11 men’s teams will compete in 20 contests this winter while its 10 women’s programs will skate in 18 games.

Prior to yesterday’s announcement from the Hockey East, Atlantic Hockey shared similar news last month about its ‘return to play‘ with games beginning later this month.

Staying in the college sports world, the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) also made an announcement yesterday about winter sports – the CCC remains “hopeful that our winter teams will have the opportunity to compete in the 2020-21 academic year.”

Other New England NCAA D-III conferences have canceled winter sports competition, mainly conference play and championships, but did leave the door open for its various schools to pursue non-conference contests, pending it safe to do so.

According to D3Hoops.com, only a small number of conferences and schools have elected to cancel or “call off” competition for its winter sports teams. And there are a few schools on this list from both Massachusetts and other parts of New England.

While we do like to keep things positive, we do need to share a heartbreaking (and very sad) report: Penn State‘s Journey Brown is retiring from football due to heart condition, which the 21-year-old halfback discovered during “a routine COVID-19 test in early September.”

The news of Brown’s retirement was announced last night by his coach James Franklin, who did tell reporters that the condition is not related to COVID-19.

Brown shared an emotional tweet last night to his followers – he admitted he did not “expect to make it this far, but it’s about the Journey.”

We wish Brown all the best in the coming days and weeks – maybe we could see him on the sidelines as a coach with Franklin?

Alright, that will do it for now, but make sure to stop by later for another blog or two, and remember to keep smiling, everyone!

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Welcome to Wednesday, everyone.

Today is Veteran’s Day so please take a moment to thank those that have and continue to serve our great nation.

Let’s get to some news, beginning with yesterday biggest headline as Tommy Heinsohn, who played and coached for the Boston Celtics, passed away at his home in Newton, Massachusetts. Heinsohn was 86.

Heinsohn is also being remembered for his passionate and insightful color commentary – fans will certainly miss his insight this upcoming season as a broadcaster. The New Jersey native, who guided the Celtics to 10 National Basketball Association (NBA) championships and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player (1986) and coach (2015), is someone his former colleague Mike Gorman believes will never be replaced.

Prior to coaching and playing for the Celtics, Heinsohn competed locally at at Holy Cross where he led the Crusaders to the 1954 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship. He earned a pair of first-team All-American honors with the Purple and White, and was inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1962.

Numerous Celtics players, both current and past, shared memories of Tommy Heinsohn on Twitter, including Marcus Smart and Cedric Maxwell.

Switching gears to football, the National Football League (NFL) could welcome two more teams to the postseason this winter, pending upcoming contests get canceled due to the coronavirus.

Speaking with owners during a Tuesday video conference, Roger Goodell, who is the league’s commissioner, said the NFL is “committed” to completing the league’s current schedule. The NFL was not impacted by the virus until the third week of the season concluded.

As of now, seven teams from each conference will compete in the upcoming NFL postseason, which is scheduled to kick-off next January, with the top seed securing a first-round bye.

Here are a few more stories to read either later this morning or afternoon:

That will do it for now, but as always, make sure to smile and think happy thoughts – have a great day, everyone!

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Good morning, everyone!

The sun is shining, the temperature is climbing, and I have a good feeling that today will be a great day for everyone.

And we know it will be a good day because we woke up to a New England Patriots victory last night. Yes, I know it was not the most impressive win as the Patriots needed Nick Folk to kick a game-winning field goal to beat the winless New York Jets, but perhaps this victory means the hometown team will not be “tanking” for Trevor Lawrence.

As for the Jets, they remain the favorite to land Trevor Lawrence in next year’s National Football League (NFL) Draft, but who knows if they will really select the best college football player in the country?

Later today, we’ll unveil our Noontime Sports Top 10 NFL teams heading into the tenth week of the season, so stay tuned to see who makes our list. But I can promise you that neither the Jets or Patriots will appear on the list.

Sticking with football, it appears as if the coronavirus is impacting a few college programs, including Louisiana State University (LSU), which is dealing with a “number of positive test results for COVID-19 this week.” The uptick in cases at LSU means their weekend meeting with the University of Alabama is up in the air, so stay tuned as I am sure we’ll learn more about this marquee matchup either later today or tomorrow.

The University of Notre Dame is another college in the spotlight with one journalist asking an important question: do we really need fans in the stands, especially during a pandemic? I don’t think we need fans – I am fine with watching games on my television or laptop, so my advice: stay home!

One last story to highlight: the National Basketball Association (NBA) and player union have reached an agreement “in principle on the start of the 2020-21 season.” Free agency will begin two days after the NBA Draft – that would be Friday, November 20 followed by training camp on Tuesday, December 1.

The 2020-21 NBA season is scheduled to tip-off Tuesday, December 22 with each team competing in 72 contests compared to the usual 82.

Have a great day, everyone, and remember to smile and think happy thoughts!

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Monday, Nov. 9, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Happy Monday, everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather – it is very nice outside today!

And speaking of the great outdoors, the New England Patriots will be outside later today when they visit the New York Jets. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m.

Fans of the Patriots – and yes, the Jets, too – can watch the game on ESPN.

New England enters tonight’s contest with just two wins – they have not won a game since late September when they beat the Las Vegas Raiders at home. Can they snap their four-game losing streak against the winless Jets? Hopefully, but if we have learned anything over these past few weeks, anything is possible these days in the National Football League (NFL).

The second half of the NFL’s 2020 season truly began yesterday with some interesting outcomes, including the Miami Dolphins outlasting the Arizona Cardinals, the Carolina Panthers putting a scare into the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Dallas Cowboys almost beating the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Did you watch last night’s match-up between Drew Brees and Tom Brady? If not, you missed an impressive showing by the New Orleans Saints, which beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 38-3.

And finally, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills scored an impressive win at home, defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 44-34. Allen tallied four touchdowns, including three through the air, while the defense intercepted Russell Wilson twice.

Here are a few other news and links from another wild and crazy day of professional football:

Alright, that will do it for now, but stay tuned for more blogs and social media posts as the day progresses! And remember to smile, but also be good to everyone!