After major changes in the Buffalo Bills organization, the future of Ryan Fitzpatrick ‘05 with the franchise remains muddled. The Bills, if looking to go in a different direction behind center, would save half a million dollars by cutting him. The team has a new coaching staff, headlined by former Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone, and a new president of football operations (Russ Brandon) with a possible replacement for current general manager Buddy Nix coming. Coming up on the four-year anniversary of his signing with the Bills, Fitzpatrick’s future is uncertain but his impact on the team over the past four years is clear.

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As the spring semester begins, so does the racing season for Erika Veidis, a sophomore on the Harvard track and field team who specializes in the 800-meter race. But for this Pfoho resident, there is another Crimson race taking place.

Not only is she dating sophomore Alexander “Zander” Bonorris on the lightweight crew team, her close friend and roommate Molly Renfer races alongside her on the track team.

In an effort to see who would win a race for Veidis’s heart, we had the trio participate in The Back Page’s “For Love or the Game” series. We asked Veidis a medley of questions and then posed those same questions to Bonorris and Renfer to see who knew her better. So who prevailed in this heat? Who sped to the finish, the rower or the racer?

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With senior tight end Kyle Juszczyk playing in the Senior Bowl this week and entering his name into the NFL Draft pool, The Back Page takes a look at what scouts have been saying about the Crimson’s best prospect.

CBS Sports:

Like many other drafting websites, CBS has forecasted Juszczyk as playing fullback in the pros. The Harvard tight end is bigger than all the other fullbacks on the rankings and is fifth overall, trailing four Division-I prospects—three of which are from Big Six conference schools. Their experts project five drafted fullbacks, with another five that could possibly go late in the seventh round.

Yahoo Sports:

Like CBS, Yahoo lists the former Crimson star as a fullback and has him ranked in the same spot. Yahoo expects him to be drafted in the seventh round, which is typical for the fullback position. Also of note here: Juszczyk runs a faster 40 than the top two tight ends on the board, Stanford’s Zach Ertz and Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert.

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Last year, it took some work, but eventually Jeremy Lin ’10 made the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge at the 2012 All-Star Weekend. This year, expectations were higher as many thought Lin might make the weekend’s main event—Sunday night’s All-Star Game, featuring the best and brightest from both NBA conferences. The anticipation was enhanced by the fact that this season’s festivities are taking place in his team’s home arena in Houston, Tex. But the Harvard alum just missed out on collecting enough fan votes to start in the Game, meaning his only remaining option was to hope that the NBA coaches would select him as an all-star reserve. On Thursday afternoon, live on TNT, the coaches’ choices were revealed. Lin did not make the team.

The lack of inclusion did not come as a surprise to most, who considered the fan’s vote to be his only real shot at collecting a spot on the squad during to an up-and-down season for the third-year guard. Even Lin, after a recent loss to the Dallas Mavericks, responded with a simple “Uh, no” when asked whether he felt he should make the Western Conference team.

While Lin may not have made the cut, fellow Rocket and backcourt-mate James Harden did. Harden will play with former teammates and Oklahoma City Thunder members Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook when the games begin on Feb. 17.

While the saying may be “home sweet home,” the return back to Houston was anything but sweet for Jeremy Lin’s Rockets. The squad picked up its eighth loss in nine games, falling to the Denver Nuggets, 105-95.

The combination of a low shooting percentage and turnovers continued to plague Houston, as it shot under 45 percent from the field and tallied 23 turnovers, 17 of which came from its starting unit. Those 23 mistakes proved especially costly for the Rockets, as Denver was able to convert them into easy buckets. The Nuggets totaled 28 points off turnovers on the night, 26.7 percent of their total offensive output.

“[Denver] got some run-outs when we weren't getting back on defense,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said. “It's been like that for a while. It just snowballs with us…We’re not able to pull ourselves out of those minor tailspins.”

In 24 minutes of playing time, Lin put up nine points on three-of-seven shooting, along with three assists and a single rebound. It was the second straight game that Lin played less than 25 minutes, a marked difference from his usual thirty-plus minutes on the floor.

Wednesday night’s game was notable for two other reasons though, both of which involved reaching major milestones—Nuggets guard and veteran Andre Iguodala reached 10,000 career points while his coach, George Karl, notched his 1,000th win as a head coach.

Lin’s team will have one night off before heading back on the road to face the struggling New Orleans Hornets on Friday. As the Portland Trail Blazers won their contest on Wednesday, the Rockets are back in a gridlock for the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference.