ZANOR: UConn football needs to downgrade, and other thoughts

Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while wondering how the U.S. can lose a basketball game to Germany in the FIBA World Cup semifinals. I can understand the U.S. losing to Lithuania, a country of sharpshooting basketball savants, but a loss to Germany is unacceptable …

*A special thanks to all of you high school football fans who voted in our inaugural “Football Preseason Player of the Year” poll. Every one of the talented candidates  - Talon Amado, Jr., Norwich Free Academy; Conor Gaughan, Norwich Free Academy; Gage Hinkley, Norwich Free Academy; Xavier Jackson, Thames River; Tony Navan, Plainfield; Justin Outlow, Thames River; Alexis Ruiz Ortiz, Killingly; Soren Rief, Killingly; and KinKade Rubino, Griswold-Wheeler - were worthy of winning in my book.

After 55,608 votes were cast, Rubino, the Wolverines exciting two-way playmaker, edged Gaughan, the Wildcats talented wide receiver, for the award.

Please check back during the season to norwichbulletin.com for our “Football Player of the Week” poll.

*Why does the WNBA insist on going up against the mighty NFL during their annual playoff tournament? Game 2 of the WNBA’s first round is on ESPN and ABC at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17. That’s prime NFL viewing, especially later in the afternoon when Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets play the Dallas Cowboys.

And how about the WNBA semifinal doubleheader on Sunday, Sept. 24 starting at 1 p.m.? No thanks. I’ll take a peek at the score of the Liberty and Sun after watching the Pats-Jets game.

*“Boston bolsters lineup with World Champions at all three positions” … Now that’s a headline.

It came from a press release from the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which begins its inaugural season in January. The PWHL announced that the first three players to sign free agent contracts with the league’s Boston franchise are goaltender Aerin Frankel, defender Megan Keller, and forward Hilary Knight. The trio of 2023 IIHF World Women’s Championship gold medalists from the U.S. National Women’s Team have all agreed to terms on three-year deals for the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 PWHL seasons.

“As a lifelong fan of Boston sports teams, I recognize the immense responsibility of building a team in this city given the high expectations of our fans, who are arguably the most passionate in all of sports,” said Danielle Marmer, General Manager of PWHL Boston.

Frankel is a former standout at Northeastern University where she earned the prestigious Patty Kazmaier Award for the 2020-21 season. “Boston is my home and the city that I love,” said Frankel.

Keller has been a prolific presence on the blue line everywhere she’s played, from Team USA, Boston College, and the PWHPA.  “Defense wins championships, and I'm proud to announce that our first signing of a defenseman is one of the best in the world in Megan Keller,” said Marmer.

Knight is one of the game’s most recognizable names, serving more than 15 years as an integral member of Team USA. The 34-year-old from Sun Valley, Idaho has notably represented her country at four Olympics (1 Gold, 3 Silver) and thirteen World Championships (9 Gold, 4 Silver) since 2007. Her nine World Championship golds and 13 overall medals are tied for the most all-time, while her hat-trick in April’s gold medal game extended her record point total to 101 in the IIHF’s top tournament.

“The City of Boston and its fans have always held a special place in my heart,” said Knight. “I am excited to return to Boston and honored by the opportunity to be a part of the original build of a successful franchise. This year will be historic in so many ways and I cannot wait to get started.”

The 2023 PWHL Draft is scheduled for Sept. 18 where Boston holds the third overall pick.

*I love college football. It’s right up there with college baseball, ice hockey and thoroughbred horse racing as my favorite sports. But I hate what’s happening in college football. UCLA and USC to the Big Ten? Cal, Stanford, and SMU to the ACC? No more Pac-12, the conference of champions?

This make-no-sense realignment which is fueled only by money is going to ruin college football and destroy university athletic departments. My advice to UConn, which is never going to be Tuscaloosa, South Bend, or Ann Arbor, is to become an FCS-1AA team and join the Patriot League. Or bring back the Yankee Conference. No more Florida International’s, Utah State’s, and South Florida’s coming to Rentschler Field.

The Huskies end their season with a game at UMass on Nov. 25.  The Yankee Conference Bowl should be the start of a new football revolution at Storrs, one with an on-campus stadium and regular visits from Fordham, Holy Cross, Georgetown, and UMass.

*It looks like the Boston Red Sox won't be playing in the MLB’s World Series tournament this year. As of Friday morning, the Sawx were 5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the third and final Wild Card spot. That’s OK. Here’s some worthy first place teams that I’ll be rooting for to win this year’s World Series: Derek Falvey’s Minnesota Twins, Ryan Fuller’s Baltimore Orioles; and Sal Frelick’s Milwaukee Brewers.

Falvey, the Twins’ President of Baseball Operations, and his cousin Brendan ran around in my backyard shooting hoops when they were in grammar school; Fuller, the Orioles hitting coach, starred on some great high school baseball teams at Old Lyme when I was writing for the Shoreline Newspapers; and Frelick, the Brewers’ 23-year old rookie, is a former Boston College star and I always root for BC guys in the pros.

*STUCK IN THE ‘70s: On Sept. 11, 1976, Boston College upset No. 7 Texas, 14-13, before a near sellout crowd at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles got a touchdown run from Neil Green and a quarterback sneak from the 1 by Ken Smith to take a 14-0 lead. Darryl Royal’s Longhorns made it 14-7 on a touchdown pass late in the first half. Johnny "Lam" Jones scored on an 18-yard TD run to move Texas within 14-13 with 4:38 left in the fourth quarter. But BC defensive back Kelly Elias, making the greatest defensive play in Boston College history, stopped Jones on the option pitch on the two-point conversion.  In the final seconds, Texas kicker Russell Erxleben missed a 53-yard field goal. Wide left.

The Eagles defense held one of the greatest running backs in college football, Earl Campbell, to 23 yards on 5 carries. Yup ... maybe Earl should have got the pigskin a little more.

Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at jzanor@norwichbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: COLUMN: UConn football, WNBA, women's pro hockey, and other thoughts