Interview with Union's new Assistant SID Jeffrey Weinstein

With the departure of Kevin Zalaznik to the Albany Devils there was an opening for the Assistant Sports Information Director at Union. This position is one of the most important positions in the athletic department as this person handles the media and public relations for the biggest team at Union: the men's ice hockey team. Last week it was rumored that the position was filled by Jeffrey Weinstein. This was confirmed first by Ken Schott and then later by Jeffrey himself.

Jeffrey is the third Assistant SID that I have dealt with (Hilary Haynes and Zalaznik) and each has been a good experience. I bet working with Jeffrey will be equally as enjoyable.

So, let's get this thing underway and get to know Jeffrey...

DG: Where are you from and where did you go to high school?
JW: I grew up in Briarcliff Manor, New York and attended Briarcliff High School, home the Bears. Our claim to fame, at least while I was there, was an appearance in the 2002 Class C football championship game at the Carrier Dome. Onondaga's Mike Hart ran for over 300 yards against us and we lost....big.

DG: Did you play sports growing up and/or in high school?
JW: I played for my high school soccer team, and ran track as well. I also played a lot of baseball and floor hockey. During my senior year of high school, I played in a local roller hockey league. A lot of checking and bravado, but little goal-scoring.

DG: Where did you go to college for undergrad?
JW: I attended Boston College.

DG: What was the best part about going BC?
JW: Wow, tough to pick one aspect. But I guess I'd have to say the best part was the combination of receiving a great education while having a big-time athletic program as a major social outlet. I was lucky enough to attend BC during a period of great athletic success, culminating in the 2008 National Championship for Jerry York and the BC hockey team.

DG: Did you go to a lot of BC hockey games? Did you have a favorite player?
JW: Yes, I attended a number of games every year as a fan, and covered more as a writer for the student newspaper. My favorite player was Nathan Gerbe. He's 5'6" with a ton of skill, but also played with an edge, kind of like my favorite player growing up, Theo Fleury.

DG: What did you do at BC?
JW: I was a communications major at BC. My main extracurricular was writing for the student newspaper, The Heights. I was a sports editor there during my sophomore, junior, and senior years.

DG: Where did you go for post-grad?
JW: I attended Georgetown University, where I completed a masters degree in Sports Industry Management.

DG: Tell us about the SIM program at Georgetown. Where did you intern as a part of the program?
JW: The SIM program at Georgetown is just two years old. Most students intern for course credit during the day, and take classes at night, completing the degree in one calender year. The program is well connected with sports executives in the DC area, and we had ample opportunity to meet many of them. The highlight was having Mark Cuban speak to our class during halftime of a preseason Wizards game. An interesting guy, who had some insights on the next breakthrough in the sports industry, concerning sports medicine. My internship was with the Washington Capitals, where I was a media relations assistant.

DG: Have you ever been to Schenectady before?
JW: Yes, I have.

DG: What have you heard about Union and Schenectady prior to getting on campus?
JW: My dad graduated from Union in 1976, and has great memories from his college days, including the start of the Ned Harkness Era. He brought me and my older brother up to Union a number of times when we were younger.

DG: What do you like to do in your free time?
JW: I'm a runner - I ran the Boston Marathon in 2008, and have been trying to work my back into the same shape I was in back then. I love playing golf as much as I can during the spring and summer. I'm reading Playing For Keeps, a great book by David Halberstam about Michael Jordan.

DG: What is your favorite sports team and who is your favorite athlete?
JW: My favorite team is the New York Mets, and my favorite athlete is Jose Reyes.

DG: What are you most looking forward to with your job?
JW: I'm looking forward to meeting the many coaches and student-athletes I'll be working with at Union. I've already met Coach Leaman, and I'm really excited for the beginning of hockey season.

DG: So, you’re a Mets and Jets fan (same here). Are you more excited for the baseball season to end or the football season to begin?
JW: Bring on the football season! I worry about the hype, but love Rex Ryan's attitude. He's a quote machine.

Tuesday brings more WAC-MWC drama

Here's an interesting link that gives a comprehensive background of Fresno State's timeline in the Western Athletic Conference and asks some important questions about Brigham Young's recent dealings with the WAC and its administration.It's mostly about football but there is mention of a unique date (May 26, 1998) in WAC history involving softball. On that date, more than three thousand fans

Pre-Season ECAC Picks (UPDATED)

Yesterday, The College Hockey Blog posted an ECAC preview with picks for the All-Conference team. Just two days prior to that I sent in my picks to the ECAC Hockey Writers and Broadcasters Association where I picked the All-Conference team and the pre-season rankings for all 12 teams. In some aspects I agree with TCHB and in others I don't.

I HAVE UPDATED MY RANKINGS DUE TO THE DEPARTURE OF BRANDON PIRRI FROM RPI

Here are my picks:

1. Yale --> 2009-10 Regular Season champs; Bring back Little, O'Neill, and Kearney; one of their junior goaltenders will step up

2. Cornell --> It will be the same old Big Red team: defense and special teams; freshman goaltender Andy Iles has had good reviews

3. Dartmouth --> Will be surprise team of 2010-11; had strong end of last season; look for Fleming and Estoclet to have big seasons

4. Union --> Lose a lot of offense in 'Super' Mario and Wally, but bring back very strong defensive corps and good forwards that went to the ECAC Final Four; return six players who had at least 18 points last season and three players who had at least 10 goals in 2009-2010

5. Colgate --> Even though the lose David McIntyre to graduation offesne should not be a problem since they still return Austin Smith (16-25-41), Brian Day (21-15-36), Francois Brisebois (15-10-25), and Robbie Bourdon (8-15-23); but I'm still not too impressed by the Raiders

6. Brown --> Shocked the ECAC by making the ECAC Final Four last season and should build off that success; play a tough brand of hockey which was seen in the first round of the playoffs against RPI

7. RPI --> Losing D'Amigo really hurt but at least they still have Pirri... oh wait, he's gone to; Polacek is basically all by himself to carry the offense as the #2 returning scorer is Alex Angers-Goulet (5-13-18) and no returning player had more than nine goals last season; but I believe in Coach Appert enough where I think they'll get a first round home playoff series and win it

8. Princeton --> Lose Bartlett and Magnowski on offense; goaltending is a question mark; but bring back some promising forwards and are traditionally a strong team

9. St. Lawrence --> Lose their top two scorers in McKenzie and Vermeulen; who ever ends up in between the pipes will have very little experience

10. Quinnipiac --> Lose top four scorers; defense is always a weakness and I've never liked their brand of hockey

11. Harvard --> Had the lowest goals per game average of any ECAC team and are losing top scorer Louis Leblanc to the Montreal Canadiens; but Ted Donato will keep them out of the basement

12. Clarkson --> Last season was miserable; lose top scorer Matt Beca; I think their goaltender Paul Karpowich is brutal (as seen when he came to Messa Rink last season)

F Broc Little, Yale
F Adam Estoclet, Dartmouth
F Brian Day, Colgate
D Nick D'Agostino, Cornell
D George Hughes, St. Lawrence
G Keith Kinkaid, Union

Other players to keep an eye on: F Denny Kearney (Yale), F Brian O'Neill (Yale), F Chase Polacek (RPI), G Allen York (RPI), D Greg Coburn (Union), F Adam Presizniuk (Union), F Scott Fleming (Dartmouth), D Evan Stephens (Dartmouth), F Austin Smith (Colgate), G Dan Clarke (Quinnipiac), D Mark Borowiecki (Clarkson), F Brandon DiFazio (Clarkson), G Andy Iles (Cornell), D Mike Devin (Cornell), F Joe Devin (Cornell), F Jack Mclellan (Brown), F Michael Biega (Harvard), F Scott Zurvenski (Quinnipiac), D Taylor Fedun (Princeton), F Aaron Bogosian (St. Lawrence), D Pete Child (St. Lawrence)

So, here are the changes I've made:

- Colgate and RPI flipped positions. Colgate moves up to 5th, while RPI slides down to 7th. Colgate has a good offense, but will need to play good two-way hockey to get into the top 4. RPI's offense will rely heavily on Polacek, but he will definitely be marked by the opposition's best defender. The game plan will definitely be to hit him hard, and hit him often. Luckily for Polacek, many of the other forwards are seniors (Brutlag, Helfrich, Halpern), and I believe they will pick up some of the slack.

- I dropped Chase Polacek from the All-Conference team and replaced him with Brian Day. Without Pirri or D'Amigo on his side it will be very hard for Polacek to put up numbers like he did last season. But, he is a great player and I predict he will be on the Second Team All-Conference. I also predict that Day will have a huge year. He will be in his senior year, which will provide some motivation. Also, he's surrounded by other very good forwards like Austin Smith and Francois Brisebois. A line of Smith-Day-Brisebois could be the best in the ECAC. It wouldn't surprise me though if Smith had a huge year and made First Team All-Conference.