The Bowdoin Orient

The Bowdoin Football Team may get its best chance for a win this season when it faces a tired Bates team tomorrow. The 0-6 Bobcats will visit Brunswick following a 10-7 loss to Colby in mud, rain, and four overtimes on Saturday. The Polar Bears are now also 0-6, after Wesleyan defeated visiting Bowdoin 18-0 on Saturday. It was the third time in a row the Polar Bears were shut out, the fourth time overall this season. The offense contributed 171 yards, only 90 of which were through the air.

Contracts in sports are truly unfathomable to the average person. In many cases, millions of dollars are doled out to athletes over the course of a few short years.

This summer I had an experience that totally altered my impression of professional athletes. I worked at Kraft Media Communications, inside Gillette Stadium (home of the New England Patriots, winners of three of the last five Super Bowls). Just walking into the office was intimidating enough. Each day on my way in I would walk through a veritable Patriots Hall of Fame, including historic balls and jerseys that left me wide-eyed. But inside the office was an even more amazing atmosphere.

The Celtics are a sore topic among Boston fans. After being one of the most dominant teams in the NBA from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, the team has fallen off the map over the last decade and a half. Since the team's loss in the 1987 finals, the Celtics have not made an appearance in the championship

In Belichick we trust. This has been the mantra of the New England Patriots through their amazing run over the past five years, during which head coach Bill Belichick has led the team to four playoff berths and three Super Bowls. However, this offseason has been a tumultuous one for the Patriots. Among the players lost through free agency, three departures stand out: the 12-year Patriot linebacker Willie McGinest to the Cleveland Browns, wide receiver David Givens to the Tennessee Titans, and kicker Adam Vinatieri to the Indianapolis Colts.

With the first pitches thrown last Thursday, baseball's exhibition is now underway without any clear leader. The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays have added components that could be key to a championship run. But there are several questions remaining for each team as the spring training games take off. The three teams atop the Eastern Division have issues with the pitchers at the top of their rotation, as well as their bullpens.

The Super Bowl is in the rearview mirror, which means that pitchers and catchers report to spring training in mere days. The frostbitten winter will soon be brightened by the rays of the great summer sport.

Something is missing from this year's Super Bowl. There is no circus of words from Terrell Owens and Freddy Mitchell. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and Tedy Bruschi are not solemnly overstating their respect for the opposition, while publicly disregarding their own team's accomplishments.

The Red Sox landed some big fish over Thanksgiving, and this might only be the start.

Two weeks ago, the Red Sox's work this off-season created the illusion of a team capable of dominating the next season, with the foundation to be a competitive team for years to come.

Soccer fans in Europe share the fanaticism of football enthusiasts in America. That same love for competition extends to Australia and its national pastime, rugby. I've spent my entire life watching the American triumvirate of baseball, basketball, and football. However, one of the things I looked forward to in studying abroad was the chance to learn about rugby.

Second guessing is like second nature for Boston sports fans. Every move a general manager makes is scrutinized, and every plan a coach employs is critiqued. However, recently the front offices for sports teams in the Hub have proven themselves worthy of the trust of New England's fanatic sports fans.

Last year, the NBA finals were an absolute inspiration to anyone who loves good basketball. The team that ranked third in the league in scoring average, the L.A. Lakers at 98.2 points per game, lost to the 24th ranked team with an average of 90.1 points per game, the Detroit Pistons.

A terrible trend has begun in sports: fans are going too far. Recently, Gary Sheffield, right fielder for the New York Yankees, was allegedly hit in the face by Red Sox fan Christopher House while trying to field a ground ball at Fenway Park. I am certainly not one to root for the Bronx Bombers: I loved seeing the Yankees choke last fall and enjoyed watching Alex Rodriguez get what was coming to him when he offended the great backstop Jason Varitek.