For Here Men Are Men

2007-08 Hockey Preview: We Don't Rebuild, We Reload

2007-10-11T14:28:00.000-04:00

After a pair of consecutive soul-crushing losses in the national title game, is this the year that the hockey team finally breaks through and wins the big one??

The answer to that question will depend in large part on the play of one of two men--freshman goaltenders John Muse and Andrew Margolin. Muse, who comes to BC from Noble & Greenough, is expected by most to win the starting job. I for one don't think that it will be that cut and dry. Taft Prep graduate Margolin, while a tad undersized at 5'9, is felt by some scouts to be the most game-ready of the two netminders right now, although Muse is generally considered the better long-term prospect. It is telling that, had superstar Cory Schneider returned for his senior year, the plan was to send Muse to juniors for a year while Margolin came in right away to be Schneider's backup.

Furthermore, even if Muse is the better of the two, this is clearly not a "Schneider and that's it" type situation. Schneider first burst onto the scene as a freshman, splitting time with solid veteran Matti Kaltiainen and eventually taking over the starting role just before the Hockey East tournament. For his final 2 years at BC, however, Schneider had no reliable backup, and had a tendency to wear down in mid-season due to fatigue. He was talented enough to "turn it back on" in late February during both of these years, but when you have 6- or 7- goal games given up a handful of times each year by such a talented netminder, you have a fatigue issue. For that matter, the same thing happened to Kaltiainen in the 2003-04 season, after Tim Kelliher had departed but before the arrival of Schneider.

With a 36-game schedule (not including the Hockey East and national tournaments) and with both goalies considered very capable even if Muse is the real stud of the group, I'll be surprised if each guy doesn't get at least 10-12 games. My feeling is that the pair will more or less split time through the first half of the year, with York handing the keys over to the better of the two sometime around mid-February. You could even see sophomore Alex Kremer, a walk-on from Germany by way of Taft who played on BC's club team last year but who has reportedly been lights-out in preseason, get a game or two.

If the goaltending situation can be resolved, the rest should fall into place. BC has the best skaters in the country. The offensive firepower is there--BC fans on EagleAction.com have already begun talking about a "Drive for 175" points between Brock Bradford, Nate Gerbe, and Benn Ferriero. I'll also be excited to see the continuing development of sophomore Ben Smith, who took over as the top-line center late last season when captain Brian Boyle moved to the blue line and excelled in the role. Smith may stay on the top line or move down to the second this season depending on chemistry, but either way BC fans are counting on him for a big year.

I've always been a huge Andrew Orpik fan, and with Boyle gone his physical presence up front is even more vital to the team's success. BC's talented and fast but smallish forwards tend to breeze through Hockey East play only to get beat up on by the bigger western teams come tournament time, so I love that we're getting some early shots against western teams this year--the season opener on Friday against Michigan, then hopefully two games against Minnesota in the championships of both the Ice Breaker and Dodge Holiday Classic tournaments. Getting past Michigan and Air Force in the first rounds of those tournaments will be tough, but the chance to play a team like Minnesota not once but twice in front of their home crowd in the first half of the year is invaluable--especially for the goalies. Between those tournaments and the Beanpot, our freshman netminders will be battle tested when the chips are really down, in the Hockey East and national tournaments.

While the forward corps still lacks size, Orpik and Kyle Kucharski aside, the blue line gets a huge boost this year with the addition of 6'3 freshman Nick Petrecki from the USHL's Omaha Lancers (former home of Chris Collins). If Carl Sneep can continue the improvement he showed over the second half of his freshman year and if Brett Motherwell, the star of the defense, can avoid the niggling injuries that bothered him last year, this unit will be among the best in the country. Senior Mike Brennan provides stability and leadership to the defense, his classmate Brian O'Hanley is a solid role player who is often the target of BC fans' ire but whose absence in a game inevitably seems to lead to defensive breakdowns, and juniors Tim Kunes, Tim Filangieri, and Anthony Aiello are all solid players who can fill in around the edges as needed.

As far as lines, your guess is as good as mine. I'd like to see the following, for the forwards and defensive pairings respectively, but right now there is really no way to know what Jerry will do:

Gerbe-Smith-Bradford
Gannon-Ferriero-Greene
Whitney-Adams-Orpik
Hayes-Kucharski-Lombardi

Motherwell-Kunes
Brennan-Sneep
O'Hanley-Petrecki

Finally, we get to the schedule. It ain't easy. We jump right into the fray with Michigan followed by RPI or Minnesota, then come back to Chestnut Hill for a home tilt against North Dakota in what has become college hockey's best intersectional rivalry. It doesn't get any easier from there, as the Hockey East slate opens just 2 days later in Burlington (did Hockey East hire contractors from the ACC to make BC's schedule??). BC also loses the home ice advantage against the rest of the conference's Big 4 this year, making a pair of trips to both UNH and Maine and only getting BU at home twice. As if that wasn't enough, the traditional first weekend of December home and home with BU could very likely be overshadowed this year by BC participation in the ACC Championship Game for footbal. (Incidentally, with BC hopefully to be a regular participant in that game, can't we change the annual date of the first BU series?? And I don't mean to put it back in early January when the students aren't around, either--how about just a week later, when there is no football, students are still around, and exams have not begun yet??) Speaking of Eurabia Tech, the Terriers are our first-round opponents in the Beanpot this year, so you pretty much know how that will go. The Harvard game will be a little bit later than usual this year, on Dec. 12th. The good news is that the UNH home-and-home will not be played on the last weekend of the regular season this year; instead, BC finishes up with series against Providence and Northeastern.

All in all, this year will come down to the play of the goalies. Can they step it up?? I think they will, and I think they can. Third time's the charm, boys.

Prediction: #2 in Hockey East regular season, Hockey East Tournament champs, National champs

Just a few more notes:

-BC has done a very nice job with the media guide this year, putting together 208 pages of material. Check it out here

-For the many of you who are going to be in South Bend this weekend, the Michigan game will be on FSN North out there. Buffalo Wild Wings gets the channel and should be showing the game.

Notre Dame Week

2007-10-11T13:04:00.000-04:00

Well, it's that time of the year again (again).

The theme of the week will be the fact that the tables have been reversed. As we all know, BC is coming into South Bend undefeated and as the #4 team in the country. Notre Dame, well, isn't undefeated or the #4 team in the country. Certainly many Irish fans would love to ruin our season the way we ruined theirs in 1993 and 2002. In fact, you can bet that Charlie Weis has been showing clips of the 1993 and 2002 games to his players all week.

A common Domer excuse for losing to BC annually is that it's just another game to their players, whereas to our players it's the Super Bowl. Don't fall for it. The Irish players will, without a doubt, be every bit as fired up for this one as the guys in maroon and gold are. BC is the far superior team and should win, but we can't simply stroll into Notre Dame stadium and expect to walk away with a victory.

So how does BC avoid the upset?? The first key is to get pressure on Jimmy Clausen. BC's Achilles' heel defensively is, without a doubt, the deep ball. The cornerbacks other than DeJuan Tribble are inexperienced (even 5th-year senior Taji Morris has spent most of his BC career either injured or constantly bouncing back and forth between DB and CB); the pass rush has been anemic so far (although it did show signs of life against a decent Bowling Green offensive line); and the safeties, while excellent in run support and the short/medium-range passing game, lack elite high-end speed and could be exposed deep. The good news?? The Irish have not really shown the ability to consistently go deep as of yet. Their team speed, while improving and probably a touch better than BC's, is still nowhere near the level of the ACC powers like Florida State and Virginia Tech that BC is used to facing. More importantly, Clausen has not yet proven that he can throw the deep ball. It seems to be a confidence issue, whether on his part or the coaching staff's; but either way, the Irish need to be able to throw deep in order to win. They are not going to be able to run on BC; and while the short passing game will chew up yards and clock, it will also lead to BC interceptions.

On the other side of the ball, the main thing I am concerned about is the offensive adjustment to Notre Dame's new 3-4 defense. For the first time in years the Irish have more talent on the defensive side of the ball than they do on the offensive, and now they also have a confusing new scheme to go along with it. It should be noted that BC did a very nice job against a similar Virginia defense 2 years ago, but only one starting offensive lineman played in that game (for perspective, Quinton Porter was named ACC Player of the Week for his performance against the Cavaliers). While I don't think Notre Dame has the raw talent on defense to match BC, the 3-4 scheme will take some adjusting to for the linemen and backs. A huge advantage BC has here is the tremendous ability of both Andre Callender and L.V. Whitworth in the passing game--primarily in blitz pickup, but also as released receivers. Matchup-wise, I think undersized but quick and wily true freshman RT Anthony Castonzo will excel against the 3-4, where he will be facing off not against a 260-lb defensive end but against a 240-250 lb linebacker such as Kerry Neal or John Ryan.

Of course, Matt Ryan needs to have a good day, but that goes without saying. And he will. BC's lack of a #1 go-to guy in the WR corps is actually an advantage in my opinion, as it forces opposing defenses to gameplan for 5 or 6 different guys. Brandon Robinson is the best wideout on the team, but Kevin Challenger, Rich Gunnell, Clarence Megwa, and Justin Jarvis are all also capable of breaking out for 100+ yard games--and that's before you get to the tight ends and backs, not to mention younger receivers like Ifeanyi Momah and Billy Flutie. My guess is that the Irish will play conservative defense, seeking to deny BC the deep ball and forcing Ryan to dink and dunk down the field against an unfamiliar 3-4 scheme. While this could pose some problems, it will at least have the effect of forcing their best defensive playmaker, safety Tom Zbikowski, to stay deep.

Special teams need to be on target. Billy Bennett was held out of practice yesterday for undisclosed reasons, but should be good to go on Saturday. Kickoff coverage needs to improve, and the punt team needs to keep doing what they've been doing. Could this be the week we finally see true freshman speedster Dan Mulrooney returning punts??

Finally, BC needs great support from its fans in South Bend. I'm expecting about 10-15,000 BC fans to be there, which would make for the largest away contingent of Eagles fans since the 2003 San Francisco Bowl. BC's allotment of 5,000 tickets sold out as soon as it went on sale, and despite that virtually everyone I know who's going to the game didn't actually get their tickets through BC. We need to cheer our team on, be loud when the Domers are on offense, and show the world that BC fans can travel when we have something worth traveling to see.

My prediction?? I think the Irish will keep it close for about a quarter and a half, but ultimately they just don't have the horses to hang with a great BC team this year. While they have certainly improved since the trio of season-opening debacles against Georgia Tech, Penn State, and Michigan, they have yet to face a team nearly as good as BC. While their win over UCLA will give them a boost of confidence, I don't think it will have much ultimate impact on the game. This one will be uncomfortably close for a while, but the Eagles will pull away in the end.

Prediction: BC 41, Notre Dame 17

My group is leaving for Notre Dame at around 5 today. If you see a green 4Runner with Colorado plates, BC and UNC stickers, and (if I have time to stop by the bookstore before departure) an enormous, gaudy BC helmet magnet, give a honk and a wave.

Bowling Pink???

2007-10-06T00:05:00.000-04:00

So no-one asked what we were going to do this week. Well, I think BC has been disrespected long enough. Look at this interview, in a fucking ACC market, pissing on the Eagles.

Enough.

In case you haven't noticed, it's us against the fucking world. No one outside of the ACC is going to respect us. No one inside the ACC is going to respect us because we are the General Sherman to their Atlanta. You think they like a bunch of not just Yankees but drunk-ass Irish Yankee assholes dominating their conference both in football and in hoops?? Think again.

Tomorrow at noon we take the field against Bowling Green. We are going to murder them, but that's beside the point. If any of you think that we've been doing any more than the bare minimum necessary to win the last two games.....if you think Steve Logan is fucking stupid enough to give anything away that he doesn't have to then I invite you to kill yourself. We have an NFL staff now. That means we won't run the score up on bad teams for the sake of running up the score (as much as I'd like to). It also means we will systematically prison rape good teams, as we did Georgia Tech and Wake.

The Falcons have a good passing attack. They have no running game. I also feel like they don't have much of a D.

Prediction: BC 27, Bowling Green 10

I told my buddy Timmie who lives in LA and I'm telling you all now--if we are 11-0 heading into the Miami game and if he flies out for it, I will go shirtless and in maroon and gold body paint regardless of how cold it is.

Week off for me next week, so you'll get my treatise on Steve Logan's offensive theory as well as a hockey preview before I head off to my first trip to South Bend.

Power Rankings

2007-09-29T01:02:00.000-04:00

Used to do these last year, bringing them back now. I'll also have hockey and hoops rankings up when those sports start. For now, ACC football:

1. BC
2. Clemson
3. Georgia Tech
4. Miami
5. Virginia Tech
6. Wake Forest
7. Florida State
8. Virginia
9. Maryland
10. North Carolina
11. Duke
12. NC State

Hey, Duke has beaten a 1A opponent this year.

UMass Preview

2007-09-28T07:13:00.000-04:00

The Commonwealth Cup takes to the gridiron tomorrow as the UMass Minutemen, New England's second-best college football team, comes into town.

UMass will be a very tough foe for the Eagles, but they are not Appalachian State. While the Mountaineers run a complex spread offense that makes great use of their speed and presented considerable matchup issues for the Michigan defense, UMass takes more of a straightforward approach. Appalachian State's victory over the Wolverines did not mean that they were the superior team; nor, here, is UMass the superior team.

What UMass is is a disciplined, well-coached squad which will look at the BC game as a shot to prove themselves against a team knocking on the door of the nation's top 10. The Minutemen come in matching BC's record of 4-0, including a pair of wins over Colonial Athletic Association foes Towson and Maine (the Black Bears, who lost 22-0 in Chestnut Hill last season, fell 38-7 to UMass). While they boast a solid QB in Liam Coen, a Rhode Island native who was scouted but never offered a scholarship by BC, the focus of their attack is the ground game--primarily UConn transfer Matt Lawrence, who has racked up 517 yards and 5 TDs on just 82 to carries to date.

While the Minutemen offense is impressive, their defense is somewhat less so. The team has yielded 67 points in 4 games, certainly a respectable accomplishment but one which will need to be improved upon in order to have a chance against BC. The strength of UMass' defense is its ability to show multiple looks and confuse a QB; while this is effective against 1-AA quarterbacks, it is likely to be much less so against Matt Ryan. In fact, I would not be surprised to see UMass deviate somewhat from their usual gameplan and go with a more vanilla set, dropping guys back into coverage and challenging BC to beat them on the ground. With Steve Logan developing an offense that can run a "3 yards and a cloud of dust" power rushing game, a 5-wide spread, and just about anything in between (a subject I will discuss in detail in a future post), I expect BC to be able to handle anything UMass defensive coordinator Keith Dudzinski can throw at them.

In years past, I would be concerned that a talented but under-the-radar team such as UMass would be able to come into Alumni and give BC a scare or even knock us off. Now that we have a coaching staff who actually knows how to motivate its players, I am not as concerned. After last week's lackluster performance against Army, the BC staff is not about to let its players rest on their laurels for this one; additionally, if any further motivation was needed, the team needs look no further back than the Appalachian State-Michigan game just 4 weeks ago. The BC locker room has been plastered with newspaper articles from the historical upset in the week leading up to the UMass game.

Unfortunately, Jeff Smith will not be able to make his season debut on Saturday; although the fact that it was even up for consideration indicates that his return is likely not far off, hopefully in time for Notre Dame. Also out with a knee injury will be starting fullback James McCluskey; true freshman Brad Newman will take his place in the starting lineup, with senior tight end Ryan Thompson also expected to see some time at the position. Defensive tackle Brady Smith, who has excelled this year, is also injured and not listed to start, but could see playing time if needed.

Despite the injuries, I expect UMass to hang close for about a quarter before the Eagles pull away.

Prediction: BC 38, UMass 13

More links from today's Globe:

Herzlich Leader of the Pack
Step Right Up and Give It a Shot

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In other news this week, BC was voted to a tie for #1 in the Hockey East coach's poll along with UNH, with BU and Maine coming in 3rd and 4th respectively. While there is no doubt that BC is loaded with talented skaters, both returning and new, much will be asked of freshman goalies John Muse and Andrew Margolin and I think the poll reflects this. Had Cory Schneider returned this team would have been the odds-on favorite to win the national title; with Schneider gone, there is still a huge amount of talent, but question marks (albeit talented question marks) in the net.

Army Preview

2007-09-21T23:24:00.000-04:00

Gameday #4 tomorrow as the Eagles take on the first team on the schedule that could be somewhat of a breather, Army.

Don't get me wrong, BC will NOT be taking this one lightly. Jags will not allow it.

That said, I'm optimistic here. If there's anything you can count on from an Army team, it's that they will battle hard for 60 minutes. I expect no less tomorrow. That said, Army has in recent years deviated from the traditional service academy option attack (that always gives BC problems), and gone to more of a misdirection-slash-West Coast style approach, vaguely similar to Wake Forest's offense. While the Deacons have given BC fits with their attack, the fact is that the Black Knights simply don't have the horses to hang with BC. They'll definitely have a wrinkle or two up their sleeves for the toughest opponent they'll face this year, but I don't see this being much of a problem.

Look for Chris Crane to play most, if not all, of the second half. It's important for BC to pad Matt Ryan's stats for a Heisman run, but a service academy is not the team to do it against. We'll have plenty of time for that in our next three games, which will all be against cupcakes--UMass, Bowling Green, and Notre Dame.

I'll be getting back into more regular posting, so look for a game wrap-up tomorrow or Sunday and possibly another pregame post tomorrow morning. As for now, I'll leave you with...

Prediction: BC 35, Army 0

GO EAGLES!!

Ryan Chat on ESPN.Com Tomorrow

2007-09-19T18:34:00.000-04:00

Noon Thursday....check it out, BC Nation

Ryan for Heisman!!

2007-09-19T17:00:00.000-04:00

While BC's marketing department has utterly failed so far in promoting our boy for the trophy, an intrepid BC fan has taken it upon himself to create the Ryan for Heisman blog. Well done, sir.

Good news so far on the recruiting front, as BC seems to be back in the mix for a number of top recruits, particularly at the skill positions. Coveted CB Donnie Fletcher of Cleveland will be visiting for this weekend's Army game; let's hope he comes away with a good impression.

Incidentally, you have to love the national media attention that Ryan has been getting lately. In less than a year of working together, Steve Logan has turned Matt Ryan from a guy that most "experts" had pegged as a 2nd-round pick into a top-10 pick and a legitimate Heisman contender. Don't think that QB recruits aren't noticing--if Logan can improve Ryan (who was already a superb QB) that much in just a year, what can he do with a raw high school kid in 4-5 years??

Tobias Returns

2007-09-07T15:55:00.000-04:00

Big game tomorrow...I think BC wins this one in a romp. Set aside the return of the Hen; NC State simply doesn't have the talent right now to match up with the Eagles. With a new offensive scheme that can actually make use of the talent we have, Matt Ryan has been unshackled and looked like a completely new QB against Wake Forest last weekend.

How will the run game perform?? It looked shaky at times against the Deacons but BC was, after all, able to kill the clock at the end of the game. It's less of an issue now, because the new coaching philosophy is to keep increasing the lead, rather than sitting on whatever lead you get. NC State will not be helped by the sudden loss of both starting defensive tackles, star Demario Pressley to a knee injury and Alan Michael Cash due to the death of his father.

But of course, the return of Tom O'Brien cannot be forgotten about. While there is no doubt that O'Brien will want to win this game badly, BC's players will want it just as much; and they are the ones whose emotions and efforts on the field will decide the game. Unfortunately for Wolfpack fans, NC State's players have no particular reason to care about this game more than any other in the conference. The Eagles are going to be fired up for this one, and I'm thinking it could get ugly. Our guys won't be making the same mistakes they did last week that gifted 14 points to the Deacons, and I'm looking for a big game in particular from the defense, and from guys like AJ Brooks and Brandon Robinson who spent way too much of their BC careers in O'Brien's doghouse.

Prediction: BC 41, NC State 13

I'll be drinking at 9 am tomorrow and heading to campus around 11:30; stop by and help me welcome back our gutless former coach.

Almost forgot.....

2007-08-10T10:18:00.000-04:00

The big news of yesterday....we're playing USC, baby!! While the coming regular season series might be overshadowed a bit by our matchup with them in this year's national championship game, this is still amazing news. It also provides proof that the cupcake scheduling of the last few years was the work of Tom O'Brien, not Gene D. Nice job, Gene and Jags. Can anyone else smell a situation in LA similar to the Masshole invasion of San Francisco for the Diamond Walnut Bowl a few years ago??

Speaking of the Trojans, many BC fans have given up all hope on Jersey linebacker Brendan Beal, currently favoring USC and Florida, based on a recent Rivals article in which he named those teams as his lone top two. I for one have not. In the same article he made it clear that BC is his #3, well ahead of Ohio State and LSU. Really, is this anything we didn't know before?? I'm not particularly optimistic on Beal, but I'm no less optimistic than I was a few days ago. I think BC still has a small chance here, and to be honest, I think Florida's chances are closer to ours than they are to USC's. If I had to guess, I'd say 60% USC, 25% Florida, 15% BC. Beal will be coming to the Heights, and that means this staff will get the chance to close him. We're longshots here, don't get me wrong, but we're not out of the race yet--especially if Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer simply negative recruit each other into oblivion.

New commit; First scrimmage tomorrow

2007-08-10T10:15:00.000-04:00

BC has added the verbal commitment of Holliston DE/TE Mike Stone. Stone is very much a sleeper prospect, but one look at the kid's measurables will tell you why the coaching staff offered; he is 6'7/230 and runs a 4.7 40. Sure, he's a 2-star, lightly regarded prospect with not much interest from the top programs....but does that remind you of a kid from Indiana we took a flyer on a few years ago in order to get his highly-touted, offensive tackle best friend?? Definitely not saying that Stone is going to be the next Kiwi, but I wouldn't write him off just yet either. The kid clearly has upside.

In other news, the team's first scrimmage will be held tomorrow. I probably won't be able to sneak into Alumni to check it out myself, but hopefully I'll get some thoughts from someone who can.

Practice is Underway

2007-08-07T23:50:00.000-04:00

Fall practice began this week, with the team taking to the field in helmets but no pads. It's not full-contact hitting yet, but it's Football Season Eve, and that's always a great thing.

The limited reports we've gotten from practice so far are very encouraging. Not that it really comes as a surprise, but the new staff is apparently far more energetic and hands-on than its predecessor. To my consternation, Kevin Akins apparently saw time only at LB; that, of course, could change.

While the coming days will be important in getting the offensive line gelled together, the real progress won't begin until the pads come on and the scrimmages start. A huge help will be the strength of BC's defense; the front seven our O-line will be facing in the preseason is as good as any they'll face in the regular season. I also think that the caliber of student-athlete that BC attracts will really help us here; I expect our guys to be able to pick up the new scheme a lot more quickly than might be the case at other schools.

This team is getting zero respect in the media....but you know what?? I'm fine with that, and so is Gosder Cherilus. Every time we're written off, every pundit that fails to include us in his top 25, makes this team stronger. This is a great Boston College team, maybe the most talented in the school's history; we have 16 starters returning, including one of the top quarterbacks in the country; and we are no longer shackled by the worst offensive coordinator in D1A. What's not to love??

I promise that I'll severely step up the frequency of posting as the season approaches, but until then, some links from the local papers:

Herald - Five Questions Facing the Eagles
Herald - Challenger Back, Better
Globe - After Rain Delay, BC Eager to Get Started
Globe - New Job is His to Tackle

On the recruiting front, some somewhat disheartening news today as prized New Jersey LB Brendan Beal named BC as third in the running for his services, behind USC and Florida. I'm not too concerned about this. Obviously BC is a longshot to land Beal, but I don't think this is anything we didn't know before. I don't think we're completely out of the running. I think we have about a 10-15% chance of landing him, and this will only improve with a strong start.

In better news, we have apparently jumped into the thick of things for star New York wideout Marcus Sales, a guy that in my mind we should've been all over since day one.

Tide, Wolverines on the Horizon??

2007-07-26T23:44:00.000-04:00

Roll Bama Roll posted today arguing for a BC-Alabama series to be played, with the cancellation of the Tide's 2008 home game against UTEP. Let me be the first to say that I would love this. Alabama is one of the most respected programs in college football, and despite a few down years you know that Nick Saban will have them back in business before too long. Not sure if it'll happen, but any chance to play an SEC team is one we as a program should take (excluding Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia, who I see little need to play as we already play conference foes in their states). You could even put our home game at Gillette Stadium and use it as an opportunity to reminisce to BC's 1983 ice storm victory over 'Bama in Foxboro. Get it done, Gene D.

Another opportunity presents itself with the announcement that Notre Dame will continue dumbing down its schedule and drop not just BC, but also arch-rivals Michigan. If the Domers are too scared to play either one of us, then how about the Eagles and Wolverines get together for a home-and-home in 2012 and 2013?? This would also fit in nicely with the potential series with USC to take place around the same time (playing both teams in the same year in addition to the ACC slate and a possibly-revitalized-by-Big-Ten-membership Syracuse team would be pretty hairy, but we can handle it). You could even revive the old BC-ND tradition of playing a hockey game the night before the main attraction.

Speaking of which, has anyone heard any new updates on the USC situation?? Post in comments if so.

On the Recruiting Trail

2007-07-26T23:20:00.000-04:00

After the hoopla surrounding the landing of stud RB Josh Haden, BC has hit a bit of a slow period in recruiting over the last few weeks.

While this is due in large part to the fact that the coaching staff has spent part of the month on vacation, we do need to step it back up. With about 25 scholarships available, the consensus among BC fans seems to be that we need to have about half of our class filled out by the opening of the season; with 9 verbals already in hand, this is certainly doable but we do need to step it up over these next few weeks.

Overshadowing this month's recruiting adventures has been the controversy regarding prized Florida offensive tackle Mike Goodman. Goodman seemed, by all accounts, to be a heavy BC lean--until Rivals.com's Mike Farrell strongly hinted on that site's message board that the lineman had already committed to BC. Obviously, this upset Goodman, who has now opened his recruiting back up. While BC still appears to be right in the thick of things, he is not the slam-dunk he seemed to be a few weeks ago, particularly with his hometown Hurricanes having come on strong over the past two weeks. I have confidence that the kid will at the end of the day see the light, but it's far from a sure thing. Bill's distaste for Farrell's tactics is well documented, and it appears in this case that irresponsible journalism may end up costing BC one of our top recruiting targets (a similar situation happened last month when Rutgers' Rivals site reported that QB DC Jefferson, also a BC target, had committed to the Scarlet Knights, leading Jefferson to likewise re-open his recruiting).

As much as I hate giving Farrell my money especially when he pulls crap like this, at the end of the day I'm going to have to keep doing it. Rivals' recruiting database is simply far superior to Scout's, and just as important is the insight gained from reading premium message board posts from individuals with insider access to the program, most notably Mark Herzlich's father. But while I'll be doing it, I won't like it; and if BC ends up losing out on Goodman as a result of this then I think we as BC fans should evaluate the reasons behind his decision. Already I'm expecting this to result in far less access to the program for Rivals, which I welcome, even if as a fan I'd prefer to read as much insider info as possible.

The Goodman saga aside, BC's recruiting also took a hit this week with the loss of OG Tyler Sands to Illinois. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried here. I firmly believe that we need 5-6 OLs in this class, including 3-4 interior linemen, and so far we're standing on 1 and 0. As bountiful as last season's haul was at tackle, we're still thin on the inside. Sands would've been a huge pickup, and we now need to start looking at other options. A guy I expect us to offer pretty soon is Quinton Sales, a high school teammate of Haden's who visited BC with him last month. Sales currently does not hold a BC offer, according to Rivals, but with the loss of Sands I expect that to change. Despite being a 3-star recruit, his current offer list is limited to Wake Forest and a handful of MAC schools. However, I think he would be a great fit in Jags' zone-blocking scheme, both for his smaller, more athletic build and for his intelligence. He's a guy I feel we will offer in the next week or two, and could lock up before opening day.

As for who BC's next verbal will come from, there's no clear leader. Illinois LB Nick Clancy had appeared to be nearing a decision, but recently expanded his final two of BC and Purdue to include Wisconsin and Northwestern. Whatever his final decision may be, those are all excellent schools and the kid clearly has his priorities straight. NJ TE Chris Pantale would be an excellent get and has listed BC in his final three along with Virginia and Michigan. Many have tabbed him as our likely next commit. Another possibility is two-star local RB/DB Mike Cox, who favors BC over offers from Maryland and UConn but appears to be holding out for a possible offer from Michigan or Penn State. It's unlikely that the staff will wait much longer for Cox, who would likely play cornerback at BC, to make a decision before moving on.

Finally, for those who are worried about Haden de-committing if he has a blowup senior year, I wouldn't worry too hard:

Now THAT'S a commitment, folks.

Maddux Sports BC outlook

2007-07-26T23:17:00.000-04:00

Got this preview from the guys over at MadduxSports.com, a great handicapping site; I suggest all you other degenerates out there check them out:

When we were compiling our annual college football season preview these past few weeks, the ACC Atlantic was without a doubt the hardest division to prognosticate. The amount of talent separating teams 1 though 6 is miniscule. One could argue that the 1^st place team could finish as low as 6^th while the 6^th place team has the ability to be playing in the ACC Title game. This is good news for Boston College fans since we are forecasting a 5^th place finish for the Eagles which should still be good warrant a college bowl pick invitation by one of the minor bowls.

In 2006 Boston College posted a 10-3 record which included a 25-24 win over Navy in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. In that game they were led by interim coach Frank Spazini after NC State poached Tom O’Brien away from the Eagles. This win extended the Eagles impressive streak of consecutive bowl wins to 7 straight, the longest current streak in the NCAA. With O’Brien gone to the Wolfpack, BC went out and hired former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski to take over the program. The good news for Jagodzinski is that O’Brien left the cupboard full of weapons including 9 returning starters from a defense that allowed a paltry 15.7 points per game.

One of Jagodzinski’s first decisions was to retain Spazini and linebackers coach Bill McGovern. Spazini will serve as the defensive coordinator for the 9^th straight season. Keeping both these coaches on staff will bring some much needed continuity for the team.

As for the defensive guys actually suiting for the Eagles, there is plenty of veteran leadership. Seven of the nine returning defensive starters are seniors, including five of the seven guys manning the front 7. It is still up in the air whether or not five star recruit Brian Toal will return from injury in time for the opener but even if he doesn’t, the linebacking corps will be one of the best units in the ACC conference. The group will be led by last years leading tackler Jolonn Dunbar and Tyronne Pruitt who are All-ACC talents.

After returning a lot of talent in the secondary last season, Boston College intercepted 21 passes, good for 3^rd best among NCAA teams. This year they lose 2 starters in CB Larry Anam and SS Ryan Glasper. Although they had those 21 picks, the Eagles did allow opponents to complete 60% of their pass attempts.

On offense BC returns 7 starters and the unit is led by senior quarterback Matt Ryan. We know Ryan is one tough SOB playing 7 of the last 8 games with a broken foot earning all conference honors in the process. The question is how good is he at learning a new playbook? Along with a new head coach BC is breaking in a new offense composed by new offensive coordinator Steve Logan. How well the offense performs will hinge on how fast Ryan dissects and learns the new plays.

The one thing we do know is that while Ryan is adjusting to the new scheme he will have plenty of weapons at his disposal. In the backfield Boston College is guided by a senior duo of L.V. Whitworth and Andre Callender. Together they govern one of the most experienced running back corps in the country. As for the wideouts, last years leading receiver Kevin Challenger returns for his senior season and will be playing along the explosive junior Brandon Robinson.

The offensive line is lead by left tackle and future NFL draftee Gosder Cherilus. The Eagles do lose 2 distinguished starters both of whom where drafted by NFL franchises, but 8 of the top 10 lineman return. Even with learning new blocking schemes this unit still should be one of the ACC’s best.

So with all the good things going for Boston College how can we be calling for them to finish 5^th? One of the big reasons why we are predicting a low finish is teams that change systems tend to have an incubation period in their first season before everything starts hitting on all cylinders.

The second reason is the schedule. The Eagles get the unfortunate prize of drawing the top 3 teams from the Coastal Division. Week in and week out wins will be tough to come by. There is not much separating the Atlantic teams and although we have Boston College rated as the 2^nd most talented team in the division we have to predict a 5^th place finish in what figures to be a tightly contested ACC Atlantic division race.

MadduxSports.com is sports picks service that provides both premium and free college football predictions on the weekly football games. In 2006 they won the college football ultimate handicapping picking 63.1% winners besting all other handicapper entrants.

BC by the Positions - RB

2007-07-25T01:24:00.000-04:00

Summer is kind of a dead time for college football fans. Sure, the guys are working out, but most programs (particularly those run by guys with NFL backgrounds) are secretive enough that it's tough to know what's going on aside from a media snippet here and there. So with an eye towards next season, I will break down the team BC will be bringing into the year, position by position. I will look at guys who figure to start this year, guys who figure to provide depth this year, young players on our roster who we will look to in the future, and our recruiting situation at that position. While much of this will not be new info to BC fans, I hope to analyze the situations (with a particular eye towards position battles) and give my take on things. It will also help educate opposing fans who may not know much about our team.

After looking at our quarterback situation last week, I will continue with an update on BC's running backs.

The Starters: After splitting time with Andre Callender and A.J. Brooks during their freshman seasons in 2004, L.V. Whitworth emerged as the primary running back for Tom O'Brien and Dana Bible over the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Whitworth has been, statistically speaking, a fairly consistent back during his tenure at BC. He has amassed 2221 yards rushing on 506 carries (a 4.39 ypc average), including 174 carries for 791 yards (4.55 ypc) last season. Whitworth has been criticized by many as a slow, plodding back who does not have the quickness, speed, or God-given talent to play the halfback position effectively at the ACC level. I count myself as a former member of this camp. However, after viewing his performance in the spring game, I lay the blame for his troubles at the feet of Tom O'Brien, Dana Bible, and former strength and conditioning coach Todd Rice.

O'Brien and Bible have taken considerable heat for Whitworth's situation from many corners. Whitworth is, fundamentally, a between-the-tackles runner. BC's previous coaching staff, however, seemed to be under the impression that he is a shifty, elusive back in the Brian Westbrook mold. He was forced to run sweep plays against speedy ACC defenses. He was forced to run dive plays with no lead blocker. He was thrown screen passes on third and long situations. These things happened time and time again, and O'Brien and Bible never EVER learned from their mistakes. The new coaching staff, however, actually seemed to know how to use him effectively in the spring game. Put him in the I formation, let him pound it between the tackles with a lead blocker, and Whitworth can be an effective part of the BC offense. While his numbers in the spring game were unimpressive (29 yards on 13 carries), anyone who watched the game saw a far more dangerous-looking Whitworth than we have seen maybe since his redshirt freshman year. It should also be noted that he is excellent in blitz pickup (as is Callender).

Much of the credit for Whitworth's improvement has to go to new strength and conditioning coach Jason Loscalzo, who as an assistant at Auburn worked with such star RBs as Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown. Former S&C coach Todd Rice (who now holds the position at NC State) favored a program based heavily on yoga and stretching, with far less emphasis put on traditional weight training and conditioning programs than is common among elite football programs. You saw the consequences of this in NFL draftnik reports saying that BC players looked soft, that they could stand to put on some muscle; and you saw it on the field with guys like Whitworth. Loscalzo, by all accounts, has much more of an old-school approach. Numerous players have reported that practices and workouts are far more physically taxing under the new regime than the old (I'm sure Tom O'Brien, if asked about this, will blame it on heat stress caused by global warming), and one of the prime beneficiaries seems to have been Whitworth. He seems to have dropped about 10-15 pounds, and is noticeably quicker and faster. Despite the weight loss, he also seems to have a more solid base and is harder to bring down. He is far from a lock to retain his starting position, but the BC fans who completely wrote him off upon the new coaching staff's arrival (and I will be first to admit that I was guilty of this) were mistaken to do so.

But the fan favorite for many BC guys is still Callender. He is arguably the best all-around back on BC's roster, possessing good speed, agility, and decent power. After racking up 633 yards and 3 TDs on 146 carries last year, for an average of 4.3 ypc, Callender put in a decent performance in the spring game, racking up 67 yards on 18 carries. Not horrible, but certainly not spectacular; although as with any of the running back performances in this year's spring game (particularly Brooks and Smith, who spent most of the game running with the second team), we should keep in mind that the offensive line was pretty banged up, missing one starter, one borderline starter, and one important reserve. It's also important to keep in mind that these guys might not face another rush defense all season as stingy as BC's own. In addition to being the superior athlete, Callender, for my money, has surer hands than Whitworth--both carrying and catching the football--and while I like Whitworth better in short-yardage situations, Callender is more of a home run threat. AC has also benefitted from the new S&C program, although he hasn't seen the complete 180 kind of results that Whitworth seems to have. As he possesses the best combination of athleticism and experience on BC's roster, the smart money is likely on Callender to get the starting nod against Wake Forest on September 1.

But then we come to perhaps the biggest enigma of the last few years at BC, Brooks. Ever since his breakout performance against those same Deamon Deacons as a true freshman 3 years ago, I have maintained that Brooks is the most talented runner on BC's roster, even more so than Callender. Inexplicably, he found himself in Tom O'Brien's doghouse after that Wake game, and has barely seen the field since for BC, redshirting in 2005 and getting the ball just 19 times for 66 yards and 1 TD last season (mainly in garbage time running behind an understrength offensive line). As of the end of spring ball, the junior from Florida appeared to still be third on the depth chart, but there is really no reason that he can't move up come training camp.

Every time I see him play, I feel that Brooks is BC's best pure rusher; however, I will be the first to admit that where he falls short are in the other areas required of a running back, primarily pass blocking. His blitz recognition and pickup abilities, as of last season, fell far short of those possessed by both Whitworth and Callender (he did not really get a chance in the spring game to show if he has improved in this area). Some view him as a fumbling risk, although I never felt that he had any more propensity to cough up the ball than any of BC's other backs; this, I feel, is primarily a coaching issue (and one that will be resolved under the tutelage of new RB coach Ben Sirmans). There is little question that Brooks is more athletic than both Callender and Whitworth; the question is, can he put together the little things that make a great back?? He has the talent to be our starting back against Wake Forest, but he needs to spend the summer camped out in the film room working on reading opposing defenses and in the weight room improving his power base for blocking. If he does so, he still has two years and the physical potential to become the next great Boston College running back.

Finally, you've got Jeff Smith. Smith, probably the fastest player on BC's roster, has already established himself as one of the premier kick returners in the ACC but will look to contribute this season on offense as well. I actually ran into Smith at a hockey game back in February and asked him if he was going to be seeing some time on offense this year; he just said something along the lines of "Yeah, it's gonna be fun" but his body language said it all--his face absolutely lit up. Based on the spring game, I don't believe that he is ready to be an every-down RB at the ACC level. He obviously has incredible speed, but it's important to keep in mind that other than some limited garbage-time action he really has no experience at the position (he was a QB in high school). As I've mentioned earlier, he's still a little impatient with his reads. He needs to slow down a bit and let blocks develop; several times in the spring game, he would simply take off at full speed upon getting the handoff and crash straight into the line for no gain. He also received criticism for his fumble in the spring game, but I'm not too worried about this; even the best backs are going to fumble the ball from time to time, and as long as it doesn't become a chronic issue it's just something that you have to live with. It's worth pointing out that Smith is another player who will benefit from Loscalzo's S&C program, as he'll have the opportunity to bulk up a bit and be able to withstand the rigors of the RB position. I do think that the new offensive system will do a good job making use of Smith's talents, however. I expect to see him get a decent number of snaps in each game, and I think we'll see him used in a variety of ways; lined up in the backfield, split out wide, and so forth. Even as a decoy, the mere fact of his being on the field forces the defense to respect his speed, and in turn this will open things up for other players. I think he's still a year away from becoming one of our key offensive weapons, but I also think he's ready to contribute this year. His progress will be one of the fun things to watch this season.

At the fullback position, the starter will be redshirt freshman James McCluskey, a converted linebacker. Despite being a speedier and more mobile FB than a Mark Palmer or Greg Toal-type guy, don't downplay McCluskey's blocking abilities. The kid is a former LB, after all, and that means he loves to hit. He was one of the pleasant surprises of the spring game in my mind, as he definitely did not look like a freshman out there. He can block, he can catch, and my bet is that if called upon to do so, he can run as well. He also seems to be picking up the new offense very quickly (probably not a huge surprise, as he's new to the offensive side of the ball altogether and unlike the more experienced guys won't have to unlearn any old habits).

The Depth: For the halfbacks, see above. We have four scholarship halfbacks on our roster, and I fully expect all 4 to see significant time on offense this season. While one will be the nominal starter, there's no practical reason to differentiate between starters and backups here.

On the other hand, there is some question as to who the backup FB will be, and even how much the new offense will use a fullback. The I formation was used quite a bit in the spring game, particularly on first downs, and folks who observed spring practice have reported that the coaches were stressing it there as well. The problem is that if McCluskey gets hurt, we don't have many other options at the position. True freshman Brad Newman has the build for it, but is after all a true freshman, and his offer list does leave some question as to his ability to contribute significantly at the ACC level. The other option would be to convert a player from another position, either Whitworth or senior tight end Ryan Thompson. Thompson would be my personal preference, as he is an athletic player and a stellar blocker, but not a good catcher of the ball. I also believe that we have three superior tight ends in Ryan Purvis, Jon Loyte, and Jordon McMichael. Thompson seems to fit, especially with the potential that we will be going to more of an H-back system with our fullbacks; my only worry with him is that while he is a superb blocker on the line, at 6'4", his center of gravity might be high enough to limit his effectiveness at blocking in space.

The Future: The future of BC's running back position needs no introduction. In perhaps the biggest recruiting coup in the school's history, highly touted Maryland native Josh Haden gave his verbal commitment to BC last month. Haden intends to graduate from high school in December and enroll in BC in January, which is great news for two reasons. First, it strengthens his commitment to BC and will shield him from much of the late scramble to steal other schools' recruits that has become commonplace in recent years. This is particularly important because the other finalist for Haden's services was Florida, and Urban Meyer is notorious for nabbing other schools' verbal commits in the week or two before signing day. Obviously, he's not going to be able to do that here if Haden is already attending classes at the Heights. Second, he will have the chance to participate in spring ball, get himself in an ACC-caliber conditioning program, learn the offense, and be ready to contribute significantly in his first fall on campus. Look for Haden to see serious playing time in 2008, and almost certainly start by no later than his sophomore year.

But with all the hype surrounding Haden, don't forget about another very good RB committed to BC, Everett's Isaac Johnson. Johnson's verbal was symbolic in many ways. First, he was the first recruit of Jags' first full class at BC. Second, he is the first player in over a decade who will come to BC from Everett, despite the fact that the Tide are perennially one of Massachusetts' top high school programs. While the reason for this is unclear, rumor is that there was bad blood between Tom O'Brien and the Everett program. Needless to say, this is an important pipeline for us to re-establish. Johnson, rated as a 3-star recruit and Massachusetts' top player by Rivals, will likely redshirt his freshman year but will be an important contributor in years to come. A team can never have too many good running backs, and I expect Johnson to have a very solid career at BC.

And sure enough, BC is not done at the position on the recruiting trail. The staff is still targeting several top RB recruits, although whether they will stay at the position remains to be seen. Connecticut's Mike Cox is reportedly a BC lean, but wants to see if Michigan will offer. If he does end up coming to BC, it is likely that either he or Johnson (more likely Cox) will make the move to defensive back. BC is also in the mix for a trio of bigger backs. Mikel LeShoure of Champaign, IL and Latavius Murray, an upstate New Yorker who has drawn comparisons to JoLonn Dunbar, both have serious interest in BC (indications are that we are possibly leading for Murray). A longer shot is Brandon Beachum, a 4-star recruit from Youngstown, OH rated the 5th RB in the country by Rivals but who is also drawing significant interest on the defensive side of the ball. BC doesn't seem to have much chance here but you never know until the end. Although I generally like the direction the offense is going in with quicker, shiftier backs, at the end of the day it's still nice to have a guy who can pound it across the line on 4th and inches. My hope is that we will get both LeShoure and Murray, and only transfer one of them (Murray seems to be the better fit) to the defensive side of the ball. Either way, I think it is important for us to pick up a more bruising RB this year, even if he is a lightly-touted 2-star type guy. Jordan Todman is another Massachusetts guy who is receiving interest from BC as well as Maryland, but likely a D1AA prospect at the end of the day.

As far as fullbacks go, I don't think we'll end up taking one in this class. Cambridge's Nico Papas is viewed by some as a guy that BC might take a flier on, but he doesn't seem like an ACC-caliber player to me, although I've been known to be wrong. With two freshman FBs already on the roster, I don't see the need to take a player here unless he's an absolute stud, and none of the guys we're looking at at the position really fit that bill. There is some question as to which position New Jersey verbal Christian Klein will play at BC; although initial reports are that he will be playing defensive end, I still think there's an outside chance he winds up at fullback, particularly if we were to have an emergency crisis at that position.

Media Day Links

2007-07-25T00:32:00.000-04:00

You know it's almost that time of the year when Media Day rolls around, and 2007 is no different. Of course, the Globe didn't see fit to cover the event at all, but BC fans know that the Herald is our paper of note anyway.

Podcast with Jags (and the other 11 ACC coaches)

Jags video interview on ACC website

Jags interview from Herald

ACC media predictions

Dunbar speaks on BC's D

Yep, I'm still alive

2007-07-10T19:39:00.000-04:00

First off, sorry to everyone that I haven't posted in forever--I started a new job a few weeks ago and have been extremely busy. Combine this with a fairly dead period for BC sports (save a few notable, albeit fairly old, items that I'll comment on below) and you have a recipe for no posting. Now that I'm more in the swing of things, so to speak, I'll be posting more frequently. Specifically, after this roundup post I'll be getting the next installment in my position-by-position analysis of the upcoming football season up tonight or tomorrow, and trying to continue with those at a rate of at least one a week until the season starts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is there anyone who defines the phrase "BC Guy" better than Cory Schneider??

Talk about a kid who has bled maroon and gold for the last 3 years. He had the opportunity to go pro as early as the summer following his freshman year, and stuck around to lead BC to two national championship games, a Hockey East tournament championship, and numerous national accolades. Following the disappointing loss in this year's Beanpot final, Cory led a BC team that was playing perhaps as well as any in the history of college hockey. Obviously we would've all loved to have seen him return for his senior year, but the big bucks are awfully hard to pass up--especially when you already have your college degree. Schneider loves Boston College, and it was apparent every time he took the ice and every time he was quoted in the press. You really get the feeling that if he hadn't been blessed with such amazing talent, he'd have been up in the student section at Conte Forum calling John Curry a sieve, telling UNH fans to "warm up the trailer", and making Dateline NBC jokes at Keith Johnson. As much as I hate to see him leave the Heights and will always wonder what might have been had he stuck around for his senior year, we here at FHMAM thank Cory for his incredible service to BC and wish him the best of luck in the pros (particularly if the persistent rumors of a trade to the Flyers pan out).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If anyone seriously still doubts that the Boston Globe has an anti-BC bias, look no further than their coverage of the recent incident involving Gosder Cherilus at a North End bar. While BC successes in the realm of sports often barely merit mention in the paper, while Eagles fans are lucky to get a half-page of coverage the Friday before a big game, this non-story somehow makes its way onto the paper's front page--not the front sports page, the actual front page.

The Boston Herald, despite having far fewer resources and contacts, does a MUCH better job of covering BC sports than the Globe does. It's not uncommon to see 5 or 6 full tabloid pages of coverage on the football or basketball team during the season.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Herald doesn't have a well-documented anti-Catholic bias clouding its judgment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

More to come soon, including a preview of BC's running back situation and a recruiting update. The next few weeks could be huge on the recruiting front.

Haden Commits!!!

2007-06-20T18:35:00.000-04:00

4-star RB Josh Haden has officially given his verbal to BC, arguably the biggest recruiting coup in the school's history (Brian Toal was a higher-rated recruit, but had a brother already on the team and came from a school and state that are both strong BC pipelines). In addition to national champs Florida, where Haden's older brother will be beginning his collegiate career this fall, BC beat out schools like Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio State, Penn State, and Virginia Tech as well as hometown school Maryland for his verbal. Haden will graduate high school early, join the team in time for spring ball in 2008, and is likely to see significant playing time, possibly even start, as a true freshman in the fall of '08.

The consequences of this cannot be overstated. Jags has announced, loud and clear, that BC is back as a player on the national recruiting scene. With one high-profile domino having fallen, who will be next?? 4-star LB Brendan Beal?? Virginian EJ Manuel, the #2 QB in the country who listed BC's coaching staff as the most impressive on he met with at a combine a few weeks ago?? Manuel's close friend, 5-star WR Deion Walker?? Or Haden's high school teammate, the 37th-ranked recruit in the country according to Rivals, WR/DB/RB Lamaar Thomas??

Either way, an already exciting era in BC football just got much more exciting. Congratulations and welcome to BC, Josh.

Two New Commits

2007-06-09T13:24:00.000-04:00

Good news for BC fans yesterday as the 2008 recruiting class doubled in size with the verbals of two new recruits, including probably the class' best prospect to date. First up was sleeper prospect Christian Klein of Montvale, NJ, a high school TE/DE whose ultimate position at BC is unclear. His 40 time of 4.85 seconds at only 6'3/235 lbs is somewhat concerning, and he may end up bulking up and playing center. Unless Klein significantly bulks up or drops his 40 time, my feeling is that he ends up at fullback.

The bigger news came later in the day when Klein's teammate, highly-touted OT Patrick Neumann, gave BC his verbal. Klein, one of BC's top offensive line targets, picked BC over an offer from FSU and with several other top programs, including Miami and Louisville, getting ready to offer. Neumann is an excellent prospect, likely to be rated as a high 3-star recruit, and will continue BC's tradition of quality offensive linemen.

The new recruits' high school, St. Joe's in Montvale, is also the alma mater of former Eagles Vinny Ciurciu and Augie Hoffman; New Jersey's Catholic schools are stocked with football talent and have provided BC with a great deal of talent over the years; we got away from recruiting New Jersey somewhat in the latter years of the Tom O'Brien area, so it's good to see those pipelines up and running again.

Hockey Updates

2007-06-05T23:28:00.000-04:00

A few stories that have come to light in the past few days:

-BC has landed highly sought-after recruit Devon MacAusland out of New Brunswick. MacAusland, a small but speedy and tenacious winger, will arrive in 2009 and seems to be cut in the mold of players like Nate Gerbe and the Gionta brothers; good to know we'll have more of those guys rolling in

-It is being reported that BC commit Barry Almeida will remain in the USHL another year and not report to BC until 2008. Probably good news, as this will give him additional time to improve his game as well as recover from a bad eye injury suffered last fall

-It appears that a deal has been reached to save the UMass-Lowell hockey program, at least for one more season. The River Hawks program, which was in danger of losing funding from the UMass board of trustees due to the exorbitant rental fees paid to the city for the use of Tsongas Arena, will be given a stay of execution as the parties involved try to hammer out a new, long-term deal. Good news for BC fans, as Lowell is a fairly easy road trip from Boston and a nice place to watch a game (albeit in the middle of freaking nowhere) in front of what is usually a pro-BC crowd

-BC's 2007-08 schedule has not yet been released, but as other schools publish theirs we can start to piece our upcoming season together. What we know so far:

10/12 - Michigan (tournament in Minneapolis)
10/13 - Minnesota/RPI (tournament in Minneapolis)
10/19 - North Dakota
10/21 - at Vermont
10/23 - Northeastern
11/10 - at UNH
11/16 - at UMass
11/17 - UMass
December - Christmas tournament in Minneapolis vs. St. Lawrence, Minnesota/RIT
1/5 - at Clarkson
1/11 - Vermont
1/12 - Vermont
1/18 - at Lowell
2/4 - BU (Beanpot)
2/8 - at UMass
2/11 - Harvard/Northeastern (Beanpot)
2/15 - Lowell
2/16 - at Lowell
2/22 - UNH
2/23 - at UNH
3/7 - Northeastern
3/8 - at Northeastern

BC by the Positions - QB

2007-05-21T16:18:00.000-04:00

Bring Back Margo!!

2007-05-18T16:17:00.000-04:00

A sad day in Baton Rouge today as Mike V, LSU's live tiger mascot, has passed away. While offering my condolences to LSU fans, I'm going to use this as an opportunity to call on BC to bring back Margo, the live mascot owned by BC for 5 years in the 60s. Live mascots are undeniably cool; there's just something about having a actual animal in the stadium supporting the team, whether it's Mike, Texas' Bevo, or West Virginia's mountaineer. The Golden Eagle is not an endangered species, can be found in the wild in New England, and is trainable (the species is used for hunting in Kyrgyzstan, apparently). While BC's capability to suitably care for a live bird may have been in question in the 1960s, I highly doubt that it would be an issue today, given the vastly improved resources available to the school. I'm not saying we should get rid of Baldwin (although if I never see his inflatable "son" again it will be a day too early), but we should have a live eagle as well. Get on it, Gene D.

Jacksonville.com is reporting today that the ACC Championship Game bidding process is currently down to 3 finalists; Jacksonville, Tampa, and Charlotte. Allow me to throw my voice in with the "anyplace but Jacksonville" crowd. I've never been there, but I've never heard anything good from anyone who has. Moreover, it's an SEC city, and a difficult one to fly into at that. My first choice for the game would be Charlotte, which is in the heart of ACC country and, as a US Airways hub, easy to fly into from anywhere in the country; but Tampa would be fine too. I spent about half a day in Tampa the weekend of the Florida State game last fall and had a pretty good time sitting on the deckside bar at an Applebee's, the place packed with my fellow Philadelphia Eagles fans, waiting for the Flyers-Lightning game to start. Either Tampa or Charlotte would be great. But please, no more Jacksonville.

105 days to kickoff....that's exactly 3.5 months. The season is almost upon us.

Ranking the ACC's OOC

2007-05-15T22:19:00.000-04:00

After a few years of mostly boring OOC play in the ACC (apart from the traditional end-of-season ACC vs. SEC rivalries), we've finally got some good matchups this year. One man's ranking of the ACC's out-of-conference strength of schedule:

1. Florida State
Alabama-Birmingham (9/8), @Colorado (9/15), Alabama (9/29 - in Jacksonville), @Florida (11/24)
Brutal. Florida is, well, Florida--the Gators beat the Seminoles 21-14 last year in a game that was not as close as the score indicated, and beating them in Gainesville isn't going to be any easier, although FSU should be a much improved team and Tim Tebow still needs to prove that he can run Urban Meyer's offense on his own. The Alabama game should be a great neutral-site game against Nick Saban's squad, and while Colorado is coming off an awful year, they're still a team that made the Big 12 championship game the year before last and should be improved under second-year coach Dan Hawkins.
Prediction: 3-1

2. Miami
Marshall (9/1), @Oklahoma (9/8), Florida International (9/15), Texas A&M (9/20)
While the media attention will be focused on Brawl Bowl II, the mid-September matchup against the Golden Panthers, a pair of tough Big 12 opponents loom in Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Look for the 'Canes to split their tougher OOC games and handle the weaklings with ease.
Prediction: 3-1

3. Virginia Tech
East Carolina (9/1), @LSU (9/8), Ohio University (9/15), William & Mary (9/22)
Not much there other than a trip to Baton Rouge, but a trip to Baton Rouge is enough to earn the Hokies the ACC's 3rd toughest OOC slate. Forget Tennessee-Cal and Oregon-Michigan; this is the best intersectional matchup of the year. I think the Hokies are going to be a great team this year; but I think LSU wins the national title, so I have to go with the Tigers here. Eastern Carolina and Ohio are a couple of tough mid-major teams headed in the right direction under Skip Holtz and Frank Solich respectively; Virginia Tech won't be able to take them likely, but should be able to dispatch them, particularly the Pirates on what will be an emotional day in Blacksburg on September 1.
Prediction: 3-1

4. North Carolina
James Madison (9/1), @East Carolina (9/8), @South Florida (9/22), South Carolina (10/13)
No real screamers here, but three opponents that are getting better every year. Apart from the aforementioned Pirates, who are never easy to play in Greenville, South Florida was perhaps the unsung surprise of the Big East last year, going 9-4 last year with road wins over West Virginia and UNC. And of course the Steve Spurrier-Butch Davis matchup will be a classic. I think Davis is able to rehabilitate the Tar Heels fairly quickly and they navigate their way to a 3-1 record in this challenging slate, with the loss coming to a surprising ECU team.
Prediction: 3-1

5. Georgia Tech
@Notre Dame (9/1), Samford (9/8), Army (10/20), Georgia (11/24)
Notre Dame loses a lot this year, and I expect the Yellow Jackets to avenge last year's loss with a victory in South Bend. The big question mark is Georgia--Tech has dropped 5 in a row to the hated Bulldogs. The Jackets don't graduate many starters, but one of the guys they do lose, new Detroit Lion Calvin Johnson, is a big one (of course, the loss of QB Reggie Ball could be a case of addition by subtraction). Will this be the year they finally turn it around against a Georgia team that was talented but wildly inconsistent last year??
Prediction: 4-0

6. Maryland
Villanova (9/1), Florida International (9/8), West Virginia (9/13), @Rutgers (9/29)
Maryland will benefit greatly from the opportunity to open against a pair of cupcakes, as they'll need to be clicking on all cylinders by the time the Mountaineers come to town. If new QB Jordan Steffy is even solid he should have no problem airing it out to stud wideout Darius Howard-Bey and lighting up the woeful WVU defense, but I'm even more skeptical about the Terripans' ability to stop West Virginia's dynamic attack. I'm calling this one for the Mountaineers right now, but reserve the right to change my pick if Steffy (or Josh Portis) can step it up. I do think Maryland will have better luck against a more traditional Rutgers team.
Prediction: 3-1

7. Wake Forest
Nebraska (9/8), Army (9/15), @Navy (10/20), @Vanderbilt (11/24)
Repeating last year's miracle campaign will be no easy task for Jim Grobe's crew, which faces two tough tests right off the bat; after opening up the season here in Chestnut Hill, they then head home to face a Nebraska squad that has steadily improved over the last 2 years under Bill Callahan. Of particular interest will be the matchup in Annapolis between probably the two best misdirection offense coaches in the game today, Grobe and Navy's Paul Johnson. Unfortunately for Wake, they won't be able to sneak up on anyone this year; but they're a good team nonetheless and they'll get their wins.
Prediction: 3-1

8. Duke
UConn (9/1), @Northwestern (9/15), @Navy (9/22), @Notre Dame (11/17)
The season-opener against the Huskies is a golden opportunity for Duke to get their first win since September 2005, and first against a D1A opponent since November 2004. I think they'll capitalize; but as for the other three games, forget about it.
Prediction: 1-3

9. NC State
Central Florida (9/1), Wofford (9/15), Louisville (9/29), @East Carolina (10/20)
This is one place where a BC fan might have more luck predicting NC State's outcomes than a Wolfpack fan would. When Tom O'Brien is in town, WTF losses are sure to follow; and Central Florida just reeks of "WTF game" to me. O'Brien will be too focused on BC the following week and won't have his team ready to go, they'll take the Golden Knights lightly, and NC State fans will for the first time realize that we might've been on to something for the last couple of years. Remember that TOB opened his tenure at BC by losing to Temple; so a loss to UCF is far from out of the question. Meanwhile, Louisville is a legitimate top 10 team; East Carolina is tough, but I do think the 'Pack will put them away.
Prediction: 2-2

10. BC
Army (9/22), UMass (9/29), Bowling Green (10/6), @Notre Dame (10/13)
A bit of an odd schedule, as BC opens up with 3 straight conference games before knocking out all 4 OOC matchups in a row. While Bowling Green is not a team that should be taken lightly (particularly given who we play the following week), everyone knows that the big red circle is drawn around the following week, when the only Catholic schools in D1A resume playing after a 2-year hiatus. At risk of being hubristic, I don't think this will be the close, thrilling contest we've gotten used to in the BC-Notre Dame series. Notre Dame is losing a ton of talent to graduation; while they are a well-coached team, they're simply going to be too inexperienced next year to be a threat to the tougher teams on their schedule, and that includes one of the most talented BC teams in history. If Charlie Weis can win 8 games with the team he has next year, it will have been the best coaching job he's done to date in South Bend. Nonetheless, next year is not a good year for the Domers to resume this series (unfortunately, the situation looks to be reversed in 2008, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it).
Prediction: 4-0

11. Virginia
@Wyoming (9/1), Pitt (9/29), @Middle Tennessee State (10/6), UConn (10/13)
Possibly the most bizarre OOC slate ever scheduled by a decent BCS program. Who the hell plays at Wyoming and Middle Tennessee State?? In any event, despite the bizarre scheduling, the only real threat here is Pitt; and I don't expect the Panthers to amount to much next year without Tyler Palko.
Prediction: 4-0

12. Clemson
Louisiana-Monroe (9/8), Furman (9/15), Central Michigan (10/20), @South Carolina (11/24)
Central Michigan was a very good team last year, as BC found out, but graduated most of their best players along with their coach; Clemson should be able to take care of them. While I think this will be somewhat of a down year for the Tigers, I think they'll get their revenge on Spurrier in Columbia.
Prediction: 4-0

Projected ACC records vs. Conferences:
Sun Belt - 4-0
MAC - 3-0
MWC - 1-0
Independents - 6-2
Big East - 5-2
SEC - 5-2
Conference USA - 4-2
Big 12 - 2-2
Big Ten - 0-1
(D1AA - 7-0)

37-11 Overall
30-11 vs. D1A
15-7 vs. BCS/Notre Dame

Post your thoughts in the comments section.

Odds and Ends

2007-05-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't updated much in the last week or so, finals have been killing me.

First off the bat, Bill will be a special guest on EDSBS radio tonight, sharing his thoughts on the state of the BC program (at least I'm assuming that's what he'll be doing). Check it out at 7:30 Eastern.

Recruiting keeps chugging along, with BC currently holding a pair of commitments from local recruits, RB Isaac Johnson and OT/DE Nick Halloran (no relation to former Eagles QB Shawn, at least as far as anyone I've asked is aware). I'll have a better update on recruiting probably later this week.

Good move for Al Skinner's squad picking up Vermont transfer Joe Trapani. He's not likely to be a starter (when everyone is healthy, which is a rarity at BC), but should be a solid contributor after sitting out his transfer year.

Finally, a few hockey notes: First, UNH has released their 2007-08 schedule; BC will take on the Wildcats on Nov. 10th and Feb. 23rd in Durham and at home on Feb. 22nd. Second, you've probably all seen Sunday's Globe by now, but there is an interesting blurb on the prospect of Cory Schneider returning to the Heights; I have a good feeling about this one. Finally, BC is hot on the trail of Halifax forward/pitcher Steven Anthony, who hopes to play both hockey and baseball at the NCAA level. Assuming he gets clearance to play both sports at BC (and is good enough to play baseball at the ACC level; I've heard that he's not as good a baseball prospect as hockey, but not sure whether he's good enough to play for BC), you have to love BC's chances to get him, considering that we're one of very few schools to play both sports at a high level.

Glasper Speaks

2007-05-01T13:43:00.000-04:00

Although graduating BC safety Ryan Glasper had already told the story of his senior season in an NFL Radio interview a week or so ago, it hadn't received much national attention. That has just changed. In an interview with Alan Grant (who apparently moonlights as a sports journalist when not evading T-Rexes and velociraptors) of ESPN's Page 2, Glasper relates the conversation he had with Tom O'Brien after last year's loss to NC State:

"How's your hip?" he asked.
"It's coming along," Glasper replied.
"You'd better hurry your ass up," O'Brien said. "Because you only have eight games left in your college career."
The coach could have forgotten. Once the season starts, coaches are busy and distracted and often lose sight of details that don't pertain to next week's game. Maybe the coach needed to be reminded of the details. So the player reminded him.
"I'm redshirting," Glasper said.
"No, you've been cleared by the doctor to play," O'Brien said. "You're choosing not to play."
Glasper was shocked into silence. But O'Brien continued.
"I hold the keys to what you do," the coach said. "We don't have to grant you a fifth year. Besides, I can't count on you."
Glasper seethes at the retelling of the story.
"I respect all people and I've always been a team player," Glasper says. "But when he said all that, I just wanted to punch that dude."

So to recap, BC Nation:

Breaking a promise to a snakebitten senior QB that he would be the starter when there is a clearly superior, younger QB and your senior is costing the other 84 guys on your team games right and left = Not OK

Breaking a promise to redshirt a senior who has sweated, bled, and gave his all for your team for the past 4 years so that he can heal up and be able to perform to the best of his ability in his final year of eligibility = OK

As furious as I am about O'Brien's treatment of a true BC Guy (the article also contains a lot of interesting information on Glasper's background that I hadn't been aware of), I'm equally happy that this fucking fraud is finally being exposed in the national media for what he is. There's now no doubt in my mind not only that he simply stopped trying to win in about 2004 or 2005, knowing that it wouldn't be long before he'd be out of town, but that he deliberately attempted to sabotage the team so that he would look better in comparison to his successor.

BC should send a copy of this article to every kid we are competing with the Wolfpack for, and I hope Butch Davis or Skip Holtz or Brian Kelly or whoever sends out copies to every kid NC State is after, even players that BC isn't in the mix for. There is no possible way that anyone could want to play for Tom O'Backstabber after reading that.

Thank God that douchebag is gone.

Spring Forward

2007-04-28T19:19:00.000-04:00

In an effort to keep my mind off the fact that the Eagles just drafted fucking Kevin Kolb 36th overall, I'll share some thoughts on today's spring game.

I was very happy with what happened today. Both units clicked and played well for the most part, although I felt the defense had the slightly better day. Before the game, I attended the Gridiron Club breakfast at Conte (sat with BJ Raji - great guy), and Jags mentioned that at the conclusion of every team meeting, he asks the question "What are you here for??". The answer is "championships". In his brief speech, Jags went out of his way to mention his belief that anything less than a championship this season will be a disappointment. Seriously, how can you not love this guy?? Tobias never even BELIEVED we could win a championship, and he sure as hell was too scared to say something like that publicly and raise expectations. The days of excuse making, expectation managing, and an air of arrogance around the Yawkey Center are over. The Jags Era has begun. Raji mentioned to me that the new coaching staff is far more personable and hands-on than the old regime, and while we all kind of knew that already, it still impresses me to see, for lack of a better word, how happy all the players that I've talked to--whether it was Raji today, the guys I ran into in the Philadelphia airport a few days before the bowl game, or guys I just see around campus--seem to be under the new staff.

The game itself was fairly boring from a detached perspective, but there were a lot of very interesting things. The offense, as I expected would be for this game, was pretty vanilla--more aggressive than it had been under Dana Bible, but nothing really fancy. No misdirection plays or anything like that, although I think we'll see that sort of stuff slowly work its way into the playbook come fall.

What impressed me more than anything else was the play of Matt Ryan. I'm not talking about his stats, which were impressive but not overly so (19-33, 233 yards, 1 TD). He simply has "it". As good as he was last year, his pocket presence and decision making today looked vastly improved over what we saw previously. This kid is going to be a top 10 draft pick a year from now, and has a chance to go #1 overall. He has all the tools, and now he's got a real QB coach as well. He is simply going to be stellar this year. Chris Crane was also solid--we're in good hands come 2008. One thing that largely got unnoticed but impressed me about Crane was his poise in calling a timeout to prevent an illegal substitution penalty on a field goal attempt. Those are the type of heads-up decisions you need your QB to be able to make, and they can win and lose games.

Staying in the backfield, I was very pleasantly surprised with the play of the RBs. All 4 backs saw time with both offensive units, although LV Whitworth and Andre Callender got most of the first-team reps. Callender was the best of the running backs, but Whitworth really surprised me. He appears to have lost about 15-20 pounds, and was noticeably faster and quicker today than he's been since his freshman year. He could finally be ready to be a solid BCS-caliber back. See what happens when you get a real strength and conditioning coach instead of Yoga Boy?? Jeff Smith saw quite a few reps at RB and generally looked good, although his fumble concerned me. He's obviously got blazing speed, but I still question his vision a little bit. There were a few plays today where he kind of just ran into the line of scrimmage where there was nothing available. Particularly with the new blocking scheme, he needs to learn to sit back a little bit and wait for a hole to open up (and if nothing does, to use his speed and bounce outside). But he's still learning. Not only is it only his second year in the program, it's only his second year playing RB (he was a QB in high school). I think he'll see increased reps on offense this year, and by about next year he'll really start putting it together and excelling. AJ Brooks also looked good, and I still think he's got a great shot to be our starting RB in the fall.

The receivers were a mixed bag. Kevin Challenger didn't play, and it seemed like Brandon Robinson came down with the ball more than half the time Ryan put it up. Clarence Megwa had a solid game and I still say he'll be considered one of BC's greatest ever wideouts by the time he graduates. The tight ends were solid but unspectacular. Jordon McMichael had one or two bad drops which worried me, but did a great job getting open and also was a pleasant surprise blocking. I don't think he'll unseat Ryan Purvis as our #1 TE this year, but he'll see the field quite a bit. The big surprise to me was the play of Billy Flutie, who underwhelmed me as a punter (I don't think he's good enough to be "the guy" after Johnny Ayers graduates) but had a very nice game at wideout. Good enough to play the position at the ACC level?? I'm not sure, but he's definitely worth some more looks. Incidentally, I was lucky enough to meet his uncle during halftime:

The starting offensive line impressed me. There were a couple more penalties than I would've liked (including a pair of false starts on Pat Sheil), but I think a lot of that is a matter of adjusting to the new scheme. From left to right you had Gosder Cherilus, Ryan Poles, Matt Tennant, Kevin Sheridan/Nick Rossi (the two split time at RG), and Sheil. The second string was not so good. They seemingly got bowled over by the defensive line every other play, particularly in run blocking (making it fairly difficult to properly evaluate the backs running behind the second unit, mainly Brooks and Smith). You actually had Anthony Castonzo, a true freshman who enrolled in school early, as the second-string right tackle. From left to right the second-string line was Richard Lapham, Ty Hall, Sheridan, Carlos Huggins, and Castonzo. Clif Ramsey, Tom Anevski, and backup center Bryan Murphy were out with injury, and we need those guys to stay healthy this fall. I do think we have a lot of talent on the offensive line, we just don't have a great deal of depth. Particularly when you've got a complex blocking scheme, offensive line is a position where you don't want to have to rely on true freshmen to play. Although a guy like Mark Spinney (who was in attendance today) or John Elliott probably could play right away and hang at the ACC level if needed, it's better to have guys stay healthy and be able to rely on your veterans. That said, these guys have the whole summer to heal up, so I think we'll be OK come fall; but I'd be lying if I said this doesn't worry me, particularly when looking ahead to the Georgia Tech game in Atlanta on September 15. 2 years ago, playing at Clemson the same time of the year, we had great success rotating the second-string offensive linemen in and out to minimize the effects of the heat. We might not have the depth to do the same thing against the Yellow Jackets, at least not to the same extent, this time around.

On the other hand, not as much to say about the defense. As expected, it was more aggressive than we'd been used to in the older days, but the same basic scheme. Kevin Akins was still at LB, which I wasn't too happy about, but I still think he'll move into the secondary in the fall. The LB corps was great--JoLonn Dunbar had a superb game, as expected, but Robert Francois and Mark Herzlich really stood out to me. Tyronne Pruitt is an excellent player, but I honestly rate both Francois and Herzlich ahead of him at this point in time. I asked Raji at the team breakfast if he expected Brian Toal to be back this season, and he more or less said that it's too early to say. I was pleased with the pressure the defense was getting on the QBs, and I also liked the play of the defensive tackles. Thomas Claiborne needs to lose some weight, but if he does he has potential to be as good as Raji. Very talented player. The secondary looked pretty good (and congrats to Jamie Silva on receiving the Jay McGillis scholarshp), although at the risk of beating a dead horse, it'll be even better with Kevin Akins back there. Tough injury to redshirt freshman Chris Fox, word is that he broke his ankle, I'd expect he'll be ready to go in the fall. Razzie Smith had a solid game, and I'm a little more comfortable about our depth at CB than I had been, although we still could do better. I wouldn't be surprised to see DeLeon Gause play some this year.

The major thing that disappointed me was the crowd. Absolutely beautiful day (mid-60s), new coaching staff, a reason to finally be excited about BC football and the best we can do is 5-6k?? I don't buy Tobias' excuses about BC having a bad fanbase, but I do think that a lot of BC fans just don't get the whole college football thing yet. They'll show up for the real games, but a lot of them probably don't even know what a spring game is. Although it should be said that the baseball game going on next door was siphoning off a number of fans.

All in all, an excellent day, at least until the Eagles' draft pick. I literally could not possibly be more excited for this season. I'll have some more thoughts in the coming days as I have time to think about and digest what I saw a little bit more. Long live Jags.

As for the draft, no BC players have yet been taken, but I expect that Josh Beekman and James Marten will both go before the day is out.

Spring Game - What to Look For

2007-04-26T15:17:00.001-04:00

For those of you heading to the spring game on Saturday, here are a few things to keep an eye on:

-The New Offense
How is it looking?? Jags mentioned in his interview on WEEI this morning that Matt Ryan is doing a great job picking up the new scheme, but how is the rest of the squad faring?? While I expect the game plan on Saturday to be fairly vanilla compared to what we'll see this season (as there will be scouts from every team on our schedule in attendance), I do think you'll see a wrinkle here and there, maybe some simple misdirection plays, to show the crowd that the days of TOB are over. I'm also looking forward to seeing the extent and manner to which tight ends are utilized in Jags' system.

-Position Battles
Despite returning 16 starters (not including kickers) from last year's team, there will be quite a few spots up for grabs. Of course, with the possible exception of the offensive line situation (which I will talk about in detail below), the most attention is being paid to the RB spot. Although LV Whitworth is the incumbent starter and by most accounts has been getting a plurality of snaps in spring ball so far, most BC fans expect him to get a serious challenge from Andre Callender, AJ Brooks, and Jeff Smith. I've been saying ever since his breakout performance as a true freshman against Wake Forest that AJ Brooks is the most talented (not to mention, at least until Smith came along, speediest) back on our roster, and while I believe he will ultimately win the starting job, it'll be interesting to see what happens on Saturday. If I had to guess, I'd expect the three older backs to get a more or less equal number of touches, with Smith also seeing the field quite a bit but in a variety of roles, including being split out.

It'll also be interesting to see what happens at LB with Brian Toal out for the game (and his return for the season questionable). The two leading candidates to replace Toal have to be sophomore Mark Herzlich and junior Robert Francois, and it's impossible to say which of the two will get the nod. In fact, you could see both taking the field with the starting unit if one of them (Herzlich has the better body for it) can beat out Tyrone Pruitt for the starting SAM position. This would get BC's 3 best LBs on the field--Pruitt is a very good player, but not as good as Herzlich or Francois--but playing the strong side is a different beast from the middle or weak side, and it would require some adjustment on the part of whoever made the switch.

Speaking of LBs, will Kevin Akins stay there or will he move back to safety, a move that many BC fans have been calling for for a while?? Early interviews with coaches seem to hint that he'll stay as a situational blitzing LB, but I'm hoping to see him moved back, mainly to get him on the field as an every-down player. Switching his primary position to safety doesn't mean that you can't still deploy him as a pass-rushing LB situationally, and there's little doubt in my mind that he's a future first-round NFL draft pick at S if given time to learn the situation. He's already proven that he can cover like a CB and hit like a LB. Moreover, we're losing one of the leaders of our secondary in Ryan Glasper, and--the fiasco regarding this that has come to light in the past few days notwithstanding--we all saw how the secondary played last year in the first 4 games of the season before Glasper's return. While I liked what I saw from then-true freshman Wes Davis last year and while Marcellus Bowman has apparently been impressing in practices, getting a guy like Akins back there would be a tremendous stabilizing force for the entire secondary. Additionally, I have serious concern about our depth at CB, so we need all the talent in the secondary that we can get.

-Offensive Line
Uncharacteristically for a BC team, this might be the biggest question mark heading into the season. You have both personnel issues and scheme issues here. As pleased as I am that Gosder Cherilus has moved to LT (a move that should've been made a year ago), the rest of the line is still a question mark. Although I think we have both depth and talent at the tackle position (something that will not be affected in the long run by the injury to Clif Ramsey, who should only be out about 3 weeks), the interior of the line concerns me. Kevin Sheridan was underwhelming last year at center and will need to seriously improve this year. Who will even take over the guard positions?? Early reports indicate that Tom Anevski has been playing RG with the first team, and the LG could be a guy like Ryan Poles or Pat Sheil. I'd be fine with any combination of those 3, but behind them there's little depth (Ty Hall is a very useful utility OL, but has never impressed me as a starting-caliber player). Likewise, reports are that Sheil and Ramsey were battling it out for the starting RT job, and Ramsey's injury could give the inside track to Sheil, although I wouldn't mind seeing Richard Lapham, who will likely be our starting LT for the next 3 years, get a shot at the job in order to get his feet wet as a starter against ACC competition.

And is talent even the most important thing here?? Chemistry is extremely important for OL play in any circumstance, and especially now with Jags teaching his zone-blocking system to the team. As Herb Brooks said, "It's not about finding the best guys, it's about finding the right ones." While talent is important, the guys who will start against Wake Forest on Sept. 1 are the guys who can pick up the new system and mesh together as a cohesive unit. It'll be very interesting to see what happens.

-The Defense
All indications are that Spaz's unit will be more aggressive than it has been in recent years, which is a great thing. Like the offense, I expect them to go fairly vanilla on Saturday, but we should be able to see a thing or two. Aside from the personnel questions I mentioned previously, I'm particularly excited to see how the defense responds to the new offense (which will test it more than Dana Bible's ever did) and whether or not we finally start jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage.

-Wide Receivers
I've been saying since the spring game last year that Clarence Megwa will be a stud wideout for BC sooner rather than later. He showed some flashes of it last year, and I expect that this will be his breakout year. Will anyone put on a similar performance on Saturday?? Ryan Lindsey was a guy a lot of people were excited about, but his ACL injury means we'll have to wait until this time next year to see what he can do. Justin Jarvis, the 6'5 sophomore whose redshirt was criminally burned last year by O'Brien only to play in meaningless games against Maine and Duke, has a lot of promise as a solid red-zone threat but isn't the type of guy who's likely to have a true breakout game. Warren Wilson, a 6'1 redshirt freshman from New Hampshire, on the other hand, is a guy I'll be keeping my eye on.

-Crowd/Enthusiasm
Assuming the weather holds up (which it looks like it will), I'm expecting the best crowd for a BC spring game in years. With the new coaching staff in place, the days of Toby-ball are over and we finally have a team that we (and by "we" I mean "those of you who aren't delusionally optimistic alcoholics") can get excited about. Tom O'Brien said that it's impossible to win at BC because we have a small and apathetic fan base. Let's get out there on Saturday and prove him wrong.

-Recruits
Tommy Reamon Jr. will be in town for the game, but will any other recruits be?? I haven't seen anything as of yet, but if you have, please add it in the comments section.

I'll be at the coaches' breakfast on Saturday before having a few brews and heading to the game. I'll probably be in either the Edmonds lot, the Mod lot, or the Beacon garage (depending on weather and weather or not we want to keep an eye on the baseball game), I've got a ridiculously beat-up red Taurus station wagon with Pennsylvania plates and US flag and Philadelphia Eagles stickers, feel free to say hi.

Bicknell's Back

2007-04-26T11:57:00.000-04:00

Not the former head coach, but his son--Jack Bicknell Jr., who played C for the Eagles during the Doug Flutie years, has returned to BC to replace the departed Jim Turner as OL coach. Bicknell, who will also be the team's assistant HC, was the head guy at Louisiana Tech for several years (where he sent 22 players to the NFL in 8 years and notched up wins over Alabama, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Boise State, and the same 2005 Fresno State team that nearly took down USC), fired after a disappointing campaign last season, but quickly found work as OL coach at Texas Tech.

This is simply a great hire. Bicknell is a very good coach, a BC Guy, and should do a great job at the Heights. We couldn't have done any better. (And what was that about BC being a horrible place to coach?? We just hired a coach, albeit a BC alum, away from a very good BCS program for a lateral position.) Welcome back, Jack.

Turner Out??

2007-04-20T23:21:00.000-04:00

Well it turns out I was wrong and the rumor-mongering this morning was on to something, as OL coach Jim Turner has apparently resigned (or plans to in the near future), according to the Globe. Jags, an O-line guru himself, will take over for the time being. Unclear on whether Turner is leaving on his own or was "asked" to resign by the head man, and it is equally unclear what the fallout of this development, if any, will be.

This could mean any one of a number of things. It could mean that Turner was butting heads with Jags and/or Logan. It could mean that Turner's hire, which was something of a "reach", wasn't working. It could be some sort of personal or family issue on Turner's end. Or it could be something entirely different altogether.

The short-term implications are two-fold. First, as mentioned earlier, Jags will be directly coaching the O-line until Turner's replacement is found. I actually think this will benefit the OL unit, as Jags has coached the position at a higher level than Turner has and is considered an offensive line innovator even at the NFL level; but as head coach Jags is forced to wear many hats both on and off the sideline, and we have to hope that this won't force him to divert too much attention away from his other responsibilities.

Second, the impact it will have on recruiting has yet to be seen. Although it is unclear exactly which recruits Turner has been working on, based on what we believe have been the various coaches' areas of responsibility, Turner's area of responsibility is eastern Pennsylvania including Philadelphia, plus Northern Florida. (That said, RB Richard Watson from Tallahassee has specifically mentioned talking to Ben Sirmans; however, it is unclear whether this is because Sirmans is recruiting him or because he would be Watson's position coach at BC.) You also have to assume that he's been playing a part with any OL recruits.

Impossible to say just yet how the fallout from this will impact BC's season.

Unrest at Yawkey Center??

2007-04-20T16:47:00.000-04:00

The message boards have been lighting up today with rumors, first posted early this morning, that a member of the BC's athletic department, possibly connected to the football team, may have quit.

Yeah. That's all there is.

Someone tossed out the name of Barry Gallup as a hypothetical, not even a legitimate rumor, and within minutes news spread like wildfire of the imminent departure of our Director of Football Operations.

Settle down, people. I'll go on the record here as saying that I don't really think there's anything to this at all. In my opinion, if there was, we'd have heard at least a rumor (a legit rumor, not a hypothetical that people misinterpreted and ran with) of a name by now.

Stay tuned and I'll be updating on here as the situation develops, but I really don't think it's anything.

Disturbing Google Phrase of the Week: Some dude in the UK (what is it with these Brits??) somehow found FHMAM by searching the phrase "men who like a kick in the balls". I wish I was kidding.

Fuck you, TOB

2007-04-16T01:44:00.000-04:00

From the Raleigh News & Observer:

"At BC, nine or 10 wins a year was about as good as you could do," O'Brien said. "The sky is the limit here. We're not here to win nine or 10 a year. We're here to win more."

No, asshole, 9-10 wins a year was the best YOU could do at BC, because you pissed away numerous chances each year to win more through your horrible personnel decisions and even worse playcalling. The only reason you won as much as you did was because of the incredible character and "all-for-one-ism" of the kids on your team. You won't have that advantage in Raleigh. You'll be lucky to win 8 a year.

Sept. 8, 2007 cannot come soon enough. I hope Jags and Logan have about 1000 printouts of this article hanging all over the locker room in the Yawkey Center by first thing tomorrow morning. And then I hope they hang about 80 points on that jackass. No need to worry about the defense, as Deep Sea Dana will be lucky to hang double digits on Spaz's crew.

I've been saying ever since we were sent to Charlotte last December that BC is not going to be given any quarter by the ACC, so we need to take it for ourselves--come out, kick people in the face and stomp on their junk. Figuratively, of course. Any chance we get to run up the score on an ACC foe, we should do it. And that goes double for the Wolfpack. Fuck Tom O'Brien, fuck the culture of mediocrity he instilled at BC for all those years, fuck the Kool Aid we drank for all those years believing he was a good coach. The JAGS era has begun--and come autumn, BC will be storming through the south in a manner that would make General Sherman proud.

Jags to throw out first pitch at Fenway tonight

2007-04-13T14:39:00.000-04:00

7:05 start vs. the Angels. If you're gonna be there, let's give him a great welcome.

I'll have some updates on spring ball and recruiting in the coming days.

Worst Loss Ever

2007-04-08T15:14:00.000-04:00

After consideration, I've come to the conclusion that that was the most painful loss of my life. Not even as a BC fan--with any team. Think about that for a second; I'm a Philadelphia sports fan.

Syracuse. Miami. Wake Forest (over and over again). Wisconsin a year ago. Maine in the 2004 Frozen Four. Villanova. All those Eagles NFC Championship Games. The Eagles-Pats Super Bowl. Flyers-Lightning in the playoffs the year before the lockout. US-Ghana in the World Cup. Hell, I'll even throw in the time last year when one of the hottest girls I've ever seen gave me her number and I accidentally deleted it from my phone 30 minutes after leaving the party.

Last night topped all of them.

(No, I didn't forget Joe Carter's home run. I was a Blue Jays fan growing up because the first major league game I went to was in Toronto, and although I cheered for the Phillies when they played anyone else, I actually got to celebrate that one.)

I'm not even going to go into detail about the game because it's just going to piss me off even more. Maybe in a few days, but not now.

I just want to commiserate about what a fucking kick in the balls that was. I've honestly never
been more hurt by any sporting event in my entire life.

Last night was one of those nights where I would've given anything to just not give a shit about sports at all. To be able to see the game, say "Eh, that sucks" afterwards, and continue with my life. There's no logical reason why I continue to subject myself to this. Yet I know that come October I'll be right back there in Conte Forum (in spirit, if I can't make it in person) truly believing that this year it'll be different. Same deal with Alumni Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field in September. I wish I could just switch off and stop caring and invest my time, money, energy, and emotions into something that isn't going to end up turning around and taking a sledgehammer to my balls at the end of the day, but it is what it is.

And still almost 3 weeks until the spring game?? This fucking sucks.

60 Minutes to Glory

2007-04-07T12:25:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is folks. The day we've been waiting for since October, and in many ways even since that heartbreaking night in Milwaukee a year ago. As I've been predicting all season, BC will take the ice tonight in our second consecutive national championship game, hoping to win the second national championship of Jerry York's tenure at the Heights.

(photo from Grand Forks Herald)

While this team isn't as star-studded as that 2001 team, the Eagles will still be the heavy favorites tonight. Michigan State is a tough team that will have a good amount of insight into BC's play, having defeated BC's two biggest rivals as well as a Notre Dame team that demolished BC back in November en route to the title game.

Hell, I'll be perfectly honest here--facing an overwhelming underdog team that happens to be named the Spartans just a few weeks after "300" came out can't possibly be good karma. I'm very superstitious when it comes to these things, as regular FHMAM readers know, and I'd be lying if I said that this didn't worry me considerably.

Although they're not red-hot to the extent that BC is and North Dakota was, Michigan State is playing very good hockey right now. They play a gritty, defensive style somewhat similar to BU (without the thuggery). Jeff Lerg is a very good goaltender, and he'll need to have a great game if the Spartans want to have a chance in this one. Michigan State's blue line is somewhat questionable, but they have a number of good forwards, most notably Bryan Lerg (who led the team with 23 goals this season) and Tim Kennedy (17 goals, 41 points).

However, the Spartans need to come out firing in this one. They can't go down 2-0 early as they did against Maine; BC is too good to let them get away with that.

From BC's perspective, the key is to just keep doing what we've been doing. Play our game. BC is too talented to lose this game as long as we play physical, play smart, and do what we do best. Like MSU, BC also needs to come out firing; we've played poorly in the first period of each of our 3 NCAA tournament games, and against North Dakota it nearly cost us. The Sioux are better than Michigan State, but we've come too far and overcome too much adversity this year to start taking things for granted now.

This is the last game in a BC jersey for Brian Boyle and Joe Rooney (and, unfortunately, probably Cory Schneider as well). These kids have sweated and bled too much for this program, invested too much, to fall short now. They are not going to allow BC to lose tonight.

Prediction: BC 2, Michigan State 0

Some links:
Enlightened Spartan - MSU Blog
Excellent Game Preview from the MSU Rivals board
BC Set to Play Michigan State in Final (Herald)
For Boston, York a Perfect Fit (GREAT article on Jerry from the Herald - I had the privilege of meeting him on Tuesday and he's one of the nicest people I've ever met; BC is truly blessed to have both a coach and a person of his caliber on campus)
Champagne on Ice for BC: One Win Away from 3rd Title (Herald)
Matchup Full of Memories (Herald)
Brothers Never Babied BC's Gerbe (Globe)
BC's Smith Turns On the Switch (Globe)
Lerg is a Breath of Fresh Air for Spartans (Globe)
MSU Underdogs are Ready (Lansing State Journal)
Frozen Four Notebook: Veteran Coaches Share Unique Bond (LSJ)
Title In Sight for Spartans (LSJ)

One more win...

2007-04-07T03:45:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted yet, but got blackout drunk in celebration after the game yesterday and was way too busy today to post.

I'll have a recap of last night and a preview of the Michigan State game (thank GOD we don't have to beat Maine again) early tomorrow. Night, folks, and GO EAGLES.....

Scalp 'Em

2007-04-05T14:30:00.000-04:00

For the 3rd time in as many years tonight, BC meets North Dakota in the NCAA tournament, a matchup that has evolved into one of the better inter-sectional rivalries in college hockey (and will be continued with a regular season matchup at Conte Forum next year). Last year in Milwaukee BC did a fairly good job of rolling over the Sioux despite a 6-5 final score boosted by several late North Dakota goals, but don't expect a repeat performance in St. Louis tonight. North Dakota is big, fast, and tough. I can honestly say that I was pulling for Minnesota, the #1 team in the country heading into the tournament, to knock off the Sioux in their regional semifinal, as the Gophers didn't scare me nearly as much as North Dakota does. Their first line of Ryan Duncan, TJ Oshie, and Jon Toews is arguably the best in college hockey, and the addition of Brian Boyle to BC's defensive corps will be a major factor in our efforts to contain them. The Sioux also have a great defensive unit, led by Brian Lee and Robbie Bina, but I question their ability to stay with BC's speedier forwards. I think guys like Nate Gerbe and Joe Rooney will be very important tonight.

Ultimately, though, there is one area where the Eagles have a huge advantage and that is in the nets- North Dakota's Phillippe Lamorieux is a solid but unspectacular netminder; Corey Schneider, on the other hand, is Corey Schneider. I see that as the ultimate difference in the game; much like BC's initial two NCAA tournament games, I see this as a hard-fought affair between the two best teams in college hockey right now, but Corey Schneider is ultimately going to lead this team to victory.

Prediction: BC 2, North Dakota 1

Some links to keep you occupied until gametime:
Herald Scouting Report
Eagles in Line of Fire: Schneider Set to Face Potent North Dakota (Herald)
Intent BC Has Mean Streak: Determined on Title Fight (Herald)
Greene Sees Future in Black and white (Herald)
For BC and ND, It's Their Time of Year (Globe)
Schneider: Plenty of Work, Not Many Goals (Globe)
Time to Shine (Grand Forks Herald)
These Teams Know the Show (Grand Forks Herald)

GO EAGLES!!!

Business as Usual

2007-04-03T09:09:00.000-04:00

The hockey team departs to St. Louis today for their 7th Frozen Four in 10 years. It looks like the real national championship game could be played on Thursday night, as North Dakota is the second hottest team in the country after BC, coming into the game at 15-2-3 in its last 20 games (the only losses coming to Minnesota in the WCHA Championship game and at Denver). I'll have a more extensive game preview up tomorrow, but until then, Goon's World and Brad Schlossman run a pair of pretty good blogs covering UND.

Some links:

InsideCollegeHockey Game Preview
BC's Gerbe Plays it Big (Herald)
BC's Motherwell Returns to Roots (Globe)
Sioux Secrets Scarce - BC's Bertram Knows Foe (Herald)
Excitement's Sky High for Eagles (Herald)
Teams at Even Strength (Herald)
In a Class By Themselves (Globe)
UND's Top Line is One Tough Trio (Grand Forks Herald)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice article in the Herald today on Matt Ryan's foot recovery adjustment to Jags' offense. He even gets a Heisman mention at the end of the article....I've been saying it for the last year and a half, this kid is legit, and we need to start building the Heisman hype now. This is as good a place to start as any.

Additionally, it appears that transferring freshman QB Ross Applegate will be continuing his career at Alabama. Best of luck in Tuscaloosa.

Spring Practice Update

2007-03-30T12:31:00.000-04:00

Great video here from NECN and the Globe on the start of spring practice. I can't freaking wait for this season.

Interesting tidbit--if you pause the video at the 1:25 mark, you can see what appears to be 80% of our first-team offensive line, at least as of right now. Looks like Gosder Cherilus at LT (a move I was calling for prior to last season), Kevin Sheridan at C (no surprise), Tom Anevski at RG, and Carlos Huggins at RT. I'm a little disappointed that Pat Sheil (unless that's him at LG) and Richard Lapham haven't been able to break into the first team yet, but they're young and they've got plenty of time.

Matt Ryan looks pretty good on his feet, too.

Disturbing Google Phrase of the Week: As I've talked about before, I use a tool called SiteMeter to track traffic to the blog. Among other things, it tells me what phrases people type into Google to stumble across my site. Usually they're related to BC sports, but for some unknown reason I do also get a lot of traffic from foreigners looking for schoolgirl pictures. I'm not sure why (probably has something to do with my posts like this one and this one). Still, nothing prepared me for the latest disturbing Google phrase - some dude in Ipswich, England searching for "Gerbe for men". Apparently I'm the #1 hit. I can only hope that it's some kind of designer cologne.

Two More Wins

2007-03-25T23:13:00.000-04:00

Horrible first period, but we kept it together and came away with the 4-0 win. BC has now scored 18 goals and given up 1 in its last 4 NCAA regional games.

Congrats to Cory Schneider on the regional MVP award and to him, Brian Boyle, Joe Rooney, and Brock Bradford on being named to the all-regional team.

Next up - the one team that scared me coming into this tournament, the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota. We'll need to play a lot better a week from Thursday than we did this weekend in order to get past ND. Still, let's worry about that tomorrow, and celebrate our second consecutive Frozen Four appearance and 6th in the last 9 years. Simply awesome.

One Down, Three to Go

2007-03-25T12:09:00.000-04:00

Although we looked shaky at times yesterday (particularly in the second period), we fought through St. Lawrence's goonery and held on for the W yesterday. Now we get a familiar foe, the Miami-Ohio Red Hawks, who surprisingly knocked off UNH in yesterday's early game. I'm not necessarily expecting a repeat of last year's 5-0 win over UMO in the tournament's first round, but you have to love our chances to make a second consecutive Frozen Four. BC is hotter than any team in the country right now and I simply don't think that Miami is in the same class. This isn't to say that we shouldn't be careful, as there have been a lot of upsets and near-upsets (Notre Dame-UAH, Minnesota-Air Force) in this tournament, but I'm very confident in our chances.

Prediction: BC 4, Miami-Ohio 1

As far as yesterday goes, I was a bit concerned for some time about how the team was reacting to SLU's physical play--at stretches we appeared to be looking out for hits rather than simply playing our game--but aside from the 2nd period I thought overall the team played reasonably well. It bears mentioning that BC screwed up on several odd-man rushes, and the score easily could've been 5- or 6-1. Good performances as usual from the likes of Cory Schneider, Brian Boyle, and Nate Gerbe; and I also thought Andrew Orpik turned in a very solid performance (his first shift notwithstanding).

Nice article on Kyle Kucharski, who had a very good game yesterday, from the Saugus Advertiser

Preview of today's game from the Herald

CHAMPS!!!

2007-03-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

Now that my body is no longer in shakes from the weekend (for a brief recap of my St. Patrick's Day activities, I refer you here), HOCKEY EAST CHAMPS BABY!!! Great game and incredible tournament from the guys, who took down UNH 5-2 on Saturday night (in a game that wasn't nearly that close in my opinion). Brock Bradford, the porno-named wonder, netted 6 goals in 4 tournament games, good for tournament MVP and Hockey East player of the week honors; Corey Schneider also picked up the defensive POTW award.

Great victory, the 10th in a row for what has to be the hottest team in the country right now. The Eagles will now head to Manchester on Saturday to face St. Lawrence in the first round of the NCAA tournament in a 2-3 matchup; hosts UNH and familiar NCAA tournament foe Miami-Ohio will square off in the other game at the Verizon Center. Honestly, BC should have little trouble with this bracket. I'll have more on it later in the week.

Tough loss on Saturday for the hoops team, who put up a valiant effort against an excellent Georgetown team but fell just short. Honestly, this has to be considered the best coaching season of Al Skinner's tenure at BC. Simply making the tournament was a huge accomplishment after the Sean Williams debacle, but Skinner's coaching and Jared Dudley's leadership brought the team to a 4th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and a first-round victory over a solid Texas Tech team. Bravo, guys, and best of luck to Dudley in the NBA and Sean Marshall in a pro career in Europe.

On another down note, word has it today that Brian Toal has undergone shoulder surgery, will miss all of spring practice and is about 50-50 on being able to play this season. Recovery time is 3-6 months so he'll be able to go if needed, but if the staff decides that he and BC will be better served by letting him heal up and go in 2008, they can go that route. While Toal is a special player, as deep and as talented as BC's LB corps is, we should be able to go without him; if needed, his redshirt can always be burned midseason a la Ryan Glasper last year.

I'll leave you with some of the famous BC Law Girl pictures, courtesy of Barstool Sports. I won't comment on the controversy other than to say that anyone who has a problem with this is an douche who prefers the company of men to that of women. Good night and go Eagles.

St. Paddy's Day...

2007-03-17T02:48:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is folks.

BC-Georgetown at 5:50 pm.

BC-New Hampshire at 7 pm.

On St. Patrick's Day.

For the record, BC has won at least its last 2 games on the day of the wearin' of the green. Over Maine last year in the Hockey East semifinals, and over UPIenn in the first round of the '05 NCAA hoops tournament.

No reason this streak is gonna stop now. We're taking both of these games tomorrow. Especially the hockey game. Prediction: BC 4, UNH 1.

Don't get me wrong, though. The Hoyas are going down too.

Tomorrow's gonna be a great day.

Sucks to BU

2007-03-16T17:54:00.000-04:00

No time to write really, but suffice it to say that we're taking it down tonight.

Prediction: BC 3, BU 1

I'll see you all at the Garden tomorrow night. And at the Dropkick Murphys concert at Agganis tomorrow afternoon. But I likely won't remember either one.

Texas Tech thoughts

2007-03-15T17:46:00.000-04:00

Really solid effort from the guys, especially in the first and last 10 minutes of the game.

You had to love how both Dudley as an individual and the team as a whole responded to his foul trouble. Being forced to sit the ACC Player of the Year for considerable stretches generally isn't a recipe for tournament success, but the team stepped up. Great game from Tyrese Rice, and excellent contributions from John Oates in the first half (where'd those 3s come from??) and Sean Marshall in the second. And of course Dudley himself, who despite picking up his 3rd foul with a few minutes remaining in the first half managed to avoid picking up another and finished the game with 19 points and 7 boards in 32 minutes. The team defense was very sloppy at times, but we did enough on the offensive side of the ball that it didn't hurt us. I would've liked to see some more minutes for Shamari Spears.

Georgetown is up next, and it's gonna be a very tough game. They looked sloppy early on against Belmont, but they won't make the same mistake against a team that has enough talent to really punish them for it. BC can win this game, but we need to play much better than we did today--you can't count on Oates getting 11 points every game, 6 of which came on momentum-shifting 3s.

That's a worry for tomorrow, though. Today is a day to celebrate. Well done, guys.

Raiders, Terriers, and Hoyas, Oh My

2007-03-13T01:15:00.000-04:00

Another huge weekend for BC sports is almost upon us, as the hoops team prepares to open NCAA tournament play against Bobby Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders while the hockey team is set for another matchup, the 5th of the season, against archrival BU in the Hockey East semifinals. A win over the Raiders in the 12:35 pm game on Thursday would in all likelihood set up a meeting with former Big East foe Georgetown on Saturday.

For the first time in years, we at BC can't complain about our seeding or placement in the NCAA hoops tournament. A 7 seed is fair (although some at Texas Tech are lamenting the missed opportunity for a first-round matchup with another 7 seed and Knight's former employers, Indiana) and playing in Winston-Salem with UNC in our bracket (and safely on the other side) can only help us--it's a short trip, the players will be familiar with the surroundings from having played at Wake Forest, and hopefully a crowd that will likely be overwhelmingly clad in Carolina Blue will also pull for their conference bretheren. After several consecutive years of getting screwed, I'm relieved here.

I'll have more on the game later this week, but until then ATLEagle, Angry Eagle, and Double-T Nation should have some insight.

As for hockey, well, we all knew it would come to this. BC-BU, for a shot at the Hockey East title as well as a possible 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Although I won't be at the game, my non-presence ensures that I will be there on Saturday to see us take on either UNH or a red-hot UMass team.

(Oh yeah, Saturday. If we beat Texas Tech and BU, BC will be playing for a Hockey East tournament title and a Sweet Sixteen berth....both on St. Patrick's Day. Throw in an afternoon Dropkick Murphys concert at Agganis Arena and the fact that I stopped off at the New Hampshire state discount liquor store yesterday on the way back from Vermont and I doubt I'll remember seeing us lift the HEA banner.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Very interesting article on EagleAction yesterday on the areas of recruiting responsibility for each of the new coaches. Some of it was old news, but a lot is new information. To sum up:

Spaz - "spot recruiter" for Mass., involvement with all defensive recruits

Logan - Involvement with all offensive recruits, particularly QBs

McGovern - North Jersey, Long Island

Siravo - North Shore of Mass., Connecticut, SE Pennsylvania outside of Philly, Rhode Island, Virginia, involvement with all recruits as recruiting coordinator

Turner - Northern Florida, eastern Pennsylvania including Philly

Sirmans - Western PA, South Jersey, Ohio, "spot recruiter" in Michigan and Indiana

Yanowsky - Illinois, Carolinas, central Florida, Houston area

Commisiong - Western Mass, NY state outside Long Island, northwest NJ

Day - Maryland, DC, southern Florida, Georgia

A couple thoughts:

-I'd like to get a guy in California, or at the very least the LA metro area; it'd also be nice if Yanowsky can scout the Dallas area as well; Commisiong seems to have the lightest load of anyone currently so perhaps he could also take SoCal

-Boston and the immediate suburbs as well as the South Shore weren't mentioned in the article, my guess is Siravo will take them since he has most of the rest of New England; Commisiong would also be a possibility

-Siravo seems to have a lot on his plate so my guess is that his responsibility for Virginia won't include the DC suburbs in the northern part of the state, and that Day will take these. The state of Virginia as a whole is a potential gold mine for BC and I'd like to get at least 2 coaches working there

-One of the first and most telling recruiting tests for the new staff will be DT Masengo Kabongo from Fairfield, CT, and consequently I love the fact that Connecticut falls under the responsibility of Siravo, who I have the highest hopes for of any coach on the staff as a recruiter

-The Tidewater region of Virginia and the Carolinas always seem to produce a ton of dual-threat QBs, and conveniently enough this is Logan's home region and area of expertise...I think we'll do well there, starting with Tommy Reamon, a QB from Newport News whose coach, a longtime friend of Logan's, has compared him favorably to the Vick brothers (who attended the same high school as Reamon) at the same stage of development and who has mentioned BC as one of his leaders

-Day is going to be thrown right into the fire...his areas of responsibility are all crucial to BC's success. Georgia and the DC metro area in particular are both places we need to start tapping into

------------------------------------------------------------------------

All I got for now, but I'll have more on the Texas Tech and BU games as the week progresses.

Also, if anyone is making the trip to Winston-Salem, say hi to this guy for me:

Tournament Time; First '08 Recruit

2007-03-08T16:15:00.000-05:00

Both BC winter teams kick off conference tournament play this weekend, with the hockey team taking the ice tonight against Northeastern in a best-2-out-of-3 series while the hoops team will face the winner of this afternoon's Maryland-Miami game tomorrow in Tampa.

The contrast between the notes on which the two teams enter their conference tournaments could not be more apparent. The hockey team is red-hot right now, probably the hottest team in the country. Where just 2 weeks ago they were in serious danger of not even making the NCAA tournament, we now have a decent chance to sew up a #1 seed. Back-to-back-to-back sweeps of Maine, Lowell, and New Hampshire have re-ignited the offense and given the team a huge amount of momentum heading into the postseason. Even the special teams unit, traditionally the bane of BC's existence, is playing as well as anyone in the country--the power play unit, which has been horrible most of the year, has scored at an astonishing 28.6% rate over the last 9 games and the penalty kill, which has been great all year, came up huge against UNH, particularly late in the second period of Friday night's game in Durham, shortly after the Wildcats, who had dominated the period, pulled back to 2-1 down and promptly went a man up with about 2:40 remaining in the stanza. BC woke up, kept the puck in UNH's zone for virtually the entire 2 minutes, and didn't allow UNH to even set up its power play until about 30 seconds remained on the penalty; even then, they got just one shot off. The penalty kill was the turning point of the game, the weekend, and perhaps even the season for these Eagles, who are tied with Michigan at 9th in the current pairwise rankings (using a .03 road win bonus, which is generally accepted to be more or less accurate) but could easily move up with a strong showing in the tournament and have to be considered one of the heavy favorites for the national crown.

There is some concern on the defensive side of things due to injuries. Carl Sneep and Anthony Aiello are both expected to miss this weekend, and Sneep may miss the entire HEA tournament with a high ankle sprain. Although an article in today's Patriot Ledger indicates that Brian Boyle may switch to the blue line until one of the two returns, I don't see it happening. The defense did fine in the UNH series, allowing just 3 goals in 2 games (one of which was a fluke), without both guys. Sure, Cory Schneider had to stand on his head the entire weekend, but I have little doubt the defense will settle down.

At the end of the day, I don't see Northeastern putting up much of a fight this weekend. Yes, the Huskies traditionally give BC problems--in Matthews Arena, which is one of the most hostile atmospheres in the country. But Northeastern hasn't won in Conte Forum (or, for that matter, beaten BC on neutral ice) since November 13, 1998. I don't see them breaking that streak tonight or tomorrow. BC will sew it up on Friday night and get an extra day of rest over its rivals, each of whom will go 3 games this weekend.

Predictions:
Thursday - BC 4, Northeastern 1
Friday - BC 5, Northeastern 0

Other HEA quarterfinal predictions:
UNH over Providence in 3
Vermont over BU in 3
Maine over UMass in 3

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hoops team, meanwhile, finds itself stumbling into the ACC tournament. Although Jared Dudley was rewarded yesterday with well-deserved ACC Player of the Year honors, the team has dropped 4 of its last 5. None of the losses were particularly bad from a standpoint of who we lost to, but nonetheless the team's form is troubling.

We may have caught a break, however. As I was writing the first part of this post, a 12-19 Miami team managed to knock off #17 Maryland and BC will now face a weak Hurricanes squad tomorrow. The Eagles have already beaten the 'Canes twice this year, 82-63 in Chestnut Hill and 75-68 in Coral Gables. I don't see us losing tomorrow. Miami's emotional win today will catch up to them against a rested and focused BC squad. BC will win tomorrow, and that likely means another shot at UNC--call me crazy, but I think we'll give them another run for their money and maybe even pull off the upset this time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, the football team has landed its first 2008 recruit, Everett High School athlete Isaac Johnson. Johnson, who is expected to play RB at BC, is the first recruit in over 30 years to BC from Everett, traditionally one of the top HS programs in the state. Tom O'Brien refused to even try to recruit the place, which would have allowed Diamond Ferri to go to Syracuse had Diamond Ferri been born in the first place, which he wasn't. This is a sign of very good things to come for BC. Look for us to add at least 1, probably 2 more RB recruits in this class, but people who have watched Johnson play say he could be a Top 250 recruit in the 2008 class.

UMass-Durham

2007-03-02T13:53:00.000-05:00

Big night in Hockey East tonight as BC heads up to Durham to face the UNH Wildcats. By my reasoning we probably need 1-2 points from this weekend to sew up an NCAA tournament bid regardless of how we do in the HEA tournament. UNH has already clinched the Hockey East regular season title and will be looking to lock up a #1 NCAA seed this weekend; BC on the other hand needs just a point to lock up the #2 seed in the Hockey East tournament (although this would be a mixed blessing, as it would likely mean facing a hot Northeastern team that usually plays BC tough in the HEA quarterfinals).

In any event, I'm picturing 3 points for BC this weekend. UNH is faltering somewhat (having lost 7-1 at Providence in their last outing) and BC is rounding into form at just the right time, much like last year (I told you to have faith). UNH is always a tough place to play and I can't wait for my first game at the Whitt, but I think February HEA player of the month Nate Gerbe has a huge weekend and this team takes care of business.

Predictions:
Friday - BC 1, UNH 1
Saturday - BC 3, UNH 2

Holy Shit, a FHMAM Update!!

2007-02-28T14:41:00.000-05:00

OK folks, sorry I've been off the wagon for a while but I've been really busy, plus my internet connection and Blogger have both been giving me problems left and right. You get what you pay for, I guess (that's referring to Blogger, not the internet connection).

Anyway, after back-to-back sweeps over Maine and Lowell, the hockey team again takes the ice Friday night in Durham for the first half of a home-and-home against Hockey East-leading #3 UNH. Friday will be my first game at the Whit, so I'm pumped for that. I'll have a preview of the weekend in the next day or two. I will say now that the team is rounding into form at exactly the right time--I'm very optimistic about our chances in the Hockey East and NCAA tournaments. We're looking pretty strong for the NCAAs as it is and either a split with UNH or advancement to the Hockey East semis should lock up a berth.

The hoops team suffered 3 consecutive losses, two of which were pretty bad, but rebounded with a strong win over Clemson on Senior Day. Right now I'd say anything this team can accomplish is pretty good--everyone wrote them off and penciled them into the NIT after the suspension of Sean Williams, but Jared Dudley has taken the team on his back (with help from Tyrese Rice, Sean Marshall, and Tyrelle Blair) and locked up an NCAA berth. It'll be absolutely criminal if he doesn't win the ACC player of the year award.

Football recruiting is a year-round sport and BC's offers are beginning to fill out for next season. We've contacted some serious heavy hitters--Jags and co. are not afraid to go toe-to-toe with the big boys, and I think we'll land at least a few of these guys. At some point in the near future I'll discuss some of these guys and talk about how I rate our chances of getting them.

Finally, an interesting story out of St. Joe's University--apparently their student council has decided to officially adopt BC as the home team, and Hawk fans will be making a trip to a BC game next year. I was always a Villanova basketball fan growing up (although growing up in Philly you tend to pull for all the local hoops teams, even the arch-rival of your favorite), but St. Joe's is now pretty high on the list as well. Hopefully we can get a few more schools on board with similar deals (Providence and Merrimack, both Catholic schools in New England with no football teams that probably have a lot of BC fans in their student bodies anyway, are both naturals).

5-2

2007-02-16T12:44:00.000-05:00

That's a good score to see again, isn't it??

Last night was one of the best performances BC hockey has put on all year. It's still too early for me to say "I told you so" regarding my last post, but I think this team has finally woken up. The best thing for me about the game was that we've finally started to play team defense. Maine's early shorthanded breakaway notwithstanding, the guys did a spectacular job on D. Carl Sneep continues to get better and better, Brett Motherwell reminded us of '05-'06 Brett Motherwell with his play last night, and the Boyle-Bradford-Gerbe line is really clicking.

Now onto the bad--the crowd. Simply pathetic for a game of this magnitude. The arena was MAYBE 30% full at faceoff, eventually grew to about 2/3 full, and was deathly quiet. Some girl sitting behind me literally fell asleep during the 3rd period. Absolutely awful. And it's disappointing for me too, because one of the 5 loudest crowds I've ever been a part of at Conte was the Maine home game last year. I expected last night to be similar, but far from it. Tonight, we as BC fans need to do a much better job of getting in early--yes, traffic was a nightmare last night because of the road conditions (it took me almost 30 minutes on the BC shuttle bus to get from Roggie's to Lower) but you KNOW THIS ahead of time so why not adjust accordingly?? At least tonight's start time is 8 pm, so Conte should be pretty full at the start.

The fact that I had the most annoying girl in the world sitting next to me for much of the 2nd and the entire 3rd periods didn't help, either (one of these people that obviously comes from a BC family--she was talking about tailgating as a little kid--and reads up all the crap written on the message boards and passes it off to her friends as fact; at one point she told her friends (in the midst of the 20 minute stretch when she was turned around talking to them with her back to the game) that Matt Ryan isn't going to be our starting QB next year because "he doesn't fit into Jags' system").

As for tonight?? SWEEP THE FUCKING BLACK BEARS. That's all it is. We win tonight, we are WELL on our way to an NCAA tournament bid. Just get it fucking done.

Prediction: BC 3, Maine 1

GO EAGLES!!!

The season starts tonight

2007-02-15T15:24:00.000-05:00

That's my take on it, anyway. BC is in trouble. Our backs are against the wall. We need at least 8, probably 9-10 points from our remaining 6 games--4 of which are against Maine and UNH--to qualify for the NCAAs without having to win the HEA tournament.

I like our chances.

Based on the second and third periods of the Beanpot final, these guys have finally woken up. They've realized that they're not going to get into the NCAAs purely on the virtue of having "Boston College" written on the front of their jerseys. They took the postseason for granted, and now it's been taken away from them--but they still have a chance to get it back.

Maine comes into town tied with BC at 25 points in the Hockey East standings, fresh off a sweep of Vermont with freshman goalie Dave Wilson having come up huge in relief of injured netminder Ben Bishop. The Black Bears are tough, have no doubt about it. And I fucking hate them, more than any other team in the country save BU. When you consider that Keith Johnson tried to hook up on the internet with what he thought was a girl almost exactly half the age of his star teammate Michael Leveille, it's easy to.

This is gut-check time for BC. We need to get it done.

I think we will. But even if we don't, at least our players don't try to fuck 13-year-olds over the internet.

(I tried to put the infamous Keith Johnson towel picture here, but unfortunately Perverted Justice has archived it and it is no longer accessible. For shame.)

Prediction (Thursday): BC 2, Maine 0

0-6

2007-02-14T01:21:00.000-05:00

Another brutal Beanpot loss last night.

A couple thoughts:

-Midway through the 2nd period, I turned to my friend and said we were going to tie it up in the 3rd period then lose in OT. I hate being right. The good news is that at least it ended fairly quickly, I envisioned BU waiting until about midway through a second OT before putting the dagger in our hearts

-BC actually played with a lot of intensity last night and didn't put in a bad performance, particularly on the defensive end; we had our chances and outshot BU 38-26, we just couldn't put them away

-Spectacular game from Andrew Orpik, who had several great hits and also did a lot of good things offensively. Carl Sneep, Anthony Aiello, and (not surprisingly) Nate Gerbe and Cory Schneider also put in superb performances for BC

-Did the ice seem really slow to anyone else?? It seemed to me that both teams' players as well as the puck were going a lot slower than normal, and BU did a much better job of adjusting particularly in the opening minutes

-Here's the good news, folks: We have seen the last of John Curry in Beanpot action

-Anyone else notice that BU was dropping a guy back on their power play whenever Gerbe (and occasionally Joe Rooney) was on the ice, essentially nullifying their own advantage to prevent the short-handed goal?? That is fear, my friends

-This game reminded me a TON of the 2004 final...except for the result, of course

-The refereeing was absolutely criminal, but being BC-BU in the Beanpot this surprised no-one

Anyway, as Eurabia Tech's athletic department will now shut down until October, BC still has some more hockey to play (not to mention a pair of basketball games against Duke tomorrow and UNC on Saturday). Maine comes to town for a pair of games on Thursday and Friday, and it is absolutely vital that at the very least BC takes 3 points from this series. The following weekend brings a home-and-home with Lowell, and we close out the regular season with a home-and-home against UNH. BC probably needs at least 10 points from the remaining games in order to secure an NCAA tournament bid; 8-9 could do the trick, but would require at least a semifinal and maybe even a championship appearance in the Hockey East tournament. Any fewer than 8, and we'll probably need to win the tournament in order to make the dance. It's doable, but the time to sack up is now.

I forgot to mention in my last post that Taft goalie Andrew Margolin has committed to BC. It is currently unknown whether he will arrive in 2007 or 2008, a decision that likely depends on whether or not Cory Schneider decides to return for his senior year. If he does, the staff will have 2 goalie commits in Margolin and John Muse; one would likely be brought in immediately (ideally to give Schneider some much-needed rest every now and then) with the other spending a year developing in the USHL. Word is that Margolin and Muse are approximately equal right now but that Muse is considered the slightly better long-term prospect, so if this is accurate then one would expect Margolin to be brought in right away.

Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, the thread title refers to BC's record in games against BU at the TD Banknorth Garden that I have personally attended. BC's record against all other teams in games I have seen live at the Garden is 4-0 (or 5-0, if you count the 2005 Hockey East 2OT semifinal win over Maine from which I was ejected 20 minutes prior to faceoff; I wish I was kidding). I have seen BC defeat BU in 4 different buildings, and the Garden is not one of them despite having seen more BC-BU games there than anyplace other than Conte. If we happen to run into the Ratdogs in the Hockey East tournament this year, e-mail me if you need a ticket. If I'm jinxing the Eagles by being in the building, I'd rather see us win on TV than lose in person.

Great win; better week

2007-02-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

First things first--HUGE win for the hoops team yesterday down in Tallahassee. I'll say that I've been talking up Tyrelle Blair all along, and while he isn't Sean Williams he seems to be doing a pretty good impression of him. I've liked Blair defensively all season, but he was the last guy I expected to take the game-winning shot. Honestly, how can John Oates see more than 5-8 minutes a game from here on out?? It simply makes no sense to me. And Jared Dudley comes through with one of the biggest games of his BC career, including the 4-point play that gave us a shot to win. Great to see, and this team has to be considered an NCAA tournament lock at this point.

But the FSU game was just the beginning of one of the biggest weeks in BC sports history. It continues tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden as the hockey team takes on BU for the 4th time this season in the Beanpot final, holding a 2-1 edge over the hated Terriers currently. Pinhead Nation, as usual, offers their unique take on the game. As for a prediction?? I'm actually going to break from tradition and decline to give one. BC is, in my opinion, the more talented team; but we have been woefully inconsistent and this is, after all, the Beanpot. Jack Parker will harass and intimidate the refs, John Curry will stand on his head, Eric Gryba will attempt to injure BC players. We CAN overcome all of these things, but WILL we?? I don't know, but I'm looking forward to finding out. And hey, win or lose, I'll be able to celebrate/not think about it by watching 2 hours of DVR'd Jack Bauer after the game.

And it only gets better from there. Duke comes to the Heights on Wednesday night. Maine heads down on Thursday and Friday for a pair of huge Hockey East games. And the culmination of the week will be on Saturday, when North Carolina makes its first trip to Chestnut Hill for an ACC contest and the ESPN GameDay cameras will be filming in Conte Forum.

We need fans to be loud, wearing maroon and gold, on time, and fucking LOUD for all 5 of these games. Let's show, once and for all, that the days of poor fan support at BC are over.

I won't be at the basketball games but will definitely be at the Thursday Maine game and am trying to acquire a ticket for the Friday game as well (can't make it down to the Garden tonight unfortunately). I also may try to get on set for GameDay on Saturday morning. See you all there.

It wasn't pretty, but...

2007-02-05T23:52:00.000-05:00

We get the W tonight after a very shaky start that included Harvard taking a 1-0 lead midway through the first stanza. BC looked absolutely dreadful in the first 5 minutes or so of the game, but thankfully we were able to overcome the early Crimson surge and control most of the rest of the game's play. Benn Ferriero and Nate Gerbe led the way for the Eagles, who will square off against BU in the tournament's final for the 6th time in 8 years (the other two times both coming when BC and BU met in the first round; neither school has lost in the tournament's opening round to Northeastern or Harvard since 1998).

Unfortunately, Brett Motherwell continued his run of poor play, turning in an absolutely awful performance in the first period, although he settled down and played better as the game went on. Brian Boyle (who along with Joe Rooney received his captain's letter back for the game) notched his first career Beanpot goal, albeit an empty netter. Biggest positive for BC in this game had to be the penalty kill, which completely shut down Harvard's red-hot power play unit (6 of its last 12 heading into tonight) and even got a shorthanded goal of its own from Nate Gerbe.

BC returns to the Garden a week from tonight for the fourth game of the season against BU, but first must head to Providence to take on a struggling Friars team that has split the season series so far with BC.

------------------------------------------------------------------

More news today on the football recruiting front as 2-star QB Dominique Davis of Lakeland, Florida today announced that he will be attending BC. Davis is viewed as a sleeper; a very athletic, strong-armed but very raw QB with questionable mechanics, very similar to BC's other QB commit, New Jersey's Chris Johnson. The hope is that Steve Logan, who has a long history of working with dual-threat QBs, can work with these guys and turn them into true studs. We'll still need to bring in a 4- or 5-star guy next year, but it never hurts to have too many capable QBs around.

Finally, although it hasn't been announced yet, word is that former Michigan State RBs coach Ben Sirmans will come to BC in the same capacity (Mike Siravo will switch to DBs, a move I have been calling for ever since his hire). Sirmans is a young, minority coach with New England and New Jersey ties who comes from a program with a traditionally strong running game, so I welcome the hire. The new WRs coach has also apparently been hired, but also not yet announced; despite some rumors, it is not Rob Ianello of Notre Dame. Presumably one of the assistants will also take on the Assistant Head Coach label.

Beanpot

2007-02-05T15:12:00.000-05:00

The 2007 Beanpot starts in just under 2 hours with BU and Northeastern squaring off at the TD Banknorth Garden (or whatever the fuck they're calling it nowdays), with BC set to take on Harvard in the 8 pm game. My gut feeling is that BC's 4-0 loss at Harvard earlier this year was an aberration. The Crimson simply don't have that strong of a team this year, and while BC is also woefully inconsistent we should be able to take care of business tonight. I'll predict a 3-1 victory for the Eagles.

I guest-blogged a piece over at ATLEagle talking about the Beanpot, so be sure to check that out. Also, today's Salem News has a nice interview with Corey Schneider.

Finally, rumor has it that Jerry York will soon return the "C" and "A" to Brian Boyle and Joe Rooney respectively, possibly even as early as tonight. That could hopefully provide a shot in the arm to the team.

Tonight's Game

2007-02-02T15:13:00.000-05:00

BC hosts a surprising UMass team tonight, the 19th-ranked Minutemen coming into Conte Forum after a recent run of impressive play including a 3-3 tie against BU and a home win over UNH. UMass is playing great hockey right now, but unfortunately for them BC finally seems to be rounding into form. I think this one will be close, but BC will pull out the W. Prediction: BC 3, UMass 1.

Roundup

2007-02-02T02:34:00.000-05:00

First off, congrats to ATLEagle on winning the ACC Blogger of the Year Award. Although some people (aka my jackass friends) have compared my blog to his, there really is no comparison; he runs a house of legitimate journalism peppered with opinion and excellent football and basketball insight, whereas I know next to nothing strategically about the game of basketball and try to offer a more emotional commentary on things, along with some analysis of the two revenue sports I actually know, the one played on turf and the one played on ice (particularly hockey, because no-one else really goes into BC hockey on a game-by-game basis). This blog would not exist without Bill's example and it was a great honor to me when some dude awhile back (can't remember who exactly, I think it was an NC State blog talking about the coaching change but I can't find the reference anywhere) called his blog and mine "the two pre-eminent BC blogs". Kudos and well deserved, my friend.

Second off, great win over Hartford on Wednesday. Especially the 12-point performance from Tyler Roche. News flash, we can't go the rest of the season on 7 guys. It boils down to, we need to either trust Roche and Daye Kaba in ACC play or we need to watch helplessly as our guys burn out and can't handle the rigors of February and March. Roche has proven he can contribute, and Kaba has the skills to contribute. Give them a shot, Al.

Third off, well, you'll have to wait for that. UMass preview tomorrow and Beanpot preview in the next few days.

UML Recap, Duke today

2007-01-28T16:27:00.000-05:00

Well it wasn't 6-1 but it was a gutsy performance from BC last night against UMass-Lowell and you can't ever really argue too much with 2 points in a conference game. The team showed a lot of poise and determination fighting back from the 3-1 deficit and hanging in there to get Brian Boyle (who had a superb weekend) the game-winning goal with less than 45 seconds remaining in regulation. Could the corner finally be turned?? This isn't the first time this year I've asked this, but hopefully it will be the last time I'll have to.

The new lines continued to look great. I honestly have no clue why we ever went away from Rooney/Ferriero/Bertram in the first place. That combination looked great again tonight; it seems like something happens every time they are on the ice.

Only have 2 complaints. First, the fans--we're coming off an emotional win over our arch-rivals in their building and the best we can do is a 2/3-full (barely half-full at faceoff), deathly quiet building?? Horrible performance from BC Nation last night. Second, Brett Motherwell had a horrid game last night after playing well at Agganis on Friday. I'll chalk it up to fatigue but the fact is that he simply isn't having a great year. He's only a sophomore and seemed to have limitless potential last year, so I know he'll turn it around, but it'd really help if he could do so in the near future.

All in all, for a classic trap game, not a bad performance. If they'd simply coasted listlessly to a 4-3 win in a controlling but not dominating performance I might be more worried but this team showed a lot of heart and a lot of balls after going down 3-1 and if they can capture that for the rest of this year, they'll make some noise.

--------------------------------------------------------------

As you all know, BC heads down to Durham today to take on the Dookies in the Eagles' first trip to Cameron as an ACC team. I think it'll be a close game but I simply wonder whether we have the horses to pull off the upset. Throw in the fact that the referees will be doing us no favors (read: going out of their way to screw us every way possible) and we have our work cut out for us. We can pull off the upset but the trio of Jared Dudley, Tyrese Rice, and Sean Marshall will have to play absolutely lights-out in order for us to do so and even then we'll have to get a little bit of good luck. I think we'll get the former but not the latter, and unfortunately I see Duke winning a close one.

Split Decision

2007-01-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

Just as many BC fans predicted, the Wednesday-Friday series with BU ended in a split, giving BC the regular season series 2 games to 1. Wednesday's game was an interesting but depressingly frustrating one, as BC dominated the play but fell 4-1 to the Terriers. In front of the loudest crowd I have ever personally seen at Conte Forum (due largely to the thundersticks given out in the student section, which made the atmosphere much louder but also had the unfortunate effect of preventing those in the student section opposite the band from hearing the fight song after BC's goal), BC outshot BU 33-22 but scored just once, on a shorthanded odd-man rush from Nate Gerbe. The Eagles had plenty of chances to tie the game (BU didn't begin to pull away until Chris Higgins made it 3-1 midway through the 3rd period) but couldn't capitalize, and the Terriers did a much better job with their chances, taking advantage of defensive breakdowns and sneaking a couple soft goals past Cory Schneider. John Curry, per usual, had an excellent game in the nets for BU.

Friday was a completely different story, an extremely even game despite the scoreline. The goalies' roles were reversed last night, with Curry putting in a fairly pedestrian performance and Schneider coming up with several highlight-reel saves to preserve BC leads. The good guys jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from freshman Ben Smith (continuing his streak of scoring in every road game I've been to this year) on the power play and another Gerbe breakaway, and although BU made it a nailbiting game in the 2nd period a Dan Bertram laser late in the 3rd and an empty-net goal sealed the victory for the Eagles. Some thoughts on the game:

-Aside from the aforementioned Schneider, a guy who really stood out to me in this game was Carl Sneep, who had his best performance in a BC sweater to date. Not only did he contribute offensively but it seemed like every time he was on the ice he was breaking up BU's offense, disrupting passing lanes, using his size to his advantage, and basically just doing everything we've been expecting to see from him since hearing all his hype during recruiting. Brian Boyle (who scored BC's 3rd goal on a power-play deflection, something he should've been doing all year) and Brett Motherwell also had nice games, showing us why they were both considered Hobey Baker candidates before the year

-Nice job by Jerry York switching up the lines and putting Gerbe and Brock Bradford on the starting unit with Boyle. The second line of Benn Ferriero, Joe Rooney, and Bertram was the same combination that led to the Rooney's (and to a lesser extent Ferriero's) explosion in the postseason last year and I don't think it's a coincidence that when re-united these guys combined for 7 points last night. It also seems to me that Smith and Matt Price have been starting to click lately. I like these lines a lot and I think it'd be a mistake to break up the Ferrriero/Rooney/Bertram unit again

-Great catch by Maverick65 of EagleAction on this clip of Smith's goal. Notice #7 for BU, freshman Ben Strait, clearly deliberately pushing the goal off the moorings as the puck goes in. Strait was too late in this instance and the goal held up, but this is a trademark of Jack Parker's teams and they get away with it all the time (last month's game against St. Lawrence notwithstanding). Good to see video evidence of it

-Finally, a great showing from BC's fans. Is it just me or did we make more noise at Agganis last night than we did on Wednesday in Conte?? BU fans obviously had the strength in numbers to drown us out when they bothered to but I just skimmed through the DVR recording of the game and numerous "Let's go Eagles" chants as well as the goal celebrations are clearly audible on NESN. Great job to everyone else who was in Section 106 last night. By the way, is it too much to ask for BC to send some musical support to big road games?? Obviously a full band isn't going to happen but maybe a few trumpeters and a drummer?? I've always wanted to see a bagpiper in BC's band as well so when that happens send him to these games as well. You can also do this for road games in football and basketball (is it even allowed in hockey and hoops??)

Lowell comes to Conte tonight and I'm expecting big things from BC. Prediction: BC 6, UMass-Lowell 1.

Well that's it for me, I'm off to start drinking then it's off to Conte. Go Eagles!!

Great win; BU prediction

2007-01-24T14:01:00.000-05:00

Lots to write about in a short time here as my internet was out this morning and now I have to be showered and leave for work in 30 minutes. Still, I'll do the best I can.

First off, GREAT win for the hoops team last night. In case you're out of the TV coverage area and didn't catch it as ESPN's #1 highlight of the day, Sean Marshall drained a buzzer-beating 3 to break a tie and win the game 84-81 for BC. The team struggled through long stretches of the game, including Marshall picking up his 4th foul very early in the second half, but they persevered and showed lots of heart in winning the game.

Second, BU comes to Chestnut Hill tonight for the replay of the "fog game". BC-BU games are nearly always hard-fought and exciting, and I expect this to be no different. BC is struggling right now but a pair of games against the hated Terriers (BC heads to Agganis Arena on Friday night) followed by what should be a fairly easy win over an awful Lowell team at home on Saturday night could be exactly what this team needs to get rolling. Let's hope so, anyway. Prediction for tonight?? BC 2, BU 1 (OT)

Finally, some football news. First, the team added 2-star OT/DE Anthony Castonzo, out of Fork Union, VA, yesterday. Second, Auburn's assistant strength and conditioning coach Jason Loscalzo will replace YogaBoy as BC's main S&C man. Finally, BC's 2007 football schedule has been released. I have some thoughts on it but don't have time to get them up now, will do so in the near future.

Heading off for work then Roggie's to pregame tonight's showdown--GO EAGLES!!

Weekend Recap

2007-01-22T00:09:00.000-05:00

Rough weekend for BC fans, as the hockey team lost a pair of decisions at Vermont while the hoops team suffered a bad defeat at Clemson.

The bottom line is that both teams are struggling right now. The basketball team's problems are relatively simple. The unfortunate fact is that, with Sean Williams gone, the team simply doesn't have the talent to challenge for an ACC title. Clemson is an improved team this year, but that doesn't excuse a 20-point loss. The only legitimate big men on the team right now are John Oates and Tyrelle Blair, and that simply isn't good enough to get it done. Dudley is his usual self, Sean Marshall has been playing great recently, and Shamari Spears has shown me a lot this year but the fact is that we are not a very talented team right now. The good news is that we do still have enough to get an NCAA tournament bid, but even that will require significantly better play than what we saw in Clemson yesterday.

I will say that the first thing that needs to change is that we need to start getting more guys into the rotation. If we continue going with 7 guys, they are going to be exhausted come March. Tyler Roche and Daye Kaba are going to have to be thrown into the fire, for better or worse.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hockey's problems are much more perplexing, because it's not like the team doesn't have talent. Gutterson Fieldhouse is one of the toughest places in the country to play, but nonetheless this is a team that is sorely disappointing everyone right now. There's still time to turn it around, but it needs to be done now. Brian Boyle has been a huge disappointment so far in his senior year, and guys like Brett Motherwell and Dan Bertram are simply not putting forth the kind of performances that we need. I wish that I could sit here and put together a point-by-point list of problems that need to be addressed in order to turn the team around, but the problem is that I can't. I simply don't know what is wrong. This team is missing a spark, and the thing is that they've been able to find it from time to time, but not hold on to it. They had it in the sweep in Madison, they had it in the gritty 1-0 win at Agganis earlier this year, they had it in the OT win at Maine, and they even had it in last weekend's sweep of Merrimack. But the problem is that one night we'll come out and simply dominate a team, and the next night come up with a completely gutless and heartless performance like the ones in Burlington.

We have 2 huge games with BU coming up, first a makeup of the rescheduled fog game on Wednesday night in Conte followed by another trip to Agganis on Friday night (by the way, if you have a spare ticket for the game at BU please e-mail me at eaglefan3884@gmail.com). That's followed by a pair of absolute must-win games in Chestnut Hill against Lowell and UMass. If this team is capable of salvaging the season, I believe we'll know it by the end of that UMass game on Feb. 2nd.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bad news for BC fans continued on Saturday with the announcement that donor-based seating will be instituted for prime football tickets. Personally, I'm not entirely opposed. The thing is that before instituting DBS we need to be certain that we can "get away" with it. If we end up with the midfield sections of Alumni Stadium half-empty, then it is a bad idea--even if the athletic department is bringing in more cash. Additionally, we need to be sure that there will still be areas in the stadium where DBS is not required. It shouldn't cost a family of 4 more to see a BC game than to see a Patriots game. But assuming that all those concerns are addressed, I don't have a problem in theory with the athletic department raising funds in this manner.

The weekend's news wasn't all bad, with the report coming today that 3-star Patterson, NJ QB Chris Johnson has de-committed from Buffalo and will attend BC. While Johnson is definitely a project (as the Buffalo commitment indicates), the kid does have physical tools. Rocket arm, 4.6 40, seems to do a good job checking down his progressions. I still do want to see us grab a stud, 4- or 5-star QB next year but I can sleep a lot easier at night knowing that the future of the BC QB position isn't in the hands of Ross Applegate, Billy Flutie, or praying that we can get a guy who is ready to come in and start as a redshirt freshman in 2009.

Mixed News

2007-01-17T20:36:00.000-05:00

A great day for the football team today, fresh off of Jags' electrifying introduction last night, as the team landed not one but TWO 2-star recruits today in Mansfield DE Corey Eason and New York OT John Elliott. Although Eason has long favored BC he recently picked up offers from Ohio State and Miami; Elliott, on the other hand, has had BC on his radar all along but until very recently was rumored to be headed to Rutgers. Needless to say, these are both great pickups, made even more so by the newest rumor that New Hampshire OG Mark Spinney, a Syracuse commit, has verballed to BC and will announce this at some point in the next day or two. While Jags won't have the time to fully undo the damage that TOB did to BC's program with his complete lack of effort in recruiting the 2007 class, he's certainly done a lot of good in his short time at the Heights.

Not so great for the basketball team, as Sean Williams and Akida McLain were both permanently dismissed from the team today for undisclosed violations. Rumor has it that the two were caught smoking up after last night's game and the matter was taken from there. This is a huge blow to the team, and it comes just as we were beginning to hit a run of good play. Tyrelle Blair looked solid last night and can hopefully replace McLain, but there is simply no replacing Williams. He was one of the best players to ever play for BC and his loss is a severe, potentially crippling blow to the team's ambitions. The thing now is that there's simply no room for error for the rest of the guys. Jared Dudley can NOT have any off-nights. Sean Marshall HAS to continue playing the way he has the last few weeks. John Oates HAS to step his game up and consistently show the kind of play that he has proven capable of but only in very fleeting stretches. Shamari Spears will likely find himself in the starting lineup as a result of the suspensions and has to start playing like a sophomore or junior, rather than the freshman that he is. Marquez Haynes and Blair, as our only reliable bench players, will need to carry a good number of minutes (I mention Haynes because the loss of McLain and Williams could force Marshall to spend at least some time in the frontcourt). An 8th player, someone like Daye Kaba or Tyler Roche, will have to start seeing 5-8 minutes a night simply to keep the first 7 from getting too run down over the stretch. The season isn't over yet, but it's hanging in the balance. An NCAA bid at this point would be an impressive accomplishment, and would be due in large part to Dudley's leadership and Marshall's resurgence.

Hoops wins, Jags introduced

2007-01-17T00:06:00.000-05:00

Nice win tonight for the hoops team over Miami to go to 5-0 in ACC play. Main thing I liked was the spectacular play of Sean Marshall. Marshall is a guy that has consistently frustrated BC fans in the past, but tonight's game continued a recent run of great play for him. Has he finally figured it out?? Would've been nice if it happened before the midway point of his senior season, but if he can keep this up it'll have been worth the weight. Good guard play is one of the most important keys to a successful run in the NCAAs, and we'll need Marshall and Tyrese Rice (who nailed a 40-foot jumper at the end of the first half that should've been allowed) to be firing on all cylinders come March.

Perhaps the biggest news of the night, though, was the introduction of Jags to BC fans. Simply put, this guy is exactly what the program needed. He clearly loves the school and the program, and this kind of enthusiasm is infectious both with fans and with recruits. Chestnut Hill is going to be a very fun place come fall.

Some other tidbits, since I haven't posted in a while

-Keith Willis has officially transferred to NC State to follow his father; he will have to miss next season due to NCAA regulations and could also miss his senior year due to an ACC rule, but BC is expected to waive the latter

-QB Chris Johnson from NJ, a Buffalo commit, is visiting BC this weekend. Johnson is an excellent talent and a prototypical Steve Logan QB, but is very raw (observers say that he was the top high school QB in New Jersey by his sophomore year but has improved very little since then) and has academic issues that could make entry into BC difficult. That said, assuming the academic issues are cleared up, I would love to see Johnson come to the Heights. We'll still need to recruit a stud QB next year, but anything to avoid putting all of our eggs in that basket is welcome.

-Corey Eason is reportedly very close to committing to BC. Could happen in the next few days.

-OT John Elliot was reportedly on campus today. Jags' NFL experience as an OL guru has to help us with his recruiting. Pennsylvania OT Richard Muldrow is also rumored to be re-thinking his Rutgers commitment and considering BC.

-Finally, and perhaps most intriguingly, there are strong rumors floating that BC will host Florida State on Labor Day this year--but that the game will be played not at Alumni Stadium, but in Foxboro. While I'd love to get that date against FSU, I'm against putting it in Foxboro for a few reasons, most notably the inaccessibility of the location--with only a tiny minority of BC students owning cars, is the school willing to bus the entire student body to the game??

OK, I lied again

2007-01-13T03:21:00.000-05:00

Turns out I will update tonight.

Really wish I'd gotten to see tonight's game. 6-1 on the road, even over Merrimack, is fucking awesome. This is just what we need to get our act together, and a CAREER HIGH 5 points could be just what Brian Boyle needs to get his senior year kick-started. Hell, maybe pulling the "C" was what he needed. I'd hoped for 7 points from our first 4 games of 2007 and while that didn't happen, 6 is the next best thing. Hat trick for Benn Ferriero and Boyle, Joe Rooney, and Brock Bradford rounded out BC's scoring. Excellent job and let's keep it going--3 points from a pair of games in Burlington next weekend should be the goal.

Simms back in play

2007-01-08T16:41:00.000-05:00

Matt Simms is "not going to Louisville", NorthJersey.com is reporting. No word on whether or not BC is in the mix but there's no reason to think that us and Rutgers are not the leading candidates for his signature. That said, Steve Logan prefers more mobile QBs, but if he sees something in Simms we have a good chance to get his signature.

Providence Today

2007-01-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

Inexcusable loss by BC on Friday night. Simply no way you should blow a 2-0 lead to anyone, let alone Northeastern. This team needs a serious gut check. They need to step it up today against Providence, but the good news is I think they will. BC 5, Providence 1

Northeastern/2007 Preview

2007-01-04T22:32:00.000-05:00

BC begins the second half of the 2006-07 hockey campaign the same way they started back in October, against Northeastern. Although the Eagles must travel to Matthews Arena, site of a heartbreaking 3-3 tie in November on a Huskies goal with 2 seconds on the clock, we'll hope the 5-2 result from the season opener at Conte Forum will be repeated.

The second half of the season begins with the Eagles tied for second place in Hockey East with Vermont, with both schools' 13 points trailing conference leaders UNH with 21 (although the Wildcats have played 12 games to BC's 10 and Vermont's 9). If the season were to end today, BC would find itself at home for a Hockey East tournament quarterfinal series against Providence. Given some of the woefully inconsistent play that we've seen from this team so far, this team is fortunate to be in such a position.

That said, there is plenty of time for the Eagles to "turn it on". This is a team that lost at Providence, and got humiliated at Harvard and at home by Notre Dame (albeit what has turned out to be a very good Notre Dame team) and New Hampshire. It's also a team that has already notched a tough victory at BU, a classic OT win at Maine, and took a pair of impressive road victories over Wisconsin (I don't care if Wisconsin is down this year, sweeping the defending national champs in their house by 3 goals per game is always impressive; besides, the Badgers' weak start is likely merely a result of their brutal early schedule--their 10 losses to date include BC twice, Denver twice, at Minnesota twice, at Alaska-Anchorage, North Dakota, Michigan, and a 9th-ranked Clarkson team--look for Wisconsin to rebound in the second half of the year with a much more manageable schedule).

Most of all, this is a young team, as it was last season. Brian Boyle is still trying to find his way filling the captain's jersey, but his 2-goal performance in the 5-2 win over UMass to close out December shows that he may finally be figuring it out. We all know what he can do as a player, but can he step it up as a team leader?? Cory Schneider has been his usual exceptional self so far, and there's no reason this should stop. Joe Rooney, while not yet putting up the kind of season that Chris Collins put up last year and that every BC fan had pipe-dreamed that he might, is still having a very good campaign, leading the Eagles with 17 points. Guys like Benn Ferriero, Nate Gerbe, and Brock Bradford are making solid supporting contributions offensively, as expected. Perhaps the biggest disappointment so far has been the play of Brett Motherwell, touted by many as a dark-horse Hobey Baker candidate coming into the year, whose performance to date has been fairly pedestrian. Still, it was in the second half of the 2005-06 season that Motherwell really stepped up his game, and there's no reason to think he can't do the same this year, particularly as he continues to claim the mantle of defensive leadership alongside Mike Brennan. I look for Motherwell to have a significantly improved second half of the 2006-07 season and I also look for Carl Sneep to begin to live up to the hype that we'd all heard and start to show us why he was one of the most highly-touted recruits in this year's incoming freshman class.

BC also has the benefit of what should be a fairly reasonable schedule to kick off 2007. The Eagles travel to Northeastern then face Providence at home before a home-and-home series with Merrimack, whereas our rivals atop the Hockey East standings--UNH (two at Vermont, Dartmouth at Verizon Arena, home-and-home with UMass), Vermont (two vs. UNH, two at Northeastern), BU (at Providence, Northeastern, two at Maine), and Maine (two at Lowell, two vs. BU)--all seem to have more difficult early obstacles. BC will need to come out firing and take at least 6-7 points from these first 4 games, as a key stretch follows that will include two games at Vermont and a home-and-home against BU (including the "fog date" of the earlier canceled game), followed by a brief home respite against UMass and Lowell followed by the Beanpot opener against Harvard and an always-difficult trip to Providence before another likely meeting with BU in the final. A pair of home games against Maine, a home-and-home with Lowell and finally what should be a classic home-and-home against UNH round out the season.

Predictions?? It'll be tough to make up the 8 point deficit against UNH, even with 2 games in hand; and the Beanpot is, well, the Beanpot. But I do think this team will come alive and step it up come tournament time. I think this team has all the ingredients to pull together and win not only the Hockey East tournament but also the national championship--and I think it will do exactly that.

As for tomorrow night, Matthews is always a tough place for BC to play and tomorrow will be even tougher with Dan Bertram and Nate Gerbe still playing for their countries at the World Junior Championships (they should both be back in time for Sunday's game against Providence). BC is the better team but NU will get up for the game, and the Huskies always seem to get strange bounces in these games. I'll say BC 2, Northeastern 2.

Car Care Bowl Recap

2007-01-03T22:33:00.000-05:00

Well, we got the win and extended the streak. It was a lot harder than it had to be, but at the end of the day we got the W. So with that said...

THUMBS UP
-Sid Vicious
For the first time, he missed an extra point. But he kept it together and hit a high-pressure kick to seal the victory. He's had a great season and should get a scholarship for his senior year, especially since the coaching change means that this year's recruiting class will likely be small and there will be a few extras floating around. Although Billy Bennett is an incredibly talented kicker, he'll be a true freshman and has yet to prove himself on the college stage (his leg is what it is but we don't know how his head will be); so there's no reason not to keep Sid around for extra points and field goals of about 30 yards or less next year.

-Coaching Change
This cannot have come soon enough. There was no greater, more liberating feeling in the world while watching a BC game than being able to count down the exact number of minutes that Dana Bible would remain as BC's offensive coordinator.

-Seniors
Josh Beekman, Ryan Glasper, Tony Gonzalez, James Marten, and Mark Palmer were the best of the class, but all contributed in their own way. Thanks guys, and best of luck whether in the NFL or in whatever you do in life.

-Navy
The Midshipmen played a hell of a game and, let's be honest, should have won. I thought BC would come out there and demolish them but Navy wasn't having any of it. If it wasn't for Matt Ryan's poise and Sid Vicious' leg, they'd have taken home the upset. Also, is there ANYTHING better than an F/A-18 flyover??

-George Foreman
Not really for any specific reason. Just because George Foreman is awesome.

-Being at the Game
Why, you ask?? Because Pam Ward called the action on ESPN.

THUMBS DOWN
-Playcalling
I'm not even going to get my blood worked up ranting about this, because it doesn't matter anymore. Those responsible are gone. You all saw the game and you all know what I'm talking about, but it's NC State's problem now.

-BC Fans
With the move to the ACC, the forcing out the door of TOB and company, and the hiring of Jags and now Steve Logan (reportedly at a salary that approaches NFL coordinator level), BC's athletic department has in my opinion proven that they are committed to building an elite-caliber athletic program. Now is time for the fans to step it up, and unfortunately in Charlotte we did not do so. I'm not criticizing the number of fans who were there, because while turnout was low there were a number of reasons for this (and to be honest I probably wouldn't have been there myself if I hadn't been visiting family in the area anyway), but I am criticizing the fact that too many BC fans still don't realize that it's OK to actually make noise at a football game. I spent the entire game trying to get the BC fans in my section (130) fired up, with very little success. The guys in my row were great but the rest of the section was dead as hell. We now have a real coaching staff, and it is time to respond by becoming real fans. This means showing up before kickoff, wearing maroon or gold, and making noise to support the team.

-The Actual Bowl Game Itself
It's a joke of a game with no reason to exist--get the ACC Championship game in Charlotte and replace this game with a fourth-rate bowl in a decent city like Atlanta or Tampa. I got into Charlotte the morning of the game and left the night of the game, yet I didn't feel like I missed out on any of the bowl experience at all. Hell, it was so lame that my friends all did the smart thing and showed up 2 hours before kickoff and my ass was stuck at some shithole bar across the street from the stadium sucking down $5 Buds, talking SEC football with some dude from Kentucky, and explaining to the hosts of a radio show who were broadcasting from the place just why BC fans are so glad to be rid of TOB.

-LSU
I'm typing this while I watch the Sugar Bowl, and LSU is clearly so much better than Notre Dame that the two teams don't even belong on the same field yet the Tigers are doing everything they can to piss away what should be an easy victory. It's not working, as they're still up 7 and just executed a successful fake field goal for a first down, but they're certainly trying.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Nice win for the basketball team tonight, 72-56 over Yale, as the team continues to rebound from the Kansas and Duquesne disasters. Next up, BC heads to Raleigh on Saturday to continue ACC play against the Wolfpack. No word on whether the Hen will be in attendance.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Football season recap to come at some point in the near future, and I'll have a preview of the second half of the hockey season up tomorrow or at the latest Friday. Until then, CNNSI has a great article on BC recruit Joe Whitney, set to head to the Heights next season.

Logan official

2007-01-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

Raleigh News & Observer
85o The Buzz (Logan's radio station)

This is simply a huge get for BC. HUGE. Logan is the anti-Dana Bible; combine this with arguably the most talented returning team in BC history, and next year is very exciting indeed.

Some more rumors

2007-01-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

A few more coaching rumors I'm hearing:

Ollie Wilson for RBs coach
Jim Turner for OLs coach

Logan rumors heating up

2007-01-01T20:09:00.000-05:00

The possibility of Steve Logan as BC's next offensive coordinator was rumored here a few weeks ago, and talk is once again heating up with some sources indicating that it is essentially a done deal. Hopefully this will turn out to be true, Logan would certainly be a great addition to Jags' staff.

I'll have recaps of the season and the Meineke Bowl up in the next day or 2, been sick all day today and haven't felt like blogging.

Hockey also starts back up on Friday at Northeastern, so I'll get a preview of that game as well as the second half of the season up by then.

(And I know I've been neglecting basketball over the last few weeks, things have been busy with the football coaching drama--while I do talk some about BC hoops here, this is mainly a football- and hockey-oriented blog, whereas hoops is covered more extensively at Eagle in Atlanta, BC Hoop-La, Angry Eagle, and Heights and Lows than it is here; T-Wood also was running an excellent BC basketball blog over at House That Skinner Built, unfortunately he hasn't updated in over a month but hopefully he will start blogging again in the near future. I don't intend to completely ignore basketball here but as I said I do focus mainly on football and hockey.)

Incidentally, I recently installed something called SiteMeter on this blog, it basically tracks who is coming to the site and among other things gives me a rundown of where people who follow a link to this site from another site are coming from. It was by using this tool that I discovered that one of my posts is among the top hits when one searches Google for "erect men". I also found out a few weeks ago that some dude in Malaysia somehow found my site while doing a search for gay porn. Some things I don't really want to know about.

Meineke Charlotte Muffler Tire Continental Bowl Prediction

2006-12-28T13:04:00.000-05:00

Sitting in a public library in Asheville, NC right now so no time for a full preview, but I think BC is fired up for this one and the Eagles will roll. Navy's triple option will cause BC a few problems early but our LBs have the speed to shut it down and the defense will adjust by the end of the first quarter. Prediction: BC 45, Navy 14.

See you all in Charlotte.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T11:28:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, Eagle Nation.

I'll be out of town between now and the bowl game but will try to get a preview up either today or at some point in the next few games. Merry Christmas, Happy Jags New Year, and see you in Charlotte.

ESPN Two-Sport Rankings

2006-12-21T15:28:00.000-05:00

Not that they really mean a lot, but it was nice to see ESPN's 2-sport rankings (based on the Sagarin ratings) place BC as the #6 school in the country for combined football and basketball. Pulling in behind Texas, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, BC is the top ACC school as well as the top private school in the ratings, just ahead of Notre Dame at #7 (and after the two Catholic schools there is a huge drop-off before the next private institution, USC at #28). Not bad.

Also, a little birdie told me today that Ole Miss assistant head coach/OL coach Art Kehoe is among the leading candidates for the offensive coordinator job at FSU. Kehoe spent 25 years coaching (and 2 years playing) at Miami, and as such will be very familiar not only with the 'Noles but also with several of their ACC rivals, including BC. Without knowing a lot about the guy, it seems like a good hire based on his pedigree. Obviously this is not official yet.

JAGS!!!

2006-12-21T03:14:00.000-05:00

In case any of you haven't seen the video of Jags' introductory press conference, go do so right now.

It is unbelievably exciting to have a coach who genuinely wants to be at BC and who views the unique things that make BC what it is as selling points rather than excuses. The Herald's Steve Buckley has a great column in Thursday's issue talking about exactly this. Jags wants to make BC football fun again--for the players, coaches, and the fans.

I can't wait for September. And I guarantee you this--come our home opener, not a single person will still be on Shea Field by kickoff time. That's what happens when your football team is actually fun to watch--even more fun than slamming Busch Lights in the parking lot.

I cannot wait.

FUCK YOU DOMERS!!!

2006-12-19T23:43:00.000-05:00

Looks like a bunch of Domers somehow caught wind of our Drinko board and ripped off the idea...I'm guessing they heard about it when it got a little bit of publicity on the Barstool Sports website last year

Clearly this upsets me to no end....fags.

New OC - Steve Logan??

2006-12-19T18:06:00.000-05:00

Greensville, NC radio is apparently reporting that former East Carolina HC and Berlin Thunder QBs coach and current Rhein Fire OC Steve Logan has been brought on board to run BC's offense. No confirmation yet obviously.

Some info on Logan, who also previously held assistant jobs at Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, and Colorado:

Raleigh News & Observer
ECU official site archive
Rhein Fire website

One more thought--it can't hurt our chances of getting the next blue-chip black QB recruit when you can point to an OC who has successfully put two black QBs (Jeff Blake, David Garrard) into the NFL from a mid-major program.

It's Jagodzinski

2006-12-18T16:19:00.000-05:00

Boston.com is now reporting that Jags is the man.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. I will say that 2 weeks ago I would've liked this hire a lot, and my less than total enthusiasm about it now is not a result of me souring on Jags but rather the fact that I got carried away and fired up for Whipple.

The 3 main things that worry me with Jags are the lack of success of the Packers' offense this year, his relative lack of college experience, and the fact that most of the college experience he does have was as an offensive assistant under TOB.

That said, I do think he has tremendous positives as well. He did do a pretty good job with BC's offense during his time in Chestnut Hill, and he seems to have the right type of personality for the job. Building a strong staff will be essential for him, due to his lack of experience in the college game. He will also need a good recruiting coordinator; Notre Dame WR coach Rob Ianello is a name that has been repeatedly tossed around for this job. Jags' NFL ties will also help in recruiting, although it still would've been nice to have a guy who could pull out a Super Bowl ring on the recruiting trail.

There's also still the possibility that Richmond head coach Dave Clawson will come on board as the new OC. Also, it seems likely at this point that Spaz will stay on board as will most of the defensive staff, which is another move that has both positives and negatives.

At the end of the day, I don't think this is the ideal hire but I think it's a good hire. I'm certainly willing to give Jags a shot. And hell, TOB is gone--we should all be happy.

No news = Good news??

2006-12-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

Complete silence out of all sides today--general consensus seems to be that Whipple is the guy (although Jagodzinski and Jay Norvell are names that have picked up some momentum over the last few days) but the silence is deafening. Hopefully this is the calm before the storm and we'll get an announcement by early next week.

Whipple a Done Deal??

2006-12-13T15:34:00.000-05:00

Vega is reporting that Whipple is all but a done deal and the Steelers QB coach is already looking at recruiting lists and beginning to make decisions on assistants. I've heard other places that the deal will be announced by early next week, and possibly as early as tomorrow. We can only hope this is true.

Schneider's Heir Apparent??

2006-12-12T16:58:00.000-05:00

Reports are that goalie John Muse of Falmouth, MA and Noble & Greenough School has committed to BC. He is considered capable of stepping in next year but is expected to spend a year in the USHL if Corey Schneider returns for his senior year. Muse is a butterfly-style goalie who has put up excellent stats for Noble and is considered a very good shot-stopper with excellent positioning. This will be a huge sigh of relief for Eagles fans who have been anxious over the team's previous failure to secure a blue-chip goaltender recruit for the post-Corey era. Although Muse's lack of other elite-level offers (his other offers came from Harvard, UMass, and Princeton) is somewhat worrying, those who have seen him have nothing but positive things to say and he seems very capable of getting the job done at the Heights, although a year in the USHL will certainly help his development.

I am erect right now

2006-12-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

From a 1998 Globe article on the UMass national championship team:

''I told someone earlier in the week that it definitely was not going to be a 10-9 game,'' Whipple said. The coach went on to say that he thought ''45 [points] would be enough to get it done.'' He did not smile when he said that. Think about it: It's one thing to say that your team needs 45 points to win. It's quite another to have confidence in your team's ability to score 45.

That's only one reason Marcum should be a little nervous this morning. Whipple took a team that was 2-9 last season and turned it into the best group in the country. In only one year. He tinkered with his quarterback, got a 100-meter champion from Florida [Jimmy Moore] to play receiver, and recruited a few other players. But he basically took the core from a last-place team and produced 12 wins. He is also an offensive nut. He instructed his team to begin the game with an outrageous five-receiver flood set called, ''Chattanooga.'' He promised the players that they would run that play to begin the game, regardless of starting position. He said he did it to ''break up the tension'' on the sideline.

Then there is Whipple's play-calling. He likes to go for it on fourth down, even if he can feel the shadow of his own end zone. Against Lehigh, the Minutemen went for it on fourth and 1 from their own 28. They made it. Yesterday, Whipple was about to go for an onside kick late in the second quarter and his team up 17 points. Georgia Southern coach Paul Johnson noticed this and put his hands team on the field. Whipple was in their heads early. They couldn't make halftime adjustments because what exactly were they going to adjust to? Big-time programs pay attention to people like Whipple. Don't be surprised in a couple weeks when his name pops up as someone's coaching candidate for 1999.

Whipple's players were thanking him yesterday. He was the one who told them to get over their low expectations and think about a title. He wasn't always nice when he said it either. He once got on Shipp during a road trip because he was not wearing a tie. He is a man of details and discipline. The players learned to absorb those qualities. Yesterday they practiced them.

GET WHIPPLE!!!

Exclusive Footage

2006-12-12T03:30:00.000-05:00

Apparently someone put a hidden camera here at FHMAM headquarters while I watched this year's BC-Wake game and caught my reaction to the overturned fumble:

Update

2006-12-11T18:20:00.000-05:00

The Globe confirmed today, from a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report, that GDF met with Mark Whipple yesterday in Pittsburgh. Wouldn't have minded him flying into town to take in the hoops win over Maryland, but I'll take it. I think this is our man, folks--especially as Bill Cowher has endorsed him for the job. Rivals is reporting (subscription required) that GDF will meet with Jim Fassel this week and that Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski could also come into play. Nonetheless, I believe and hope that Whipple will be an Eagle by next week.

Rivals is also reporting that BC is still very much in the running for DE Ernest Owesu, but that we are likely out of the picture for Jamar Jackson.

Nice recap articles in the Herald and Globe on last night's hoops win over Maryland; also a great Herald article on Tyrese Rice's role in BC's flex offense.

Finally, a pair of new blogs covering BC basketball have come to my attention: Angry Eagle and BC Hoop-la. Both look great so far, so check 'em out. Like Eagle in Atlanta, these blogs appear to be dedicated to responsible and intelligent journalism and reasoned analysis the likes of which you will definitely not find here.

Finally, on the hockey recruiting front, Hockey East Blog is reporting that BC has added Paul Carey, a 6'1/185 winger out of Salisbury Prep to its 2008 class.

Weekend Wrap-up

2006-12-10T21:49:00.000-05:00

With an official announcement still yet to arrive, most signs are still pointing to Mark Whipple as BC's next head coach. GDF was in Pittsburgh today interviewing Whipple, whom the Steelers have given BC permission to talk to. The other leading candidate for the job appears to be Tulsa's Steve Kragthorpe, but nonetheless I will be surprised if Whipple is not the guy.

Things also seem to be holding steady on the recruiting front, with Arthur Ray Jr. remaining the only recruit to have de-committed since TOB's departure. OT Nathan Richman and, surprisingly, WR Dominic Magazu have emphatically re-iterated their commitment to BC, while RB Devon Ramsay and OG Nick Schepis are remaining committed to BC while keeping their options open.

--------------------------------------------------------

Mixed results for the hockey team this weekend as they closed out the semester with a split against UMass. The Eagles fell 2-1 on Friday night in Amherst despite dominating play but rebounded with a 5-2 win last night in Conte behind two goals from Brian Boyle, who is returning to a more natural position in front of the goal on the Eagles' power play, as detailed in an article in today's Globe. The team is now done for the semester and will next take the ice on Jan. 5th at Northeastern.

The basketball team also opened up ACC play tonight, notching a very impressive performance in a 72-63 win over Maryland at Conte Forum.

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory

2006-12-09T03:42:00.000-05:00

Is there a more beautiful sight in the world than that, folks??

TOB is not only gone, but gone to a division rival.

You gotta love it.

And even better, Fox 25 is reporting that BC has reached an agreement with Mark Whipple to take the job.

Beautiful.

Spaz will coach the bowl game--that's fine with me.

I'll have more tomorrow and I'm going to wait until Whipple is confirmed before I jizz myself, but this is a great day for Boston College.

BC-UMass, Recruiting Update

2006-12-08T16:29:00.000-05:00

Hockey Eagles head to Amherst tonight to take on UMass to take on the Minutemen, with the rematch tomorrow night at Conte. The teams are coming in seemingly headed in different directions, with BC coming off a key 1-0 win at Agganis Arena with the Minutemen trying to rebound from a bad 3-0 loss at Merrimack. UMass always will get up to play the Eagles but BC should take the sweep in this one. Look for Brian Boyle and Brett Motherwell to step it up and take charge of their leadership roles on this team this weekend; I'm looking for a couple of big games from both guys. Prediction: BC 3, UMass 1 (Friday); BC 5, UMass 0 (Saturday)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The one downside to TOB's departure from the Heights is the effect it will have on this year's recruiting class. I'll try to keep track on this blog of our 2007 recruits and their reactions to the coaching change. As of what I've heard so far:

-OG Arthur Ray Jr. has de-committed from BC and is shopping around. He seemed to be wavering from his commitment recently even before TOB's departure. I think it is unlikely that he will return to BC; most likely he will end up at a lower-to-mid-level Big Ten program such as Illinois or Michigan State

-K Billy Bennett and WR Corey Gatewood have both strongly re-affirmed their commitments to BC and publically urged other recruits to come for the school, not the former coaching staff. We cannot thank either of these guys enough for their efforts

-BC's 2 most recent commits, TE Lars Anderson and DE Jeff Rieskamp are both taking a "wait and see" attitude. Both indicate that they will still likely come to BC but will explore other options as well. Anderson in particular is a risk, as NC State was one of the finalists for his services before his initial commitment to BC. My gut tells me that BC will hang on to both guys, but it isn't a sure thing

-CB Michael Peterson has said that BC is still the most likely candidate for his services, but that he will consider offers from South Florida, Vanderbilt, and a potential offer from Georgia Tech. Depending on who the new head coach is, BC should be able to beat out the Bulls and Commodores, but a GT offer could become a problem unless BC first hires a new coach and secures a re-commitment

-LB Will Thompson has been in contact with other schools and will take a visit to UConn, but seems to still strongly favor BC. He also made a point of saying that he will not follow TOB to NC State. My read is that he still wants to come to BC but is keeping his options open in case BC goes in a direction he doesn't like with the coaching hire. The fact that his only scheduled visit to UConn is interesting, as Huskies coach Randy Edsall has been rumored by some to be among BC's top choices; look for Edsall to try to make a personal connection with Thompson during that visit, rather than neccesarily trying to sell him on UConn as a school

-RB Devon Ramsay is now listed as a "soft verbal" on Rivals. I don't think this is much to be worried about; I think he, Thompson, and Peterson will all quickly re-affirm their commitments to BC as long as the new coach isn't someone like Bob Davie

-WR Dominic Magazu has had no public change in his status, but my feeling is that he is as good as gone. He is from Charlotte and his dad, Panthers tight ends coach Dave, is a former TOB assistant. Look for him to follow TOB to Raleigh

Shannon off the board; Johnson unlikely

2006-12-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

A couple of body blows to BC's coaching search today as Navy head coach Paul Johnson issued a statement today re-affirming his commitment to Annapolis, and ESPN is now reporting that Randy Shannon will be promoted to the head coaching job at Miami.

With those two names off the board, BC still has a wealth of candidates to choose from. As long as it's not Bob Davie or Randy Edsall, we will be fine.

Revised shortlist:

1. Mark Whipple
2. David Cutcliffe
3. Jim Fassel
4. Steve Kragthorpe
5. Bud Foster

It's a BEEEEEEEEAUUUUUUTIFUL day!!

2006-12-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning and everything was just better. Food tastes better, the air is cleaner, birds are chirping, supermodels clad only in hooker boots (one maroon, one gold) and cowboy hats with an angry chicken logo on the front are sponge-bathing me and hand feeding me.

As always, ATL Eagle was on the scene within a few hours of the announcement drawing up a list of potential replacements. Not much I can add there, other than that in addition to the guys he named I would also keep an eye on South Florida HC Jim Leavitt and Baltimore Ravens DC Rex Ryan.

As for my shortlist right now?? I honestly don't know. I'll give a shot at a top 5--but keep in mind this is open to change with little or no warning:

1. Mark Whipple
2. David Cutcliffe
3. Paul Johnson
4. Jim Fassel
5. Randy Shannon

Jim Grobe would be #1 at this list and Norm Chow would be close to the top, but I don't think either guy is a realistic proposition.

In all honesty, I'd be absolutely elated with any of those 5 guys, as well as others who just missed my shortlist including Steve Kraglethorpe, Rex Ryan, Bud Foster, Jimbo Fisher, and probably another half-dozen guys I'm forgetting.

The only outside guy that I absolutely do NOT want is Bob Davie. This would be an absolute disaster of a hire, but luckily I don't see it happening--GDF is not going to go out and hire a guy that TOB repeatedly beat like a drum. Another guy whose name has been tossed around that does nothing for me is Harvard HC Tim Murphy, but I don't see that one happening either.

This is a very exciting time to be a BC fan.

A great day for BC

2006-12-06T23:11:00.000-05:00

My thoughts on TOB as a head coach are well-documented on this site, so I won't bore you by going over them again here. Suffice it to say that I am very glad he is gone.

That said, my feelings on him as a coach had never extended to my opinion of him as a human being. That was, until I heard a rumor on the EagleAction board that the BC players heard about the news the same way we did--on the Internet and on TV. I started a thread on EagleInsider relaying the rumor but re-iterating my sincere hope that it was not true.

Then about an hour ago, I received the following message on Facebook:

Alex,

I'm (redacted) on the Eagle Insider board. My account is messed up such that I can't post anything, all I can do is read. You started a thread about one of the football players finding out and calling the rest of the team. That just so happened to be my roommate. He just found out by accident. He was watching NECN on TV and it showed "O'brien going to NCState" on the scroll thing at the bottem. He freaked out and started calling people. So, yes, it is true that the team was not told. The only way they found out was because my roommate happened to be watching TV.

That pretty much says it all. Utterly classless and inexcusable.

Whatever my opinion of him as a coach, until tonight I had always had a high opinion of TOB as a person. But even if we go 0-12 for the next 20 years, we are better off without him. Good riddance.

HE'S GONE!!!!!!!!

2006-12-06T20:37:00.000-05:00

TOB TO NC STATE ACCORDING TO NECN!!!!!!!!!!!

YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If TOB leaves...

2006-12-06T16:48:00.000-05:00

I want an aggressive ass-kicker to replace him.

I want a guy that believes the sky is the limit for BC and is not afraid to take on these southern schools and go General Sherman on them. Beat them up, beat them down, kick them in the junk, throw them to the curb and bring in the next victim.

If you read interviews with guys who played in the NFL in the 80s and early 90s they all say that the team they hated to play more than any other was Buddy Ryan's Eagles. Reason being that we had the toughest, hardest-hitting defense in the league and every offensive player in the NFL knew that every time they went up against the Birds, they would get the shit kicked out of them. They might win the game, but they would have to fucking pay for it with blood.

That is what I want for BC. I want these soft southerners to DREAD coming to the Heights. I want a defense that terrifies and brutalizes the opposition. I want a 46 defense with Silva next year and then Mulrooney as the down safety. I want BC to play with an ATTITUDE. Sometimes you'll play a better team and they'll win. That is understandable. But I NEVER want to see BC just give away a game as happens 2-3 times every year under TOB. We won't win every game, but if we lose we must make the other team EARN it. Leave them/send them home battered, bruised, and bloody. There will always be teams in the country with better athletes than we have. But I never again want to see a BC team out-hearted.

When was the last time a BC team played its heart out and lost anyway?? Maybe FSU aside from the 2 Pick 6s, but that's about it. If we play with balls and with heart and lose anyway to a superior team, I will still be proud.

But I want every opposing team to know that if they play us, they can count on getting their asses kicked physically and they can count on BC coming balls out on every snap.

It's up to our new coach to instill that attitude. And it's up to GDF to bring in a man who can instill it.

TOB to Raleigh??

2006-12-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

Hearing from multiple places now that TOB is in the final stages of contract negotiations with NC State. ATLEagle surmises that a TOB-coached NC State team would beat BC every year because he'd actually get fired up for the game just as he's managed to get fired up for Notre Dame and bowl games here, and while that is a possibility you could also look at it from the perspective that the Atlantic Division championship would then be a 5-team race because no TOB-led team will ever win a division or conference championship.

Stay tuned.....

----------------------------------------------------------------

Amidst the soul-crushing fury surrounding our damnation to Charlotte, I neglected to mention the hockey team's 1-0 win over Eurabia Tech. Always great to take out Comm Ave's trash.

In other news, Friday's BC-BU game at Conte has been rescheduled for Jan. 24. Word is that the game will start over from the beginning; if this is the case then Terriers D Eric Gryba would presumably be eligible to take part. Although given his performance on Saturday, that may not be such a bad thing for the Eagles. There is also the troubling possibility that Brandon Yip will have recovered from his injury by then.

"Bad Day": The TOB Music Video

2006-12-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

Great work by Huelsebu, CarolinaEagle08, and Eagle2008Fan of the EagleInsider boards putting together this music video documenting the highlights of TOBlunders0-10's tenure at the Heights.

Well done, gentlemen.

FireTOB.com
Facebook Group
Petition
FHMAM Store

I give up

2006-12-04T11:04:00.000-05:00

Our fearless leader, quoted in today's Heights:

It's always a tough game for me, but it'll still be fun, because I'll know a lot of people in Charlotte and a lot of guys that I went to school with, so it'll be a nice time to go. The bowl game is okay, but I wouldn't be real excited to play them in a regular season series, but as a reward for the football team to now play in a bowl game, a one-time thing is ok.

...

I know it was pretty well-locked down to Orlando, Nashville, or Charlotte. I think the situation is better for the team in Charlotte because they get to spend Christmas at home, not in a hotel. If we had played the 29th then we would have traveled the 25th.

...

This team did everything it had to on the field. We had a great season; a nine-win season. We played eight bowl teams, and were 6-2 against bowl teams; we beat two conference champions and beat two ten-win football teams, so our team had a great season. One thing that we want to accomplish for these seniors is to win the 10th game, it didn't matter, we'd go anywhere to win this 10th game, and so if it's Charlotte, than it's Charlotte.

And this guy still has a job.

Simply unbelievable.

It's official--Charlotte

2006-12-03T17:43:00.000-05:00

Fuck you, TOB.

Fuck you, GDF.

Fuck you, Swofford.

BC should decline the Tire Bowl bid. If all the ACC cares about is money then force them to lose the bowl's payout. See if they fuck with us again.

But I don't want to let our pussy of a head coach off the hook--we fucking KNEW all season that this would happen unless we took care of business on the field, and we still come out flat for a make-or-break game against Wake Forest and we still lose two absolutely inexcusable games to horrible NC State and Miami teams.

This is a horrible bowl in a shithole city against a mediocre team that we play all the time anyway. Where exactly is the fucking appeal in this?? Give me ONE good reason why I should go to this game even if I lived in Charlotte let alone travel to go see it.

TOB couldn't be happier with this situation. You think he actually WANTS to play a bowl game against a real team that would put his precious bowl win streak in jeopardy?? Not only does he get a virtually guaranteed win, but he'll also get another game with no BC turnout to point to to justify HIS failure to take us to a good bowl game.

There is absolutely ZERO excuse for this asshole to still be our coach and there is absolutely ZERO excuse for us to be going to this shithole bowl. If GDF had any balls at all he would decline the invitation but we all know that isn't happening so I guess maybe I'll get out of bed to watch the game and maybe I won't. Fuck this bullshit.

The Emperor is Butt Nekkid

2006-12-02T17:24:00.000-05:00

Meet Wake Forest University--your 2006 ACC Champions.

A perennial doormat, a school with every excuse that TOB and his band of ass-kissers use to justify the Hen's continued employment despite his complete and utter FAILURE to improve the program at all during the last 5 years, has won the ACC and will play in the Orange Bowl on January 4.

Wake Forest's fans will be spending New Year's on South Beach.

Wake Forest's fans will get the chance of a lifetime to see their team play in a BCS game.

Wake Forest's fans have a great chance to see their team WIN a BCS game, given that the opponent will likely be either Louisville or Rutgers.

Every day that passes with TOB's continued employment at BC is an assault on BC's loyal and hardcore fans. The man has absolutely no loyalty to the school and publically bashes his own team's fans in an attempt to justify his own FAILURES. He has taken our program NOWHERE in the last 5 years and will take us NOWHERE in the next 5, 10, 15, however long his miserable tenure continues at BC.

TOB must be fired. NOW. Get rid of him and Bible, let Spaziani coach the bowl game, then open up the pocketbooks and bring in a REAL coach. Jim Grobe himself would be great, but if not him, then someone who can do for us what Grobe has done for Wake Forest.

TWBallgame9 on the EagleInsider board had a great quote yesterday:

Support for BC is not conditional. Support for the head coach is conditional on his performance. Unconditional support for the head coach is conditional support for the school.

I could not have said it better myself.

This situation is unacceptable. TOB must go. NOW.

ACC Championship Game

2006-12-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

Well I'm here in Jacksonville, and it's fucking crazy here. The town is full of BC fans, pumped that Tom O'Brien finally got us over the hump and we're ready to stomp the shit out of the Yellowjackets and head to the Rose Bowl....

Well, no, I'm not. Once again, with the path to the ACC Championship Game paved clear for us, TOB shits the bed with inexcusable losses to horrible NC State and Miami teams; even the Wake Forest loss, despite the fact that the Deacons are a legitimately very good team this year, might not have happened had the coaching staff shown any sort of creativity and innovation whatsoever.

With that said, we as BC fans should all be pulling hard for the Deacs today. Any excuse you can make for TOB's performance, Wake Forest has it at least as bad. Let's look at some of the excuses typically used by the syncophants for TOB's failure to take BC to the next level:

Small school?? BC's undergraduate enrollment is about twice Wake's.

Private, religious school?? Wake is a Baptist university, hence their nickname.

Stringent academics?? BC was 34th nationally in the latest US News and World Report rankings; Wake was 30th (and Notre Dame was 20th and Michigan 24th and USC 27th, but I digress).

Small fanbase?? Wake's is smaller. Not only do they have a far smaller enrollment and alumni base as detailed above, but BC as the only legitimate D1A program in New England draws on a decent number of subway alums to help make up its fanbase; Wake, on the other hand, has virtually none, having to compete with two huge state schools an hour up the road for the interest of the non-affiliated fan.

No local talent to draw from?? Sure, there's a lot more talent in North Carolina than there is in New England, but BC's only local competition is UConn; Wake, on the other hand, has to compete 2 traditional ACC powers plus a strong mid-major program (East Carolina) in-state, not to mention 4 ACC and 4 SEC schools in neighboring states (and West Virginia, Louisville, and the Alabama and northern Florida schools a reasonable drive from North Carolina). BC is in the position of being able to pick and choose just about any New England recruit it wants, whereas Wake has to fight with the likes of Clemson, Tennessee, and Georgia for its top in-state talent. Overall, despite the talent gap, I'd take BC's situation with local talent over Wake's.

No history and tradition of success?? BC is regarded nationally as a solid, if not elite program; while BC fans know the bowl streak is a smoke-and-mirrors act, it still impresses the uninitiated. BC is also responsible for one of the two most legendary plays in the history of college football. Wake, on the other hand, has been second only to Duke as the ACC's doormat until very recently.

Insistence on running a clean program?? I don't profess to know what goes on behind the scenes at Wake, but I'd be shocked if Jim Grobe is running a "dirty" program.

As you can see, with every game that Jim Grobe wins at Wake Forest, the TOB Excuse of the Day begins to ring more and more hollow.

GO DEACS, and with that said I give you a preview of BC's upcoming bowl game:

At this point I'd just like to remind everyone of the Fire TOB Facebook group and Fire TOB online petition, as well as the FHMAM Online Store where you can pick up all of your officially licensed "Fire TOB" apparel. GO EAGLES!!

Game Postponed, Fog

2006-12-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Un fucking believable.

Tonight's BC-BU game was called off after about 11 minutes of play due to excessive fog on the ice. It will be rescheduled, but that's not the point. This is absolutely inexcusable and humiliating (on national TV!!), and heads need to roll as a result of this. It's not as if there was no warning, either--the same thing happened at last year's preseason exhibition game, and no steps were taken to ensure that it would not happen again. Sure enough, it smacks us in the ass on national TV and in our biggest home game of the year. Lovely.

This is just another glaring example of the complete neglect shown for the hockey program, traditionally BC's most successful athletic program, by the athletic department under Gene DeFilippo. They screwed the players, the fans, everyone. What about fans who came in from out of town to see a pair of BC-BU games and won't be able to make the reschedule date?? Will BC refund their tickets?? Doubtful.

I'll tell you something else, too--I GUARANTEE that the game will be rescheduled for a date during the Christmas break, when no students will be in the building.

Nice work, guys.

BC-BU

2006-12-01T16:42:00.000-05:00

It's 4:20 pm (which may be appealing to some of my readers), faceoff for tonights BC-BU game at Conte is in less than 4 hours and I am still seriously entertaining the notion of jumping in my car, flooring it to the airport, and getting on a last-minute flight to Boston to show up just in time for faceoff. That's how big this weekend is.

BC's hockey team has struggled so far this year, most recently dropping a tough 6-3 contest at home to UNH. BU also does not come into the weekend firing on full cylinders, having disappointingly tied UMass 2-2 at home on Tuesday after an unconvincing 2-1 home win over Yale last Saturday. Both teams are struggling somewhat early in the season, but both certainly have the talent to bounce back and make a long postseason run.

Throw all that out the window, because none of it matters tonight and tomorrow night. This is BC-BU, and emotions and physical play will always be the theme of the day. It is one of American sports' greatest rivalries, and even if there was a significant gap between the two teams in talent or current form it would be highly unlikely that either team will take the full 4 points this weekend. Throw in the fact that these two teams are very evenly matched, and these will be two great games.

BU will be looking for revenge, plain and simple. They've had all summer to think about last year's NCAA regional final, where they had their season humiliatingly ended 5-0 by the Eagles. They will need a big weekend from John Curry if they are to defeat the Eagles, but Curry, in the fine tradition of BU goalies, more often than not comes through in games against BC (that glorious night in Worcester [how often has THAT phrase ever appeared in print??] notwithstanding). Jack "The Alc" Parker's team will also be looking to senior captain Kenny Roche, currently leading the Terriers with 11 points, to lead the charge. Sophomore Matt Gilroy, expected by many to have a breakout season, is currently lagging behind BU's top scorers but could get his season kick-started with a big weekend against BC. The loss of sophomore Brandon Yip, a constant thorn in BC's side last year, will not help the Terriers.

For BC's part, the outcome of the weekend will come down to the play of the young defense--particularly the unit's leaders, Mike Brennan and Brett Motherwell. Motherwell, touted as a preseason All-American and Hobey Baker candidate in just his sophomore year, has had a disappointing season to date but still has plenty of time to turn it around. Brennan, on the other hand, needs to start living up to his leadership role and stop taking stupid penalties. On the other end of the ice, Joe Rooney seems to be finally living up to his potential. While not having the Collins-esque breakout year that many had hoped for (if not entirely expected), Rooney is leading the Eagles with 15 points and will seek to recreate his heroics from the 5-0 game in Worcester. However, it's also time for Brian Boyle to step it up and start becoming the dominating force that he is capable of being. His production so far (13 points) is decent, but nothing special; more so than the numbers however, he needs to realize that this is HIS team, take it by the scruff of the neck, and drag it to victory, singlehandedly if need be. Boyle still has time to put together a Hobey Baker season but he needs to start stepping it up now.

I think he'll do it, and I think BC will do it. Tonight's game will be very hard-fought (even by BC-BU standards) as the Terriers will seek revenge for March's 5-0 defeat. I do expect BC to weather the storm and come out with a point before riding Cory Schneider to a win tomorrow night at Agganis. Prediction: BC 2, BU 2 (Friday); BC 3, BU 1 (Saturday)

Faceoff in just a little over 3 hours on CSTV, with tomorrow's game at 7 pm on CN8. Until then, check out this great preview video courtesy of CSTV: