Don't forget about The Boston College Hockey Blog

With the Hockey season's abrupt end, I wanted to thank The Boston College Hockey Blog for their coverage this year. The blog is consistently the best source for BC hockey news.

This offseason should provide plenty of news as we learn more about who comes back and track York's recovery. I am sure The Boston College Hockey Blog will have solid opinion, news and analysis along the way. I don't give hockey enough attention, but fortunately these guys do.

Filling in for Kuechly and other links

A nice post on Heights and Lows about replacing Kuechly. I agree with the points completely. Luke was great but our defense should still be very good.


There is lots of lost irony in Marshall calling Domenick LeGrande and Okechukwu Okoroha "BC guys." I wish them both the best and I am glad they are getting to play one more season.

BU transfer Jake O'Brien is headed to Temple instead of BC.

ACC Sports posted a Q&A with Emmett Cleary.

Both the men and women's soccer teams begin the season ranked.

Good interview with Gene and other links

Around the Res posted the second part of their interview with Gene. They did a nice job. These types of interviews can be difficult and lend themselves to pat answers, but Around the Res didn't go with just softballs. They pushed on recruiting and on our football success.

This article on Kuechly includes a note about transfer Marcus Grant and early enrollee Joel Zoungrana already being on campus.

With Donnie Fletcher's invite, BC continued its streak of sending players to the Senior Bowl. BCI crunched some of the numbers.

Mizzou move good news for ACC and other links

While the ACC has come out stronger in the latest expansion shuffle, there was still the 14th SEC slot hanging out there waiting to be filled. If the ACC lost one of its teams to the SEC, it would have a ripple effect that would impact BC. Now it looks like Missouri is finally SEC bound. That should leave the ACC as is for at least another round of TV contracts. It also means no UConn and no Notre Dame in the ACC for now. I expect that once the SEC is officially done (for now), the revised ACC-ESPN TV deal will be announced.

Former Eagle Anthony DiCosmo is now a Vice President with Nickelodeon. Glad to see him doing well. I can't even imagine the hype that would have surrounded him had internet recruiting existed in the 1990s. He was a huge talent.

I see what Heights and Lows did here. They talk about our history with Virginia Tech and where it falls in the new conference and make a slightly passive suggestion that Pitt and VT should have a cross division game instead of BC. They use geography as an excuse. Why not just say it plainly: we don't want to play Virginia Tech every year! I am on board with that.

How a newspaper should blog

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

Gossip boy

In an effort not to cause a stir, I inadvertently did. Over the weekend I heard some stuff I would term as "gossip" regarding the staff and posted it on EagleOutsider. Here is what I wrote and why I wrote it on the message board instead of the blog.

When I put this stuff on the blog some readers accuse me of having an antiSpaz agenda. This is gossipy so I will leave it at the nexus. Take it for what it is worth...

The coordinators don't have the autonomy their boss portrayed in the media and it is causing some issues. Also, there is some descension among the staff on how we approached VT. Seems our head coach considered it a loss before we stepped on the field and our staffers were disappointed to say the least, especially those who remember beating VT the past two years.

I don't know how you can get to the next level when your head coach doesn't believe it is possible. I know it is only six games, but I think TOB with a mustache is the best we can hope for at this point.

Should I have posted it at all? Perhaps not. But I did anyway. Then on the EO boards and I guess on the Eagle Action boards (I don't have premium access to Rivals therefore I don't know what was written about my note or me) I was taken to task and said I am not "inside" at BC and don't break news. Let me clarify a few things...

This blog is not about breaking news. It is purely an outlet for me to talk about BC sports. See the subhead up above: "A Boston College sports blog capturing the highs and lows of being a BC fan living 1,000 miles from Chestnut Hill." In different times and different business models maybe this would be more of a full service BC news outlet and community, but for now it remains a one man shop and my hobby. I appreciate all the support and interaction but at the end of the day, this is a simple blog about my passion for BC sports. If I stumble across real news, I will post it. But because of my geography and fulltime occupation, breaking news is not really an option for me.

As for being "inside," "proJags, "proTuggle" and "antiSpaz" it is all just labeling. I remain first and foremost pro BC, but that doesn't mean I am always going to agree with everything BC does or anyone associated with BC does. I have a five year track record here and think I've been pretty fair and candid. Read the archives and judge for yourself. As for being inside...believe it if you like but there is a whisper network of BC folks who trade gossip. Some are donors, some are BC employees, some are students, some are past players, some are BC parents, some are bloggers, message board posters, etc. From that network stuff leaks. Assume that most of the leaks have agendas and the leakers (like me) are being used in one form or another. This piece of gossip I just leaked certainly has an antiSpaz agenda. Take it for what it is worth. But also know that most staffs in college football have these sort of blowups during the course of a season (see Clemson). Because of this blog I often find myself in the middle of some of this stuff. I try to be discreet in what I post and what I try to rebut. Once again I ask you to review the archives if you want to see my track record. I try to avoid the Jags topic in general. I clearly liked him but he is gone and not coming back. That chapter of BC football is over. I am not antiSpaz. I thought he was the wrong choice but desperately want him to succeed. I don't go the these games to watch us lose. Everything is better when we win. My dream post would be to say how wrong I was about Spaz after we win the ACC Championship Game. That said, when he makes mistakes I will call him on it. As for "proTuggle"...I've never been particularly passionate about any of these guys. I dislike yoyoing the QBs and have said that Shinskie is our best chance to beat NC State and still deserves to start.

Forgive any rambling here or for wasting your time. Let's hope we run the table and all this stuff becomes meaningless.

Check out BCI's new home

The BCI guys have taken their act to SB Nation. Check it out and continue to support BC blogs.

BC's Mike's blog and other links

Friend and frequent commentor BC Mike has his own blog now. It is draft focused but well worth your time.

The BCI guys joined in on a ACC roundup.

Justin Jarvis is helping the freshman on the team.

We know what happened in our scrimmage. HD has the scoop on what happened around the conference.

Herzy was there for Ron Brace's first NFL preseason game.

NESN finally noticed that we send a lot of QBs to the NFL.

Charlie Davies' impressive play continued this weekend with his new club Sochaux.

BC is talking to Florida TE Neil Basford.

One of BC's top baseball recruits Kevin James is bypassing the Heights and signing with Tampa.

Former Eagle Brian Boyle is back east and now a member of the Rangers.

Chris Crane played about half a quarter in the Colts' most recent scrimmage. He went three for four for 18 yards.

Guest Blogger: BC Interruption

Since I am a little busy this week, the guys from BC Interruption have generously offered to help out over here. For those who haven't been paying attention, Brian and Jeff have borrowed Pardon the Interruption's format and tweaked it to fit BC sports and blogging. In this post, they use one of PTI's recurring gimmicks (good cop/bad cop) to debate some of the BC issues of the summer. I provided the "suspects" and cannot thank them enough for their help this week. Without further ado, here's BC Interruption.

Suspect #1: Preseason Magazines picking BC in the bottom of the Atlantic

Brian as good cop: I will reluctantly play the good cop on this one. In the 3 years since the ACC expanded to two divisions, no team has gone from first in their division one year to last the next year (you can thank Duke and NC State largely for keeping teams from achieving this). So why do I agree with these experts and think that BC will pull off this ignominious feat? Lack of offense. BC can no longer ride Matt Ryan's coattails en route to an 11 win season. There are too many questions on offense and special teams that I can't see this team scoring many points. And although BC hosts some of their tougher opponents at home next season - Clemson, Virginia Tech - they have to go on the road to play 3 of their 5 Atlantic opponents, including Wake Forest and Florida State in November. It's possible that BC loses all three of their ACC Atlantic Division road matchups.

Jeff as bad cop: Are you kidding me? These preseason magazines just don't get it. There is no way BC finishes last in our division even though we do play in the more competitive side of the ACC. BC goes on the road to play UNC, Wake, NC State and FSU. Don't even think about arguing that they won't win at least two of those. Then even if they do only win 1 home ACC game they still get to 3-5 and that is good enough to stay out of the cellar. But more realistically they beat Maryland and Georgia Tech at home to get to 4-4. Jeff's Preseason Atlantic division standings - 1) Clemson 2) Wake Forest 3) BC 4) FSU 5) Maryland 6) NC State.

Suspect #2: Tyrese Rice's ability to round out his game

Jeff as bad cop: I found it laughable that Tyrese Rice deciding to stay in school at the end of last season was newsworthy. I mean you don't leave school early to go play in Europe last I checked. Where is Rice going to play in the NBA? Point? I think if he were a little better point guard BC would've won a few more games last year. Shooting guard? Most NBA teams want shooting guards that can either shoot the 3 or have good size for the position. Rice shot the 3 well in one game last year - the UNC game and we all know his size is nothing special. I love to watch Rice play but I don't expect a future NBA star out of him nor do I expect him to last on any postseason award watch lists for long next year.

Brian as good cop: Tyrese Rice will round out his game during his senior year. He'll have more weapons to distribute the ball to which will help his assist total. Rakim Sanders should be more polished after an up-and-down freshman campaign. Add 6'8" Vermont transfer Joe Trapani to the backcourt with Josh Southern, as well as incoming freshmen Reggie Jackson, Evan Ravenel, and Dallas Elmore, Rice should have plenty of young, talented players to work with and distribute the ball. The one question going into next season will be can Rice step up and be the vocal leader of this team. With some help from Skinner and the young players, I expect Rice and the Eagles to win a few more games than last season and for Rice to be in the conversation as a late second round NBA draft pick.

Suspect #3: BC returning to the Frozen Four

Brian as good cop: This suspect is an easy one to play the good cop. BC is going back to the Frozen Four next season. BC only has to replace 6 players (5 seniors and Nate Gerbe) from last season's National championship roster, and they'll easily fill those holes with the return of a healthy Brock Bradford and the nation's #1 ranked recruiting class. Plus don't forget that Boston College's netminder John Muse is only going into his sophomore season. Winning the National championship as a freshman is a huge confidence boost and I expect BC to come out of the gate much stronger than they did last season.

Jeff as bad cop: HELLO! They have to replace Gerbe. They're done. What happened the year after Gionta? No frozen four. Also, the team this year got hot late in order to make it to the frozen four. Wasn't there an OT game against Miami in there? And if BC hadn't beaten UNH in OT in the Hockey East tournament I doubt that they would have ever gone on that postseason run to the national championship. BC was a couple of bad bounces away from no HE Championship, no National Championship and no Frozen Four and next year will be missing their passionate star and therefore will not repeat.

Brian as good cop: Jeff, you need look no further than recent history to predict the Frozen Four field for next season. Over the past 10 years, in 9 of those years Hockey East sent at least 1 team to the Frozen Four (the lone exception? 2005). And in those ten years, Hockey East sent approx 1.6 teams to the Frozen Four. And no team outside of Maine, UNH and BC has represented Hockey East in the Frozen Four in those past 10 years. There will definitely be a Hockey East representative in the Frozen Four, and UNH loses senior goalie Kevin Regan and Maine is still in rebuilding mode. No one reloads year after year as well as Jerry York does, so expect the Eagles to be back in Washington DC come April.

Suspect #4: BC football fans who get married during football season

Jeff as bad cop: If you attended BC and still have friends from BC, why would you possibly get married during football season? Wedding dates are typically set at least a year out and at that point the schedule is not even available. Even if you plan more last minute you still don't know game times until the week prior to the game. Weddings in the fall are just out of the question. How would you like to be the bride at a wedding reception where all the guys in attendance have retreated to their hotel rooms to watch a BC football game? Or at best just hang out in front of the bar by the TV? It would ruin your special day and there is no way to be certain whether or not the game will be on during your reception in advance and what its importance will be. My girlfriend and I had this conversation long before marriage became something even on our radar screen. It was a no brainer that we would get married sometime other than football season or March Madness. We want our day to be special and why ruin it with something as avoidable as the 15 weeks of college football.

Brian as good cop: Yes, I am getting married next fall. Here's the thing: girls dream about when, where and how their wedding will go down for as far back as they can remember. Guys don't dream about such things, they dream about their sports teams winning World Series and Super Bowls. My bride-to-be wants to get married in the fall so there's a little thing about marriage and relationships we like to call compromise. We do have some things going for us: the wedding will be in California so most likely the game will be an early start out West and we can incorporate the game into the day's festivities (she is also a big fan of BC football - we actually met randomly at the 2004 BC v. Penn State home opener - so she is supportive of incorporating the game into the weekend's activities). Very few of our college friends even live in Boston anymore, so it's not like there will be this massive conflict of interest. Read: no one is going to attend a BC football game over going to my wedding. Let's be honest though, it's one day in your entire life where Boston College football can take a backseat to more important things in life. I've attended my fair share of BC football games, especially last year, and can take a BYE week off every now and then.

Dap for Jeff and Brian

I've never met them, but I think Jeff would be Tony and Brian would be Wilbon.

I wanted to take a moment to recognize BC Interruption. The new blog is really coming into its own.

In blogging a good gimmick goes a long way and Jeff and Brian have found one. They take the best segments from Pardon The Interruption and apply them to our little world of BC sports. They've quickly found a rhythm and voice for the blog and have a funny fresh take on BC. I hope they keep up the good work.