Party in the Hub. The Red Sox are rolling, winning a pair of games at home to take a 2-0 advantage over Colorado in the World Series. The Patriots are 7-0 and don???t look like they???re going to lose this season. The Bruins have opened the hockey season 6-3 and the Celtics have added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the mix on the hardwood. The entire town is beside itself with joy, and we haven???t even discussed that Boston College is just a few wins away from a berth in the Football Bowl Subdivision championship game. In a professional sports town, the Eagles have always struggled to share the limelight, but the university???s athletics programs are always top-notch. Last night, BC quarterback and Heisman hopeful Matt Ryan threw touchdown strikes in the final 2:11 to lead the Eagles to a 14-10 come-from-behind win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The elements weren???t pleasant, as the torrential rain acted as a third team on the gridiron, but the Eagles persevered and gave Boston another reason to celebrate.

What???s the deal? Friend of the Double-A Zone Matt Griewahn asked a great question the other day. Would North Dakota State, the top-ranked team in the Football Championship Subdivision, be eligible for a bowl game this season since the program can???t compete in the FCS playoffs? NDSU is ineligible for the 2007 playoffs because it is in the final year of its reclassification from Division II to Division I. Because the program isn???t officially yet in Division I, it also isn???t able to compete in a bowl game. It is expected that NDSU will complete the reclassification process this year and be eligible for the 2008 Division I Football Championship.

Giving back to the community. In response to an initiative sponsored by the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the Springfield women???s basketball program volunteered at a local Habitat for Humanity during a two-day stretch recently. The college???s softball, women???s volleyball and men???s gymnastics teams are slated to participate in builds later this fall ??? On October 13, Southern Utah???s women???s soccer team donned pink uniforms and raised $1,200 for breast cancer awareness ???Bowie State???s men???s basketball team participated in the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walk ??? Earlier this month, Dowling???s athletics department teamed up with Keep Islip Clean, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, to kick off a year-long initiative in the community ??? Stevens Institute of Technology launched the Stevens Duckling Program, which targets student-athlete involvement in three local elementary schools. The goal of the program is to have all of the college???s teams working with classrooms at the schools. Men???s volleyball player John Dennan came up with the idea while attending a national conference sponsored by the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Program last summer.