The Press Box

Well it’s been eight months and 21 days since William and Mary last took the field on a frigid Philadelphia night last December, and there are only 3 more until the squad does so again. Saturday at 3:30 p.m. is the time for which Tribe fans have been waiting, at which point the 2010 season will kick off against Massachusetts. Here are a few, quick points to tide you over until the weekend.

After leading the College to its best finish in years and its second ever NIT appearance, former Tribe forward Danny Sumner ’10 has signed a contract to play professional basketball for Karhu Kauhajoki in Finland’s top division, the Korisliiga.

Sumner signed with Karhu Kauhajoki after generating interest from several other professional leagues. Sumner worked out for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks over the summer, and also visited with professional teams in Germany, Belgium and Israel before signing in Finland.

We’re now just four days away from William and Mary’s 2010 season opener at Massachusetts on Saturday, and the Flat Hat has the all the midweek news from the Jimmye Laycock Center covered.

Matchup with UMass

When the Tribe takes on the Minutemen Saturday, it will mark the third year in a row in which the College has opened on the road. They started against NC State two years ago and won a huge matchup against Virginia last year.

Tuesdays are typically the roughest days for us here at the Flat Hat. We are usually in the office until the wee hours of the morning, plus we now have to get going on Friday’s issue.

Head Coach Jimmye Laycock named senior Mike Callahan his starting quarterback for William and Mary’s Saturday afternoon season opener at UMass, tapping the fifth-year player over junior transfer Mike Paulus and redshirt freshman Brent Caprio.

“He’s experienced,” Laycock said. “He understands our offense, and he’s made very good decisions when we’ve put him in situations …

The hardest part about writing a blog is coming up with something to write about. At least is had been in my experience, and trust me, I’m an expert when it comes to blogs about William and Mary sports.

Two years go, as a sophomore, I wrote for a blog called TribeInsider. It was a good blog and I knew the guy who started the site, so I asked early in the fall if I could contribute pieces for his website. He said yes and I began my “career” as a professional blogger.

Three weeks later, the blog was shut down. Something about needing more bandwith, if I remember right.

Head Coach Jimmye Laycock will announce his starting quarterback for the Tribe’s Sept. 4 opener against UMass Monday morning, and he has not ruled out any of the top three competitors. Senior Mike Callahan, junior Mike Paulus and redshirt freshman Brent Caprio have been vying for the starting job throughout the spring and summer.

“We’re still going over the evaluations and we’ll look at it over the weekend,” Laycock said.

With the College of William and Mary’s first open scrimmage now in the books, not a lot can be concluded about the 2010 team. The offense posted a solid evening against a defense employing limited coverage schemes, while quarterbacks Mike Callahan and Mike Paulus, the frontrunners in the battle for the starting job, posted promising games. For a full recap of the scrimmage, go here: http://flathatnews.com/blog/39/press-box/73742.

Some quick analysis:

The QB battle is not going to end Sept.