FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With a pair of long touchdown passes, Boston College picked up its first victory in almost a year and may have changed its reputation as a run-first offense in the process.Patrick Towles hit former quarterback Jeff Smith on back-to-back, one-play TD drives, and substitute Mike Knoll connected on a pair of field goals on Saturday as the Eagles beat Massachusetts 26-7 for their first win in 10 games.BC was trailing 7-0 late in the second quarter when Towles, taking over at the UMass 46-yard line, found Smith on the first play of the drive. After the Minutemen fumbled at their own 36, Towles again hit Smith on the first play to give the Eagles the lead for good.Totally turned the game around, BC coach Steve Addazio said. Now we have the ability to go and strike it (big).BC has long been known as a rushing team, sending backs like Heisman Trophy finalist Andre Williams to the NFL, along with enough run-blockers to staff a couple of offensive lines. But when Addazio saw UMass trying to crowd the line of scrimmage to take away the ground game, he decided it was time to go for it.People dont expect those shots on first down, especially from us, said Towles, who completed 12 of 22 passes for 191 yards for the Eagles (1-1) and also ran 12 times for 66 yards. Well take that.Smith had five catches for 98 yards, and Jon Hilliman ran 22 times for 54 yards and a 15-yard touchdown for BC, which last won on Sept. 25, 2015, against Northern Illinois. The Eagles lost their final eight games last season and their opener last week, 17-14 to Georgia Tech in Ireland.You need to enjoy the wins, Addazio said. This is a tough game, a tough business were all in. This easily could have been a different scenario, when youre coming off what we came off of.Colton Lichtenberg missed a pair of short field goals last week; Addazio said he was unavailable on Saturday because of a strain in his kicking leg. Knoll, who had been used exclusively in kickoffs, missed his first point-after attempt but converted the second time to make it 13-7.He added third-quarter field goals of 40 and 37 yards.Its unfortunate Colton went down, Knoll said. But hell be back and well all be kicking lights out.UMass (0-2) put a scare into No. 25 Florida last week, trailing just 10-7 into the fourth quarter. Returning to their sometime home at Gillette Stadium, the Minutemen took a 7-0 lead on a 58-yard pass from Ross Comis to Adam Breneman late in the first quarter.Comis went 11 of 28 for 145 yards and a touchdown. But he also had a pair of first-half fumbles and threw an interception in the third quarter; the turnovers led to 10 BC points.I can give you the old adage, `Ill look at the tape. But, yeah, he lost the game, UMass coach Mark Whipple said. As the quarterback, you dont like to lose. Weve only got two touchdowns in two games.NICE TO BE HEREWith BCs kicking troubles the past few years, Knoll was one of the players requested to the postgame interview area.Yeah, you dont get called up very often. Its good, Knoll said, breaking into a smile. Thanks for bringing me in.Reminded that a kicker is usually asked to speak after missing a field goal, he said: Yeah, thats true. Thats the life we chose.SETTLE DOWNThe Eagles trailed 7-0 and had just 55 total yards in the opening quarter. The touchdowns 84 seconds apart in the second quarter helped the offense relax, Smith said.Being down, that was a real surprise, he said. But I think scoring those two touchdowns quick, really picked (us) up and helped the defense, too. It really gave us confidence to come out in the second half.THE TAKEAWAYBC: In light of BCs struggles to win in the conference, finishing off the Minutemen gives them an FBS win before heading into the ACC opener against Virginia Tech next week.UMASS: After staying close against No. 25 Florida, the Minutemen put another scare into a major college team. But Whipples independent team needs to finish off a victory if it is going to attract an invitation from a conference.UP NEXTBC: Plays at Virginia Tech on Saturday.UMASS: Hosts Florida International on Saturday.Colorado Rockies Gear . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Colorado Rockies Shirts . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Colorado Rockies Pro Shop . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Rockies Jerseys 2019 . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The World Cup of Hockey, dormant since 2004 and in desperate need of an identity as it prepares for a relaunch in Toronto in less than two weeks, is already facing a crisis of confidence.Or at least those are the optics facing the NHL and the NHLPA, partners in this venture that hope to rekindle the magic of the long-ago Canada Cup and the first World Cup of Hockey tournaments, as a slew of key players have abandoned the tournament because of injuries.If it were just one or two players opting out of playing in the eight-team tournament because of lingering injuries or fresh aches and pains coming out of a shortened summer, that would be one thing.But Team Canada, for instance, has already had to replace two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith, former league scoring champ Jamie Benn and two-time Stanley Cup champ Jeff Carter. No boo-hoos for Canada of course, as the host country is deep and replaced those players with a former Hart Trophy winner, Corey Perry, and last years leading point producer in the playoffs, Logan Couture, along with former Olympian Jay Bouwmeester.But many teams have been scrambling to fill in their rosters as players, many of whom had been working out in preparation for the tournament, have suddenly dropped out.The Swedes lost?Alexander Steen, captain Henrik Zetterberg, veteran defender Niklas Kronwall and backup goalie Robin Lehner.Sean Monahan wont be available to Team North America.The Euros will be without potential No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen.The Czechs, already the weakest of the eight teams, have lost key personnel David Krejci, Radko Gudas and Tomas Hertl.Most telling -- or at the very least, most curious -- was the comment by San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson in a press release that praised Hertls choice of preparing for the Sharks season ahead of competing for the Czech Republic.After speaking with Tomas, were pleased that he has chosen to put his commitment to the Sharks and his teammates first, Wilson said in a statement, adding that Hertl is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season. Hertl hinted at the possibility on June 30: I just want to be 100 percent ready for [the] season and I dont want to go to World Cup at just 80 percent health.Could Hertl, who had been skating in the San Jose area, have played in the tournament? And who ultimately made the decision that he should not join his countrymen in Toronto?Maybe Wilson and other executives and players didnt get the memo that this is an NHL-NHLPA collaborative event.And not just any event, but a key moment for the NHL and its players as they navigate the uncertain waters of further Olympic participation and hope to build a vibrant, lucrative international schedule for years to come.This isnt to suggest that players are making up injuries to avoid the tournament. League officials said they, along with the NHLPA, vet all of the injury replacements to ensure the injury claims are valid. Some are easy to confirm. So far, Ryan Callahan is the lone member of Team USA to opt out -- offseason hip surgery will keep him out of action until November.But many of those not taking part in the World Cup of Hockey have been working out and might not miss a beat when regular NHL training camps open, or are expected to play when tthe regular season opens in early October, making for bad optics.ddddddddddddThe World Cup might yet turn into the dynamic set piece that organizers on both sides of the table believe it can be.One NHL GM with international experience said enthusiasm for the tournament has already been blunted by the flood of injuries. But another NHL GM with significant experience in international competition said the injury issue might be something that people are focusing on now, but it will soon be an afterthought and wont influence the success of the tournament.Once the puck drops, the players and fans wont care or give it a second thought, the longtime executive said.And lets be clear: An abundance of talent will be on display in the coming days, including defending MVP and scoring champ Patrick Kane of the U.S., a powerful Russian team led by Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, a star-stacked Team Sweden led by two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson and former Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and the dynamic young stars of Team North America, led by Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and No. 1 draft pick Auston Matthews.But the pressure has increased on those players to deliver a compelling product on the ice to erase the initial perception that players dont really care about the World Cup of Hockey. Or at the very least, care less than we thought they would. And the harsh bottom line is that if the players are perceived as not caring about the new World Cup of Hockey, why should the fans who are being asked to pay top dollar for tickets?Lundqvist, who took a hard shot to the ribs during practice but is committed to playing in the tournament, said injuries are part of the game and each player has to decide what is best for him.It doesnt matter if its World Cup or the start of the NHL season, Lundqvist told reporters as Team Sweden opened camp in Gothenburg, Sweden. This is a tough sport, and people think you just snap your fingers and youre ready to play. No, thats not how it works. You put a lot of pressure on your body physically and mentally and injuries are a part of it. If you cant be there giving it your all, I think its better not to play. Youve got to be honest with yourself, but injuries are always going to happen. Its a physical sport.What this tournament might mean, or maybe should mean, to NHL executives and players comes from U.S. coach John Tortorella. Always a heart-on-his-sleeve guy, Tortorella is especially sensitive when it comes to issues of national pride, a point he has discussed with his team. His son, Nick, is deployed for a third time to Afghanistan as a member of a U.S. special forces unit.In todays world, with whats going on and what our troops are doing over there in all facets, unconventionally, its just nuts, he said. This is about your country. This is a platform for us, for our country. If youre not ready and youre not ready to give, I just dont know how youll ever live that down as you go through this, and thats how were presenting it. Its hockey, but this is about your country first and foremost.Well said by a man who understands better than most the nature of national pride. ' ' '