Thank goodness for people like Tom from central Pennsylvania, because without him I don’t think any of us, including me would have seen the Terrapin wrestling program find itself getting name-dropped in a blog for a mainstream publication.

Allow me to set the scene.

In case you were living under a rock this fall, the Terrapin football team was not very good. In fact, they were 2-10, their first double-digit-loss season in program history. This left the program in a state of flux and led to speculation that longtime coach Ralph Friedgen would lose his job. In the end “Fridge” kept his job and the football team will try to wash the bad taste of this season out of their mouthes.

Unfortunately, that taste is beginning to seep to other programs in College Park, even the good ones such as the No. 7 Terps.

For an example of this, I invite you all to peek at ESPN’s Heather Dinich’s mailbag on Friday. Scroll past all the questions about teams like Miami, Clemson, and Florida State – the teams that deserve spots in the mailbag. Then, just when you think the mailbag might be over, Dinich decides to sneak in one last question, this one from my man Tom in central Pennsylvania.

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It was a whirlwind of a December for Terrapin men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski last year, and things aren’t any calmer in 2009.

After losing a handful of players to the professional ranks following last year’s National Championship, Cirovski must now find a way to replace two of the program’s constants this decade — assistant coaches Russell Payne and Rob Vartughian.

Payne signed on as the head coach at Army on Thursday, and the move became official yesterday. Vartughian, meanwhile, will be graduating to expansion club Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, for whom he will serve as an assistant coach/goalkeeper coordinator.

It will certainly be interesting to see who Cirovski taps as the replacements for the duo, who helped oversee two Terp titles in College Park. Will he look for a former player — as Payne was — or conduct an outside search? Will he go for an already-established assistant or a promising up-and-comer coach? Young or old?

There are plenty of questions, but we might not have an answer until school’s out for summer. Looking at old press releases, former assistant Brian Pensky (now the Terps’ women’s soccer coach) was hired in May, while Payne was hired in June.

Sooner’s probably better than later, though. Coaching isn’t supposed to be a one-man job, and when you account for recruiting, fundraising and other administrative hurdles (like managing one of the area’s most popular soccer camps), things can get pretty hectic at times.

I spoke with Payne today, and I’ll have his thoughts on the changes tomorrow, along with those of Cirovski and Vartughian, who I couldn’t reach for comment this afternoon.

A Dino Gregory fan shows his support during Saturday's game. Photo by Jaclyn Borowski/The Diamondback

Here are three things we learned during the Terrapin men’s basketball team’s 83-72 win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. The Terps will take their final exams with a 6-3 record.

1. Gary Williams is Apparently Still Chapped About My Friday Column. In case you missed it, I wrote in Friday’s Diamondback that people should not get too excited about the return of Dino Gregory from what turned out to be an eight-game suspension. My point was that Gregory is an average player — not a bad player — who will help the Terps, but who won’t be a savior or an instant fix for all of their problems. Gregory’s 8-point, 3-rebound performance Saturday fits pretty much exactly into those standards. Dino tweeted about what he perceived to be my disrespect on Friday, and Gary Williams alluded to it in his day-before-game press conference. Williams took another shot at my logic after the game, somehow reasoning that he was vindicated by Dino’s performance. “I read in The Diamondback where he wasn’t a very good offensive player. I just wanted to see it for myself,” Williams said. “I think he did pretty well.” And later… “Too many people judge how good you are by how many points you score. We’ll have guys who score. We need guys that can stop people. Dino is one of them.” It is important to note I have nothing against Dino Gregory. As always, I am simply commenting on the Terps the way I see it.

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The Terps have a fairly comfortable eight-point lead going into halftime here at Comcast Center against Eastern Kentucky.

But it hasn’t been that easy.

A 24-9 run brought the Colonels to within 33-32 with 1:56 left in the half. Then the Terps closed with a 7-0 run, including five points from Greivis Vasquez, who didn’t start for the first time since March 2007 after showing up late for a morning shoot-around.

Dino Gregory made his return to the lineup after an eight-game suspension due to an unspecified team rules violation in his first career start. Gregory, who drilled a 15-foot jumper on his first attempt of the season, has six points and no rebounds in 17 minutes.

The Terps, who went more than seven minutes without a field goal at one point in the first half, have been paced by Landon Milbourne’s nine points. Eric Hayes has eight.

Eastern Kentucky has stayed in the game by hitting 6-of-12 three-pointers, including 3-of-5 from guard Justin Stommes.

Gregory’s return and Vasquez’s punishment added a pair of wrinkles to this Saturday afternoon contest. Now, the Colonels’ game performance has added a little more intrigue.

Check back later here and in Monday’s print edition for more on this one.

Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Men’s Basketball Team beat writer. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.

Just about 20 minutes til tip-off of Dino Gregory’s highly anticipated return to the lineup here at Comcast Center when the Terps play Eastern Kentucky.

It appears he will make his first career start. Coach Gary Williams praised both him and forward Jordan Williams during yesterday’s media availability session.

“He fits a lot of those categories that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet,” Williams said of the forward who averaged 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season. “To belittle Dino’s accomplishments last year is wrong. And I think most basketball people with knowledge of basketball would say the same thing.”

The other major story line is if guard Greivis Vasquez can finally put his early struggles behind heading into a five-game stretch against small conference opponents before ACC play starts.

Vasquez will not start but will play after being late for this morning’s shoot-around, according to a Terp official. Adrian Bowie will get the start in Vasquez’s place.

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Dino Gregory's return is the obvious story line of tomorrow's game against Eastern Kentucky. Photo by Jaclyn Borowski/The Diamondback

Tomorrow is Dino Gregory’s return from suspension. I’m sure you’ve heard that already. Now it’s time to see how much he can help the Terps.

At 5-3, and after an uninspiring 1-3 stretch against some power conference opponents, the Terps can’t afford any slip-ups.

Listen here to beat writer Eric Detweiler and columnist Greg Schimmel discuss the game, Gregory’s return and what’s next for the Terps.

Thanks to the wondrous joy that is DOTS and its sketchy transportation system, I arrived 20 minutes late for the meeting between the Quakers and the Terps, but that is another story for another day.

Luckily all I missed was a forfeit victory at heavyweight for Pat Gilmore, and a decision victory by James Knox at 125 pounds, 7-4. For those who are mathematically challenged or don’t understand wrestling scoring, that means the Terps are winning 9-0, six for the forfeit and three for the decision.

 For the first time this season the Terps have switched up their starting lineup as Steve Bell is getting the night off and fellow senior Mookie Golden is in the midst of the match. Also Alex Krom will be getting the night off as well and Matt Bogusz will take his place at 141 pounds. I will update again after Golden’s match and for every match thereafter so make sure to follow me after the jump.

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Terps' asisstant coach Russell Payne may soon be headed to West Point, N.Y., to lead Army.

Terrapin men’s soccer assistant coach Russell Payne is under consideration for the vacant head coaching job at Army, according to various media reports.

Payne, who is in his fifth season with the Terps, first surfaced as a candidate earlier this week when The Washington Post reporter Steven Goff wrote that Payne had been approached by the Black Knights.

Payne joined the Terps’ coaching staff in 2005 after professional stints abroad in Ireland and Germany. In his five seasons on the coaching staff, the Terps have amassed a 66-21-6 record and have won two National Championships.

The Columbia, Md., native started for four years under Cirovski as the Terps’ goalkeeper beginning in 1993. As a senior, Payne led the ACC in goals-against average as he guided the Terps to their first-ever ACC Tournament championship.

Army is seeking a replacement for Kurt Swanbeck, who was not retained by Athletics Director Kevin Anderson after a 1-14-1 record this season, including an o-7 mark in the Patriot League. Swanbeck, who compiled a 35-88-16 record in eight years with the Black Knights, failed to lead Army to an NCAA Tournament Appearance during his tenure in West Point, N.Y.

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops.

Jonas Shaffer is The Diamondback’s men’s soccer beat writer. He can be reached at shaffer@umdbk.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jonas_shaffer.