These days, Tom Thibodeau is best known for leading the Chicago Bulls to the NBA’s best regular-season record in the 2011-2012 season. Or for winning Coach of the Year in 2010-2011. But what many may not know is that before the fame and glory of the NBA, Thibodeau once coached at a New England school that definitely was not known for its basketball team: Harvard.
Coming into this year's NFL Draft, defensive tackle Josue Ortiz ’11 thought that a late-round selection was a possibility.
At the very least, the former Harvard standout expected to sign a free agent contract, even telling The Crimson last week that he would be “shocked” if he had not signed somewhere by May 1.
“Before the draft, I had been contacted by several teams just discussing potentially being drafted or being offered a free agent contract,” Ortiz said Tuesday afternoon. “During the draft, I got one phone call [from the Patriots] just seeing what my situation was.”
But things didn’t turn out as Ortiz had hoped.
Ultimately not taken in the draft, which ran from April 26-28, Ortiz failed to sign a free agent contract afterwards.
The 6’5”, 253-pound defensive tackle believed he wasn't signed in part because, based on player evaluations, “There was a high quantity of players who also have the same skill set that I do.”
But NFL teams are still interested in the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. Ortiz will participate in rookie mini-camps with the New York Jets this coming weekend and with the Chicago Bears from May 10-12.
“They call it a tryout, so presumably if you do well enough, they’ll sign me afterwards,” Ortiz said. “It’s just a competition, and I’m just focused on being as ready as I can be.”
Ortiz’s teammate, senior left tackle Kevin Murphy, signed a free agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday and will partake in his team’s mini-camps starting either May 10 or 11.
It’s that time of year. Reading Period is almost over, the cramming has begun, and exams are waiting just around the corner.
And if you’re looking for that much needed break from studying, Crimson Sports has got you covered. Below, we’ve compiled some of the best articles we’ve written all year for your procrastination pleasure. Enjoy.
Dawn Jones, wife of Tommy Lee Jones '69, leads the alumni in the third chukker comeback against the senior team. This past year, Jones won the U.S. Women's Open in polo.
In one of Harvard sports’ most remote outposts, the Myopia Outdoor Arena in Hamilton, Mass., the Harvard club polo team’s graduating seniors fell to the alumni cohort by a score of 8-7 in Saturday’s annual alumni match.
The contest was part of the “Harvard Polo Renaissance Weekend,” an event organized by Harvard coach Crocker Snow ’61.
The night before the alumni match, Harvard Stadium played host to eight of the team’s 15 ponies who were put up for “adoption,” meaning supporters had the chance to sponsor the horses to help offset some of the club’s annual costs.
Even though Graduation is right around the corner, hoodies and jeans are still out. The combination of mild weather and recent episodes of Game of Thrones has made it seem like cold winds are rising.
Since it feels like hockey season, we decided to see what the Harvard men’s hockey team has been up to in the offseason. It appears that the season never stops, and neither do the Twitter updates.
Here are our favorite tweets of the week from the seniors on the Crimson hockey squad. We think they give a pretty good idea of what life is like after Harvard hockey.
1) It appears that Colin Moore is watching a solid amount of TV during his senior spring. The senior forward admitted this on April 23:
To answer your question Nickelodeon, yes I am #afraidofthedark
Kudos to Colin for taking the first step in conquering his fears and admitting he has a problem. Hopefully he was just flipping channels…
2) Defenseman and co-captain Ryan Grimshaw is turning to a special song to help him wake up in the morning. The former Harvard stopper made this announcement on April 26:
Changing my alarm clock song to "Non Je Ne Regrette Rein" so I can feel like I'm getting the kick from inception every time I wake up.
Grimshaw should be all right as long as he’s got a totem to make sure he is awake. A custom hockey puck seems appropriate.
3) After being the big man on campus as a senior, Alex Killorn is back to the bottom of the food chain. Grimshaw’s fellow Co-Captain is getting a taste of his own medicine as a rookie forward for the Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s minor league team. On Apr. 26, Killorn shared this Tweet and an accompanying photo:
@moorepheus12 basically what my bunk is like on the sleeper bus. #rookieproblems
The far-from-comfortable accommodations prompted this revelation from the Former Crimson star:
Can't believe I use to complain about bus trips in the ECAC. #realitycheck
Yeah, those chartered bus rides are pretty rough. The whole “bathroom-any-time-you-want” thing and non-stop movies make for an uncomfortable ride. When will people realize that Harvard students are underprivileged?
Those are our tweets of the week. To answer your question, the Harvard hockey team is doing just fine.
