The waiting drove me mad

You’re finally here

And I’m a mess

-Pearl Jam

I remember coming into my senior year last September saying I couldn’t wait to graduate because classes suck, and when I get a real job writing about sports, well, that’s simply just not a real job at all.

But I pretty much realized maybe one hour into September once I moved back to Amherst that leaving this place was absolutely not even close to one of my top priorities. How could I be so young, so stupid?

I walked out of my last final right before putting this page together last night, and my head was spinning all over the place.

Take that in. Remember that building. Don’t walk into that huge yellow tractor. I’m really done? I can’t take one more class? Hey, now, where did that fence come from? Will I be walking into this building ever again? Wow, look at her.

I told you it was spinning. Anyway, college ends fast, guys. Make sure you enjoy it. Don’t pass up on anything – not one, single thing.

And I’ve been burnt out after a long career here at the Collegian, like probably just about ever senior on staff, but I would kill to put out one more sports page or write one more feature or go to BOE just one more time (which might actually double my attendance all year, but who’s counting?).

This was some pretty phenomenal stuff, and if you don’t believe a word of what I’m saying, cut this blurb out and save it until the end of your senior year and re-read it.

I don’t know what else to say. Saying goodbye to this magical ride is only supposed to be for kids who are a year older than you. It’s finally here, and I’m a mess.

But I know how I’ll get through it. It’s time for some Misty-Eyed Memories, a longstanding sports tradition.

I don’t know if anything will top our sports movie characters for a theme, but picking Family Guy characters is always a safe bet. The elder assistant and I picked these out for the whole staff without any of them knowing which character they are.

But like someone smart once said, “That makes it that much more fun for us sarcastic editors as we snicker to ourselves one last time in the Campus Center basement.”

-Jeff Howe, Sports Editor

Jeff Howe – Sports Editor, football, hockey, men’s lacrosse

Stewie Griffin

“Hahaha, oh my God! I almost didn’t do it, I almost didn’t do it! I thought, ‘Is this in bad taste?’ But you know what; I went for it. I went for it, and I’m so glad I did! Ooooh, worth it, totally worth it.”

Wow, this truly was the final year of my five-year ride. I’ve been running the countdown on the top line of the Misty Eyes for three years now, and I’m very humbled by this whole thing. I almost want to shed a tear.

I’ve got a question for UMass, though. With the 900 billion construction vehicles, fences, holes and God knows what else is lurking around this ugly-turned-ugliest campus, do you think you could loan some of these resources to the rebuilding process of the Boston Bruins? If I go any further on either of these subjects, I might puke in my mouth.

OK, let’s take a step back and touch upon one of my favorite subjects. The New York Knicks are giving up on Larry Brown after ONE season!?! Now, Larry Brown might just be a little past his prime, a la Ben Affleck exactly one second after his “You keep your ear to the grindstone” line in “Good Will Hunting” but the guy is a legend. If he can’t turn the Knicks around, do you think, possibly, maybe it might be the guys on the roster?

Never mind, I forgot about my good friend Isaiah in the front office. “I’ve ruined more teams/organizations/leagues than anyone in history. I’ve assembled a 12-man rotation with nine small forwards. I’ve got two ball-hawking primadonas in the backcourt. I know! I’ll blame the Hall-of-Fame head coach! Brilliant!”

It’s a Guinness commercial waiting to happen.

By the way, Alex Rodriguez didn’t wear a pink wristband on Sunday just to commemorate Mother’s Day; he just wanted to see what Bronson Arroyo’s wrist looked like after he slapped it two years ago.

(Insert insensitive Duke lacrosse comment here. Even I have some standards.)

So John Daly released a book about his escapades on and off the golf course? Hey, John Daly should be a god to all men who have a pulse. Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corolla absolutely needed a shrine of him on “The Man Show”. Anyway, there has been a lot made about his gambling addiction and all that, but I think we’re missing one huge point here. John Daly has sex?!? With living, breathing women? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Now, when the Minnesota Vikings originally got their name, what exactly did their ownership THINK was going to happen? Do these people know what vikings once did? They were human savages who waged war on the seas, stole whatever they could get their hands on and raped the women they captured. And the notorious Love Boat scandal was considered a crime? This was their calling.

Ahh, I’ve said too much. It’s time for a one-man sports meeting.

This is the end of an era. No offense to the guys who came before us and the staffers who worked their tails off this year (especially Duggan), but I officially represent the last leg of the Marzelli-McGovern-Howe Dynasty. I carried the torch the best I could this year to represent the two of you well. You both know exactly what you have meant to me as a writer and a person, and I hope the final act did the sports section justice this year after your performances. It’s our time to shine.

This football season started out with a bang. Forget that – a kablam! Mike, that pool sure was leavy. That was a sick two-hour tour of Richmond, too, but we damn sure found a great sports bar within walking distance of the ho-tel. RJ was doing his thing. Why did Stacy Tutt only touch the ball a total of three times again?

Besides the game itself, that Colgate trip was pretty sweet. Athas, Bertrand and myself officially crashed a wedding. Welcome to the club, boys. Oh, baby, I’m going back to The Cow Bell Diner!

Three safeties on Public Safety Day. Cuko’s heroics against the champs.

Then, there was the trip to Maine. Joel was the most real-life cartoon figure of a human being I’ve ever seen. That didn’t make sense, and neither did he. But he instantly deserves an induction to the Ordinary Joe(l) Hall of Fame. I could write a book on the kid, but I’ll stop with this. Wait, can I get another verse from ICP, Joel? Please?

Anywho, howbout the unanticipated clutch performance from Big Doug? Or the potato gun straight into the door from the INSIDE? Or sneaking into Ushuaia? Or the random Maine-UAH game? Or all those sports? Or the sign on the way home? Or the discovery of hand grenades in the Ludacris song? Or how we can go on a four-day trip and truly remember about six hours of it? By the way, congrats, Doug.

And then there was Delaware. Hey, Keeler, nice shades, buddy. Derek, good looks getting work off for that one and coming up clutch by taking the trip down with us.

Honestly, Mike, was there a better trip than Army? We owned that football field. Literally. For three hours, it was our damn field. If I ever catch another 80-someodd-yard touchdown pass again, though, I may never walk again. Those refs loved us. Good thing we got the guy in The Score. Also a good thing we came out of that tour alive, especially after we got lost, broke into the barracks, survived Little Russia and climbed up the biggest hills ever. I think our country is in good hands.

Hey, McGovern, I almost forgot you were there, too. Man, we would have walked up that hill forever if we didn’t somehow run into Rich. And even though those Army fans didn’t know a single thing about their team, they were pretty cool for letting us chill on the side of that hill with them.

And then there was Hofstra. Athas, you’re never allowed to navigate another road trip again. I still don’t know how you screwed those directions up. Oh, and did t
hat game even happen? Nope, nope, it didn’t.

That hockey season was something else. How I got put in charge of covering all of Hockey East for the world’s greatest college hockey website is beyond me, but I had the time of my life with it. I really hoped I earned that lifetime membership with INCH because I’ll be knocking down the doors until you let me back in if I didn’t. Hey, Skalko. I’m Jeff. Now that I’ve got the hard part out of the way…

With the way the UMass season went, it still involved some of the greatest wins I’ve ever seen. Colorado College, UNH and then Boston College? Damn, guys. Nice job. Good luck in the pros, Marv.

I still can’t believe I covered that UVM/BC game with gauze in my mouth after the gum surgery. Too many jokes, too many jokes.

But seriously, that win over BC on Feb. 3 was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my life. Woo baby!

I met a lot of unbelievable people during this past hockey season, and I had the greatest five days of my life out in Milwaukee to cap it all off. By the way, I’m still looking for Laura if anyone knows her whereabouts. I’m assuming I can just schedule the wedding, and she’ll show up. I mean, we did have a connection. A loooooooooove connection.

I swallowed a bug.

I might have been looking forward to this lacrosse season as much as anyone on the actual team, mainly because of what happened in Baltimore last year.

Duggan, you did a hell of a job filling in for McGovern. I just wish you were there to witness that kid from the Yale Herald. I’m still not even sure he really existed. You ate a whole wheel of cheese? I’m not even mad. That’s impressive.

What?

Hofstra really didn’t impress me during the first week of the season. I’m sure they won’t impress me again on Saturday.

Playing Harvard only counts when you play Harvard in Cambridge because it gives you an excuse to use as many “Good Will Hunting” quotes as humanly possible, an obvious favorite pastime of mine.

I don’t understand Albany’s deal. I really don’t.

Another thing I don’t know is where to begin with Penn State. We made it all the way down there on three wheels. We somehow made it through the murder mile or whatever that messed up section of highway was called. But we definitely refilled when we made it through a certain someone’s relative’s Pleasant Gap.

Definitely key that we left late to skip out on the traffic and made it there in time to hit the bars. Before I forget, that was the greatest campus ever – with the obvious exception of Hobart. Don’t worry, Bob. I didn’t cheat on Hobart with Penn State.

Those cheese steaks were horrendous. My ID is also apparently horrendous. I still stand by the fact that the bouncer told me we were getting free drinks for paying the cover. That bartender just didn’t understand. I still to this day don’t know how we made it to the game. I mean, those MapQuest directions just led us in the wrong direction. Yeah, that was it.

Was that radio guy actually calling the game, or did he just love saying which hand the player shot with, or did he just love saying which team was wearing which colors. Props to Billy Donovan for sneaking in “With no regard for human life!”

May the greatest Red Sox hat in history rest in peace. It was on my head for three Super Bowls, a World Series, made it in and out of Yankee Stadium for Game 7 and a countless amount of other things. I love you, hat. I love you.

I’d talk much more about the ‘Cuse trip if I didn’t already run a 1,000-word running diary. “I know so much about sports [because I’m a huge tool].” Yeah, that’s what he meant. Hey, that lady knew the Carrier Dome like she worked there or something. And I don’t even know how to describe that wind.

I’m happy I introduced you two to “Cheaters”. I definitely changed your lives forever, especially since we saw the greatest episode in the history of television. Anyone wanna hit up downtown Germany, I mean downtown Russia?

And, no, Sebastian Telfair didn’t have it bad at ALL. Anyone who lives in the woods of upstate New York has it bad. Wow, talk about a hole.

I hope everyone is ready for a ride to Philly.

Did I forget The Score? No, not one bit. At least not the parts I remember about it anyway. Whatever I just said pretty much sums up those 75 consecutive sleepless hours. Instead of spending a thousand words trying to ask myself how in the world we all pulled that off, I’m just going to give The Score a moment of silence …( )

Well, that was fun.

Duggan – Man, you did yourself one hell of a job this year. I knew you’d come in and contribute, but I had no idea you would be the glue that held this section together. This year would have been a lot harder without you on staff, and I’m real happy with the effort you put forth to make yourself a better writer, reporter and editor nearly each and every day. You have the ability to really make something of yourself in this business, and I know you’re not going to do anything that will screw that up. I was hoping at this point last year that this is something I could be saying to you, but you far and away exceeded my expectations. I know these road trips probably scared the hell out of you with that whole “tire problem,” but didn’t that just make you appreciate life that much more every time we survived and made it back to Amherst? I was probably just doing you a favor. I’m happy you caught the lacrosse bug this year, too. Me, you and McGovern are definitely going to be those “drunken idiots” on the hill someday, and I’m completely fine with that. Hey, let’s cover the Sox for the Globe someday or something. And one last thing; give that tee shirt back to the poor kid you stole it from. We all know you didn’t win a real intramural championship. You’re only kidding yourself, and no one wins when you do something like that.

Athas – Someone had themselves a pretty damn crazy year, huh? You must be pretty relieved knowing you won’t have me around next year busting your balls on an hourly basis, but you’ll miss it since I guess you’re now the elder statesman down there. Scary if you ask me. I don’t know what your plans are with the sports section next year, but I hope you can at least stick with football. If nothing else, you have to be the third guy on the beat. If you happen to take Randy Lively’s seat in the press box, so be it. It was about a year-and-a-half ago when I told you that big things were in store for you at this place, and you pretty much proved me right. I like being right, as you very well know, but make sure you keep working to continuously improve every single day. I’m counting on you to keep this whole thing together, especially The Score. That’s going to be your baby next year so start thinking about it now. And if you happen to top this year’s product, I’ll be back to Nancy Kerrigan your ass.

Greenfield – I’m going to put this the best way I know how. You’ve got a long line of sports editors to live up to, and if you don’t, you’re going to hear about it from each and every one of them. There is a lot of pride from the section’s alumni, and you’ve had the least amount of time to groom for this position out of anyone in the last few years. You have to constantly be aware that you need to put out a quality product five days a week while you also work to make yourself a better reporter in the process. That’s a lot of work put on your plate, and while I know you’re willing to put in the effort, don’t burn yourself out by October. Use your Collegian resources. There are a lot of people who will be willing to help you out if you ask. And don’t screw up The Score. Other than that, chill out for a couple months before the big return because it’s going to be a looooongggg year.

Hey, you wanna work for me on Tuesday?

Hall – You amazed the hell out of me this year. I didn’t know if you’d last past Sept. 15, let alone all the way until May. You’ve got a good thing going for you, and you know that. Good luck with the Globe. It’s going to open
up a lot of doors for you – not that you needed anyone to really tell you that. You were as valuable to this staff as any editor, and that is something I’ve been telling you for two years. You gave swimming its best coverage in the history of the sport, and you swallowed up the other sports you covered without even missing a beat. It would have been easy for you to walk away this year considering the circumstances, but your loyalty to the section and to me is a huge testament to who you are as a person. Your writing will take you places. Your personality will take you places. Your willingness to give a solid effort every single day will take you places. And your loyalty and dedication to everything you do will take you places. Not many people have that package the way you do. Good luck with everything, man. I’m gonna miss the hell out of working alongside you.

Pelland – Good thing you somehow managed to get me to Agganis that one time. I don’t know what my deal with driving in that city is. You’ve got yourself a good gig next year so take advantage of it. I know you’re going to work hard to keep getting yourself better, and never for one second hesitate to give me a call if you need something. You’ve got your work cut out for you with hockey next year. There are a long line of great hockey writers here like Merritt and Brady (and obviously yours truly) so you’ve got a tradition to uphold. If you screw this beat up, Kimberly will damn sure call me to tell me about it. If you ever turn 21, you better let me know about it. I’ll see you at the Garden next year for Hockey East.

Danny Pee-Card – I don’t know why I can’t get your name right, but it looks like I’m going to have to now that you’re a big shot. I’d like to tell you not to let it all go to your head, but I’d be a hypocrite if I did – ya know, with the whole WEEI and Metro thing. Anyway, you were the staff’s Rookie of the Year this year. You came out of nowhere and dominated absolutely everything you did. I hope you jump on hockey next year with Pelland, but I can understand if you don’t. I’m obviously going to be in Boston a lot this year so I’ll be hitting you up. I don’t know what it’s going to be like going to a bar with you not named Delano’s, but I’m willing to adapt if you are. You do a great job with this stuff so keep it up, and make sure you guys find someone else with a Boston accent to hire as an editor to keep this long line that I started going.

Jeremy – Sorry about that whole E-mail fiasco in the war room, although I’ll be laughing about that one for awhile. There’s nothing I can really say to you here that I didn’t already say to you during my rant about softball a couple weeks ago. You’re a solid writer and reporter, and if you’re not an editor at this time next year, you’ve really done something wrong. The future is bright for you if you keep up the work you’ve been doing. Hey, I hear the ski team is hiring a new coach if all else fails. Have a good summer, man.

Dom – If you continue to improve on the same scale that you improved from March until now, you’re going to do some great things next year. Stick with this, and keep working hard. People who have a work ethic like yours succeed in life 100 times out of 100 no matter what it is that they’re trying to do. I can’t thank you enough for the hard work you put in this year, and I will always vouch for you if you’re ever applying for a job somewhere.

Joey – I’m not one to lie. I don’t know a damn thing about you, man. I just hope your next sports editor can get it through your head to stop double-spacing stories, changing the font on your byline and giving it a headline. Good luck wherever you end up.

Nick – I like calling you the honorary member of the sports staff, but let’s try writing for sports next year so we can drop the “honorary” tag. You wanted to write for the Collegian … or something, so let’s try that something out on the cool side of the newsroom. I don’t know where this is all going to lead you, but your future looks as bright as anyone down there (except me, of course). Just kidding, man. You’re going to do a phenomenal job next year, and I say that without a single ounce of doubt. I’d tell you how much you meant to The Score if I hadn’t already beaten that to a dead horse, and it’s not like you don’t know it anyway. You’re a great worker, but you’re an even better guy. There’s a lot to be said about that. Keep in touch.

P.S. What’s your sister up to these days?

Belliveau – Same to you, write some damn sports next year, will ya? Either way, I know you got the news section locked down. You were a great addition to the newsroom this year, even if it took you to drive to the wrong Amherst before you even started. There aren’t many people who show me up with pure stupidity, but you definitely took the cake with that move. Oh, and there was one more thing I had to add. Thinking…thinking…thinking… Oh yeah, Duke sucks!

Marissa – OK, so there was that graphical error that cut you out of The Score. Wasn’t my fault. I swear. That’s why you get the first mention from the business department. Wait, do I even know you?

KerryO – Hey, thanks for the shout-out in the grad guide. Cool. I see how it is. Sorry about Charlie’s on my birthday. Or maybe I’m not. Either way, it makes for a good story. Scout out ASU for me because you know I’ll be down there at some point. We’re hitting up a Cardinals game. And since you’re my richest friend, you’re buying.

Lauren and Mel – You two crack me up. I feel bad for graphics next year because they’re losing a couple all stars. Mel, maybe I’ll see you at The Claddagh – or however you spell it – at some point. You two take care.

Everyone who worked on The Score – Thank you once again.

Every girl in the business office – Call me. Come on. Seriously. Please? This isn’t begging is it? No, no, no, it’s not begging. It’s not even close to begging.

And now to everyone who lives above the ground…

Derek – I think there was something I was supposed to say to you about satin rugs, long drives through eastern Mass., early morning breakfasts, earmuffs, Lindsey Lohan, Another Bad Creation, Peking Garden, barber shops, being my favorite assistant, hair bands, the 1980s and some of the early 1990s, bandanas, pita bread, Boy Meets World and standing me up when I didn’t have the strength in my own two legs. I love you.

HAHAHAHA!

Boothie – The Collegian’s favorite photographer. If I talked about the two trips to that one city on the other side of the state for a certain sporting event and everything that may or may not have happened before, during and afterward, I might be in jail. So I’ll leave that for 40 years from now when we’re chillin on the front porch somewhere in some random state with 40s of God only knows what. Hey! What’s your favorite planet? Mine’s the sun!

Locapo – I still don’t know where you came from this semester, but wherever it was, they sure don’t know how to play college football on the PS2. Keep practicing, man. Sooo, ahhh, you wanna hit the Pheasant Lane Mall this summer? I’ll wear my blue glasses. And tell Mrs. Locapo I’m really sorry. Or just show her this…

I had no idea it was you on the phone that day. My bad. I’m really a good kid. I swear. I mean, I don’t swear. And don’t let your son leave UMass.

All the girls – Who wants a margarita???

Robbie – OK, once before I hit the dusty trail… BAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Kit – Thanks for being my Asian outlet when I’m away from Lowell. When you become a famous rapper, write a song about me. I mean, why does everyone else get one? Actually, you have until tomorrow to put me in an away message.

Bri – So, ahhh, how’s that fantasy team of yours doing? I guess I could ask you or I could just look at the American League East standings under “New York Yankees”. I hope your parents are happy with what they raised.

Foster – Say it slowly. La To-ma-ti-na.

Marzelli and McGovern – Guys … I actually did it.

This one-man sports meeting is officially ad
journed.

Dan Duggan, Assistant Sports Editor, women’s soccer, men’s basketball, men’s lacrosse

Peter Griffin

“No I’m not drunk, I’m just exhausted ’cause I’ve been up all night drinking.”

If I was going to put a headline on the start of my time at the Collegian I would have to go with the most overused headline on every sports feature this year: “Dan Duggan has arrived.” If I was going to put a headline now that I’m leaving, I’m hoping that it wouldn’t be the other most overused sports headline: “Mixed results for Duggan.”

That may be an inside joke that only the sports editors will get, but the truth is I really hope that I’ve done enough in my time at the paper that the reviews would be a bit more favorable.

I feel like I’ve written so many goodbye columns in the past few days, and I have so many people to mention and thank, that I’m going to skip another long sendoff and just get on to the shout-outs. I guess I’ll start with those of you who have spent the better part of your college career deep in the bowels of the Campus Center basement.

Howe: We both wandered down here two and a half years ago, and you moved through the ranks faster than I ever could have imagined. I hope that this year I’ve closed the gap a little bit, but that was tough to do because you set the bar pretty high.

I wish we could have done more beats together, especially one that wasn’t in our last semester when senioritis was at its peak because we would have completely knocked it out of the park. I still think we did a pretty damn good job with lax. Gotta love trying to coax that big quote out of Cannella. “Oh so this isn’t a big game? Oh so every game means the same?” Thanks for that.

The week of The Score was just ridiculous. I don’t think anyone outside of the handful of us who spent almost a week straight in the office putting out The Best Special Issue of the Collegian Ever can really understand what that experience was like. I’m not gonna lie there were a few moments that made me question what we were even doing, like when I almost fell asleep at the wheel while driving home at 9 a.m. and you having hallucinations by the end of the week, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

I still don’t know how you managed to get us kicked out of that bar at Penn State in under five minutes. But after further consideration, I am pretty sure that the bouncer didn’t make any promises of free drinks. Also, you might want to look into getting a new ID so we don’t have to put up with 20-minute hassles at every bar we try to get into.

That weekend pretty much summed up our friendship: spending half our time covering sports and the other half getting absolutely wasted. Over this past year you have gone from being my boss to becoming someone I don’t hesitate to call a good friend. I still know that I can always look to you for advice on anything and everything related to sports writing, but I’m happier that I also know that I’ll be able to call you any night and say let’s go get loaded in Boston, and you’ll be just as able to do that.

Athas: We all know that was you during Score week. You know what I’m talking about man, I don’t want to call you out on it in the paper, but just know that we all know. Just kidding, but seriously you’re one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met.

You’ve achieved so much in such a short time, and you’re going to go onto so much more. You have an amazing way of keeping your calm demeanor no matter what’s going on around you. I’m glad that I got to know you so well, and I know the paper is in good hands with you for the next two years.

You’re still gonna have to come out with Jeff and me, though, so we can show you how sports editors really party.

Greenfield: You’ve been put in a pretty tough spot, trying to get started in the office with two guys on the way out. You’ve shown that you’ll be able to lead this section well, and you better because Howe and I won’t be far away, so if you screw it up we’ll let you know about it.

I know you won’t though. You’re a hard-working kid and I know you’ll do a good job. Don’t get yourself too burnt out by it, sit back and enjoy the ride once and a while, and it’ll be even more worthwhile.

Picard: You’ve really hit the big time with this column. Ride it for all it’s worth. You remind me of myself in a lot of ways, and I’m hoping you take this assistant job and run with it the same way I did. I’m sure you will, and if you do you won’t regret it.

You’ve got a big future in this, and I’m proud to know that I had some affect on that, no matter how small it may actually be. You’re gonna have to come to Quincy with the Collins boys over the summer and we’ll throw back a few.

Pelland: Just like Picard, you’re a lot like I was a year ago. You have a ton of potential, and I just hope that you understand how much you have to gain next year if you go out and give it everything you have. You’ve always been one of the most reliable kids down here, so now it’s up to you to take it to the next level. I have all the faith in the world that you’ll do it.

Hall: I think you’ve always known that you have a ton of talent and I think that this year you finally realized how to harness that into something productive. You’re one of the most well-intentioned, outgoing people I’ve ever met, and even if it does get you into a bit of hot water sometimes, I wouldn’t change anything if I were you.

It’s funny that I was basically your boss this year, because whether you know it or not I actually learned a lot from you, especially starting out. I think we kicked (no pun intended) soccer’s ass in our two years on the beat.

You’ve really blossomed this year and it’s been great to see you turn out the way you have. I have no doubt that you’ll keep it going. Good luck with the Globe, I’m sure you’ll knock it out of the park.

Jeremy: It’s not easy to get noticed on the skiing beat, but you managed to do that this year. That should tell you all you need to know about you abilities as a reporter and a writer. You have a lot of time left at the Collegian and I’m expecting to hear big things from you in the future.

Domenic: You’ve improved as much as anyone this year, and it’s been great to see. Never lose that work ethic and eagerness to learn, it’ll take you far. If you stick with this I think you’ll have a great future. Good luck with the Sun and everything else.

Joey: We didn’t see as much of you this semester, but I know it’s because you were working so much at the Gazette, and that was a great opportunity for you and I hope you make the most of it. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to give me a call.

The new guys: I haven’t gotten to know many of you very well, but if you ever need anything, well you have about a week to hit me up. But I know you guys will be in good hands with Greenfield, so just remember that if you want to do this, the Collegian is as good a place as anywhere to get your start.

Nick: It’s hard to believe you’re only a sophomore. I can already tell you’re headed for big things and I think you know that too. I can’t imagine what this paper would look like on a daily basis if it wasn’t for your graphic ability. I know you’re moving up the food chain, but make sure you give them a hand with the Score next year, they’re gonna need it. Keep in touch man.

Believeau: You somehow managed to make working Thursday nights fun. That said, if I find out you’re still working Thursdays next year I’m gonna come back and forcibly remove you from the office and drop you off uptown. And come to think of it, same goes if I find out you’re still covering SGA.

You are gonna do an awesome job with news next year, even if we all know your heart is in sports. You’re one of the most laidback people I’ve ever met and I wish I had gotten to know you before this year because I’m sure we would have been even better friends. I got about a week left here, and I’m making a guarantee that we will grab a beer together at some point.

Also, good job on the assistan