Bill Reynolds, sports columnist from the Providence Journal, made this one
line comment in Saturday's sports column:
"I'm hearing that PC may downgrade its hockey program."
That was all he said. There was no elaboration or any explanation as to
what he heard or where he heard it. Reynold's article on Saturday's is
typically a set of one line bullet items that touch briefly on a wide
variety of topics. Most are his personal opinions, many are seculation,
some rumor and others based on fact. Over the years, however, what he
"hears" regarding the PC athletic program is very often extremely
accurate. His comment today indicates (to me, at least) that there is
very serious talk about downgrading. That could very well explain why
they still have not named a coach. With a season ticket base of under 300
and with last year's attendence averaging less than 1000 per game,
Schneider must be coming under fire for being a financial drain on the
school. Hockey's an expensive program to begin with, and the legacy of
Mike McShane has left the Friar fans rather disgusted and part of a
rapidly dwindling number. (Before the McShane era, sellouts were not
uncommon, especially for BC or BU tilts.)
My personal opinion (note the "opinion, not fact" light on your monitor),
is that the Friars will downgrade the program. Whether this means simply
spending far less money on hockey or dropping into a lower division, I
don't know. In any event, I think quality hockey at Providence (which has
been absent in recent years, anyway) is a thing of the past. This being
the case, if they do downgrade, I will be found at the Providence Civic
Center watching the Providence Bruins, not at Schneider Arena.
One last note (for any still reading...) I will be away between June 24
and July 25 and will be set to NOMAIL. If anyone hears any PC news, I
would greatly appreciate it if they could forward it to me via E-Mail as I
won't be reading this (or any) list for about a month.
Let's hope the rumors prove false...
-- Ron
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