Women’s Track & Field Hosts Fifth-Annual Spring Fling

This past weekend, the women’s track and field team began its spring season by hosting the fifth annual Spring Fling. Seven teams competed, including NESCAC foes Williams and Middlebury. The team hoped to build on their indoor performances as they moved into the spring season. “The [DIII] New England Championships epitomized how versatile our team has become with Mammoths scoring in the jumps, relays, sprints and middle-distance events, [in addition to] breaking personal and school records in a

The Mazzola Minute: Kevin Durant

On Feb. 8, in response to another bout between NBA superstar Kevin Durant and members of the press, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr referred to the league as a “soap opera,” with coaches and players as actors. The job of professional basketball players includes much more than being an athlete. Durant’s charged relationship with the media and fans has created a positive feedback loop. Durant reacts strongly to the media’s coverage of him, the media covers that reaction, fans voice their disconten

Women’s Track and Field Sprinters Set School Record in the 4x400 Meter Relay

The women’s track and field team split up between Friday, Feb. 8 and Saturday, Feb. 9, with half of the team going to the Boston University Valentine Invitational and half of the team going to MIT’s Gordon Kelly Invitational. On Friday, Feb. 8, at the Valentine Invitational, sophomore Grace Haase paced the Mammoths in the 800-meter dash, clocking a time of 2:22.45 to earn 109th overall. She was followed closely by senior Molly Carleton, who ran 2:23.97 for 122nd place. Racing the 1,000-meter, R

The Mazzola Minute: James Harden

LeBron James stands in front of him, arms spread, feet shuffling. Harden dictates tempo as always, taking a few slow dribbles with his right hand before crossing over through his legs. Usually, a few more crossovers follow. Imitating the steady flow of ocean waves, Harden lulls his defender to sleep. But then, Harden quickly steps back to right above the logo, and he hucks up a shot. Caught in indecision, the ball takes a few seconds to jaunt around the rim before, like seemingly all of Harden’s

Women’s Track and Field Starts Indoor Season with Excellent Performances

The women’s track and field team returned early to campus for interterm, holding daily practice and competing in several meets while much of the student body remained at home on winter break. The Mammoths first traveled to Wesleyan on Jan. 12 to compete in the annual Little Three Championships, scoring 100 points and placing third behind Williams and Wesleyan. Headlining the event for Amherst were their three first-place finishes: Ella Rossa ’21 in the 60m hurdles (9.16), Grace Haase ’21 in t

The Mazzola Minute: Derrick Rose

On Oct. 31, 2018, with a clutch block on Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum’s buzzer-beating three-point attempt, Derrick Rose sealed the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 128-125 victory in what might have been the best game of Rose’s career. In 41 minutes of play, the 2010-11 NBA Most Valuable Player put up 50 points on 19-31 shooting, including going 4-7 from three-point range and 8-11 at the free-throw line. Rose also secured four rebounds and notched six assists. Fittingly, this offensive outburst occurred a

The Mazzola Minute: The Return of the Champs

Golden State is back. Sure, the argument could be made the winners of the past two NBA championships never left, but I’m talking about a different iteration of the Warriors — the highly-motivated 2015-16 Warriors who dominated the league to the tune of a 73-9 record. Spearheaded by the three-point shooting barrages of the Splash Brothers (Steph Curry and Klay Thompson) and an elite defense anchored by point-forward and small-ball center Draymond Green, that season’s Warriors changed the game o

Women’s Cross Country Places Eighth at NESCAC Championship Meet

Competing at the historic Franklin Park cross country course, the Amherst women’s cross country team placed eighth at the annual NESCAC Cross Country Championships this past Saturday, with a team score of 213 points. At 47 points, Middlebury dominated the team race, ending Williams’ three-year win streak. The Ephs (73 points) edged rival Wesleyan (84 points) for third place. “It was a windy, muddy and wet day out there, but I’m proud of our team for showing grit and competitiveness,” said senio

The Mazzola Minute: NBA Contenders

The 2018-19 National Basketball Association’s (NBA) regular season has begun, and it’s finally socially acceptable to talk about basketball again. While the playoffs are still far in the future, discussion over which teams are true title contenders has begun in earnest, and will take place throughout the regular season. I believe there are five such teams in the NBA — one clear favorite, three contenders primed for improvement and one team likely doomed for regression. 1. Golden State Warrior

Women’s Cross Country Finishes Seventh at Connecticut College Invitational

Amidst cold and rainy conditions, Amherst women’s cross country stepped up to the challenge at the Connecticut College Invitational this past Saturday, placing an impressive seventh with 232 points in a deep 25-team field. In a tight race, Middlebury took the team title with 67 points, while Dickinson College (72 points) and Tufts (82 points) finished close behind. Noting a significant improvement from the Paul Short Run, the team’s previous outing, head coach Cassie Funke-Harris said, “[Amherst

The Mazzola Minute: Jimmy Butler

In an era where superstars like LeBron James and Steph Curry already function as pseudo-general managers in terms of their influence over roster construction, Jimmy Butler is taking the player-empowerment age of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to a different level. Before diving into the Butler saga, though, let’s briefly step back to the summer before the 2017-18 season. Paul George sent shockwaves through the NBA when he warned the Indiana Pacers — his team at the time — of his inte

Women’s Cross Country Claims 21st at Paul Short Brown Race

At the annual Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Amherst women’s cross country team placed 21st in the multi-divisional Brown race, scoring 564 points. Siena College, a Division I program, claimed the team title with 109 points. The University of Rochester was the top finishing Division III team, placing fourth overall with 301 points. A total of approximately 6,000 athletes from nearly 450 colleges and high schools competed at the Paul Short Run, the n

Women’s Cross Country Takes Eighth at Purple Valley Classic

The Amherst women’s cross country team traveled to Mount Greylock High School this past Saturday to compete at the Purple Valley Classic, hosted by rival Williams. With a score of 179 points, the women placed eighth in a 13-team field. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (67 points) defeated Williams (81 points) and Tufts (114 points) to secure the team victory. The Mammoths moved up in distance from the Little Three Championships’ four-kilometer course, racing over a challenging si

The Mazzola Minute: Watford's Remarkable Rise

Leicester City’s improbable 2015-16 English Premier League title redefined the role of smaller-sized clubs in top-flight English football. Currently dominated by a group of clubs known as the “Big Six” (Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool), the Premier League is notoriously top-heavy. With only six clubs having won the title since the league’s inception (United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Leicester, and Blackburn Rovers), Leicester’s victory reju

Sophomores Pace Women's Cross Country at Little Threes

Facing strong competition from Williams and Wesleyan, the Amherst women’s cross country team placed third at the annual Little Three Championships, scoring 54 points as a team. Tallying a mere 33 points, Williams defeated Wesleyan (36 points) in a hard-fought battle. Entering the meet, Williams ranked third in the New England region. Amherst and Wesleyan ranked seventh and eighth, respectively. “Hats off to the other teams, especially to Wesleyan, who had probably their best showing in the last

Depth and Senior Leadership Key to Women’s Cross Country

After a solid finish to the 2017 season that saw the Mammoths place fifth at the NESCAC Championships and sixth at the NCAA Division III New England regional meet, the Amherst women’s cross country team looks poised for improvement and another strong campaign. Having graduated last year’s top runner, NESCAC champion and All-American Nicky Roberts, the Mammoths have a big hole at the front of the pack. Fortunately, Amherst will return a remarkable six of last year’s top seven harriers, so there

The Mazzola Minute: NBA Playoffs Update

The New Orleans Pelicans completed a four-game sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2018 NBA playoffs on Saturday, April 21. The win marked the first time in NBA history that a team seeded sixth or lower swept a first-round series in the modern best-of-seven format, which replaced best-of-five series in 2003. If that wasn’t enough, the Pelicans outscored the Trail Blazers by over nine points per game in the four victories. What changed from the regular season? The Trail