Ultimate Cranston

Underreactions to Providence's 89-79 win over Holy Cross Plus Friar-relevant tidbits from around the nation on the first week of the college basketball season

Words on Providence's first game vs. Holy Cross, including thoughts on other PC opening nights, how the passing and shooting looked and more. Also, how did a bunch of former and almost Friars perform in their debuts with new teams? #pcbb ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/underreact...

3 reasons to believe, 3 reasons for concern for the Friars this season As we’re on the cusp of the Friars’ first exhibition (Sunday at Pitt), let’s get back on the horse by updating my season preview from last year in hopes that we’ll actually have a season this season (...

The college basketball season is nearly upon us, which means it's time to take stock of reasons for optimism and reasons for concern for Providence Friars fans entering the 2025-26 season: ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/3-reasons-...

Coming tomorrow at ultimatecranston.substack.com ...

And yet, the Red Sox bullpen is actually quite good. Speaks more to sheer number of close games than performance of bullpen.

For the love of God, stop calling it a "ghost runner." There is a person standing on second base -- it's not a ghost.

Nuf Cedd does it again! #RedSox up 4-3

I would have led with, "You can bet your ass it's better than what Bloom got back for Betts" and see how that played.

Just not true. A lot of large corporations with employees who have contributed to a company's previous success have had bad/very bad/unceremonious endings. Let's not act like it's rare for things to end badly; things often end badly in every industry. Not an excuse, but also not exceptional.

Where have you gone, Brett Lawrie?

Six Names to Watch in the Class of 2026 It comes as no surprise to anyone remotely following college basketball that high school recruiting has dramatically changed since the explosion of the transfer portal and elimination of the no-sit tr...

A look at potential targets for Providence class of 2026:

open.substack.com/pub/friarbas...

The Path to Improvement Looking at significant leaps from last season to identify a blueprint for the Friars

Focusing on Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri and UCLA, I dove into the big improvers from last season in college basketball to see what the Friars could learn from their turnarounds. ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/the-path-t...

There's no truth to the rumor that Goga Bitadze left Georgia for the NBA because he was only third-string center behind Asa Newell and Somto Cyril.

Being a College Basketball Fan in 2025 How roster-building has made following the sport less fun and how we can make it better

Consider starting your Good Friday with my essay on what it's like being a college basketball fan in 2025: a lot of people I respect are saying the sport is doing great, but my eyes see something different. Plus, 2 suggestions to improve roster-building: ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/being-a-co...

The very nature of writing a story like this prompts even more coaches to reach out. I just had a head coach in the Big Ten text me to say a Missouri Valley player they were recruiting suddenly let it be known he wanted $2.5 million.

"We didn’t call him back after that."

Hello, England's Rose.

On the Season That Never Was Wherein I get out all the 'yuck' from a Friars season we'd all just as soon forget

Most may have moved on from a forgettable PC basketball season, but I present my post-mortem, which hopefully provides some learnings (or at the very least a catharsis) before fully moving on to what's next: ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/on-the-sea...

And now begins the most scintillating part of college basketball games: end of game reviews.

That said, this is a ref show.

The only rule I would take from the NBA to college is challenges for replays. I embrace the difference for the others: no advance on timeouts, no quarters, 1 and 1's, 30 second shotclock. I don't think any of those makes the sport better.

Or just don't foul so much?

Podcast: Friars down, Johnnies up, field announced The Friars’ season is officially over after an underwhelming performance at the Big East Tournament.

I joined Richard Coren and Steve Hartnett on the 247ScoutFriars Podcast to put a bow on a disappointing Friars season. We also discussed the Big East Tournament, the NCAA Tournament field and what's next for the Friars this offseason. ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/podcast-fr...

A historical analysis of the 2025 NCAA Tournament field Hope you hate upsets

Here's my historical analysis of the 2025 NCAA Tournament field, one which is setting records for gaps between the haves and have-nots. A particularly dry Round of 64 if you like moonshots...but its contemporaries say to expect great S16/E8 matchups. open.substack.com/pub/statsbyw...

[Tongue in cheek] I'm now in favor of a theory that fabricating Abner Doubleday's role as the inventor of baseball was done as a massive middle finger toward the former Confederacy. (Below is an excerpt from Erik Larson's "The Demon of Unrest.")

Providence Friarcast: Learning Growth Mindset and State of the Program It was another 1-1 week for the Friars, and now they prepare to host St.

I wasn't really in the best mood to talk Friars basketball last night, but it was therapeutic to work it through with the lovely
@mhopkins-pcbb1917.bsky.social and Brian Reddy. Listen on Spotify, Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Podbean and more: ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/providence...

My nephew and me in front of the press box at Soldiers Field in Douglas, MA

My nephew’s picture of me on top of a snow mound, staring down a hitter.

My nephew’s picture of me delivering a pitch on top of a snowy mound

My nephew readying to deliver a pitch on top of a snowy mound

I caught the terrific baseball movie EEPHUS (coming out this spring) at the New York Film Festival and found out it was shot at Soldiers Field in Douglas, MA near my sister’s family.

Took my nephew there a few weeks back and let him use my film camera.

A great December day at the diamond:

Providence Friarcast: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times, 1-1 Week and Big East Play Begins I spent some time with Mike Hopkins and Brian Reddy on Monday night to review the week that was and preview the week ahead (links to listen or watch below).

Providence Friarcast streamed Monday night at 9p ET (our regular time now): @mhopkins-pcbb1917.bsky.social, Brian Reddy and I discussed a 1-1 week and previewed the week ahead, including PC's Big East opener. We also remembered a pretty great "some guy." ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/providence...

If you missed it last night while reading my latest post: Juan Soto signed with the Mets.

If you missed my post while perfecting your Soto Shuffle (or perhaps sleeping), I consider what we can know about the Providence Friars as they start Big East play ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/what-can-w...

What can we be sure of in a season in need of salvaging? The first five weeks of the season have not gone the way Friartown would have hoped, but there is still time to make something of the next three months -- can this group make it happen?

What can we be sure of in a season in need of salvaging?

I get both philosophical and practical as the 6-4 Friars get set to enter league play Tuesday night at DePaul. ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/what-can-w...