Fellow Terriers, rejoice! Sports Illustrated ranked BU the 76th best sports school in the country. Hockey, hoops, and women's cross-country were highlighted, and there was no mention of our late, lamented football team. We ranked ahead of "major" sports schools like Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Louisville, Rutgers, West Virginia, and Temple. For locals, we ranked ahead of UNH, Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, UMass, Providence, Vermont, CCSU, and Holy Cross. Sadly, we were beaten out by BC (54th) and Maine (70).

For likely readers from other schools:

Michigan (10)
Northwestern (89)
George Washington (185)
Harvard (41, which is also the number of varsity sports the Crimson offer)
Cornell (74)

It's only division 1, so sorry to my readership base at South Dakota State. William College, though, was given kudos for being the best division 3 sports school.

All this just whets my appetite for BU hockey, as did the arrival of my season tickets this week. The strips honor Jack Parker's 30 years as coach, with each strip showing a picture of him at a different stage in his career. You can actually follow his hair as it goes gray and falls out. There's also the matter of his evolving wardrobe, which in the early years the less said the better.

All kidding aside, I'm happy we have 30 years of him to celebrate. I'd hate to think of him toiling in despair with the Bruins and their penny-pinching management.