Flutie could be key benefactor in O'Bannon case

For those not following it, former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon is suing the NCAA for not sharing revenue generated from his likeness. This is a potential huge lawsuit impacting thousands of former college athletes given the millions of dollars of royalties at stake. As for Fluite, being part of one of the most famous plays in college football certainly has its benefits, but Doug does not receive any money from the NCAA. So every time that highlight is shown, ever time his picture is put on some memorabilia or he is used in a video game, he does not get paid but the NCAA does. Heck even Phelan and Bicknell Jr could be on the receiving end of some nice pay days due to their involvement.

I know there are many lawyers who read this blog, so feel free to chime in in the comments. Although O'Bannon brought the case, I imagine the class action nature of the suit will complicate things and dilute some payouts. But Flutie definitely should have money coming to him given how much others have made off of his play over the years.

I don't think this will change the nature of paying current student athletes. Hopefully it will be resolved with some clear guidelines for future use. These kids put a lot on the line and deserve to share in some of the wealth they generate.

Beanpot Champs and other links

The Beanpot can often be sort of a Groundhog's day for BC Hockey. If we win it can be a springboard to a strong finish. The season is not over if we lose the Beanpot, but we've yet to win a National Championship without winning the Beanpot first. So BC's closer than it had to be win on Monday was a good start to the end of the season. As I tweeted after the game, let's roll from here.

The team is deferring to Reggie Jackson more as the season progresses. Jackson will have to step up against Wake since Trapani did not make the trip due to illness.

HD thinks Rettig will have an impact early at BC.

Beanpot Game Watches

A few chapters are hosting Game Watches for the Beanpot. It is a great time to meet fellow BC fans and get more involved in your local chapter. Here are the ones that sent me notes. Add yours if need in the comments section.

Charlotte
Brazwell's Pub
1627 Montford Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28209



Denver
The Pour House Pub
1435 Market Street
Denver, CO 80202

San Francisco
Shanghai Kelly's
Broadway at Polk



Washington, D.C.
Porter's Dining Saloon
1207 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-775-3797

Congrats to Carmichael, Dunbar

Congrats to the two BC guys who just picked up Super Bowl rings. With the win Pete Carmichael Jr (on Payton's left above) will enter next offseason as a hot coaching name. Who knows though, maybe one day he'll be back at the Heights.

I hope Dunbar gets another shot at the Super Bowl too. The ring is nice, but I would rather see him healthy.

BC storylines in the Super Bowl and other links`

We are nearing game time, so here are a few Super Bowl and BC links...

Jamie Silva has a professional cut his hair for the first time since 2003. Seems like bad luck to me, but this is the Super Bowl -- you want to look good.

Jo-lonn Dunbar won't play Sunday, but he will be across the field from one of his high school friends.

Recent signee Aaron Kramer has the right frame to be one of our Olinemen. Now he just needs to add some weight and strength.

New signee CJ Jones is expected to be a DB but also may get some touches on offense.

How a newspaper should blog

Great piece this morning on the BostonHerald.com. Instead of just reposting the game story, Steve Conroy used the expanded space to breakdown BC's last second 3-point attempt. He used good quotes and sprinkled in his own analysis. These local newspaper writers have access and a huge platform. I wish they would use it like this more often.

Still not good enough

I am a sucker. I keep waiting for things to click and the team to put it together and make a run. In fact, that's what's so frustrating about the past few weeks. The team is playing better but still not good enough. Today's loss to Duke was just another example of where the team was too impatient, didn't play smart defense and got bogged down too often in offensive possessions.

Likes
-- Raji hitting midrange shots. We have so little diversity in this offense and with these possessions. I hope Raji can become consistent enough to knock down those 12 footers. If he does it will open up things for others.
-- Making free throws. It is simple but it kept us in the game. If we were flexing more, we'd be getting to the line more.
-- Sanders driving to the hoop. Sanders played well. Instead of forcing things, he drove when he had space and a path to the basket. He's strong enough to get through most guys. Now if he could only improve his handle.

Dislikes
-- 3-point shooting. There is not much to say. We are terrible from outside and the misses are symbolic of the core problems on this team. We don't have enough good shooters and guys rush things.
-- Dealing with Duke's size. How many times were we going to force things inside against two or three Duke defenders? Also, we let them control the boards. Our guys were did not box out well or close on long rebounds.
-- Trapani's play. I kill Sanders, so it is only fair that I point out how inconsistent Trapani can be. He wasn't hitting his shots and didn't play particularly strong defense.
-- ESPN's scheduling. How many of you missed the first ten minutes of the game as Nova needlessly fouled Georgetown in the noon game? I did. Yet we are so dependent upon ESPN that BC nor the ACC can't say much about the disruption. The games are too stacked and there was no way we were going to see the beginning live.

Thoughts on the new schedule

BC only has so much control over its schedule...yet that doesn't mean we can't pick it apart! As a reminder, here is the schedule:


Sept. 4 - Weber State
Sept. 11 - Kent State
Sept. 25 - Virginia Tech
Oct. 2 - Notre Dame
Oct. 9 - @ NC State
Oct. 16 - @ Florida State
Oct. 23 - Maryland
Oct. 30 - Clemson
Nov. 6 - @ Wake Forest
Nov. 13 - @ Duke
Nov. 20 - Virginia
Nov. 27 - @ Syracuse

Here are the issues (good and bad) surrounding the schedule and my thoughts.

Herzy comes back against Weber State. Labor Day weekend has always been an awkward Saturday for BC football. Many students are not on campus yet. Many locals use it as a last weekend of the summer getaway and the Boston sports scene is distracted by the Red Sox and a major golf tournament. With Herzy's pending return, we could have used our opener to turn the game into a major event. Instead we have a cupcake in Weber State. The game will probably not be on TV and there will be 20,000 fans in the stands. Another wasted opportunity.

Soft opening. If you look beyond the marketing and momentum, opening with Weber and then Kent State will be a good for the team. Like last year we will still have some questions around our passing game and some key spots to fill on defense. Playing two easy games and having a bye prior to a home game against VT is a nice way to start the season.
October could be scary. It is a brutal five game stretch that includes our two toughest road game. The middle of the schedule also includes four of the five division games. One month will make or break the season.
Syracuse back where it belongs It will be nice to close the season with the Orange. Closing with a Big East team also means we will know our division fate well before the final weekend.

Overall this is a very fair and forgiving schedule. If we go 3-2 in October, we will certainly finish with a winning record. I won't make a final prediction yet, but we should be bowling again.

Down goes Duke and other links

The BC women hit another high point in an uneven season by upsetting Duke Thursday night. Congrats to them. It was the first time we've beaten then since joining the ACC.

Syracuse fans are excited to have BC back on the schedule.

The Boston media is paying attention to Pete Carmichael, Jr.

Jamie Silva will be surrounded by BC folks in Miami.

Here are some additional recruiting links:

HD talked to recruiting coordinator Mike Siravo.

Pierre Louis is one of the keystones of this class.

Jaryd Rudolph thinks he might move to the defensive side of the ball.

Spaz placed a premium on character in this year's class.

Sean Sylvia's extra year of high school paid off.

2010 Schedule

Here is the first look at the 2010 schedule.


Sept. 4 - Weber State
Sept. 11 - Kent State
Sept. 25 - Virginia Tech
Oct. 2 - Notre Dame
Oct. 9 - @ NC State
Oct. 16 - @ Florida State
Oct. 23 - Maryland
Oct. 30 - Clemson
Nov. 6 - @ Wake Forest
Nov. 13 - @ Duke
Nov. 20 - Virginia
Nov. 27 - @ Syracuse




I'll have more later today.

Mega recruiting roundup on Spaz's first full class

With a full year under his belt, Spaz signed and announced his first full BC class. Although I am repeating myself, let me say that I try not to get caught up in the emotion of recruiting. We won't know the impact or success of these guys for two or three years. There are some definite positives though about this class as well as a few areas of concern. This is what I like:

-- Closing on QBs. When BC's first QB commit started to hedge and eventually switched to Michigan State, Spaz and team didn't waste any time and still landed two solid prospects. As the season progressed, one of those QBs, Chase Rettig turned into a real sleeper.
-- Solid Linebackers. Two of the highlights of the class are Kevin Pierre-Louis and Steele Divitto. A position of strength just got stronger.
-- Staying strong in New Jersey. The Garden State has been and should continue to be our most important recruiting territory.

Not all was rosey. I was concerned about the following:
-- Too heavy on New England prospects. I know the quality of New England football has improved, but I still feel like this class was too reliant on the low hanging fruit in our backyard. We need to continue to hit Ohio and Florida and look high and low for great recruits.
-- Not using all of our scholarships. There are two schools of thoughts on this. One is that if you don't like your the last few prospects there is more value to holding a few scholarships for transfers or next year. My opinion is that BC should always near the maximum number of scholarships and recruits every year. My belief is that there is so much attrition, you need bodies in your program. I also believe that you never know if that last flyer will develop into a great player (see Jamie Silva).

Spaz has now put his own imprint on BC recruiting. These guys will be part of the future and are now part of the family. I wish them all the best.

What does everyone else think?

Rivals ranked the class 47th overall. Scout slotted BC at 44th overall.

The ACC had a roundup of all the conference's recruits.

The focus of this article is Pierre-Louis but it also contains a quote from Spaz regarding our open competition for the QB job.