Rest of NBA season
If there’s anything we’ve learn so far this NBA season it’s that: LeBron James is one of the three best NBA players of all time, the Indiana Pacers are the early favorites to win the NBA Championship and the Eastern Conference is really bad.
If the playoffs started Monday night, the Chicago Bulls would be the No. 8 seed with a losing record. But in the West, there is plenty to look forward to in 2014. The Portland Trail Blazers are emerging as one of the NBA’s best young teams, while the Oklahoma City Thunder chase them in the division standings.
The Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers season-long matchup is also sure to be an interesting one. Is this Indiana’s year to keep the Heat out of the championship, or will LeBron continue to prove that he is determined to pick up a third ring?
NFL Playoffs
The NFL playoff picture is pretty much set besides the last Wild Card spot in each conference.
Right now, in the AFC, there’s the Broncos, Patriots, Bengals, Chiefs, Colts and probably the Ravens. And in the NFC, there’s the Seahawks, Saints, 49ers, probably the Eagles if they hold on to win the NFC East, the Panthers and the Lions.
That’s setting up for a great 2014 in football. The early favorites to face off in Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2 are the Broncos and Seahawks, who both only have two losses on the season.
But the Panthers are getting hot at the right time, while the Chiefs are continuing to prove that defense isn’t dead in the modern NFL.
And there’s always the hometown favorite Ravens, who showed last year that anything can happen once the playoffs start. You won’t want to miss the next six Sundays.
Rest of NHL season
As with the NBA, in the NHL, it would be unwise to mess with the West. Seven teams in the NHL’s Western Conference already have over 40 points with about 50 games left in the season, while only three teams in the East have broken the 40-point mark.
The area-favorite Washington Capitals are currently second in the East’s Metropolitan division, trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins by seven points.
The outdoor NHL Winter Classic always provides a great way to ring in the New Year, taking place on Jan. 1 and featuring the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs in the University of Michigan’s football stadium.
With the Chicago Blackhawks continuing to dominate opponents, and the St. Louis Blues coming on as a direct threat to Chicago’s Stanley Cup hopes, the NHL will be an excellent viewing replacement for when the NFL season ends.
Gymnastics
After joining the East Atlantic Gymnastics League and having two of her gymnasts compete at Regionals in the 2013 season, Head Coach Vicki Chliszczyk has her eyes on a steady and consistent 2014 season.
This small group of 13 gymnasts have been routine training and conditioning since early September, hoping to raise the competition level.
Chliszczyk looks to improve on the Tigers 12-15 record from last season by putting together their routines earlier in the season so that they can have more countable scores to help with their conference ranking.
Towson will travel to Pittsburgh for its first meet of the year Friday, Jan. 10. The Tigers will host their first home meet on Saturday, Jan. 25 with Centenary, West Chester and Southern Connecticut.
Softball
After losing powerhouse pitcher Katie Lingmai and falling short in the conference tournament, the Tigers look towards young talent to contribute to a strong and competitive season.
Senior Delanie Dunham currently leads the team with the highest batting average of .311. She was named Second Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region by the Nat
ional Fastpitch Coaches Association.
With Lingmai gone, freshman hopeful Megan Chocallo, will have some pressure on her back.
The Tigers ended the season with a 30-28-1 overall record and a 12-12 conference record, an improvement from past season, but not better than what this young and talented team has in store.
Men’s basketball
Before the season started, the Tigers were preseason favorites to win the Colonial Athletic Association and backed up that talk by getting off to the best start in program history since the 1970s. However, with starting point guard, sophomore Jerome Hairston, suspended indefinitely, Towson lacks a true guard to run the offense.
The Tigers will need to play better on the road, as they were winless on the road as of Dec. 12.
The biggest threat during conference play will be Drexel, who lost its best player, Damion Lee, for the season. The Tigers play the Dragons Jan. 14 on the road and Feb. 1 at SECU Arena, where Towson is undefeated as of Dec. 12.
Baseball
This time last year, Towson didn’t know if it would have a baseball team. However, after the team was saved, the Tigers proved their worth to the University by going on a miracle run and winning the CAA Championship. The Tigers then went on to play in the NCAA Tournament where they won one game before getting ousted in the first round.
Head Coach Mike Gottlieb will turn to seniors Chris Acker and Brandon Gonnella to fill the void left by pitcher Mike Volpe, who graduated. The Tigers return one of the best fielding defenses in the CAA and most of its offense.
Swimming
Towson’s men’s and women’s teams finished the 2013 fall season with a combined record of 18-1. The team capped the year by bringing 19 swimmers to the AT&T Nationals last weekend, where senior Kaitlin Burke recorded the highest finish in school history.
With such a successful first half of the season, Head Coach Pat Mead is trying to make sure his team does not slip into complacency.
“The challenging thing when you swim this well is to not come and sit back,” Mead said. “We’ll find out in three months whether they made the mistake of saying ‘I did so well in December , I don’t need to work hard.’”
Towson will compete in conference meets in the spring, eventually leading to the NCAA Championships in late March.
LAX
Towson finished the 2013 season with a 10-8 record and a 17th ranking nationally after winning the Colonial Athletic Association Championship. It qualified for the 2013 NCAA tournament, where Ohio State won 16-6 to end Towson’s season.
The Tigers will bring back all but four players from last year’s team, including the top five scorers from 2013.
A key loss for Towson will be goalkeeper Andrew Wascavage, who played in all 18 games last season. He tallied 232 saves in the 2013 campaign, leaving only three saves to returning players.
Towson will open their season on Feb. 8 when they face High Point at home, followed by matchups with Johns Hopkins and Loyola (MD).
