Wish I could have seen it

Boston University earns 27th Beanpot title

It was business as usual for the boys from Boston University on the second Monday night in February as the Terriers beat Boston College 3-2 at the TD Banknorth Garden to capture the 54th Annual Beanpot.

Effing sweet! Here's hoping they ride this success through the rest of the Hockey East regular season and into the NCAA tourney.

"I think that we have the capability to do a lot this year and we're not going to stop short of anything we're capable of," Curry said. "We're going to enjoy this, but I think we have some big things in store for this year."

Just to reiterate a fun fact: There have now been 54 Beanpot Championships. BU has won exactly half of them.

Go BU!

Well, it looks like the Beanpot will come down to the Comm Ave rivals once again. Boston College took care of Northeastern in the early game yesterday 5-2 and my BU Terriers topped Harvard 5-3. Interesting tidbits from the USCHO.com notebook:

In the last three non-Beanpot meetings, Harvard has a 2-0-1 record against Boston University. In the last four times the teams have met in the Beanpot, Harvard is 0-4.

"In the first seven minutes of the first period, they outshot us 15-3. I called a timeout, and said to my kids, 'Harvard's pretty good, huh?'" — Parker, on the Terriers' first meeting with Harvard, a 2-2 tie on November 22.

Boston University has won more Beanpots than any other school. If the second-nearest school, Boston College, were to win the title each year going forward, the Eagles would not catch BU until 2018.

The Ice Dogs meet the Eagles in the final at TD Banknorth Garden (just call it the Gahden) Monday the 13th. I wish it was being broadcast nationally...

30 Boxes, on the Hillside

30 Boxes has taken its beta public, so if you're looking for a Web2.0-hipster-compliant online calendar with a crazy feature set, check it out. In truth, I was hoping Google would have something like this out by now. I have a hard time imagining them doing a better job than 30 Boxes has already done, though.

(I'm signed up with my Gmail account, if you want to make me a buddy, yo.)

Waits on Fernwood

Once upon a time I was up late watching Nick at Nite when I tuned into the old Martin Mull and Fred Willard master series known as Fernwood Tonite. For those of you who don't know, FT was one surreal little TV show, but maybe that makes perfect sense if you consider the gents on the thing. Then magic happened: Tom Waits came on the show.

I've told so many people about this that I had begun to worry I had made it up, but now I have internet proof!

(YouTube has a ton of other great Tom Waits videos, too. Search around.)

Hey! Wha' happened?!

Just when I wasn't looking, the BU men's ice hockey team has gone from stunning mediocrity to rattling off seven straight Hockey East wins! They've gone from being nowhere near the polls to 10th on the USA Today poll and 8th on the USCHO.com poll.

Better yet, it's coming up on Beanpot time. For those that don't know, BU wins the Beanpot a lot:

The Boston University Terriers have enjoyed unparalleled success for more than eight decades. With four NCAA Division I national titles - more than any other eastern school - and 26 Beanpot championships in the tournament’s 53-year history, the Terriers have established a rich tradition of excellence.

(Note: The last time I wrote a post like this it kind of killed - or at least slowed - the momentum the Colorado Avalanche had at the time... Here's hoping that's not the case this time.)

New X Prizes

The Next X Prizes: DNA, Nanotech, Autos and Education

Along with X Prize purses for space and genomics, Diamandis said Friday that the Foundation is working on prizes in the automotive arena, nanotechnology and education.

For the automotive prize, the focus is on breakthroughs in areas like miles per gallon and manufacturing.

"Why do we still drive cars that use an internal combustion engine and only get 30 miles per gallon? I think that we'll see some amazing achievements in this area," Diamandis predicted. Further details on this automotive prize are forthcoming, he added, when the prize is fully formulated.

I love the way the X Prize bring innovation outside of the usual industry red tape. So, suppose this brings about a fuel cell car that drives like a Porsche... will we ever see it on the streets? Or will The Man conspire with Detroit and Japan to keep it under wraps in spite of the public knowledge that come swith winning an X Prize?

Gladwell on Generalization

TROUBLEMAKERS: What pit bulls can teach us about profiling.

Then which are the pit bulls that get into trouble? “The ones that the legislation is geared toward have aggressive tendencies that are either bred in by the breeder, trained in by the trainer, or reinforced in by the owner,� Herkstroeter says. A mean pit bull is a dog that has been turned mean, by selective breeding, by being cross-bred with a bigger, human-aggressive breed like German shepherds or Rottweilers, or by being conditioned in such a way that it begins to express hostility to human beings. A pit bull is dangerous to people, then, not to the extent that it expresses its essential pit bullness but to the extent that it deviates from it. A pit-bull ban is a generalization about a generalization about a trait that is not, in fact, general. That’s a category problem.

Fantastic article.

Also puts a point on why I've had issues with some of the recent topics of conversation at the Corcorans'.

What Would Jesus Mix?

Matt: what would you put on a mix tape for Jesus?Matt: first song Matt: 'South of Heaven" Jake: Jesus Built My Hot Rod Matt: "Spirit in the Sky" Jake: followed by Satan Is My Motor Matt: "I saw your mommy and your mommy's dead" Jake: last song: Sheep Go to Heaven (Goats Go to Hell) Matt: nice touch Matt: I think Super Trouper and Run to the Hills need to be on there somewhwere Jake: how about a little Faith No More: Surprise! You're Dead Matt: thats good Matt: I think Death Metal is too obvious Jake: yeah Matt: but Slayer has a song called 'Jesus Saves' Matt: I think jesus would like some Dead Kennedys Jake: remember the Cardigans? they do a cover of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Matt: oh yeah, thats good Matt: I'm thinking 'God id Dead' by Crass. Or anything by the punk band the Crucifucks Jake: we would have vastly different mix tapes for Jesus

Theo's Back

Well, that little tantrum didn't last long.

"Ironically, Theo's departure has brought us closer together in many respects, and, thanks to these conversations, we now enjoy the bonds of a shared vision for the organization's future that did not exist on Oct. 31. With this vision in place, Theo will return to the Red Sox in a full-time baseball operations capacity, details of which will be announced next week."

Isn't that sweet?