Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Time to leave football in the rearview mirror while looking at the sports road ahead, but not before offering a word of advice to aging musicians everywhere: if you were once one of the premiere rockers in the world but now wear eye glasses on stage, you might want to give serious thought to calling it a career:

-I get that the NFL is paranoid about another Janet Jackson incident, but seriously folks, there has to be a musical act under the age of 60 that can perform a PG rated halftime show. The only wardrobe malfunction The Who could muster would be Peter Townsend dropping his "Depends."

Frankly, I say its time to book marching bands from the participating teams' local universities, or just turn the field over to the Grambling band for 20-minutes and get back to football.

-I'm afraid to say this, but it might be time for Danny Ainge to blow up the Celtics and look to the future.

The C's haven't beaten a high quality opponent since Martha Coakley was destined for Washington. Even worse, they've taken to coughing up double digit leads like a 5-pack a day chain smoker.

Collectively they look old. They're lifeless. And the magical chemistry of two seasons is but a distant memory. If I can see it, I'm guessing Ainge can, too. Don't be surprised to see Boston become a major player at the trading deadline, and it wouldn't be at all shocking if the trades were of the sell-off variety.

-Speaking of dealing, it looks like the Bruins are shopping Tim Thomas.

The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is definitely movable. Just don't expect anything significant in return. A 4-year deal at about $4-million per means a Thomas trade will be more of a salary dump than a building block.

For the record, I wish the Black and Gold had gotten involved in the Dion Phaneuf and Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes.

-The new baseball coach of the Dracut Middies will be a face familiar to the program.

Mike Saucier, who served as an assistant to Hank Golec for the past 9-seasons, is the recommendation of Athletic Director Tim Woods to take over the top job in the Dracut dugout. Woods made the decision along with a screening committee that had narrowed the field down to four candidates.

The other finalists for the job besides Saucier were former major leaguer Mark Deschenes, former Westford Academy football coach Mike Parent and current Greater Lowell Voke assistant Steve Botto. Parent, who has an extensive baseball background and a son who plays for the Middies, will work as an assistant on Saucier's staff. He'll be joined in that capacity by Bill Vogel. Vogel is also Dracut's Dean of Students.

That's the view from Mt. Olympus...how do you see things?

The Tsongas Arena has a new name.
The City of Lowell and the University of Massachusetts Lowell officially completed the long-delayed transfer of the 13-year-old, $21.4-million arena yesterday for $1 and a land swap. The arena will now be known as The Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell. The university will spend $5-8 million to renovate the facility. Some improvements are already evident, like the electric sideboards. A new clock with a video board is in the future.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

UMass Lowell basketball coaches Kathy O'Neil and Greg Herenda will participate in the Hoops for Haiti fundraiser on Saturday as the men and the women host Stonehill College at Costello Gymnasium. The women's and men's basketball teams will tip off at 1:00 and 4:30 p.m., respectively.

As part of the fundraiser, both coaches will donate $20 toward the recovery efforts for every 3-point field goal that a River Hawk basketball player makes throughout the day. In addition, fans are asked to donate at least $1 to the cause at various locations throughout Costello Gymnasium. Student-athletes and game staff will be collecting donations at the ticket table and concession stands.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

UMass Lowell center Sarah Bennett earned Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Week honors on Monday.

The Newark, Ohio, native averaged 11 points and seven rebounds in a pair of games last week. She also shot 57 percent from the field, and made 6-of-8 free throws (75 percent).

This marks the second straight week the UMass Lowell women's team has had the NE-10 Freshman of the Week. Guard Bianca Simmons brought home the honor last week after a 28-point 12-rebound performance at home against Le Moyne.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

A Grammy winning sports column that, among other things, helps explain why I'm "GaGa" over one winter sports team's future while "Swift"-ly losing hope for the other:

(Quick aside here: What does it say about Taylor Swift that Stevie Nicks sang circles around her even though she's what...about 75 years old now?)

-While some people bemoan the fact the Bruins have suffered a "Relapse," I'm more optimistic about the long-term outlook than I've been in a long time.

Not only does Boston possess Toronto's first round draft pick (the Maple Leafs are tied for the second worst record in the NHL), but the B's own first rounder is looking more and more like a high lottery selection. That means two potential franchise players in Black and Gold for the 2010-11 season and beyond.

A little luck in the draft lottery, some shrewd drafting and/or trades, and Bruins fans in the TD Garden "Halo" could very well be eye level with that long overdue Stanley Cup banner.

-As for the B's hoop brethren, I'm now quite sure the NBA Finals won't end in a "Green Day."

An opening night thrashing of LeBron James and the Cavaliers had yours truly salivating over the prospects for the season and ready to "Put a Ring on It." Unfortunately, the Celtics got old almost overnight and not even Danny Ainge's best "Poker Face" can hide the fact the team is fading and in need of a major youth infusion.

-You don't need the Black Eyed Peas to predict "The E.N.D. is Near" for Kevin Garnett, but can someone please tell me what the heck happened to Rasheed Wallace?

Once hailed as the missing piece by this columnist, 'Sheed has instead been missing in action. One can understand some deterioration of physical skills. What I don't get is how a guy who made a living on his basketball IQ suddenly deteriorated into a taller and meaner version of Tony Allen?

Wallace was easy to hate when donning opposing uniforms. With each frown and lazy three pointer launched, it's becoming increasingly easier to dislike him in green and white, too.

-Finally, when the interminable pre-game show ends Sunday, it'll be the Colts singing "we gonna run this town tonight" in Miami.

I imagine everyone outside of Indianapolis (and those who lay the points) will be rooting for New Orleans, and why not? It'd be a great story. Too bad for the Saints they're up against the best quarterback not only of this generation, but possibly of all time. (It pains me to say that, but another Super Bowl title for Archie's boy will put the Manning-Brady argument to bed once and for all)

By the time he's hung up the cleats, Manning's career totals will place him above every signal caller not named Brett Fraud, I mean Favre. If Peyton decides he wants to play as long as and pad his stats as much as Favre has, he might top every career passing category that counts. Most importantly, Manning has become "Fearless" in the clutch, which gives the Colts the ability to come back from any deficit.

With that in mind, the prediction here: Colts 34, Saints 24.

That's the view from Mount Olympus...what are your Super Bowl predictions? What about the B's and C's? Should the Bruins tank the rest of the season and reload for the future? Should the Celtics start doing the same?

The River Hawks are going to be shorthanded on defense tonight against Northeastern as two blue liners are sidelined with injuries, including senior Jeremy Dehner, who has been playing tremendous hockey over the last month.
Both Dehner and freshman Chris Ickert are sidelined with undisclosed upper body injuries. Dehner was hurt on his last shift on Saturday night against Boston College while Ickert was injured in practice last week.
Ickert hasn't played since January 2. He has three assists in 10 games.
Dehner has 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points in 25 games, including 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in the last 5 games and was Hockey East Player of the Week two weeks ago. Tim Corcoran will replace Dehner in the lineup tonight while Barry Goers will take Dehner's place on the power play.
Corcoran has appeared in 8 games this season but hasn't played since November 14. He is scoreless in 11 career games.
Dehner's return is officially listed as day to day, but he could be out for as long as a month.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The UMass Lowell men's basketball team earned the No. 5 spot in the first NCAA Division II East Regional Rankings of the season. The Rankings are compiled by the NCAA Division II Basketball Committee.

Joining the River Hawks (12-6, 11-5 in region) in the top five are Bentley (No. 1, 16-2), Stonehill (No. 2, 15-3) Merrimack (No. 3, 12-4) and Adelphi (No. 4, 14-6). All five teams compete in the Northeast-10 Conference.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

A quick update on the women's basketball recruits committed to UMass Lowell:

Pinkerton Academy senior scoring machine AJ Guidi surpassed the 1,000-point plateau with 16 points last Friday night. She became just the fourth player in Astros history to reach that mark, the first since Jenny McDade (currently a senior at Southern New Hampshire).

Durfee High School forward Lauren Fiola continues to be a force for the Hilltoppers (11-2). The senior is averaging 12.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks through the first 13 games. She scored 24 of her team's 65 points in a victory against Attleboro on Tuesday night. She also had six rebounds and three steals in the game.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Exploring a few subjects while trying to resist the urge to laugh at poor Vikings fans who bought into the Favre phenomenon:

Admit it...he fooled you, didn't he?

Those 33-regular season touchdown passes. The career low 7-interceptions. The stat sheet padding playoff performance against Dallas last week. You bought the act hook, line and sinker, didn't you?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

For a state that once sent a former professional wrestler to the Governor's mansion and currently seats a humorless comedian in the United States Senate, the final few seconds of regulation in the NFC Championship game Sunday night had to be the cruelest joke of all.

Brad Childress certainly saw it coming. Staring at about 51-yard field goal to win the game, the Vikings coach called consecutive running plays that picked up no yardage. No doubt a third such offering was in the works. Anything but let Favre throw the ball to the wrong colored jersey.

After all, Childress had seen "The Brett's" playoff act up close and personal in Green Bay all those years, so he knew better than anyone else what would happen if they put the ball in the air.

Alas, a stupid penalty pushed the Vikes 5-yards back, a passing play was called and the rest, as they say, is vintage Brett Favre history. A stupid pass most high school quarterbacks wouldn't even attempt, followed by that "golly-gee I shouldn't have done that face" and the inevitable Saints game-winning FG in overtime sent the Bayou into a frenzy and made the winter that much colder and unbearable for disgruntled Minnesotans.

And so, the annual offseason flirtation dance begins again. Will Favre retire or take one more shot at glory? After years of urging him to just go away, I say: "come back Brett. I'm having way too much fun!"

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

-Nice weekend for UMass-Lowell hockey, pulling off a pair of wins and climbing to fourth in the Hockey East standings. If they can hold onto that slot or better, the River Hawks would host a best-of-three opening round conference playoff series.

That could be huge, because there's another set of standings the River Hawks are climbing: Hockey East's attendance rankings.

UML is averaging almost 4,500 fans per game at the Tsongas Center, a far cry from the '06-07 season average of less than 3,000. That, of course, was the year before Marty Meehan became Chancellor and squashed talk of taking the River Hawks out of Hockey East and moving them down a level.

-Finally, for those of you who can't wait for winter to end, the Red Sox equipment truck leaves for Fort Myers Friday, February 12.

There's no truth to the rumor that Boston's Boys of Summer plan on cutting moving costs by not loading any bats onto the truck, since there aren't many qualified people on the roster to swing them anyway.

That's the view from Mt. Olympus...how do you see things? Was anyone outside of Minnesota surprised by what transpired Sunday night? Who do you like in the Super Bowl? Have you taken in a River Hawks game at the now Tsongas Center? How do you like the atmosphere? Are you excited about the upcoming baseball season?

It's too early to say the River Hawks have turned the corner yet, but they're certainly headed in the right direction again after picking up four points this past weekend with a 5-4 victory over Merrimack and a 3-1 triumph over 10th-ranked Boston College. You can even safely call them the River Hawks again.
Until this past weekend it looked as if the River Hawks should change their nickname to the Martha Coakleys ... they look unbeatable but just can't win.
But the River Hawks, 14-9-2 overall and 8-6-2 in the league, now find themselves in fourth place and just two points behind BC and UMass Amherst for second place -- which is where they were picked to finish in the pre-season coaches' poll. Not too bad a spot for a team that has struggled to score goals, stay out of the penalty box, and kill penalties lately.
The River Hawks, ranked 19th in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll last week and dropped from the USA Today/College Hockey Magazine poll (which doesn't rank teams beyond No. 15), should move up a few notches in the new USCHO poll that will be released today.
They did a creditable job of staying out of the penalty box this weekend, being assessed six minors in as many periods. But Merrimack scored two power-play goals in its three chances, running UML's streak of games in which it had given up a power-play goal to six with nine goals scored in 35 penalty-kills before the Eagles came up empty on all three of their chances Saturday night.
Meanwhile the River Hawks showed signs of ending their own power-play famine. They ended a 1-for-25 spell with two power-play goals against the Warriors but were 0-for-5 against BC on Saturday.
Senior defenseman Jeremy Dehner continues to play inspirational hockey at both ends of the ice for the River Hawks. He had a goal and three assists in the win over Merrimack, and while he was held pointless by the Eagles he was constantly in the offensive mix.
Dehner has 3 goals and 7 points in his last 5 games and has now moved into a three-way tie for third place on the school's all-time scoring list for Division I defensemen. With 74 career points he has matched Paul Ames (1983-87) and Carl Valimont (1984-88). He probably won't catch second-place Ed Campbell, who had 91 points in just three seasons for the River Hawks from 1993-96 before turning pro.
Senior defenseman Nick Schaus moved into a tie with Scott Drevitch for ninth place on the list with an assist on Saturday night, giving him 63 career points.
Senior Kory Falite could crack the 100-point mark in career scoring soon, though probably not this weekend since the River Hawks play only one game, at Northeastern on Friday. Falite has 96 points.
The last UML player to reach 100 points was Andrew Martin in 2006.

It's been a painful rookie year for promising UMass Lowell freshman forward Joe Caveney, and now it's prematurely over.
Caveney missed the first month of the season with a shoulder injury suffered during a pre-season practice. After returning to the lineup in November and netting a goal and an assist in eight games, he suffered a knee injury against UMass Amherst on Dec. 5 and hasn't played since.
The injury was recently diagnosed as a torn ACL, and Caveney will be undergoing surgery shortly.
The good news is that Caveney can be red-shirted, which means he will still have four years of eligibllity remaining.
Caveney, a native of Fitchburg, scored 22 goals and 60 points for the Tyngsboro Huskies in the Eastern Junior Hockey League in 2007-08 and was the MVP of the All-Star Game but played only five games of junior hockey last winter for the Sioux City Musketeers of the U.S. Hockey League because of an injury.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

Former Lowell High two-sport standout Matt Welch is officially a member of the UMass Lowell men's basketball team.

The 6-foot-6 forward was slated to participate in his first practice today.

Welch, who had been a member of the University of New Hampshire football team for the past two seasons, asked for and received his release from his football scholarship in December.

He met with UML head coach Greg Herenda in December about transferring to UMass Lowell to play basketball.

Welch was offered a basketball scholarship by former UML head coach Ken Barer coming out of high school.

As a junior, Welch earned Merrimack Valley Conference co-Player of the Year as well as Sun Player of the Year honors. He averaged 17.5 points and five rebounds per game as senior, shooting 56 percent from the floor (44 percent in 3-pointers) as he helped guide the Red Raiders to the Division 1 North championship game.

He redshirted his freshman year of football, and he returns to basketball with three seasons of eligibility left following this season.