Herzy to IR and other links

On Saturday, the New York Giants placed Mark Herzlich on IR. That means he is ineligible to play for the Giants this season. Once he recovers, he could come off IR, clear waivers and play for another team. But this might be the end of Mark's NFL career. It sounds like the Giants are already planning a post-playing career for him as they want him working with players and still being around. I hope Mark gets one more shot on the field, but if this is it, it was truly a remarkable playing career. When his cancer was first announced, there was real question as to whether his leg would be amputated. Instead he survived, played again in college and then played in the NFL for six seasons. That is amazing. Good luck to Mark on all his future endeavors.

In other NFL news, the Lions picked up Brian Mihalik and the Colts picked up Ian Silberman.

Another remarkable BC athlete's story continues as Boston has declared September 5 as "Pete Frates Day."

The Field Hockey team swept Maryland.

Women's Soccer beat Northeastern.

Baseball change rumors and other links

Soaring to Glory and the College Baseball Daily are reporting the URI Head Baseball coach Jim Foster is expected to join Mike Gambino's staff at BC. It is an interesting move on a couple of fronts. Gambino gets a much needed, veteran adviser. However, even coming off a losing season, it is surprising that Foster would leave URI to work with a coach on the hot seat. I am sure BC paid Foster well and will get paid even if Gambino gets fired.

Herzy's fundraiser last week was a success. Thank you to those who supported the event.

BC's win over/under is 4.5.

Herzlich excerpt and other links

Mark Herzlich's new book is about to be released and with it comes a timely excerpt in the New York Post. I know we feel like we all know Mark's story, but in the excerpt he starts to get more personal and share more of the fear that he and his family hid so well during his fight. I look forward to reading more.

Former Eagle Eric Campbell is making the most of his time with the Mets.

The Chargers cut Ian White already.

Herzlich Golf Tournament info

Former BC star and current New York Giant Mark Herzlich is gearing up for his annual golf tournament again. This year's event will take place July 7, 2014, at Pine Hills Golf Club. Proceeds will go to Uplifting Athletes.

The donation per foursome is $2,500. The event starts at 11 am,  and is followed by a dinner, awards ceremony and auction. Each foursome will be joined by a celebrity guest.

The list of Celebrities will have the usual BC and New England feel. For BC fans or those just looking to a fun excuse to golf, this is a great event. Check out the site for more information.

BC guys at Giants camp and other links

Herzy continues to work out with the first team at LB. Obviously the Giants gave Mark a chance when they signed him, but at this point they don't care about his background or if he will ever regain his old form. So to see him progress and get snaps means they know he can do it. Kiwi will be playing DE again for the Giants until JPP is back.

This is a fair look at the current NFL prospects on our roster. It is interesting all the respect Amidon gets but everyone assumes a drop off with the new offense.

Two soon to be Eagles (Ian McCoshen and Steve Santini) were invited to the U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp.

Another Jersey player on BC's radar is Kurt Holuba.

The Orioles drafted incoming Eagle Travis Seabrooke.

ICYMI: some links from the past week

SI gathered a mock selection committee to develop a Final Four for football. It is an interesting process and hints that the four-team playoff will expand to eight or 16 teams quickly.

The Sports Pickle made BC the center of their bit on conference shuffling. Do you think the neighbors would complain about the noise created during the raid?

BC Magazine profiled Steve Donahue. Since it came from a BC outlet, it easily could have been a fluff piece, but I thought they were fair and helped inform on Donahue's style and approach.

This is over a week old, but if you haven't seen it already, please watch the ESPN piece on Tom Coughlin and the McGillis family.

Mark Herzlich called this one of the better pieces on him. Definitely worth the watch.

Reminder: Herzlich to start against Steelers

I know most Giants fans are dealing with bigger issues than football right now, but there is still a good BC story going on at the Meadowlands today. Mark Herzlich will start for the first time this season and the third time of his career. Herzlich has been limited to mostly special teams this year, so this is a chance for him to breakout and earn more playing time. Let's hope he has a big day.

Miami Game point spread and other links

The major sports books released the point spreads for the opening weekend of college football. Miami is currently listed as a 1.5 favorite over BC. I know I've started sipping on the Kool-Aid, but I like BC with the points. We're at home and Miami is rebuilding too.

Another BC target, Orlando WR Jeff Badet committed to USF.

Oprah visited BC (check out the pic of her with Father Leahy). She was there to visit students from her South African Academy. The students are at BC this summer as part of a program to acclimate themselves to U. S. colleges.

BC posted a Q&A with Chase Rettig. Everything he says is encouraging, but I love that Matt Ryan reminded him to just have fun. Fun is one thing that's been lacking from BC football for three years.

This is HD's preview of our summer camp.

The Globe wrote the rare, rare story on a new BC golfer.

Herzy's second year and push to grow his role is one of the big storylines coming out of Giants camp.

Consensus among experts and other links

In most years opinions on BC vary. While we were predictably above average for ten years, there were always a few experts who went out on a limb to predict a great or terrible year from BC. This year, there is a  consensus -- most think BC will be near the bottom of our division.

Connecticut LB Cory Jasudowich says that BC is his favorite. He still plans on visiting other schools.

HD ranked the best QBs in the ACC. Rettig comes in at 11 which I think is a bit misleading. His stats haven't been great but has shown more upside than some of the guys ranked ahead of him. Let's see how Rettig does once he's actually allowed to air it out.

Did BC make money switching conferences? We will never know officially since BC doesn't have to disclose its numbers like a public university. But you would have to imagine our costs and new revenues would follow a similar track to the other schools. Based on Virginia Tech's growth, BC probably had a small but positive gain.

Herzy is fighting for a starting position with the Giants this year.

Illinois WR Matt Harris is a bit small, but has plenty of speed. BC and Northwestern are both interested.

Feldman on Spaz and other links

Bruce Feldman's Friday Mailbag had a few different BC angles this week. Feldman considers Spaz -- along with Mack Brown -- to have the hottest seats in college football. The less obvious tie to BC comes via Feldman's lead on San Jose State Coach Mike MacIntyre. Bruce predicts MacIntyre will be one of the hot names on the coaching front next year. Could he be a candidate at BC? I don't know, but his past relationship with John DeFilippo won't hurt his chances.

The Orlando Sentinel is the latest publication to think BC will struggle this year. They ranked us 94th overall.

BC target and NJ running back Gerald Towns-Owens already has offers from BC and Rutgers.

In honor of Mother's Day, ESPN posted a feature on Mark Herzlich and his mother.

Congrats to the Mara Family

One of the things we sell to football recruits is that BC is a family and being an Eagle will open all sorts of doors. In football, no family or organization embodies that spirit quite like the Maras. Congratulations to them for winning another Super Bowl. Congrats to all the BC folks who work for the Giants. Congratulations to Chris Snee and Will Blackmon. I really feel great for Kiwi. He received a Super Bowl ring four years ago, but had to watch from the sidelines recuperating. This time he earned it on the field. The only bittersweet aspect to all of this was that Mark Herzlich didn't get to suit up. Let's hope he gets rewarded in another season or too just like Kiwi.

The Maras (and Tisches) also deserve credit for sticking with Tom Coughlin. I know many BC fans secretly wished he would finish his career in Chestnut Hill. That's not going to happen, but at least we can always say BC was where it all started.

Another women's basketball blowout and other links

The good news: BC stayed within four points of Maryland in the second half. The bad news: they were already down 38 points at the half. I can't speak to the issues surrounding the program with any sort of expertise. But these scores are shocking and embarrassing.

Reggie Jackson is showing steady improvement in Oklahoma City.

Philly.com will follow Luke Kuechly's preparation for the NFL Draft.

Mark Herzlich is ready to go but the Giants haven't decided if he will be active yet.

Super Bowl Eagles

For the second time in five years the two NFL teams with the most historical ties to BC are facing off in the Super Bowl. Below is a list of the BC connections. (Be sure to add any that I might have overlooked in the comments section.) [UPDATED]

New England Patriots
C Dan Koppen -- BC 2003 (currently on the IR)
DT Ron Brace -- BC 2009
Defensive Assistant Brian Flores -- BC 2004
Scout Dujuan Daniels -- BC 2002
Robert Kraft -- member of the Board of Trustees

New York Giants
LB Mark Herzlich -- BC 2011
LB Mathias Kiwanuka -- BC 2006
G Chris Snee -- BC 2004
KR Will Blackmon -- BC 2006
Tom Coughlin -- Former BC head coach
Strength and Conditioning Coach Jerry Palmieri -- held the same position at BC under Coughlin
Assistant Offensive Line Coach Jack Bicknell, Jr. -- BC 1985, also coached at BC under Jags and is the son of former BC coach Jack Bicknell
Wide Receivers Coach Sean Ryan -- Graduate assistant at BC 2001-2002
John Mara -- BC 1976
Chris Mara -- BC 1979

Everybody loves Ice Jam and other links

Give credit where it is due, BC has turned "Ice Jam" into something. The second annual event went off without a hitch and all the reviews were positive. WZBC took advantage of the event and interviewed plenty of players. Remember to give them a listen now and then during games.

BC continues to graduate a high percentage of our athletes. We tied Duke and only trailed Notre Dame in graduation rate succes.

Mark Herzlich will be on 60 Minutes this Sunday.

NFL round up

The news broke Saturday, but Peter King snagged the most in depth inter view with new Giant, Mark Herzlich. Mark acknowledges that he could still be cut at any moment, but making the initial roster is a huge step in the process.

The second best story was Alex Albright making the Cowboys.

Good news for McCluskey -- he gets a pay check for the season. Bad news -- he is on the IR and will not play this season. San Diego placed Damik Scafe on their IR.

The Raiders were quick to sign Ricky Brown once the Patriots released him.

Tampa released Thomas Claiborne, but also cut Ryan Purvis. Somewhat surprising on Purvis since he was supposedly in their plans.

Eagles landing in the NFL

After all the ups and downs, all we wanted was for Mark Herzlich to have a chance. The New York Giants gave him one. As others have noted, Herzlich is just the latest BC-Giants connection. Multiple teams had interest, so I assume Mark signed with the Giants because of their assurances that he would make the team. I am happy for him and his family and cannot wait to see him make an impact in 2011.

Herzlich wasn't the only undrafted free agent to sign. Alex Albright -- whose injuries kept him from reaching his potential in college -- signed with the Cowboys. This deal surprised me a bit. Rob Ryan kept the 3-4 in Dallas, which leaves me wondering what position Alex will play. I don't know if he has the size to play DE? Can he play LB in the 3-4? I know Albright turned heads in his UFL tryouts, so he probably had options. Let's hope this was the right one.

Rich Lapham signed with Buffalo. Despite my occasional doubts about his potential, Rich's size will always open doors for him. Buffalo may prove to be a good opportunity.

James McCluskey joining the Raiders might be the most interesting signing of the day. After some UFL tryouts, McCluskey was somewhat resigned that the NFL would not happen. And then he got the call. I will stick to my guns that McCluskey can be a perfect NFL FB. He just needs to demonstrate his versatility.

Damik Scafe signed with the Chargers. Like his teammates in this class, Scafe had some real great BC moments, but just couldn't stay healthy.

The path from signee to official member of the final roster is long and treacherous. All of these guys will have to fight hard. I will update the news as it happens.

The new guys aren't the only ones making news. Some veteran Eagles like Matt Hasselbeck and Jamie Silva are looking for new teams. Pro bowler Damien Woody has decided to retire after a great NFL career.

Shakim Phillips gone and other links

Instead of celebrating the good buzz from the ACC Kickoff Day 2, most BC fans were buzzing about the absence of Shakim Phillips and Clyde Lee from the roster. The school is yet to explain their absence, but credible posters are confirming that both are gone. I wasn't expecting much from either this year, but it is a loss none the less. Both had untapped potential. It may have bloomed for both this year. And as much as I would like to throw Spaz under the bus for the departures, this is all too common in college football. Some times good kids just don't fit in certain programs.It's best to move on and fill their spots with quality recruits.

The ACC Media named Montel Harris its Preseason Player of the Year. Kuechly finished 3rd in the voting. While the real award means a lot more, I think the projections reinforce that BC has real talent. Yet the same voters picked us to finish 4th in the division.

Luke Kuechly also spoke with Joe Schad.

This is the most optimistic I've heard Spaz (Spaz starts at the 3:07 mark) with regards to the season.

Here are some talking heads discussing BC's offense. (Of course they predict big things from Phillips.)

Multiple reports are saying Herzy signed with the Ravens, however, Mark says it is still speculation and he'll have news on Tuesday.

Votes for BC in the preseason poll surprised a few writers.

Dudley connects with Donahue and other links

I always thought Jared Dudley had the highest basketball IQ I had seen in a college player. Now I think it is pretty clear that he is a smart beyond basketball and understands relationships, marketing and giving back. While in Boston this week for his own camp, he also stopped in to see BC's new players -- even though he had no relationship with them or the coaching staff. Then he made the effort to get to know Steve Donahue (not his coach) and then used his twitter account to blow up Donahue's account.

The Sporting News and Orlando Sentinel both released BC previews. You would hope that with its resources and reputation the Sporting News would be better, but I actually think the Sentinel's version was superior.

We've known about German signee Patrick Heckmann but now it is official.

Florida DB Justin Simmons joined Spaz's recruiting class. At this rate Spaz will have the class closed out in August. Here is more on his future teammate Michael Strizak.

Mark Herzlich signed a deal with Saucony. I found it interesting that one of the bigger name companies didn't work out a deal. Even if they think Mark is a longshot, there is very little downside in him endorsing your product. Good luck to both Saucony and Mark.

Here is a story on incoming BC player Spencer Rositano.

Herzy at the ESPYs and other links

Usually I skip the ESPYs, but I was glad to see Mark Herzlich win the Comeback of the Year. Now let's hope the lockout ends and he can take the comeback all the way to the NFL.

CFN released their usually strong BC season preview. They mention all the hot buttons that must of us diehards expect to be factors.

Here is more on Donovan Henry (need insider to read the full article). Based on the players set to announce, BC could have a few more commits within the next week. Overall I am hearing that the goal is to have 12 or so verbals by September.

Busy Donahue, sailing win, Herzy quote and other links

The basketball roster filled out a bit with three new players. I don't expect any of them to be big factors, but it is nice to round out the roster. Plus the new crew had pretty good success with walkons and post grads last season. Donahue also has offers out to members of the 2013 class.

Admittedly I have a hard time keeping up with the different contests, but the sailing team picked up another title.

The other day in my Stanley Cup post, I failed to recognize Cory Schneider as a key backup for Vancouver. (Thanks to Peter F and the others who called me out.) Although he's from Massachusetts, his family is clearly rooting for the Canucks.

Mark Herzlich raised a few eyebrows with this quote: "I'll be the Cam Newton of free agency..." Personally I think the USA Today took his quote out of context. It makes him seem like an overly cocky guy...especially considering he wasn't drafted. However, if you read the full quote in context, you would quickly realize that Mark still has perspective.

Assessing his current value, Herzlich chuckled, "I'll be the Cam Newton of free agency, who knows?"

I bolded the key phrases.

This has been floating around for a few days but I thought it was worth highlighting. I hope someone from BC can get through to Spaz that he needs to change his approach to the media. The poor us, empty cupboard stuff is charming when you've won championships. When you are coming off mediocre seasons the poor us meme just kills marketing.

Of BC's current seniors, Donnie Fletcher might strongest NFL prospect.

It looks like former Eagle Alejandro Bedoya will be playing for the US squad this summer.

BC is still in play for Georgia Tight End Joshua Parris.

Reggie Jackson did have surgery in May, which explains why he did not take part in some predraft workouts.

Although I wanted BC to take advantage of the NFL Lockout, I didn't have Patriots' practices in mind.

Luke Kuechly should be on multiple preseason All America lists.