Disagreeing with Herald's Players to Watch list

The Herald put up a pretty innocuous five Players to Watch article and it got me thinking. Their list might be the best five but they are all the established, veteran guys. We know what to expect from that group. What I find more interesting are the players who might emerge or breakout. With that here are my three players to watch. These guys will really determine the season.

1. Anthony Brown. His health and ability to pass are the most important unknowns heading into the season.
2. Ray Smith. We are young and thin at DT. Smith needs to play well and play a lot.
3. Colton Lichtenberg. It always comes down to the kicker with Daz. If this is the year we finally break seven wins, it will be critical that Colton kick well from the start.

Camp begins and Globe still without coverage

The Globe and BC both assured me that the paper would have a dedicated BC beat reporter this year. Well that person has yet to be announced and the paper did not cover the first day of practice. Nothing particularly newsworthy happened, but you would hope that they will begin coverage soon. Fortunately the Herald was there. They reported the most newsy event of the day -- the new captains. Metrowest's Eric Avidon also made an appearance at practice and emphasized the new attitude. 

I trust that the Globe will cover the team. I just hope they don't miss the opportunity that the preseason presents. Once the season begins, the beat falls into a fairly structured pattern. Now is the time for the new person to make a mark.

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.

Harris's timetable uncertain and other links

Things are not looking good for Montel, per Dan Duggan's blog:

What was found was another lateral tear of the meniscus, the same injury that he suffered last November 20 in the game against Virginia, and there was also some debris that needed to be cleaned out. Dr. Thomas Gill – the orthopedist for the Bruins, Patriots and Red Sox – performed the surgery at Brigham and Women’s/Mass. General Health Care Center in Foxboro.

Harris conceded that redshirting is an option, but it’s not one he’s looking at closely right now. He hopes to be able to play by the third game of the season against Duke on Sept. 17.

Good job by Duggan to first report the news. I am not a knee or medical expert, but it is troubling that it look this long to diagnose. I think this knee will be an ongoing issue. Regardless of what Montel hopes, I am mentally preparing for a season without him. Let's hope Williams has worked on his reading of holes.

Kuechly and the linebackers are going to carry this year's defense.

This guy has a BC offer and he hasn't even started a game in high school yet.

Lesson to all you high schoolers courtesy of Chris Snee: don't get a tattoo until you are really sure you like it.

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.

Conroy captures the moment

Great lead from Conroy in the Herald.

You’ve got to hand it to the Boston College football team. When the Eagles lose a game, they don’t exactly torture their fans with a lot of what-ifs and what-could-have-beens.

Conroy breaking news on his blog and other links

Steve Conroy has started breaking news on his blog. Yesterday he was the first to write about LeGrande's potential injury (head), Momah's redshirt and potential move to defensive end and the some tempers at practice. Of those tidbits, the LeGrande news is the most concerning. In my opinion he's been the best defensive player of the short season. Let's hope it is a quick recovery.

Herzy's dad tweeted that Mark had a clean CT scan. I don't know how that impacts the long-term prognosis, but it is good news.

Virginia Tech is the latest ACC team to honor Herzy with a cancer fundraiser.

No Blaudschun at the ACC meetings?

Is Mark Blaudschun not at the ACC meetings? We are two days into the event and he has yet to file anything with his byline. He may be there and collecting background but the fact that nothing is making it online or in the paper is not a good sign. As most know, the Globe is facing huge financial problems and could be reducing travel expenses.

I have been a critic of Mark Blaudschun's BC coverage at the Globe but I would prefer poor coverage from the Globe as opposed to no coverage. Sarina Mathai had an article this morning. Perhaps there will be new voices on the beat. Let's just hope we get some articles with depth and the occasional breaking news.

At the Herald, Conroy posted a good piece that shows Spaz's sense of humor.