Heather Cox interview

Although BC hasn't been in the national spotlight much this season, most Eagle fans would probably recognize ESPN's Heather Cox for her work on ABC/ESPN's Saturday night games. Although we couldn't get too specific or turn her interview into an opportunity to bash Spaz, I did want to get her take on approaching coaches on the "hot seat" and how to navigate a halftime interview when the subject doesn't want to talk. My questions and her answers follow. 


1. Notre Dame is the main draw on Saturday, where the BC narrative is more focused on the struggles and possible final days of Frank Spaziani. When you have your pregame meetings and interviews with a coach and staff on the "hot seat" do you ask about the job pressure? 

Heather Cox: Absolutely. We are sensitive to the situation but certainly address any pressures. More often than not, in the situation you describe, the coach actually brings up the pressures before we do. It isn't a big pink elephant in the room. It is almost always addressed and when it is, our goal is to discuss it with compassion and sensitivity without any judgment or bias.
 
 2. Notre Dame is a heavy favorite on Saturday. Most of BC's games have not been close. If a game becomes lopsided do you try to shift your sideline reporting from information to more storytelling and entertainment in hopes of keeping the viewers engaged?

Heather Cox: The way we announce the broadcast and the tone and technique does change based on the score of the game. A game with a close score will be very specific to the action, the calls and reports will be tight and succinct and always looking forward. If the score gets out of hand, we tend to talk bigger picture, national landscape and do more story telling. At that point, we aren't as concerned about calling each specific play and will trend toward a more conversational approach to calling the game.

3. When doing sideline reporting you have to interview the coaches before and after halftime. If you know a coach is not a particularly good quote do you change the type of questions you ask?

Heather Cox: I definitely alter my approach based on the coach and his personality and demeanor. However, that doesn't mean I will avoid a question because I know the coach won't like it. If I believe a subject matter needs to be covered, I will always ask the question. A perfect example of that was with Bill Snyder last week when Collin Klein didn't return to the game. I know that Bill Snyder doesn't discuss injuries and keeps everything very close to the chest. But I would not being doing my job if I didn't ask about his Heisman hopeful's health. I can't avoid a topic just because I think the coach might not like it.

4. There will probably be a few heroes from past BC upsets of Notre Dame in attendance on Saturday. Are there any names that you know of now that Eagle fans can look forward to?

Heather Cox: As of now, no word on past greats attending the game. But I am sure as we get closer to kick, we will hear who is planning to attend. It is always fun in games like this to see who comes back to support his alma mater.

Email exchange with Heather Dinich Part 2

In part two of my exchange I get into one of my sticking points -- the national media perception of BC sports. I also threw some short quick hitters. See what she says about TOB and her blog below.

ATLeagle: BC fans tend to get frustrated with the national media’s assumption that we’ll never be more than we are. In BC’s recent history I think both head coaches have used the media a bit to lower and reset expectations. From my vantage point I try to challenge that lowering of expectations (and only have to point to what Jim Grobe has done at Wake as huge example). Having observed BC from the Maryland beat and now as the ACC blogger, what do you think expectations should be for the program under normal circumstances (i.e. not in a season where there is a new coach, no QB and an All American battling cancer)?


Heather Dinich: Well, considering I started covering the ACC/Maryland/BC during the Matt Ryan era, I’ve been nothing but impressed with what they’ve done, but the fact of the matter is BC does not usually recruit the same caliber athletes programs like Florida State and Miami does. Nor does Wake Forest, as you pointed out. But Boston College does get blue-collar players who just LOVE the game of football and play every single snap with heart. With that said, under normal circumstances, I think the expectations for Boston College should be to win the Atlantic Division and the ACC title. They’ve already proven capable of that, but now have to take the next step and win that championship game. Heading into last season, I didn’t think they could do that, and my reasoning for that was, if they couldn’t do it WITH Matt Ryan, how on earth will they do it without him?

ATLeagle: Quick hitters:

-- Do you see a division realignment in the next five years?


HD: No, not in the next five years. The current schedule is set through 2015, so if anything were to happen, I’d imagine it would happen after that to be fair to all of the teams.

ATLeagle: Do you think Charlotte will draw more than 50,000 when they host the ACCCG?


HD: Ooh, that’s a good question. Obviously a large part of the answer depends upon who is in it. If one of the Carolina schools is in it – which is a very good possibility, then definitely. I think the chances for that kind of crowd are definitely better, though, in Charlotte (unless, of course, FSU and Miami are playing in Tampa).

ATLeagle: Do you still think BC will be in a bowl game?

HD: Sigh. No. Not with all of the unfortunate offseason news they’ve been dealt.

ATLeagle: Will TOB get to a BCS game before he retires?


HD: Yes. He’s a good coach and he’ll get there.

ATLeagle: Finally, what can people expect from your space this year?


HD: Tons of ACC coverage. More Q&As, more podcasts, chats, videos, predictions, analysis, links, previews, reviews, etc. My goal is to hit every ACC school every day this fall.

Email exchange with Heather Dinich Part 1

In the past year, no media member has generated more comments among the readers of this blog than ESPN's Heather Dinich. As the ACC blogger for the worldwide leader and as a woman, Dinich's work is especially under the microscope for the diehard BC fans. While I've had the occasional critical comment, in general, I've enjoyed Dinich's work and appreciate how prolific she's been (especially when compared the the BC beat writers). Now that BC seems to be the only ACC team generating news, it seems like as good a time as any to ask her a few questions. Part I of our exchange is below. Look for Part II tomorrow.

ATLeagle: You were/are part of a unique experiment from ESPN by having a blogger solely focused on one conference. I think I (and most BC fans) had high expectations when you started. After a season, criticism is natural. My main complaint is that you’ve stuck to a set formula, which is standard reporting, interviews and links to major media outlets. I guess I was hoping as a “blogger” you would dip into the grey areas and have more opinion, statistical analysis, and even humor. I also hoped you would support and link to non-mainstream media and other bloggers. How did your format develop over the season and are there ESPN mandated limitations and areas that you cannot go into?

Heather Dinich: Well, these are all good points, but one thing that’s important to remember is that we’re not the Page 2 version of ESPN.com. Our job isn’t to push the envelope, and we don’t want to lose our credibility as journalists first. I almost always see coaches’ eyebrows raise when you tell them you’re a “blogger” as opposed to a college football writer. In order to gain credibility with the people you cover, it takes a certain tone, and the best opinions are always based on fact. We do try to bring as much analysis as we can, and are encouraged to do that. As for linking to non-mainstream media and other bloggers, we have to be very careful we’re linking to factual information and accredited news sources.

ATLeagle: Although women have been covering sports for decades, I think modern media and the 24/7 nature of ESPN and the internet has changed things a bit. People feel like they know a writer/personality and have open platforms on which to comment on your looks, voice, etc. While you don’t get the attention that an Erin Andrews gets, are you conscious of the gender focus in your readership? Does it bother you? How do you deal with it among fans and the people you cover?

HD: Ha … no, I’m definitely not EA, thanks for reminding me. But yes, you’re right, I do get some … hmm, interesting … comments sometimes that my male colleagues won’t. No, it doesn’t bother me. I’ve been doing this since I was 16 and working for my local paper while I was in high school, so I’m pretty used to being the minority. How do I deal with it? I usually ignore it. I do, however, tend to forget that women read my blog, too.

PART II Tomorrow.

Ryan Purvis quotes

I sat with Brace first so by the time I got to Purvis he was rehashing stuff. Regardless he still had some good things to say. Here are a few of the subjects that haven't appeared elsewhere.

Purvis on Lars Anderson

“Lars is a real athletic kid. He’s quick. He’s agile. I think he’s going to do alright."

Purvis on Ifeanyi Momah

“Momah...the past couple days in 7-on-7, you see flashes of Plaxico Burress across the middle. Just plucking the ball out of the sky. His biggest thing is consistency. You’ve got to show that on a regular basis. I think he'll do that this year."

Purvis on Crane handling the spotlight

“I think he is doing great. I don’t think he compares himself to Matt in anyway. It’s his fifth year, his last year and his first year. First and last. He’s just looking to make his own imprint in the BC culture and the BC football program. And I think that’s just what he’s worried about. Getting out there and performing. I don’t think the Matt Ryan thing is going to bother him in the slightest.

Purvis on his big jump in productivity from '06 to '07

“I think it was a combination of everything. Every year of playing football, I’ve grown more mentally with the game. Physically, obviously, I am getting bigger and stronger. But then you’ve got to look at the system. How many times did we throw the ball last year? A percentage of those naturally are going to come to a Tight End. So I was just that guy last year."

Purvis on Jags publicly saying we won’t throw the ball as much.

"I feel like they say that but they’re going to do whatever’s working and whatever gets it done to win. If we have to throw the ball 50 times a game, I don’t think Coach Logan will say 'we gotta balance the offense.' But if we get off to a good start and are running the ball well, I don’t care if I have 0 catches next year…as long as we’re winning."

Purvis on his goals for the season

"I want to develop more as a blocker. A nastier blocker. I have good technique, I just have to get more mean at the point of attack. As far as winning and team goals, getting to Tampa and winning it this year is my biggest goal."

Purvis on how the Tight End blocks differently in the zone blocking scheme

"In the older offense I was more of a heavy, blocking D Ends kind of Tight End. I was stationary. In this offense I move around a lot. I am rarely ever in a three-point stance. I am more of a linebacker-level blocker now. I feel it has made me more finesse…getting to those linebackers, playing with your feet and your hands as opposed to raw power."


Purvis on Dominique Davis

"He’s a young guy, real athletic, kind of raw. Still picking up the system. He’s coming into his own though. He’s delivering some balls that I never would have thought he’d throw when I first saw him throw the ball."

Purvis on the Jags' philosophy on redshirting

"I remember when I started, you come in and you redshirted because you needed to. Offensively you needed to. (I don’t know about the defense.) You needed to come in and redshirt just so you could understand the offense. It was almost impossible to come in and pick it up right away. Although I feel like our offense now is just as complex, it’s easier to pick up. Maybe it’s because I am older and I’ve been through another offense. But we had such a smooth transition as far as freshmen playing…Haden, Momah, Castonzo at Right Tackle. I feel like maybe the system is easier to grasp. Maybe conceptually Coach Bible’s offense was harder to pick up. I don’t know. Maybe they recruit different kids. Who knows?"

Purvis on playing in the NFL one day

"If you start thinking about it – and there’s a lot to think about – you’ll just drive yourself crazy. When football comes it’s going to be all football for me. I kind of block out all the distractions and leave that to handle itself.

"I have a great family. A great support system. They help me with anything that needs to go through as far as NFL distractions."

Ron Brace quotes

As you saw from the pictures, the media sessions are a bit of a free for all. I asked plenty of questions but many of the quotes have already surfaced in other articles. So, for this post, I thought I would provide the bits you might not have read and in more of an open format.

Brace on playing a year without BJ Raji

“I think it benefited me a lot and it’s also going to benefit him too when he comes back. Teams aren’t just going to be able to focus on one. They are going to worry about both of us.”

Brace on improving BC's pass defense

“That was something we noticed we needed to work on during the season as time went on. We had good games against the pass and some bad ones. We also want to put more emphasis on the pass and put more pressure on the quarterback."

Brace on how Raji’s return will impact the defensive alignments

“I think it will be mostly four-man fronts, but we’ll go back and forth [with three man fronts]. Because usually they want to have me and BJ on the field, or me or BJ and one of our four linebackers out there. It’s just the skys the limit with what we might do. We’re just going to throw a bunch of curve balls."

Brace on the summer training

“Every year our workouts get more intense…especially this year. It’s going to help us out even more. As a defensive line unit, we’re trying to work on our explosion, getting off the line. We’re doing a lot of work on our pass defense.”

Brace on interviews and dealing with the media

"I like to talk. People say I am a quite guy but I don’t mind talking at all. "

Brace on replacing vocal leaders

"I feel as though being a leader is not just a person who’s rah rah. You can also lead by example. That’s what I feel our class is more of...we’re more leaders by example. The last class was full of a lot of talkers and the locker room was just crazy. You had Matt and JoLonn, Pruitt, Gos…any given guy out there was a vocal leader. Where I feel our class lead by example. We don’t want to get on you but we still want you to do your job."

Brace on the young defensive ends

“Newman: he’s going to be a little beast at D end. He shows urgency. Urgency to get to the ball. Holloway, coming fresh out of high school. He decided to leave a half a year of high school early to come and train with us. That just shows you how dedicated he is at trying to get better.

"They’re going to bring that pop, that rush that we need."

Brace on video games

“I can remember the first time I was in the game as a starter I called my family about because it cracked me up. They had me in the game at 335, I think it was, but the body type -- you couldn’t tell. They made me look like a defensive end, tall, six pack. I said, I am going to have to buy this game just so I could look at it."

Brace on Brian Toal coming back

"I think it is going to be a big difference. He’s a competitor. He works hard. You can tell by the look on his face that he’s been working hard. He’s a real smart player too. I remember back while watching film, he used to tell us about reads. He brings a lot of experience that will help us, especially the freshmen.

Scout.com's Bob Lichtenfels Interview

Since I am a skeptic and critic of the football recruiting rankings, I felt it was only fair to ask one of their own a few questions about the process and BC's place in it. Thankfully Scout.com's Bob Lichtenfels took the time to answer a few of my queries. Lichtenfels, a former high school coach, covers the Northeast for Scout. Below are my questions and Bob's answers.

1. Traditionally Rivals has given BC higher marks than Scout for overall class recruiting. This year was different as Scout had BC at 22 and Rivals ranked BC 33rd overall. Was there something about the makeup of this class that had it score higher in Scout's methodology than it has in the past?

Bob Lichtenfels: The short answer is that this Boston College class just had more talent than previous classes. We have hired more people in our regions and when you have more scout’s out in the field you get a chance to see more kids our rankings have also been effected by the fact that our star rankings have increased slightly over the past few years, so you now have a lot more kids being ranked than in previous years. We’re not in competition with our rankings against anyone; we don’t compare and contrast with what Rivals, ESPN or anyone else does. Honestly I would not have even known if you did not mention it to me.

2. BC will have a small signing class for 2009 (probably less than 18). How high can a class that small even move in the rankings?

BL: I think Ohio State and USC showed this year that a class can be small, but can still measure up with anyone in the nation. They both finished in the top ten and signed less than 20 players.

3. Now that Jags' staff has been in place for a full cycle, what sort of things are you hearing about their efforts? What sort of impression are they making on high school coaches and players?

BL: Boston College has been doing an outstanding job early on, especially in Virginia. Top kids like Logan Heastie and Tahj Boyd really like the straight forward approach by Jags’ and his staff.

4. What is the biggest misconception about football recruiting news/reporting/ranking?

BL: I think the biggest misconception is rankings. Parents and kids feel they won’t be recruited unless they are a four star on one of the recruiting sites. Coaches don’t recruit based on how many stars a kid has. They separate you into two basic groups offer or no offer. Stars are fun to talk about, but that is about it. I personally would rather evaluate a player and that is it, assigning stars is not something most of us cherish. The other biggest would be something you mentioned and that is how come the so-called name school always finishes higher. That’s pretty simply answered how many times do you see BC play for a national title? How many times do you see Ohio State, USC, Florida, LSU? I mean there is a reason why they win and there is a reason why their rosters are stacked full of elite prospects.

Most of us work in the business because we have a passion for it and we are good at it. Some people may have agenda’s or do it for the wrong reasons and we all get lumped together and that to me is the biggest misconception about what we do.

Read more of what Bob and his colleagues have to say at Scout.com

Jeff Goodman interview

We often bemoan lack of coverage and insight on BC hoops from the national basketball writers. That's not the case with Foxsports.com's Jeff Goodman. It helps that Jeff cut his teeth covering BC basketball for the Herald. With the season fast approaching I asked him a few questions about this uncertain year for BC basketball.

The perception among BC fans is that BC sports are happily ignored in the Boston sports media circle. What was the reality when you were at the Herald?

JG: This is a pro sports town. Plain and simple. That's the reality, whether you and I like it or not. Boston College will never get the headlines that any of the pro sports in Boston receives - no matter what it does. For this area to have the No. 3 football team in the country is remarkable, yet most of the fans have no idea and could care less. That's what makes it so impressive that Al Skinner's program has been so successful lately in the Big East and now the ACC.


Tyrese Rice has been a very productive player for BC. Now he will be asked to do even more. Do you think he can be one of the elite guards in the country?


JG: I think Tyrese will "have" to be one of the elite point guards in the country. He had a lot of his plate a year ago when Sean Williams was kicked off the team and Sean Marshall was inconsistent. Now Rice will have to become a true leader - both on and off the court. It wouldn't surprise me if Tyrese leads the ACC in scoring this season, but what will be more important is whether he's able to make his young teammates better. He'll need to work on trying to score the ball, but also get his teammates open looks - which won't be easy. Anyway, to answer your question - yes, I think he can become one of the top point guards in the country - but there are so many terrific floor leaders around this year that have more around them than Tyrese.

This is a transition year for BC. Not much is expected. However, the last time Al faced a similar “rebuilding year” his team surprised and made the tournament. How do you see this season playing out? What should we expect of the freshmen?

JG: I think it's going to be a long season for BC, but you never know with Al Skinner. The guy just amazes me how he's able to do his best work when there aren't expectations. It's because he brings in a different type of kid and develops them. The kids that come to BC are usually overlooked and have something to prove. The Eagles will have Tyrese to build around and I feel as though Rakim Sanders should make an instant impact, but I'm not a huge fan of the John Oates-Tyrelle Blair duo up front. If I was Skinner, I'd throw freshman Josh Southern to the wolves and let him get some serious minutes so he's ready next season - when Joe Trapani becomes eligible, Rice is a senior and Sanders has a year under his belt. My prediction is that BC wins a half-dozen league games in this rebuidling year.

Stewart Mandel Interview

As some of you know long before my blogging days I worked at CNNSI.com. One of my colleagues was Stewart Mandel. Stewart’s first book "Bowls, Polls, and Tattered Souls: Tackling the Chaos and Controversy that Reign Over College Football" will be released later this week. His publisher was kind enough to send me a copy earlier this summer. While I am biased, I think any college football fan and regular reader of Stewart’s work on SI.com will enjoy it. He takes on all today’s college football controversies in a chapter-by-chapter format. This approach makes the book a quick read yet also gives some unique takes on seemingly stale topics. I think BC fans will especially enjoy the chapters on the conference shuffles and the breakdown of Notre Dame lore and hype.

Even with the season just around the corner, Stewart took some time out of his promotion schedule to answer a few of my questions about the book. In our exchange he also explains his coverage of BC and how he thinks our season will end.


ATL_eagle: The book covers a series of current hot topics from college football each of which could have supported its own book. Why did you decide to go in this direction instead of doing a deep dive on one topic (say a book on recruiting or the conference juggling, etc)?

Stewart Mandel: I think one of the trickiest things about covering a sport as closely as we do, 365 days a year, it's easy to lose perspective as to the stories that are really, truly important to ALL college football fans as opposed to those that you or I may find equally interesting but in reality, appeal mostly to a small core of absolute diehards. You're right, nearly all of these topics could theoretically justify a book of their own -- and in fact, my good friend Bruce Feldman is doing just that with recruiting -- but in the grand scheme of things, I think the number of people who'd want to read a 300-page book about poll voting or conference expansion is relatively small.

By using the format that I did, I feel I was able to hit on a wide variety of topics that appeal to a more comprehensive audience, regardless of affiliation, and to be able to do so in the same kind of conversational yet (hopefully) informative manner in which I write on SI.com.

There are plenty of great writers out there better suited than me to write a 300-page expose on the BCS. This book, however, more uniquely suits my chosen voice.


ATL_eagle: I felt the strongest portion of the book was the chapter on recruiting. You use history and anecdotes to prove how inaccurate the rankings are beyond the top 100 or so athletes. What you didn't touch on is how coaches feel about the process. The internet recruiting machine/monster wouldn't exist if the coaches didn't feed info to the gurus and play into the recruiting sites, yet I constantly read and hear about coaches hating the recruiting sites. Why don't they cut the sites and their writers off and not play into the kids egos or desires to get more stars?

Stewart Mandel: I don't necessarily agree with the first assertion. There are numerous coaches quoted in there, and toward the end, I talk about how, for all their complaining, most coaches (assistants more so than head coaches) actively consume these same recruiting sites and, in many cases, contribute to them. Like with anything else in this sport, coaches are always looking to gain that extra edge, and at this point, the recruiting sites are so pervasive and so influential that a coaching staff would be shooting itself in the foot if it didn't try in some way to use them to their advantage (whether by feeding info or learning info from it themselves). To answer your last part, I'm sure there are plenty of coaches who would love nothing more than to "back off" some of the more ego-inflated kids -- but then they lose risking them to someone else. And that's a risk they can't afford.

ATL_eagle: While I tend to be an apologist for you on the blog and BC message boards, a lot of BC fans dislike you and your national beat colleagues. Either BC doesn't get enough respect, coverage, or gets labeled with the same recycled cliches about the program. In your and other beat guys defense, there is no way you can be an expert on every BCS conference team, especially when you are focused on the top teams. With that in mind, why don't you toss up your hands and say "I don't know that much about this BC team" or "honestly I've watched about 15 minutes of Ole Miss this year" or "I didn't see Coach A's boneheaded call against State U because I was at the Florida-Tennessee game" instead of trying to give analysis that a smart fan of a out of the spotlight team could see right through?

Stewart Mandel: In my experience, there isn't a single team in the country whose message-board/blog fans feel the national media gives them their due. I even get complaints from fans of teams like USC and Florida, who have been pretty much non-stop media darlings the last few years. Someone can always find some evidence they're being "slighted" if they go looking for it. But I truly don't mind such comments, and in fact I completely understand them. This is the only major sport where the media plays an active role in deciding the outcome. Why wouldn't fans be paranoid about getting screwed over?

As for the second part, you have to keep in mind that, with all due respect to BC fans -- or Ole Miss fans, or Tennessee fans or any other school's fans -- at the end of the day, they represent a fraction of my audience. When I write something like the Mailbag, it's imperative that both the questions I choose and the answers I give are of interest to a general, national audience. For instance, I have a question in this week’s mailbag about BC. I wouldn't imagine that anything in my answer will come as "news" to anyone who follows BC closely -- but it might to all the other fans out there. I fully concede that any BC fan who follows the team closely enough to read a BC blog every day probably knows the inner-workings of that team far better than me. However, by maintaining a general knowledge of not just BC but 70 other teams, it allows me to compare BC to those other teams, analyze their general place in the landscape and offer a truly detached, outsider's perspective that's hard to maintain if you're a beat writer or blogger who spends all day, every day primarily following one team.

ATL_eagle: Regular features of yours that always get a lot of play on the BC boards (outside the mailbag) are the picks and bowl predictions. I know it's early but predict the following games (NC State at BC, BC at Notre Dame) and tell us now what (if any bowl) BC plays in?

Stewart Mandel: Yeah, I'm not big on picking specific games more than a week out. I'll just share with you my general prediction for BC's season in general: They're my favorite to win their division (though I fully anticipate another logjam where there's some sort of tie for first and they happen to win the tiebreaker), which would likely mean winning about nine regular season games. As for the bowl, as you well know, they're not exactly a favorite of the upper-tier ACC bowl partners in the South, so if they don't win the title game, they would likely go somewhere like the Music City Bowl (while the Gator snaps up FSU, the Peach Georgia Tech, the Champs Sports Miami, etc.)

Dan Shaughnessy Interview

Despite being a high-profile member of the Boston Sports Media, Dan Shaughnessy is rarely on the BC fan radar. It wasn't until I found out that he was writing a book about his son (current BC Baseball player Sam Shaughnessy) that I pursued him for this interview. (His publishers also graciously sent me a copy of the book. I enjoyed it and you can read my review here.) In this exchange we talk about Sam, BC sports and of course blogging.

[In the past my interviews have been via email. This was an old fashioned taped Q&A, so forgive any punctuation issues in the transcript.]

ATL_eagle: How did you first bring up the subject of a book with Sam? You reference him knowing about you writing it, but did you ask his permission? Did you worry about getting him involved?

DS: Yes. We talked about it. I asked if he had a problem with it. He said, “no.” He’s not really committal on a lot of things like that. He kinda shrugged, “Yeah. Whatever.” You know how guys are?

Then I told him that before I sent the manuscript to the publisher he would get to read it. We sorta had a deal that I didn’t want him to change anything or be mindful of it during the year. Just live his life normally. And basically that was true. It wasn’t like I was taking notes. Life just went on normally and I was keeping the thing on my own in real time. He had final right of refusal (as did everyone in the family). So the manuscript went to Sam in late June and he read it overnight and he had a couple of tweaks.

I was amazed at what he left in. The things he took out were very minor and really were kind of money issues. So nothing…nothing really major came out.

I would not have sent this thing out without him seeing it. That’s certainly his life. It was the same with my cousin. There’s that powerful introduction with my cousin and the wake…

ATL_eagle: His son with the drug abuse?

DS: Yeah. I went to lunch with my cousin and showed him the chapter and made sure he was okay with it, ‘cause it’s such a private moment. You don’t share those kinds of things unless it is okay with the family. And Nicky was okay with it. He thanked me for it and he and his wife were happy with it.

ATL_eagle:: And I thought the stuff about Sam, especially the “teen” stuff – things you mention about his potential depression or getting in trouble here and there. Typical teen stuff, but I thought it was pretty brave of him to share and for you to share.

DS: Yeah. The book really wouldn’t work if it weren’t honest. It’s gotta be warts and all. Everybody’s got issues. Everybody’s got stuff in their house, you know?

The book is not really about Sam. The book is about the generic experience of being a parent and the high school experience and what this is like for everybody. Sam’s the vehicle through which we tell the story but I think if you don’t have warts and all, the perception is that “oh, this guy is writing a book about his kid because he thinks he’s a really good player.” Nobody wants to read that. Everybody thinks their kid is really good at something.

ATL_eagle: Now you mention the book was about the high school experience. Moving onto the college experience...in the book you reference Sam wanting to potentially be a small fish in a big pond versus going to a smaller school. And you talk about your daughters struggling for playing time and at bats at the college level. How was the first year of Sam playing Division I baseball and not seeing much playing time been for you as kind of his biggest fan?

DS: Well I think it is frustrating for everybody. Sam knew what he was getting into…and that was a big-time, DI program in the ACC. Freshman don’t see a lot of playing time. And he was ultimately redshirted. And it was frustrating for him and for me.

I think for the parents of a lot of people that is the experience when you take that route. Unless you are a superstar, which Sam is not. You aren’t going to play as a freshman and then you gotta try and fight your way on, which is what he is trying to do now.


ATL_eagle: Over the years many BC fans have pegged you as “anti-BC” because of your Holy Cross ties and the occasional quips you’ve made. Then I was surprised to find out you’re the son of a BC grad. Now that Sam is at BC, how has your perspective on the school changed?

DS: Well my dad went to BC (as you referenced) and I was planning on going there. Events sort of forced me into selecting Holy Cross.

You know, hey, the people at UMass think I’m anti-UMass…

It’s like when you hear the World Series broadcast, the fans in both cities always think the announcers are against them. So, no, there’s no anti-BC bias. They bring big-time college football and basketball to our region and without them we certainly wouldn’t have big-time college football.

I like the way they go about their business over there. I think Gene [Defilippo] is top shelf. It’s really a great experience.

Every kid I’ve met there is a happy kid, so I am very impressed with everything they’re doing.


ATL_eagle: You mentioned big-time football and big-time basketball…BC is obviously trying to upgrade its baseball program and facilities. And that’s been a hot button with the Brighton residents. You’re a long-time Newton resident. From a BC grad and BC student perspective it seems like we have the worst town-gown relationships in Boston. Harvard, Northeastern and BU can kind of do what they want without objection. Why do you think BC gets so much antagonism from Brighton and Newton and the locals, especially something like the new baseball stadium which wouldn’t be that big of an impact in the neighborhood?


DS: I’d quarrel with the distinction that BC gets a hard time. I think the people at Harvard would certainly say they get a hard time. But I also think that BC is bordering communities where people have money and they have means and they have voice and they have clout. It’s a little different if you’re bordering Chestnut Hill, Brookline, Newton as opposed to bordering Allston, where perhaps the constituency is not as loud and powerful. And [Allston] is more transient. Those factors go into it.

It doesn’t surprise me what BC goes through. A lot of people have been living in these regions a long time. When the school expands, you’re going to get that.

ATL_eagle: The Greater Boston area is clearly baseball obsessed. You’ve obviously got the Red Sox, the Cape Cod League, really strong youth leagues. The real exception is the support of college baseball. Do you see any situation where college baseball will catch on beyond the students and parents who are supporting these teams?

DS: Not really. I think that’s fine. Hey, it’s college baseball in the northeast. The weather is not going to change.

It’s hard enough for basketball, football and hockey. They certainly have a niche but given what’s going on with our pro teams, they don’t get what you get at Clemson or Ohio State (college towns). It’s always going to be a struggle and the big time sports feel that. The quote-unquote small-time sports are just not going to generate the kind of interest.

It’ll be nice when the ACC tournament goes through Fenway Park. You hope that the Eagles make the cut that year. But I think those are like the Olympics…it’s a once every few years event but on a day-to-day basis, I don’t think you’ll see it take hold.

ATL_eagle: One last question and being a blogger, I have to ask about this. I asked Bob Ryan about blogs and the future of the industry a year ago. He jokingly waived the white flag. Now the guy went out and got his own blog. And you famously mocked Curt Schilling’s blog. What do you see as the future of this new medium and how it effects sports writing and sports coverage?

I think it is nice for everyone to have a voice. Pete Hamel has a quote (and I had him on the radio last week) and he said, “blogging is therapy but it’s not journalism.” And that’s from Pete Hamel.

Certainly there’s just no editing process. There’s no vetting of material. I draw a real line at anonymity versus people having their name on there like yourself…I assume you do since I am talking to you.

ATL_eagle: Funny enough, I started off with just a nickname. Then the Atlanta Journal-Constitution featured me in their College Football Preview and I unveiled myself and now I write for AOL too with a byline.

DS: To me, except for the editing process, that’s legit. And that’s where it’s going. I just don’t have a lot of affinity for anonymous tough guys who kill everyone and we don’t know who they are. It’s just too easy. It’s the new crank phone call at that level. But when a name’s on there and they stand behind what they write then I think it’s great.