WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — After blowing an 18-point lead in the second half, Williams College men's basketball team will not be playing for the title.

The Ephs were dealt a crushing lose Friday to the College of Wooster in the Division III semifinals at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va. Williams blew an 18 point lead in the second half and could not get a last ditch effort by Taylor Epley to fall - losing the game 73 - 71.

Williams stormed out of the gates hitting 7 3-pointers and out rebounding Wooster 17 to 13 in the first half. The Ephs returned to the locker room with a 42 - 28 lead.

But with about eight minutes left the complexion changed dramatically. In less than three minutes later, Wooster had cut the 18 point lead to three with 15 unanswered points.

Wooster took its first lead, 65 - 64, with only about three minutes left in the game.

But they fought back. Led by Troy Whittington, who finished the day with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, the Ephs jousted with the Fighting Scots - exchanging baskets in the waning minutes.

Nate Robinson put the Ephs in the lead from the free-throw line with about one minute remaining. Robinson had an outstanding day sinking 21 points but when the Ephs were down by one with 35 seconds to go he missed a layup to give Wooster the ball.

Wooster's Nathan Balch was fouled to stop the clock and made only one of the two shots - giving the Ephs what could have been the final possession. They took the ball down the court and James Wang launched a 3-pointer for the win but missed.

But that was not quite the end, the rebound was tied up and the Ephs got another chance for the tie. With 2 seconds remaining the Ephs in-bounded the ball from the baseline to heavily defended Taylor Epley who could not send the game to overtime from the post.

Wooster outscored the Ephs 45 - 29 in the second half while Williams turned the ball over 10 times. The Ephs shooting percentage dropped from 65.2 percent in the first half down to just 36.8 percent in the second.

Wooster was led by their star Ian Franks who scored 24 with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Wooster's Justin Hallowell scored 18 with 8 rebounds.

For Williams, Wang was held to 14 points and 6 rebounds.

SteepleCats opening day is in 84 days, three hours and 53 minutes at the time of writing this. I got that information of the teams new website. Check it out.

The new site is much cleaner and easier to navigate. It's got some good photo galleries, roster, updated news and standings on the front page. There are tabs for the schedule and then the standard information about the park and ticket prices. It even has the team records, which will be a nice reference.

However, I don't like how quickly the links send you off the site. If you go to the photo galleries you get rerouted to photobucket. If you choose stats it takes you to the league's site. And though the standings are on the front page, if you click the tab at the top it reroutes you to the league's site. I would rather have it stay on the site itself.

I knew a new website was in the works and I have no idea when this was launched. The only reason I looked was because the sun was out and I wanted to know how close that first pitch was. Baseball season is coming and it's great to see the Cats back for their 10th season.

10 seasons! It's approaching a county record. In those 10 season Wahconah Park has seen four different teams. The Pittsfield Mets were at Wahconah Park from 1989 until 2000 - and the Cats are close to beating that. Cats General Manager Sean McGrath said the city is inching closer to the longest tenure in the league. For a city that with so many businesses closing and moving, that is great. Look at how difficult it is for Pittsfield to keep a team and they have a park with even more history than Joe Wolfe.

Speaking of Joe Wolfe, that park has seen tremendous improvements since my days at second base in the Babe Ruth league. It really is a great place to catch a game.

The city really has embraced and supported the Cats so it's on you Bosley, McGrath, Bond and crew - we've given you a decade now bring us a championship.

The season opens on June 10 with a new coach, a new team and a new president. The new coach, Clayton Kuklick, was the guy the Cats wanted and they finally reeled him in. Kuklick has said that his offense style will be a lot of running. I like that. It makes for exciting games.

Sadly, all this excitement about a new website is lackluster because we still have 84 days, three hours and 14 minutes until that first pitch.

More reason to hate the Montreal Canadiens was reported by the Boston Globe this morning. Montreal Police are opening an investigation on Zdeno Chara for the hit last week.

Yes, I said police. Cops. Pigs. Fuzz. 5-0. Whatever term you want to use. The police are investigating the on-ice play that the National Hockey League said was perfectly legal.

I want an investigation on all fighting incidents involving Canadien players. Assault and battery. Let's go.

What year was it when half the Canadiens were charged with organized crime? And the police are finding a way to charge our defenseman with a crime for a legal hit? Oh, might I add that Max Pacioretty, who suffered a severe concussion and cracked vertebrae because of it, said not to charge Chara.

Why don't we just make it against the law in Boston to play hockey in a Canadiens uniform? The police can just arrest the entire team next time the puck drops between the two. It is apparently against the law to be a better hockey team in Montreal. I know they were winning at the time but as of today there is only one team better than the Canadiens in the division.

That was a Lenny from Of Mice and Men hit. That's what that was. Chara is a beast. He doesn't want to hurt anybody with his 105 mile-per-hour slapshot - people just get in the way. He doesn't want to hurt anybody when he wants the puck - they just get in his way.

Now to be a little more serious.

What is happening in the NHL when it comes to serious injuries is happening in all sports. The players just keep getting bigger, stronger, faster and basically have overgrown the sport. Concussions are not something to be taken lightly. A person can die from them.

That being said, it is up to the employers to do everything they can to ensure the safety of their employees.

You have to watch that same crappy movie about lifting boxes and putting fires out every year to be up-to-date on the safety techniques at your job. There needs to be fire extinguishers in businesses, proper ventilation and emergency exits. There are procedures in place. There are health codes. There are laws that define this. There is a labor board. A lot of men and women work hard to ensure you work in safe conditions. With sports, it's the same principle on a larger scale. They are workers under a microscope.

Athletes are working people and the leagues need to do everything they can to ensure safety. There are rules about dangerous plays that are now being enforced. If you can't provide safety for your employees, you should not be in business. That's a sad thought when it comes to sports because we love them. But frankly, I would rather see the sports go than see situations like Pacioretty and Chara.

I fully support every league's attempt to make the game safer but I think the worst part about making this argument is that I am a huge fan of hard-hitting hockey. If I built a team, they would be bruisers. Same thing with football. I also do not want to see other sports do what NASCAR did with the restrictor plates. You can't take away part of the competition.

Retraining players to eliminate dangerous plays can go a long way and I hope it does. You can still have physical play without as many serious injuries. Too many people are getting seriously hurt in all sports. The way the games are played needs to change from the youth up. It will be sad to see the old styles of play gone but we'll get used to it.

Unrelated:
Why can't the Bruins win at home?
I have tickets to the Blackhawks v. Bruins in two weeks. My allegiance is torn (not really). I used to live in Chicago.
Baseball needs to cut down on the number of preseason games. Maybe I am partially bored with the Red Sox preseason because we saw most of these guys in the show last season.

Tune In. We have both baseball and hockey on TV now.

The Bruins just won seven straight games - six of those on the road - against top team. NESN received its highest hockey ratings with Thursday's game against the frightening Tampa Bay Lightning to take over second place in the conference. Penguins and Canadians on deck. Remember the last time the Bs played Montreal?

Lucic is in the midst of his best season yet and added a gaming-winning goal in the waning minutes of Thursday's game. That goal was a thing of beauty. With nearly all the players for both teams lumped into a pile in front of the net, Lucic calmly took the puck from the goal line, slid it out and the tapped a wrister into the top corner for the winning goal.

David Krecji got his 200th career point with that and Lucic got his third goal in three games.

I'd like to see more hitting by Lucic. Penalty minutes and assists are down from the season that made Lucic a fan favorite but goals are up, way up. Lucic has 11 more goals already this season than 2009. He had 262 hits two years ago and is currently at 136 this year. Thursday he beat up Brewer and then scored the game winning goal. He can do both.

I like seeing Rask in net more. I was getting nervous that they would burn Thomas out. Rask needs to get some more experience under his belt and Thomas plays well with rest.

Yankees tonight in spring training. I still get excited for it even though the games mean nothing and most of the lineup we may never see again. Plus, this is the first time in a long time I can watch some baseball. This is the best time of year - hockey going toward the playoffs and the Sox are back. Keep that TV on NESN.

I think more people are excited about baseball because it's a reward for dealing with the winter.

On to football; will we have football? Of course we will have football.

Pats signed Marcus Stroud. You can never have enough depth and never have enough mentors. The Pats are young, Stroud is not. They signed a playing coach. They'll likely draft some kid in the second or third round and station his locker right next to Stroud.

He will also be a great addition when they start facing teams with good pass protection.

Last note on football - I am sick of the Pats' running game. Please draft a powerback. I don't care which pick it is but please, please, draft a north/south runner.

Are you watching this road trip for the Bruins? This team is cup contenders. There is no better way to show that than to walk into Vancover in the midst of a West Coast trip and beat the best team in the NHL with the best home record and a stigma of cheating.

I know most of you don't watch hockey until the playoffs let alone a 10 p.m. midweek game. You have to work, why would you stay up for that? Well, let me fill you in on why I believe this is the most important Bruins road trip in recent history. They haven't had a road trip like this since the 70s.

The Bruins picked up some players at the deadline and they're just now getting to know each other and learn the system. The Bruins are pushing and pushing hard for a cup and is there a better way to get the most out of the late-comers than to have them win the toughest games? They see right now what type of team this could be and can start now to develop the teamwork and chemistry for the long run.

West Coast trips are hard. Here in the east we have short, little trips. Philly, DC, New Jersey, New York, Boston. On the West Coast, nothing is close. Why do you think all the older players look to move east?

Vancover is the best team in the NHL and that's based on the defense. That game went back and forth. It was hard fought and the Bruins out muscled and out hussled Vancover. That is what this team is capable of and that is what the fans should expect when we see our rematch with Philly or even better Montreal in the playoffs. (Did you see that Montreal game a few weeks back. Awesome.)

Tomas Kaberle. Best passer I've seen in Black and Gold. This guy can play. He has had a few miscues but I think those were because he wasn't sure where his teammates will be. That'll improve.

Great trade despite losing Colborne. I really wanted to see Colborne. I don't mind losing Wheeler and as much as I liked Stuart, Kaberle is worth it. Colborne though - sad.

However, it is better than he is off to a team that will get him ice time quicker. The Bruins are backed up in prospects and draft picks so this will help both sides out.

Tyler Seguin needs to start playing better. He's got great feet but he is not getting it done. No grit. No fight. Look at Marchand - he shouldn't even be on the team but he fought and scrapped his way to the top 6. We need that out of Seguin.

Overshadowed by Kaberle, Rich Peverley was a great pick up too. He earned 55 points last year.