Season nearing so Boston Media starts to pay attention

With less than a week away from BC Football, it is time for the local media to take notice. The Globe featured Hilliman and posted a season outlook. It will be interesting to see how the Globe's Vega covers the season. Since he missed the Spaz years, he hasn't had to cover a difficult BC football season in a long time. He's also formed a close relationship with Addazio. If the team struggles a bit, I wonder how tough Vega will get with his questions and the angles in his articles.

MetroWest capped off their BC Preview with a feature on Wade. At this point, I just want to see him play. Once we have a glimpse of Wade's progress and upside, then we can reset our expectations up or down as needed.

The Tobacco Road media predict a 6-6 finish for BC.

Stan Heath gets Globe treatment

It is not often that BC Basketball assistants are the subject of offseason features in the Globe's sports section. But here we are in August and Vega is writing about Jim Christian's biggest offseason addition: Stan Heath.

Other than bringing credibility and familiarity to the staff, Heath should help instill better defense. You get the sense from the article that this wasn't a career stop he planned, but he's glad to be back at work and glad to be reunited with Christian.

This is a rebuilding year for Basketball, but will also be critical for establishing the new culture. Having Heath's experience and support should help the young players realize what is needed to win at this level.

Christian talks to Vega and other links

Michael Vega remains the friendliest media outlet BC sports has, so I found the tone of this article with Christian interesting. The Basketball coach gives of the impression that this rebuilding and retooling of the roster is all part of the plan. Yet, there's no mention of the staff change nor how quiet the transfer news has been. How does Vega not even mention a staffer leaving last week? I agree with Christian that roster construction is more fluid than it has ever been, but BC fans would hope that he could speed up the turnaround by finding the right players quickly.

It has been a long, long road back for Charlie Davies, but this seen in New England has been great.

ESPN posted a short preview of the Football team.

BCI pointed out that a Miss State-BC series would fit both team's football schedules. I would love to see it too, but highly doubt it will happen. I don't think Mullen or Addazio would want it at this point.

Ifeanyi Momah switched positions from WR to Tight End and it may help him make the Cardinals' roster.

Advice on the coaching search: trust Vega, ignore others

As the coaching search continues, it seems some BC fans are getting restless, while some in the media are having a field day posting nonsense. My suggestion is to ignore most of it. As with the early Donahue news, it is probably wrong. This is not like the days of Gene when he would freely share his thoughts and opinions with media, staffers and boosters. Bates is different.

If you are waiting for validation or insight from any of the mainstream media, then rely on the Globe's Michael Vega. Despite my occasional frustrations with Vega's beat work, the guy is well liked at BC and has the most trusted sources. If BC is going to hand news to anyone on anything, it will be Vega. Just look at his news on Hanlan leaving and others considering transfers. The Hanlan stuff is looking accurate and so is the transfer speculation (although BC won't release or address any player status until after the new coach is hired).

I've tweeted this before, but let me also say that Bates is talking to many people and many names that have not been leaked or speculated. I don't know what he will do, because he doesn't talk to me or any others writing about the situation. I still have trust that this process will produce a good coach. Let it play out and avoid the BS coming from people who have been wrong so many times before.

Suggestions for Mike Vega as he returns to the BC beat

After six seasons away, Mike Vega is back on the Boston College beat for the Globe. This is a good thing as no one has done it as well as Vega did from the '90s until 2006. Of course when he left, BC fans didn't know how good we had it under Vega. As he comes back to the Heights, he will find a very different program and the nature of a college beat extremely different. He's not asking for my advice, but these are my recommendations on how to make the most out of covering BC sports this school year.

Love your job
This is always a touchy issue in journalism and especially at a place like the Globe, where the biggest names are often the most critical and combative of Boston's sports institutions. I don't mean Vega should be a BC cheerleader. Just that he should show a passion and excitement for covering an interesting program during its rebirth. Blauds came back to the BC beat cranky and did some weird things along the way to antagonize readers (like becoming Spaz's biggest defender). Benbow is a talented writer who produced some nice BC features over the years but being on the BC beat didn't bring out the best in his work last year (covering a miserable team didn't help). I hope Vega does more than just the feature and notebook combos that usually populate the BC beat. He can do that in his sleep. He needs to do more. Put more of the notebook type stuff in a blog or on twitter. Do something extra. Write a national college football story once week that ties to BC (tv deals, schedules, etc.). The online college audience is huge. A few little things like that can spread Vega's work well beyond the core fanbase.

Don't blog unless you are really committed
With the Globe's paywall strategy and the New York Times killing their sports blogs, I have no idea if Vega is even mandated to blog. Unless he is going to fill it with unique content five or more times a week, he shouldn't even bother. Without regular content, the blog will never spread beyond the people who read the Globe/Boston.com stuff any way. If the Globe has shuttered the college blog, and there is stuff Vega wants to write that he cannot fit on twitter, he should start a tumblr and link it off of his Twitter profile.

Don't worry about ruffling feathers
If history is any indication, Vega is not going to piss people off around BC. He's a pro. But under the old regime there was always a bit of an issue with access. I hope that if something happens in football or basketball and there is a partyline and whisper in the background (whether it be about a player, coach or administrator) Vega pushes for real answers. Bob Hohler shouldn't be the one to handle stories that might offend. Steve Donahue will be on the hot seat this year. If we struggle I hope Vega is out in front of news regarding job security and the relationship between Bates and Donahue.

Interact with the online community
Things have changed since 2006. It is not just the Globe, Herald and Eagle Action. SBNation obviously has a huge BC presence. 247 is coming on strong. ESPNBoston produces good material. BC itself produces lots of good interviews and all access type features. Plus there are half a dozen bloggers and hundreds of BC folks on twitter. By the nature of his job and access, Vega will steer much of that conversation. I hope he does more than just post a story and let the masses run with it. Add flavor along the way and challenge those who disagree with your take. It will make the work better and will make the beat feel different.

I wish Vega the best and hope to have him on here eventually. He was always very nice when I was a student at WZBC but I barely interacted with him as a blogger before he was off to other things. Even if he doesn't do some of the things I suggest, I know he'll bring a professionalism and commitment that the Globe's coverage needs.