Silly season

In my offline life, I probably overuse the colloquialism "if you throw enough -hit at the wall, some of it will stick." Right now that phrase perfectly captures what's going on with the BC message boards and with Twitter. You can say a decision is near because frankly there aren't that many weeks of school left. No source needed. You can say there are finalists because there are seemingly endless rumors of finalists. One particular reporter continues to throw up names and rehash talk and rumors from BC message boards. [I know I am being very hypocritical about aspects of this, but please trust I am trying my best to be rational, consistent and accurate.]

The rumor and candidate de jour is former MLB and NFL executive Mike Dee. I can see where his name would be leaked because that is an old Red Sox move. I know the leak is not coming from Father Leahy. There is no way he is talking to old Boston College beat writers. If Dee is talking to people, it is because he is trying to drum up interest. But if he is talking, he is doesn't understand the current BC dynamics. Talking out of turn causes problems (see: Ammaker, Steve Donahue, etc.) I imagine if Dee truly made the face-to-face stage with Father Leahy, going to the media before a final decision won't help his candidacy. But even beyond that, I don't believe Dee is a finalist. BC has told donors they are looking for someone with Athletic Director leadership experience and a history of hiring coaches. Dee doesn't have that. If Father Leahy goes in that direction, it will be a big surprise to some of his most active donors.

I would be very upset if BC hired Dee. Fit and experience are my main gripes, but there are others too. I will save those issues for when I am proven wrong and he is hired.

Report: Daz closing in on Jim Reid

According to Blauds and some Iowa folks, Addazio is closing in on Jim Reid as Defensive Coordinator. If this comes together, I am okay with it. At 65, Reid is a little older than you would want, but his track record is very good. This would be Reid's second stint as DC at BC. In his one season at the Heights, he guided the awesome 1994 Defense to 7th overall ranking. Offenses, personnel and approaches are very different, but I can say as an eye-witness, that defense was very, very aggressive.

In more relevant times, Reid was Defensive Coordinator at Virginia from 2010 to 2012. During that time he helped turn the Cavaliers into one of the better Ds in the ACC. Their ACC Rankings each year:

2010 -- 10th in the ACC
2011 -- 4th in the ACC
2012 -- 5th in the ACC

Reid has numerous ties to New England and Massachusetts. Like Brown, it appears like Addazio's old mentor Paul Pasqualoni served as the match-maker (Reid was on Pasqualoni's final Syracuse staff). I don't know what he would be like as a recruiter, but Reid can clearly take the talent we have and keep it as a functional, effective unit.

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.

One blogger's perspective on the coming Spaz narrative

As I predicted, now that there is no hope that he can turn things around, Spaz defenders and apologists are trying to shape the narrative that Spaz is a “good guy and great coach” who just couldn’t get the job done at BC. That is not reality. Spaz never should have been hired and has not done a good job while head coach. Whenever you talk or write about Spaz, his defenders always bring up Jags. Spaz’s predecessor hasn’t been employed by BC since 2009. He is irrelevant to the conversation and Spaz’s current situation. Spaz’s record is of his own making. It is not Jags or anyone else's. Show me any other fanbase in college sports that would accept that sort of logic in a coach’s fourth season?


The Job 
As we begin a search again it is important to remember what the job entails and why Spaz was never a good fit. Being a head coach is about more than football knowledge. That is the basic requirement. You need to have good people skills, management skills and organizational skills. You are in charge of more than a dozen staffers and grad assistants. A head coach is responsible for more than 100 players. And the job is not just babysitting those players. To be effective you need to develop them as football players and you need to find 20 to 25 high school students to replace your departing players every year. Finally the head coach must be the face of the program. He is the persona you are going to sell to recruits and fans. He is also the lead spokesman to the media. Spaz – even prior to becoming head coach – was considered a bit of a prickly personality, a disinterested recruiter and an awkward media presence. All those factors were the reason he didn’t get the job when TOB left. None of them changed two years later.


The stability of the hire
In the coming weeks you’ll read that BC turned to Spaz during its time of need after the Jags situation blew up. The timing and the situation were of BC’s making but they were highly unique. BC was also coming off two very successful seasons. Making a hire based on continuity and stability was not necessarily a bad decision. Hiring Frank Spaziani was. At the time BC had two better options than Spaz on staff. Steve Logan and Jack Bicknell Jr. were both very interested in replacing Jags. Both had previous experience as Head Coaches and both understood the demands of being a head coach. Of course neither were truly considered because Gene Defilippo wanted to keep his influence on the program. Gene knew that Spaz was more malleable and dependent on him than Logan or Bick ever would have been.


Loyalty
Defenders are quick to write about Spaz’s loyalty to BC, but I’ve never understood how you measure this or justify it as a reason for the hire. What other business, school or team would place a multi-million dollar organization in the hands of someone based on loyalty? You could argue that Barry Gallup has been more “loyal” to BC than Spaz ever was. He wasn’t really considered by Gene. Also where was Spaz’s true loyalty? Most who know him best say that he stayed at BC not solely because of his love of the school, but because he didn’t want to move his family and Gene promised him an important role with the new coach. If BU had an ACC football program and they had hired TOB, do you think Spaz would have stayed at BC out of loyalty? He stayed because it was best for his career and family. That is what 99% of us would do too. He should not be faulted for staying but the act shouldn’t be turned into some noble work of charity by Spaz.

Recruiting and rosters
Spaz has been quick to remind everyone of all the problems he inherited. Regardless of the validity of those problems, he has now had four years to fix them. There should be no holes in the roster or depth chart. If old players weren’t good enough, he’s had ample time to replace them with new players. He is not even using his full scholarship allotment each year. That’s neglect. There are many varied and successful strategies to recruiting. Spaz’s strategy has been to get low-hanging fruit who will commit to BC on his timetable (the summer). I have no problem with that if it works. Based on our declining record I would say it hasn’t. We’ve also had a fair bit of roster attrition. Some attrition is natural in college football, but you have to question the environment created when guys with completed BC degrees leave under varied circumstances. I know there are plenty of great guys on our current roster. But having great character on our roster is not a Spaz thing. BC has been recruiting and molding young men for decades. It predates him and is part of our culture. It will be part of our culture after he is gone too.

Staffs, Coordinators and Kevin Rogers
Coaching football is not a one-man band. You need trusted assistants at every position. Gene influenced Jags’ staff (and forced Spaz on Jags) and then did the same thing to Spaz. Perhaps that dynamic doomed Spaz from the start. How could he expect his staff not to undercut him with Gene when he had whispered to Gene and undercut TOB and Jags when he was an assistant? When the time came for his first staff, he went outside of Gene’s network to bring in his old friend (and twice retired Gary Tranquill). Tranquill could have been a good sounding board and adviser to a first-time coach but he never should have been put in charge of the entire offense. When Tranquill retired for a third time Spaz and Gene disagreed on the new OC. The compromise was Kevin Rogers. We all know how it ended, but no one wants to go on record with what led up to the ending. I was not there (obviously). Only the coaches were. It is alleged that Spaz punched Rogers at halftime of the UCF game. Spaz’s friend and confidant Blauds will acknowledge that Rogers bled from the mouth and there were angry words, but claims there was nothing physical. Did they serve shards of glass in the Coach’s Box at UCF? Did Rogers bite his tongue from arguing? Did he have miraculous case of 30 minute TB? The denials don’t even matter at this point. The staff changes tell enough of the story. This was not a good working environment. And because of that our offense has been dreadful for four seasons. How you prepare, the systems you use and how you teach impact the results on the field. Spaz never seemed to figure that out or trust anyone else enough to fix it for him.

Game Management
All of Spaz issues could be overlooked if we won more. That is that case at every school. But we didn’t. Our strategies and gameplans have been suspect many times. His use of timeout and the clock have caused endless frustration. In four seasons and almost 50 games, Spaz has never comeback from a deficit of more than seven points. How does that happen? We should have lucked into one small comeback over the years. But this is the same guy who trotted out the same defense for a decade. Why did anyone expect him to become a great situational manager once he was put in charge?

History
We will get a new coach and be good again one day. But don’t let BC critics or Spaz apologists rewrite this decline. Spaz wanted the job for a variety of reasons, was a thorn in Jags' side while Jags was here and then led BC down this slow decline once he finally got his turn. He never should have been hired in the first place.

Blog fighting (nothing to see here)

(Eds note: this is all self-serving blogger stuff that I try to avoid. If you don't care, feel free to skip this post.)

Blauds wrote this Sunday. He's written about me before, but I've just ignored it. I don't think two writers going back and forth is all that entertaining or informative. However, in this case it starts to creep into the personal and the logic is so flawed, I thought I should responded. His post is sort of all over the place, so let me take on his main points one by one.

1. "Get a credential"

I've been getting credentialed for BC events for nearly 18 years. The reason I am not a regular in the BC press box is more about geography rather than willingness to face the subjects I write about. I covered all the teams for WZBC in the 1990s and have been blogging about BC since 2005. I've been credentialed for away games and bowl games throughout the southeast. I've covered some of the same events Blauds has as a member of the media. I took this picture. Notice the guy to Purvis' right?

I will be credentialed this Saturday. But not so I can "introduce myself to Spaz and tell him what I think." I've met Spaz twice. Once when I was a student and once after the Champs Bowl. Could he put my face to this blog? Doubtful. He didn't seem to care at the time. But why would I go up to him after the game and say: "You are failing. You need to be fired!" Does any member of the media do that? Does any member of the BC community do that? I do not take calling for anyone's job lightly. Despite my extreme doubts about Spaz's capabilities as a Head Coach, I didn't call for him to be fired until last season. But Spaz is a public figure with a public job that is covered by media and debated by fans. People writing, talking and speculating about his job comes with the territory. He knows this and is paid handsomely for it. And if Blauds or he ever feel sorry for him, they only need to look at the scrutiny other Boston sports figures face (Bobby V anyone?) and other college coaches face in other parts of the country. Gene Chizik won a National Championship two years ago and now fans are attacking his wife on Facebook. In the whole scheme of things Spaz gets off easy.

But regardless of the fairness or appropriateness of me calling for a change, Blauds implies that I don't back up my words or statements. One of the reasons I have been open about my identity from the very beginning was the personal belief that having my name attached to everything I post would be the best filter for what I write and how I approach my subjects. Even with that I have made hundreds of mistakes and have dozens of posts that I wish I had never written. But I haven't deleted them. I have apologized. But this is my blog and these are my words.

Even when I was a student and going to Dan Henning's press conferences and flying on the team charter as part of the WZBC crew, I said Henning should be fired. We all did. But not to his face. That's not cowardly. It is just how things are done and Blauds knows this. We had a forum (radio) and we covered and discussed BC. But during our broadcasts we also offered our opinion. And at the time we said Henning should be fired. Now I have a different forum (this blog). I provide news and opinion and it is my opinion that Spaz should be fired. And if I happen to meet Brad Bates this weekend and he asks my opinion, I will share with him what I have already written.

2. "A HEALTHY roster of players that Spaziani recruited is not that a bad a team."

I agree with Blauds on this point. He sees it as a defense. I see it as an indictment of Spaz's tenure and record. This BC team is not as talented as some of our best but it is not as bad as some say. I believe a different coach and different staff could be getting more out of them. Regardless of health, Florida State WRs were running free through zones on Saturday. Yet players were missing assignments or getting caught out of position. Are guys trying to do too much? Are they not paying attention? Did they stop caring? No one knows, but you cannot get rid of 85 players at once. You can change the head coach. This team is underachieving by every measure. If Blauds thinks this is a six or seven win roster, then how can he come to the conclusion that Spaz is getting the most out of what he has? Every team has injuries and it costs them a game or two. Not five.

3. Firing Spaz now accomplishes nothing.

I paraphased that point, because I need this blockquote to capture all of the logic misteps Blauds made here:

"Give BC a head start on finding a new coach? Are you kidding me.

Do you actually believe that Bates is not looking and checking names and availability right now?

Do you not think that when the regular season ends a decision will be made and made quickly.

Fire Spaz now will give a boost to the players on the team? Really. I talk to players on that team. I see them on the practice field. I see them walking around campus. They are mad as hell. But changing coaches, put in someone like Doug Martin in on an interim level. Again that will accomplish? Maybe that is done at places where football is more important than going to school or playing by the rules. But at BC?"

I do believe that Bates is already considering names and I do believe he will have a quick process once he moves forward. But Blauds is either forgetting or ignoring recent college football history if he thinks firing a coach early and moving on in the process early doesn't have its advantages. The last two schools to hire Urban Meyer did so in season and after they got a head start on the process. Now I don't think BC is going to bring in the next Urban Meyer, but for the sake of a simple and credible strawman to help Blauds see the light, let's say Bates has an eye for BC grad and Saints Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. If Spaz is no longer BC's head coach and if Carmichael wants the job, hiring him early allows Carmichael to build his staff, contact recruits and get planning on rebuilding BC. I know something that aggressive and progressive won't happen, but firing Spaz does declare to the football world: "this job is open and available." Bates will hear from dozens of potential candidates. Starting to sort through the process now is not a bad thing.

As for the players at this point they deserve better. They deserve someone who believes in them and will do everything he can to win these games. I don't go to practice (once again, geography) but you don't need to live in Cleveland Circle to judge the mood of the players and the team. Just look at social media or what player parents are writing on the blogs and message boards. Putting Martin or McGovern in charge for the rest of the season changes the mood. It won't change the team dramatically or wipe away their flaws overnight, but it is one of the only options BC has. It has nothing to do with going to class or playing by the rules.

Because this has already gone on long enough...

I don't know why Blauds decided to call me out now. Maybe because among the hundreds of anonymous BC fans on message boards and blogs, I am one of the few with a clear name to attach to my argument. It doesn't matter. I stand by what I say. I've been wrong before and will be wrong again. But this time I am confident in my opinion. BC football and its players would be better off if Bates fired Spaz midseason. Their careers on finite. Most of them only have a few games left and want to win. As I've said, they deserve better. They always have.

Rumored ADs, rumored coaches and what it all means

RUMORS on the AD front

Blauds wants BC to hurry up and pick an AD. My guess is that his whining and criticism is on behalf of a source who also might be a candidate for the job. As is often the case, he's way off the mark on a few fronts. BC doesn't need to accommodate any candidates. All the public finalists would gladly take the job and should expect multiple rounds of interviews. None of the named ADs are currently with BCS programs. These jobs don't come along all that often and the potential pay raise and power of the BC job is worth the wait. Blauds also doesn't know all the candidates. I don't either but I've been told from multiple sources that there are others interested and being screened whose names have not leaked yet. Finally Blauds is off when he says the process is too long. Just having a process is a good thing. BC is going to narrow the list and have more discussions, and then negotiate with a finalist. It will be on BC's terms and probably wrapped up within the next four to six weeks. BC doesn't need to announce a hard date publicly because then if they miss the hard date it gives the appearance that something is wrong. The only real deadline is to have the new AD hired before football season ends.

RUMORS on the coaching front

First came the glowing profile of Al Golden from Dan Wetzel that mentioned he could be a candidate for other jobs. Then came the ESPN blurb that mentioned BC as a possible destination for the Miami coach. That got the message boards talking and rightly so. He'd be a great candidate to replace Spaz. But would he really come here? In my experience covering Al Golden from afar, there is a simple truth: if his name is mentioned for a job, he wants it and his people are probably leaking it. With his AD potentially leaving and the still unknown of NCAA sanctions, maybe Golden wants to bail before the program is crushed. If he stays at Miami he might endure a four or five year rebuilding process and that is probably too long for a guy like Golden. And after enduring all those losses he'll really only have value to Miami. He's not going to be a "hot" coach after multiple losing seasons. At BC he could avoid a decline, build year over year and then be in a prime spot to jump to a bigger program in four of five years (like right when his alma mater Penn State comes out from sanctions). I always viewed Golden as a better self promoter than coach, but at both Miami and Temple, he's proven he can win despite difficult circumstances. I watched good chunks of the Miami-NC State game and the Miami-Georgia Tech game. In both, his team played hard. I think he could do some great things at BC. But I don't think it will ever get that far. Even with a new AD, I would be surprised if we paid a new coach $2 million+ to come to the Heights. It's not a money thing either (the new ACC TV deal would cover the cost). It is a culture issue. I don't see our leadership willingly breaking the bank for Golden.

But when we make a change the new AD should at least call Golden. The leaks alone let us know that he'll have the conversation.

Filling in the gaps around Blauds post on Sean Frazier

Early Wednesday Blauds posted an update predicting Sean Frazier would be BC's new Athletic Director. Of course he hedged his post with this quote at the end:

Which means that while I fully expect Sean Frazier to be the next BC AD, I will not be stunned if it is someone else.

I don't think Blauds knows for sure. From what I gather, the only people that truly know where BC is in the process are Father Leahy and Leo Sullivan. This is what I do know that Blauds either doesn't know or left out:

• BC has a Board of Trustees meeting on September 28
• Representatives of the Flynn Fund met with Sullivan and Leahy and both explained that they want a new AD in place soon, so that he or she can make a full evaluation of the football program. Even if someone is not named October 1, the process will not drag on much longer.
• Leahy and Sullivan also told the Flynn Fund that the new AD will be from the Athletic Department world and have football experience. We won't be following the recent steps of Michigan, Notre Dame and USC by hiring a high-profile alum that doesn't have hands on Athletic Department experience. 

I don't know if it will be Frazier. He seems like a fine candidate and I will write more on him if and when he gets the job. But I do agree with Blauds that this process will be over soon.

One more thing...this is Sean Frazier's profile picture on Twitter:

Floated names

Because I've hinted at names, people have asked (offline) who are the candidates. At this point I don't know. I truly believe that BC is talking to all sorts of different people and have not narrowed the focus on anyone. And as you'll see from the list below, there isn't an overriding theme or obvious profile.

People Blauds has mentioned. 
I don't think much of Blauds but I can't fault him on his AD search work. He was the first to leak Tim Pernetti, who is interested but has to keep up appearances with Rutgers in case BC doesn't work out. Blauds also mentioned Duke's Mike Cragg. Cragg fits the mold I've heard mentioned of ACC school, worked at a private school, understands BC's student athletes and donors.

Eagle Outsider's board suggested John Currie from Kansas State and Woodie Dixon from the Pac 12. I think both would be great, but I don't think either are serious candidates.

Names I haven't seen online yet, but have been dropped by a few different people...

• M. Quentin Williams. BC grad, former NFL and NBA executive. Lawyer in private practice in New York. I've heard he's on the A list and other people told me he hasn't been called. No idea, but he's at the center of a lot of speculation. I think he'd be popular with the Football Alumni (since he's one of them) and he has Tom Coughlin in his corner.
• Chris Plonsky. She's Director of Women's Athletics at Texas and a former Big East official. 
• Jon Oliver. He's a high-ranking Associate AD at Virginia. I think an endorsement from Virginia's AD Craig Littlepage would go a long way with BC leadership.
• Sean Frazier. He's been mentioned on BC message boards in the past. People like his hockey background. I have heard his candidacy is real. 

Getting people to share names is harder than in past coaching searches because no one seems to know much and because BC is looking beyond the usual circles. I've been told Jim Paquette may get an interview but he is not getting the job because of the perception -- fair or not --  that he was Gene's right-hand man for so long. 

Blauds leaves Globe, Globe to begin covering BC

I didn't intend to post about Mark Blaudschun leaving the Boston Globe. But then he wrote this on his new blog:

The crap that comes out of the websites about Spaz and the Eagles is mind boggling.

First, before I bury Blauds, let me share that both BC and the Globe confirmed to me that the paper/website will assign a new reporter to the BC beat. I encourage anyone with a passion for sports writing, an inkling of talent and the desire to take advantage of all the BC beat and the Boston Globe has to offer to apply. If you bring any talent or passion to the job you will be better than Blauds.

Blauds took over the BC beat in 2007. Prior to that he had been the Globe's national college writer. I don't know all the union politics of a big city paper, but from what I understand when the Globe eliminated the "national" college beat, Blauds was demoted/transferred back to BC. Maybe he was bitter about it. I don't know as I never talked to him about it. But he clearly didn't care much for the job, his readers or respect the team he was covering. Even now on his blog, he is still positioning BC as a second class citizen in college football. BC has its limitations and no team is perfect, but that doesn't mean that they deserved second class coverage nor third-class reporting. Blauds only broke news when it fell in his lap. Most of the time he was pushing out his dated, out of touch opinions on college sports. We all have our biases but his transparent pimping of the Big East partyline and his protection of Spaz was pathetic.

Blauds unwillingness to write in the offseason or embrace new media like his fellow college writers was a waste of a soap box. Despite the changing landscape, writing for the Globe still carries weight. Blauds never appreciated that. He can scoff at the BC websites but collectively we were producing ten times more content than he ever did.

It appears he's now going independent on his own blog. Maybe he'll finally understand how the world has changed. Maybe he'll realize on the web you have to build an audience. Maybe he'll understand that you have to defend your outlandish statements and you don't have editors back in the main office to clean up after you.

He started his blog with an interview with Mike Tranghese and a post defending Spaz. So it doesn't look like he will be changing his stripes.

I can't wait to see who the Globe assigns. Hopefully he or she will appreciate the job and do some interesting things with the opportunity.

Rich Thompson will cover BC football this Fall for the Herald

There is some news on the BC media front. The Herald assigned Rich Thompson to the BC beat for this Fall's football season. Rich has covered BC on occasion over the years, but mostly on the basketball side. Thompson is a welcome addition, as the Herald's focus has been spotty since Steve Conroy started splitting his time on hockey. Hopefully a new voice on the BC scene will also spark Blauds to improve his work.

For many years, BC fans' main source of news was Mike (Vega at the Globe) and Mike (Shalin at the Herald). We complained about their identical features and soft touch on the BC coaches. Little did we know how good things were. Since Vega's move in 2007, we've been left with a beat writer who seems to loathe his job and also makes excuses for our Head Coach. Blauds also rarely writes or tweets during the college offseason. That sort of editorial decision may have been fine 20 years ago, but now college sports is a year round news cycle. When you look at all the work produced by college beat writers around the country, it makes the Boston media look lazy or oblivious.

Thompson also plans to tweet regularly once the season starts. I hope he makes the most of this opportunity. It is a shame to see the beat neglected like it is across town.

High School vs College Sports coverage at ESPN, Globe and Herald

ESPN recently announced they will shutter their High School Sport coverage. This doesn't really impact BC, since very little of ESPN's high school stuff focused on New England nor incoming BC students. But it did get me thinking about the local coverage of high school and college sports in the Globe and the Herald. What's unexpected and frustrating is how good the high school sports coverage is compared to the college sports. For two struggling papers in a struggling industry, the Globe and Herald generate a ton of varied and in-depth high school coverage. And its not just football and basketball. The locals get plenty on women's sports, lacrosse and baseball.

I would like to think this is a measured business decision on the parts of the paper. I am sure they rationalize the allocation of resources by saying they sell more locally because of high school sports or that it is cheaper to cover. But even though much of the Herald's coverage is rolled up by its local town papers, this still cannot make sense. Based on the Globe's own displays of popular articles, high school sports barely registers. Declining subscriptions of all papers surely aren't impacted by high school sports or else you would see even more coverage around the nation. People like seeing their friends and family in the paper, but how many people does one softball pitcher from Quincy know? It just can't be moving the needle. If ESPN cannot make money on it, I doubt the locals are.

What I think happens with high school coverage is that people at the papers care more. The young writers assigned to the beat are aggressive and looking to hone their skills and get noticed. The editors who assign the stories are probably a little older and members of these communities. They perceive more value to that coverage because it is hyper-local and personal. It is not speculative piece on the BCS or which school is moving to what conference. I also blame the more experienced writers on the college beat. I know in the past summer was always a time for them to take off or relax a bit. But those days are gone for most college writers. It is now year round beat. There is plenty of news and features that can be run. If bceagles.com and the online sites can create content year round, why can't the Globe or Herald? I know we care more, but we are also generating page views. Those are lost opportunities for the papers. And with the viral nature of sports, a good BC or college article can bring in 100 times more traffic than a high school story. Think of how many tweets or links you've read in the past two months from Florida papers regarding FSU or premier college writers from newspapers getting linked nationally. That's not happening in Boston. It is a shame too as I think local college coverage will continue to die. I just wish some of those promising local high school writers were given the same encouragement and support to cover the local college landscape. The old guard is failing us and its employers.

Blauds writes worst BC article in history

The line-by-line takedown of a mainstream article by a blogger is a trope at this point. Yet after reading Mark Blaudschun's feature on Spaz, I felt there was no other choice. I hope Blaudschun didn't spend much time on it since he could have just asked Coach Flip to write the article himself. Prepared to be pissed...

When you are the coach of a team that went 4-8, as the Eagles did this season, you get a lot of questions. When you coach at BC, where the underground chatter overwhelms the public utterances, you can easily be swept away.

This season, some of the feedback was downright vicious, coming from all areas, including the student paper, whose sports editor wrote a sermon-on-the-mount column telling Spaziani and the local media what was wrong with the way things were being run at BC.

“I view it as my duty, therefore, to keep the administration honest, especially when The Globe and The Herald refuse to do so,’’ wrote the editor.

“With the football team struggling through its worst season in over a decade, the two most prominent papers in Boston have accepted the excuses of head coach Frank Spaziani and athletic director Gene DeFilippo at face value. They have chalked up the team’s record this year to injuries, youth, and bad luck. Neither The Globe nor The Herald has criticized the decisions from the sideline.’’

Blauds and BC have no idea what real scrutiny is like. "underground chatter" vs "public utterances" is part of every sports fanbase in the country. In fact in most places the "chatter" is not underground. It is in your face every day. Do you think the Patriots would be worried about "underground chatter" after losing 2/3rds of their games? How about the Red Sox? Or what about the teams of the SEC or Big Ten? One of the reasons the Spaz hire and Gene's actions get so little notice is because in general our fanbase is loyal, has relatively low expectations and doesn't like to air laundry publicly. Gene and in turn Spaz have taken that relationship for granted and blatantly insulted any logical fan with some of their self-serving comments.

Thank God for The Heights Sports Editor Paul Sulzer for using his platform to state the obvious and give voice to the ignored. Blauds is just upset that a Senior in college out worked him and called him out for his hack efforts.

Other criticism comes in Internet chat rooms, where it is easy to throw grenades without attaching a name to them.

I love the Internet chat room cliche. Does anyone at the Globe read what Blauds is writing? Look at any Boston.com article on BC and you will see tons of comments attached by readers to those articles. It is not chat rooms that are harboring these BC fans. It is on blogs, message boards, Twitter, Facebook and other media. And for every anonymous grenade thrower, there are hundreds with their names and BC affiliations attached who aren't afraid to share their opinion. If Blauds every actually paid attention to Twitter he would see dozens of Spaz's former players mocking him and criticizing him openly!

It has been a tough year for the AD, whose public utterances have created a firestorm in some quarters. Much of it has come from DeFilippo simply telling the truth.

It could be a dreary winter at BC, with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams looking like bottom-feeders in the ACC. Even the men’s hockey team, which has national championship trophies on display, has hit some speed bumps.

But BC does one thing as well as anyone. It brings in good kids who become better adults. For the most part, it turns out poster boys for everything a parent wants in a child, people such as Matt Ryan, Luke Kuechly, and this year’s Scanlan Award winner, Ryan Quigley.

I could go on and on with Gene's firestorm comments but one thing he is not doing is telling the truth. Anyone with rudimentary math skills can tell you that. Basketball and hockey are unrelated to Spaz and the problems with the football team. You can certainly question some of Gene's decisions regarding those sports, but no one is calling for his head because of that.

I am glad Blauds recognizes that BC produces good kids, but that is part of the culture that preceded Coach Flip or Spaz ever setting foot on campus. Coach Flip is quick to take credit for it, but there are thousands of BC athletes in all sports who come in as good kids and leave as good adults that never say more than two words to their AD. And most become good adults because of who they are, the values their families had, the environment in which they matured at college, the education they received and often because of the coaches and assistant coaches they had while at BC. This has little to do with Gene or Spaz. They didn't create this culture. They are just care takers. BC will be producing great student athletes long after these two excuse makers are gone.

I'll skip over the talent and record issues Blauds gets to next. It is just more fluff that no critics are really concerned with. I want to get to the most egregious stuff Blauds spewed.

Were mistakes made? Of course.

Dubious coaching moves during games caused some inner turmoil. The issue of fan treatment is ongoing. But BC fans are different than their brethren. The core base is loyal beyond belief and needs to be treated with extra tenderness and consideration.

The student body can be indifferent to the point of distraction. Let’s face it, BC athletics is not the only game in town, unlike many other college outposts. Not even close.

But the bottom line for BC is that Spaziani is the man in charge, and he sees a big picture that many outsiders - and even insiders - do not.

Mistakes? There are too many to recount. But that is what all the Spaz apologists fail to address. Forget talent. Forget Jags. Forget injuries. Spaz is not a good in-game decision maker. He is cowardly in his approach and a fool when it comes to use of timeouts or scoring. This is costing BC games. There is no one to blame.

Dubious coaching moves didn't just cause inner turmoil. They created a meltdown at halftime of the Central Florida game that led to Kevin Rogers' firing. God forbid Blauds ever dig deeper on that. I get in trouble for passing on gossip, but given the statements last week in the Globe regarding Spaz possibly taking over the defensive reigns regardless if McGovern got the UMass job and the weird statements he's made regarding the Offense, do we just want to call it inner turmoil? People reading between the lines would say Spaz doesn't have a ton of goodwill on the staff.

The biggest part of the problem is that Spaz is not the man in charge. Coach Flip is. If Spaz was the man in charge he would have 100% say in his own staff.

“In this world, as you go forward, success is important,’’ said Spaziani, who in three full seasons at BC has compiled a 19-19 record. “It is the barometer that everybody measures you with.

“Success is subjective. It is someone else’s measuring stick for what you did. That’s the way the world works. We have to function in it.

I don't think Spaz gets it. One of the beauties of sports is that success is not subjective. If you are an artist or a teacher or a lawyer or a business person, success has a degree of subjectivity. Your measuring stick might not be the same as your competition or your peers. In sports, someone wins and someone loses. It is objective. 4-8 is not the same as 8-4.

There will be issues, of course. Internal staff changes could be coming.

But Spaziani says he sees a clearer picture than anyone else. He sees a foundation being laid for not only next season but the year after that and beyond.

“To the guys coming back,’’ said Spaziani, “you’ve seen the edge. Why did we get better? You kept working and you started to get an edge. You need to keep that edge.

“Step back, nonbelievers. There is a foundation here.

“In four years, we won’t be talking about 4-8. We won’t be talking about who is in the Orange Bowl. We will be talking about what we did.’’

If we don't turn the corner, there won't be a "year after that and beyond." Spaz is on the clock and so is Gene. The anger you read and hear now will only grow as these two continue to insult their critics with nonsense.

Spaz is talking about four years from now. I am not trying to be an ageist, but Spaz will be 65 next season. In four years he will be eligible for Social Security. People are questioning his desire and motivation now. Are we to expect him to have a burning desire in four more years?

In an era when coaches are fired after two years, when critics call for their heads after only one season, BC is different. Give DeFilippo credit for having patience under fire - heavy fire in some quarters.

Changing head coaches would mean more turmoil. Four coaches in seven years is not the way to build a program.

Frank Spaziani knows that. And while there are no guarantees that things will improve dramatically next season, there is nothing to say they won’t.

BC is not different from other schools and Gene DeFilippo is not patient. He fired Jags after two years and showed no patience. Do you think he is going to show any patience with Sylvia Crawley? Would a patient program be on their fourth offensive coordinator of the Spaz era?

I could list dozen of programs that have had frequent coaching changes over a short period of time. Turnover doesn't matter when you make the right hires. When you have the right coach the progression is obvious. Just like the decline is obvious now.

But if four coaches in seven years is even a consideration, why isn't that Coach Flip's fault? How does he escape blame from Blauds? Coach Flip let the winningest coach in BC football walk. He fired Jags after two seasons. He made the decision to promote Spaz, even though he himself didn't give the job to Spaz two years earlier.

Blauds is right that there are no guarantees things will get better. But what is guaranteed is that Spaz's approach will cost us wins and both Spaz and Gene will continue to make excuses for their losses and take credit for things that are about BC and not about them.

Does anyone from the Boston media want to talk to Spaz?

It is one thing for the Boston media to ignore BC. I can live with that since there are usually bigger stories out, like say the Penn State molestation scandal. But the more telling sign of complacency in the local sports media field and on the BC beat is that no one has gotten a quote from Spaz on the subject. Here is a BCS head coach who played under and revered Joe Paterno and was a peer of Jerry Sandusky. No one thought to get a reaction quote on the case? Florida papers asked Al Golden about it. Other Big Ten coaches avoided answering questions, but at least they were asked.

Like Golden, I am sure this is very painful for Spaz. But the beat guys as journalist at least need to get an official "no comment" on the subject. Complacency in the media makes them less relevant and also enables cover ups like went on in Happy Valley.

Blaudschun thinks 5-1 is the same as 1-5

For a guy who has written a bunch of garbage over the past month, Globe writer Mark Blaudschun outdid himself today. He looked back at four of BC's losses that had key turning points and spun that BC could be better than their current record. Now after showing where things went wrong, he reals it back a bit, but entertaining the idea is really laughable. I don't know if Blauds or anyone else at BC believes it, but they are hoping the fans and the rest of the college football world believes it. The problem isn't losing close games. The problem is playing close games. This was a similar issue when TOB was in charge so I think it speaks to an outdated philosophy that Spaz employs (maybe it is a George Welsh thing). In any sport -- but especially football -- you need to press your advantage and press your upside. If you play too close to the vest you invite inferior teams to steal games. So every time Spaz's wastes a possession or every time he huddles when down by a lot of points, he is hurting the team in a more direct way than any lousy recruiting class. But just to completely blow up the "bad bounce, one play" theory, let's look back at Spaz's career. What Blauds fails to recognize is that luck evens out over time.

2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl
-- Navy fumbles when they should be killing clock. BC recovers, kicks a field goal and avoids upset.

2009 Wake Forest
-- Wake fumbles two yards away from the goalline. BC wins after blowing a double-digit lead.

2009 Florida State
-- Tied at 21, Greg Reid drops an easy INT from Dave Shinskie in BC territory. BC keeps driving and a few plays later Montel Harris breaks away from the game winning TD.

2009 Virginia
-- UVA is called for pass interference in the endzone late in the fourth. BC scores on the drive and holds on to win 14-10.

2009 Maryland
-- After leading all game, BC allows Maryland to score a late TD. The Terps attempt the onside with 1:30 left. BC recovers and wins.

2010 Clemson
-- Donnie Fletcher intercepts Kyle Parker at the BC 9 yard line early in the fourth quarter. BC holds on to win by six.

2010 Duke
-- BC allows Duke to move the ball down the field and holds off a goal line rush with seconds left on the clock.

A lot of things happen over the course of a career, but Spaz is 17-16 as a head coach at BC. No more, no less. Those wins are his and so are those losses.

Nuggets from Blaudschun's ACC article

BC beat writer picked the middle of the summer to rehash and look back on BC's move to the ACC. Blauds has always been a subtle critic of the move and used BC's lack of championships as a jumping off point for the piece. Most of it is worthless regurgitation of old talking points, but there are a few worthwhile pieces of information inside.

Spaz's pessimism

Spaziani has continued to build, although he sees some choppy waters ahead.

“When we came into the ACC, Florida State and Miami were in down cycles,’’ said Spaziani. “Now they’re both on the up cycle. It’s not going to be easy.’’

This is another example of where I think Spaz needs to change his approach with the media. It comes off as lowering of expectations. That public attitude impacts players and fans.

Obligatory quote from Tranghese

Former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who had an up-close look at BC’s departure six years ago, says that while he didn’t agree with the way BC departed, he understands the reasons.

According to Tranghese, the BC president, Rev. William Leahy, “had concerns about the league getting away from its base and adding schools, and Gene [DeFilippo, the athletic director] was worried the league was going to implode. And both of those concerns had some merit.’’

Tranghese's certainly softened his stance. This is as much of an "I was wrong. They were right" admission as you will ever get from him. It probably doesn't hurt that he is no longer employed by the Big East. But I also hope he realizes that his attempts to bully and belittle BC publicly only made the BC community that much more determined to leave.

UMass update

With the University of Massachusetts moving to the FBS level, DeFilippo has offered it two-for-one deals over a six-year period, meaning the Eagles would host UMass four times and play twice on the road (which would be at Gillette Stadium).

“We’ve offered UMass what we’ve given every MAC school — a two-for-one deal. I think it’s fair,’’ he said.

I've been on board with the UMass series, so this confirmation is good news (for me). A two-for-one with the away games at Gillette is a no brainer. Hopefully UMass will take it. They are unlikely to find four road games against a BCS opponent that would be a bus trip.

Scheduling

But DeFilippo also helped by not overburdening the Eagles in their nonconference schedule, turning seven-win seasons into nine-win seasons and nine-win seasons into 11-win seasons.

BC’s nonconference record since 2000 is 48-9. But in those 57 games, it faced only five ranked opponents. In fact, until the Eagles faced (and lost to) No. 13 Nevada in last season’s Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, they had not played a ranked nonconference opponent since 2004.

“It helped Tom to build,’’ said DeFilippo. “Tom’s a good football coach and he did a fine job here.’’

So now the narrative as to BC's watered down schedule is that it helped TOB build. I got it. Still that doesn't explain the current philosophy. Who are we helping build now? I clearly understand Gene's point. I was a student when our non-conference schedule was Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and Army. We don't need to do that every year. I also don't think we need to play a schedule more difficult than most. But Gene also needs to realize that a big name opponent will help interest in the program.

The only thing about the article that surprised me was the timing. I am not sure why Blauds is writing it now. It will be interesting if some of the talking points established here will get reused if BC struggles this year.

Blaudschun finally recognizes Big East mess

One of the most frustrating things about the move from the Big East to the ACC was the media coverage in the Northeast. How many times did we hear or read that "BC doesn't belong in the ACC"? Ironically one of the biggest culprits was BC's beat writer Mark Blaudschun. Rarely did he or other Big East loyalists publicly state what a financial windfall the ACC move was. Nor did anyone emphasize how much stability the move brought BC. No, instead they fed the narrative that BC might one day "move back" to the Big East. Now it appears that Blaudschun has finally realized that the Big East is doomed in its current configuration.

No one knows what the future holds for any of these conferences. The college football media like Blaudschun think they do, but their track records show how out of touch they are. In the next shuffle, BC could be one of the schools left out or on the short end of someone's power play. But one thing is sure, leaving the Big East was one of the best moves we've ever made.

The challenge with being a contrarian

College basketball is a coaches's sport. The guys in the fancy suits are the names. They are the familiar faces on TV. They pitch the products. While their football counterparts certainly get accolades, basketball's nature directs much more visual attention to the head man. And what sort of traits fit into the stereo-typical college basketball winner? What would you want and expect if you were building a college coach from scratch? 1. Vocal 2. Passionate 3. Great salesman of the program to fans and recruits 4. Capabable of Xs and Os to overcome talent gaps. 5. A grinder/workaholic. Al Skinner is not your prototypical college head coach. And that is probably his biggest problem.

In this interview with the Globe, Skinnner states that he wants to coach again. He also says it is important for him to coach in a major conference. Given the tone of the piece and the lack of gossip surrounding Skinner, I don't think many are calling. But why? Al's age is probably a factor. Hiring a fired coach is always tougher than hiring a rising coach. But I think Al's biggest challenge remains perception. Why would a school hire an unassuming, laid back coach when there are dozens of so many young coaches who have the potential upside and wear their emotions on their sleeves?

I am not here to rehash the Skinner firing at BC. I disagreed with Gene's move but like Donahue. I also agree with those who felt Skinner and BC basketball had become stale. But regardless of how it ended you cannot question Skinner's success. Al has an incredible eye for coaching and player talent. He had a deadly efficient offense. He's a much better game manager than people realize. I am confident that Al could go to any BCS program and have them in the tourney within four years. But I don't think it is going to happen. I think if Al wants one last run, it will have to be at a smaller school.

I loved the Al Skinner era at BC. A big part of that was the identity his teams had and his ability to win differently. I also think many of the complaints regarding Skinner are mistated and uniformed. Al Skinner is a great coach. He deserves another chance and any school that rolls the dice with a young unproven coach is missing on a sure thing.