Survive and advance hockey style

BC swept UMass to advance to the Hockey East semifinals. The game was close through two periods. BC pulled away in the third period with three goals. We don't know who they will play next yet, but we do know they will be in the Garden. Keep it going boys.

Hockey and baseball change the mood around here

There is a pattern to Jerry York's best seasons. First the team plays well at the Beanpot. Then he wins the Hockey East...again. From there, the team makes a deep run into the NCAAs and ends up with the National Championship. Let's hope defeating UMass on Friday was just another step down that path. Cam Atkinson led the team with another triple double.

In baseball news, BC ended their recent losing streak by beating Miami in Miami. The key was Pat Dean. He was excellent and struck out nine. Saturday, Miami and BC play a doubleheader. Get to the stadium if you are in south Florida.

Looking back at the lost season

Al Skinner on this season:

(Credit to the ever improving and very good BC blog on WEEI.com.)

“I am a little disappointed in this year’s club. There are a number of different reasons for it. We had some injuries throughout the season, there were some lineup changes. A lot of inconsistencies throughout the year. And so we just weren’t able to bring about any consistency in our club. I’ve always been able to have some stability within my team and there wasn’t enough of that this year for a number of different reasons. Some due to injuries, some due to matchups and just trying to improve play. So hopefully it is just one of those years. I think potential is a terrible word for coaches. I think this team has potential, but I have to help make it work and get with them to coordinate that. The biggest thing is hopefully we can stay healthier next year because we have all these guys returning so if we can stay healthy I think we can improve on this year.”

Done

As a tweeted after the game, this was the most joyless BC basketball season of my time as a BC fan. So it is only fitting that the not fun season ends with a loss to a under-maned UVA squad. I'll spend the following weeks trying to get a hold on the season. Hopefully the staff will also try to figure out what went wrong and how they will fix it for next year. Now let's hope Jerry York and crew can make us forget this depressing season.

In-game comments post: ACC Tournament

Since this is a day game and many will be at their PCs, it only makes sense to have a in-game comments post. Virginia is undermanned and on a major losing streak. This shouldn't even be close...but we have the most inconsistent team in the conference! Let's hope this is the start of a nice run and not the end of a season.

Leave your comments below.

BC going hard after young CT QB

Although they have to fill their 2011 class, BC isn't wasting any time with the 2012 recruiting class. This weekend BC offered Connecticut QB Casey Cochran. He is a current sophomore. I am a little surprised with this strategy. After getting burned by Boisture only to get a great find in Rettig, you would think that BC would be more selective when recruiting QBs. It will also be interesting to see if BC's early interest in Cochran will attract other programs that don't usually recruit CT QBs.

Thanks to Mike for the link.

Would BC, ACC throw Notre Dame a lifeline?

It looks like the conference shuffle will happen again and Notre Dame is finally on the hot seat. The fork in the Irish road is stay independent in Football and watch the Big East collapse and undermine all their non-football sports currently playing in the Big East. Or join the Big Ten in all sports, reap huge financial gains, yet lose the independence so critical to the Irish aura. Notre Dame fans are up in arms at the thought of joining the hated Big Ten. But Notre Dame's leadership is too smart to let the school get dragged down with the Big East 3.0 (which might include underfunded Catholic programs and some less than desirable fill ins like ECU or Memphis).

From my perspective it seems like Notre Dame needs three things. 1. Non football stability, 2. Continued revenue growth, 3. The flexibility to play football outside the Midwest. They want their current Big East setup but with a little more money and prestige. The only conference that I think could offer them that would be the ACC.

The Pac 10 needs two full-time football members to get their championship game. The Big XII is in danger of being raided and would also need full-time football members to replace any defections. The SEC could "add" Notre Dame in non football sports, but culturally and geographically the Irish would be a huge fish out of water. And I don't know if they would bring that much to the table to justify say the Ole Miss softball team traveling up to South Bend in late April.

The ACC on the other hand with its mix of public and private schools is more inline with Notre Dame. Like the Irish, many of the ACC's biggest programs have strong followings in the North East corridor. The ACC already has championship game so they don't need ND for football. However, the ACC could create a bowl agreement with the Irish and create a partial ACC schedule for them (similar to the old Big East deal). While many BC and ACC fans would be outraged about making special accommodations for Notre Dame, if structured well, the deal could improve our bowl slots and increase the value of the TV contract.

I don't think this will happen. I think the Big Ten money will prove too enticing and Notre Dame will finally join the conference they've dreaded for decades. However, and despite the protest I am sure most BC fans would have, the ACC needs to at least reach out to Notre Dame.

Looking under the books

Unlike most of our public university rivals, BC is not under any obligation to share employee salaries. However, the salaries can't stay private forever, as Bob Hohler showed in Tuesday's Globe. According to federal tax returns, during the 2007-08 season Al Skinner made $2.2 million dollars. The salary made him BC's highest paid employee and doubled Jags' 2007-2008 salary of $1.1 million. BC nor Skinner's agent was willing to explain how the compensation package worked. The Globe implies that there were probably some unique one-time bonuses related to Al's then new contract and the move to the ACC. Regardless, this shows BC is more than competitive with our rivals when it comes to compensation.

Radio and TV deals and other links

How desperate is the ACC to sign a big TV deal? Desperate enough to reach out to the NFL Network. Spin it however you want but the ACC expansion was all about money. Now that the current TV deal is nearing an end, all eyes are watching the new negotiations. After big pay days for the Big Ten and SEC, is there still money on the table for our new conference? That is where the NFL Network comes in. They have money and time slots on Saturday. And if there is a NFL work stoppage they will also need new content. But does the NFL want to spend enough money to get the ACC? I doubt it. Also would the ACC want to leave ESPN? We all dread ESPN's power, but not being on the worldwide leader hurts perception among recruits and fans.

If you don't have the NFL Network, rest assured that you'll still be able to listen to BC sports! Fenway Sports Group, ISP, and BC agreed to an extension of their current deal.

Joe Trapani was the only basketball player to make an All ACC team (3rd).

Skinner expects Corey Raji to play Thursday, despite his bad shoulder.

This is a few days old, but here is a good article on Brady Heslip.

Brockton football star Carlito Weaver is hoping to get more attention from the BC staff.

Florida State's "sod game plaque" for the BC game, now has an asterisk.

More of the same in loss to NC State

It seems appropriate that this team lost its regular season finale like they did today. Sluggish offense and wasted possessions: check. Allowing a mediocre offense to score at will down the stretch: check. Forcing too many 3 attempts: check. Our ACC Tourney slot was already determined, so the only thing this loss did was put us on the NIT bubble. Now to get into the NIT we will have to run deep into the ACC, perhaps the Finals. But that is a discussion for later this week. Now leave your comments on another frustrating loss.



Likes
-- Rakim Sanders' defense. I don't know what got into Rakim, but he was excellent on D today. He moved well and didn't make stupid lunges. He also grabbed some big rebounds. Let's hope it is not a fluke.
-- Ravenel in the low post. His stats weren't eye popping, but he plays with is aggressive and seems to have good touch.



Dislikes
-- Offensive rebounding. 2 offensive rebounds? That's pathetic, especially for a team that usually does well with the offensive rebounds.
-- Wasted possessions late in the game. Jackson has improved and is our best Point, but this offseason he will have to get better awareness of defenses and the shot clock.
-- Going away from the Flex in the second half. The guys got impatient and moved away from what worked early.