New Eagle in Atlanta

As much as I try to avoid recruiting news, I felt the need to include something on the latest commit. Marietta, Georgia native and Walton High School's starting Quarterback Ross Applegate verballed to Boston College last week.

Ross is a big kid (TOB’s QB prototype) and plays for a perennial power here is Georgia. He is not as heralded as other Metro Atlanta QBs, but had interest from many other ACC schools. What excites me -- aside from the Atlanta aspect -- is that he plays at a high-level of competition. I think one of the differences between Paul Peterson (who came from a high-level Junior College) and Quinton Porter and a lesser extent Brian St. Pierre, was that Peterson played with and against many DIA players prior to BC. Porter and BSP did not. Walton sends kids to division IA and IAA schools every year. Ross should be prepared for the pressure, speed and rigors of playing in the ACC.

Also, here is a BC preview from Pack Pride. Some things are a little off, but that is to be expected. I am sure fans of other ACC schools will note my mistakes when I start talking out of my ass previewing their teams.

Friday links

Here's more on the next generation of Fluties. Nice touch by TOB to invite Billy's parents up to his office to make the offer. Eagle fans have often wondered how the somewhat charisma challenged O'Brien closes these kids. This confirms my belief -- he's good with parents.

Kenpom shoots holes in the home-court advantage myth. He uses the difference between the ACC and Big East as his springboard into the research. Basically it is tough to beat Duke because of Coach K and the five guys on the floor, not because of the Crazies.

My shilling for EverydayshouldbeSaturday continues with this link. This time they list their ACC All-Name team. Kiwi, Jazzmen and Tribble make the cut.

So long, Shalin and other things

Wednesday night on WEEI, Mike Shalin confirmed that he is no longer with the Boston Herald. The Herald has not announced his replacement. Supposedly the paper is struggling, so it wouldn't surprise me to see them cut coverage from a beat status to just game stories. There were times when I felt Mike and Mike (the two BC beat writers) left a lot to be desired, but I am sad to see Shalin go. His basketball coverage stood out this season. Who knows if the team's play inspired him or he just hit a groove, but it was noticeably better. Best of luck to him in his new endeavors.

Nice article on our two Columbus boys. I’m glad someone finally admitted that they let the Fiesta Bowl slip through their fingers.

Here’s an article from the News & Record on our lack of rivals in the ACC. These things take time and I would gladly have the blank slate of the ACC than the litigious BS of the Big East.

Blogpoll roundtable No. 3

Blog Poll roundtable No. 3, this time hosted by Michigan blogger Straight Bangin'. Check out his site for other blog pollers answers.

1. Which unheralded player on your team will be the hardest to replace? Which seemingly inconsequential player could make the biggest impact? While he received enough ink from Eagle in Atlanta to be considered overheralded, I have to go with Paul Peterson. The Mormon Flutie converted more Catholics than Brigham Young. More importlany he made BC football fun again. I have admitted to my hetero-man crush on Peterson many times. As for seemingly inconsequential player making a big impact, how about BC fullback Mark Palmer. The success of our running game is most often attributed to our massive line. The fullback was overlooked until Palmer struggled with his blocking last year. He has great hands, but needs to open holes. If he is serviceable enough with his blocking to stay on the field he could be an underrated offensive weapon.

2. Which regular-season game that won’t feature your team would you pay the most money to see this season? Why? I am going to actually list a game that I was going to attend for free. Here’s the story. My wife’s company has a pimped-out suite at Sanford. We only use it once a season when there is not a BC conflict. This year we were scheduled for the Arkansas-Georgia game. At the same time, we’ve been blessed and are expecting our first child this winter. Birthing classes are Saturday mornings in October, so I’ll miss our trip to Athens. But no fear, the baby will not interupt my viewing of BC football.

Bonus: Which rivalry game would you most like to attend? This question is harder to answer. All the storied rivalries have some appeal. But I am a patriot and a traditionalist, so I’ll say Army-Navy.

3. If your team were a rapper, who would it be and why? (Read Straight Bangin' to understand this joke.) This is easy. BC would be House of Pain. Both groups’ styles are straight forward and really white. Both are lacking in the skillz and skill positions. And as Notre Dame fans will be quick to point out: both try too hard to be Irish. (I don’t believe that BC wants to be Notre Dame, but I had to beat the Notre Dame fans to the punch on the joke.)

Midweek news

No real news on BC, so here are some items of interest that are related to BC.

The Fenway Sports Group is slowly flexing its muscle. To read this article you have to subscribe to some yokel paper in Washington. Don’t bother. I’ve signed up and read it so you don’t have to. Highlights include:

• FSG is involved in more than just BC. They are dealing with signage and selling MLB.com’s ads.
  

• BC was a natural first step and the ACC aspect made it very appealing to the Red Sox.
  

• ISP doesn’t usually like partnering with others, but the Red Sox’s name and the Boston College aspect made it worth the risk.
  

• None of this money counts towards MLB revenue sharing. I applaud the Red Sox on this last point. Like the Yankees, they have a valuable brand for which their owners paid an exorbitant amount of money. They have to pay off huge debts and budgets and the Kansas City Royals and Devil Rays are not entitled to every penny the big market guys earn, especially when the teams are aggressive and are trying to grow their businesses.
  

Here is an article on Chris Snee and his recovery from a mysterious illness. Not only is he a BC alum, he is married to a BC grad and his head coach (who is also his father-in-law) is former BC coach Tom Coughlin.

Finally I am on my way to Canada to kick Korey Banks’ ass. How dare he cheap shot my boy, Paul Peterson?

News and views

The Big XII is in the Gator Bowl mix. If the present discussion gets finalized the ACC would face a four-year rotation against either the Big XII, Notre Dame or the ACC.

SI.com published Athlon Sports' BC preview. It is pretty straight forward and covers what is in their preseason magazine. I'm kicking myself for already buying the mag at Borders.

I don't spend too much time on recruiting news, but this signee caught my attention. Bill has big shoes to fill if he remains a QB. (By the way, Bill is Doug's nephew -- not his son.)

Same field, new logo

From bceagles.com. I cannot wait to see the ACC logo in the lane on the Basketball court.

New voice of Boston College Football

Word is that John Meterparel is the new voice of Boston College football. Supposedly this has been in the works for a few months. Yet there is no press release from BC athletics. I wish John luck, but I’m disappointed that they didn’t bring back former BC announcer Sean Grande. My gut tells me Meterparel sees this as a springboard job. It would be nice to have a voice of BC for decades, rather than a few seasons. Given BC’s position in the Boston media hierarchy, the job will probably always attract short-timers.

The deal also shows the growing influence of the Red Sox in BC marketing. Meterparel is an announcer for the morning program on the Sox Flagship station and the Fenway Group helped put this pairing together.

Where we are going and were we aren’t

CFN released their preseason bowl predictions. They think BC will face Mizzou in the Champs Bowl. These things are fun time-fillers, drive fan interest and take very little time to put together. Hell, I can tell you where BC will go (assuming we’re bowl eligible again).

First where you won’t see BC: any BCS game and Charlotte. Last year was our best chance to put BC in the BCS. As optimistic as I am getting about this season it would take a string of miracles topped by us winning the ACC championship in Jacksonville to qualify for a BCS game. Not going to happen this year. You can also cross Charlotte off since we went last year as the Big East rep and they will always pick an ACC team within driving distance.

Where we might go: Gator Bowl or Peach Bowl. While the Peach would be a dream come true for me, I would be equally happy with the Gator. Both are long, long shots. The Gator invite would only happen if these specific dominoes fall. First, Notre Dame would have to qualify for the Big East slot. Their fans would buy enough tickets to offset BC’s poor travel record and the TV ratings would be appealing to the network. But -- here is the rub -- to get the invite BC would have to have a strong enough conference record, but still lose to the division to FSU. Because if BC makes the ACC Championship game and loses, we are not being invited back six weeks later. Ticket sales would be terrible. The Peach Bowl will only happen if we win the division and then lose in Jacksonville. I also think the Peach would only consider us if our SEC opponent guaranteed a sellout (Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee or South Carolina).

Where we are probably going: Boise or Champs (Orlando’s JV Bowl). I would prefer Orlando, but with the god-awful bowl games we’ve played in, it is only a matter of time before we are on the Blue Turf. These slots are all determined by who has been where and what matchup makes the most sense travel and television wise. Season records take a back seat to money (just look how UVA got jobbed last season).

Of course there is also the “fill a slot” route which we have taken before. This is where BC is barely bowl eligible and doesn’t get one of the guaranteed ACC slots. In this case we would fill whatever slots cannot be filled by someone else. Unfortunately this scenario is much more likely than the Peach Bowl.

Harris fills BCS slot

The Harris Interactive College Football Poll will replace the AP Poll in this year's BCS. I don't think this will fix the BCS' problems. In my mind the national champion will come from this Poll.

How things have changed

A poster on Eagle Action brought this picture to my attention. It is former BC athletic director Bill Flynn touching up the logo on the basketball court. I don’t know the date but imagine -- based on the hair and logo -- that it was taken in the late ‘70s. It is a nice tribute to a guy who put his heart and soul into BC athletics. It is also a sign of how things have changed in college sports. Now there are whole teams of people working in these departments and the AD is a CEO, not a down and dirty, do what must be done, jack of all trades. Can you imagine an AD from any Division IA school doing this today?

Spring recap/preview Part VI

Defensive Line

The defensive line has one of the best players in the country and two question marks.

ACC fans should learn the name Mathias Kiwanuka now since you’ll hear his name over and over in the pregame preambles on TV and radio. Kiwi has speed and size and is probably a top ten pick in next year's NFL draft. I don’t expect him to dominate in the ACC because he is going to be the focal point of all opposing offensive game plans. Last year, when he was more well known, some teams were able to neutralize him for long periods. Kiwi has speed, but is still somewhat slender and has trouble with double teams.

Kiwi will probably be a combine monster, but what is most overlooked about his style of play is his relentlessness. He really plays to the whistle and has been known to make downfield tackles and pick up a sack after getting knocked down and/or held. This style of play keeps us in games and will hopefully serve as a good lesson to his inexperienced teammates.

The only other experienced player on the D-line is Al Washington. Al is a little undersized to play the interior, but has been very reliable. He only collected a few tackles last season, but that was somewhat expected given that Bulman, Kiwi and Mettling were always around the ball. I don’t think he’ll have an all-conference season, but I do think he take advantage of Kiwi’s double teams.

The real pressure is going to be on the other spots. There is an assortment of guys who will get playing time. At End, Nick Larkin played well in spot duty last season but he is lean like Kiwi. He and Jake Ottolini (who he’ll split time with) will need Ron Brace and Justin Bell to take up space at the other tackle spot.

The rest of the unit is pure speculation. Jerry Willette, Ryan Thompson, B.J. Raji, and Jeff Burns will all get a chance to play. I am going to follow a hunch and say that Keith Willis will surprise and get serious playing time by the end of the season. Who knows? These guys are all blank slates. Hopefully they get good coaching.

As a whole the D-line should be solid. Kiwi’s presence alone will take a lot of the pressure off of the inexperienced guys. Plus they have a great group of linebackers and a respectable defensive backfield behind them. I worry about them stopping the run, but we don’t face that many running teams. If any of the unknowns steps up, this could be the best BC defense of all time. More likely, they'll all play okay and Kiwi will get manhandled and the linebackers will carry the team.

Smith, Stewart and Swindle

USA basketball invited Craig Smith to its World University Games Trials. Even if Craig doesn’t make the team, it is nice to see him recognized. In my opinion having Craig and Jared play this summer for USA basketball will raise their level of play this winter. Plus, the basketball team could use some good news.

My former colleague Stewart Mandel wrote about the conference realignment. Although it seems obvious, he is the first one to point out the imbalance in the two ACC divisions. Florida State will be the division favorite every year, but there is no reason to think other schools won’t raise their level of play. And if Bowden’s career starts to mirror JoePa’s, any school could be playing in Jacksonville.

Finally, blogs are filled with media critics (including me). The raw reactions and the pointing out of the missteps of the mainstream pundits is one of the most interesting aspects of this medium. So when I laughed out loud at this rebuttal of Trev Alberts by Orson Swindle (one of the contributors to Every Day Should Be Saturday), I felt I should link to it despite lack of BC content. The Every Day guys are also participating in the Blog Poll.

News of the day

Dennis Dodd writes a conference shift piece. I really think these guys should start calling their columns/articles/features blogs because Dennis takes a colorful approach to things with this piece that strays from traditional journalism (for example: calling the ACC raiders, when he knows this was a long dance among many teams). He can do what he wants, but at least as a blog the expectations for bias and opinion are different.

Here’s an interesting story on a BC assistant getting snubbed for a job with the BU women’s hockey team...because he is a man. Gender bias works both ways, I guess. I wonder how many women apply for jobs with men’s sports? I am not a lawyer, but the BU coach was dumb for telling the candidate that he didn’t get the job because he had a penis. Gary Barnett is the only football coach I could see saying something like that.

Princeton named Mike Fassel its director of football operations. Mike is a good guy who has overcome a lot, so best of luck to him. If he stayed healthy last year (he got hurt horsing around in his dorm room) I think we would have beaten Wake and Pitt. While I would like to think his two BC degrees made the difference in the hire, his connections didn't hurt.

Here is an interview with John Swofford on the new ACC. They mention the U.S. News rankings, but I have a feeling that BCS rankings are (and will be) more important.

"Bad boys, bad boys..."

Earlier in the week I wondered why the Globe wasn't writing more positive stories on BC. Well a few days later they come out with an expose on the travails of the basketball team. Fortunately it is a holiday weekend so this won't get too much coverage. I've already said that the Williams incident might be the tipping point. Most of this info was already out, but I did learn that DeJuan Tribble was with Sean the night of the bust. It was good to hear that Ryan Sidney had pulled his life together. I loved him as a player and just wish he kept his nose clean at BC.

None of this is funny, but I did laugh at the hit and run on Ted Kennedy's wife's car.

Here is their timeline on the recent problems.

In an attempt to add balance the Globe wrote about the football program keeping clean...except for that whole kidnapping thing.

Happy and sappy thoughts on the ACC

Just like I wanted to put the negativity of the Big East behind me, I will use this entry as one last chance to gush and thank those who contributed to BC’s move to the ACC (in his or her own little way). After this I am back to news and my marooned-colored glasses form of analysis. (Who am I kidding? I am sure I’ll gush about a player, team or moment here and there.)

As Gene DeFilippo said, this is probably the biggest moment in BC sports history. So I’ll start by thanking Gene. He is far from perfect, but his dedication, networking and politicing where the key to BC’s entry.

Thanks to John Swofford. While not totally what he envisioned, his bold moves created this new conference and for his selection of BC, I am grateful.

Thanks to the fans and adminstrators of Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami. Without their support BC could have been hung out to dry many times.

Thanks to all the coaches and athletes who have served Boston College in the last ten years. Without your success on the field of play, BC would not have been considered for this opportunity.

Thanks to all the great administrators and athletes (most notably Doug Flutie and Bill Flynn). The foundation you laid is the reason BC athletics have thrived in the past 20 years.

Thank you to Father Leahy. Many questioned your understanding and dedication to athletics when you arrived, but with this ordeal, you have proven your love of sport and the school.

Thank you to Father Monan. You saved and transformed BC many years ago.

Finally thanks to the Boston College alumni. Without our success, generousity, and spirit there is no BC. The life of a school is its students and alumni. The community we joined in our late teens is nothing without us. As the cheer says: “We are…BC!”

Ever to Excel

Eagle in Atlanta Classic

For those who missed it, I thought I would repost this piece I wrote about the successes and failures of teams joining new conferences. (As always, I apologize for the funky layout of the tables in blogger.)

Hoops preview

ESPN weighs in with its midsummer ACC basketball preview. It is an interesting format with most of their talking heads contributing. Good comments on BC throughout, however, there is no mention of Sean Williams anywhere. There are three explanations for the oversight:

1. Al has got word out there that Williams will be back by January (and the OK State transfer rumors are false)

2. Good old-fashioned lazy reporting (unlikely since Katz has Al on speed dial) or

3. The brains in Bristol don’t think as much of Williams as Kenpom and I do.

ACC-eptance news

There’s plenty of links and news to mark BC's first official day in the ACC.

First, a celebration letter from Gene DeFilippo. Here is our press release. Our new conference also made an official announcement. Check out the front page for the new conference logo and the big “It’s Official” headline.

The Globe and the Herald covered the celebration party at Fenway. Interesting to note that neither of the BC beat writers wrote the stories. While BC fans focused on the ACC, most of the media focused on Fenway potentially hosting an ACC tournament.

Finally, for some southern flavor, here is the News-Record’s coverage of the festivities.

New kid in town