Let's check in on what the computers think

With  BC stopping the bleeding and upsets occuring throughout college football, it is time to look at BC's ESPN FPI. As you probably remember, ESPN's systems loved BC after the fast start. At one point we were a favorite in all remaining games aside from Clemson.

With the win over Louisville, BC is 42 in ESPN's system (right behind a resurgent Purdue). As for upcoming games, BC is only considered a favorite in the last two. Miami has a slight edge, VT's larger and Clemson looks to remain a heavy favorite.

Of course none of this really matters. The rankings don't play the games, the players do. And a healthy Dillon would mean BC can win any game left on the schedule.

Baldwin goes big time

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.

Notre Dame game officially an 8 PM start

As predicted, BC will host Notre Dame at night. Brad Bates broke the news via twitter. The game will be shown nationally at 8 PM on ABC. BC will be heavy underdogs but I am still hoping for some BC-Notre Dame magic. I don't think ESPN would mind some magic too.

BC-themed 30 for 30 suggestions for ESPN

ESPN debuts another 30 for 30 tonight with the "Ghosts of Ole Miss" and yet again the series presents a film with a college theme. Mining college sports makes sense since the professional leagues have their own in-house producers focusing on lesser known stories and are experts at crafting a history and mythology for their sports. Because so many college stories are left untold, in my opinion some of the best films in the series have been college focused like "The U" and "Pony Excess." Former BC basketball star Chris Herren was featured in an ESPN Film and BC grad Joe Tessitore produced ESPN Film's "Roll Tide War Eagle" but neither is technically a "30 for 30" film. There are many BC stories that could carry a film. Here are few of my suggestions.


"The miracle before the 'Miracle'"
Flutie's story is well known, but there is much more to it than one Hail Mary. I think a more interesting film might be how he and Jack Bicknell really helped change college football with BC's passing offense. In the early '80s, BC and BYU were shattering records with their prolific passing schemes. The concepts and aggressiveness were way ahead of their time and still influence college and pro football today. How they arrived at the offense, why Flutie succeeded within the system and why it took two more decades to become mainstream would make for a great movie.

"Coughlin in charge"
As Tom Coughlin keeps winning Super Bowls his legend and legacy grow. NFL Films recently produced a special on him, but I still think his time at BC could carry its own feature. What did he face when he arrived? What did his college players think of him then and now? How he has changed? Did he ever consider staying at BC forever? Are all questions that could carry a narrative.

"Goodfellas go to college"
I was a student during the '90s gambling scandal. There wasn't much to it. However, the basketball point shaving scandal could make a great movie. I doubt BC would be very cooperative. And with Henry Hill dead, one of the most intriguing characters is not available to give his side. The other challenge to the film would be player cooperation. All the accused and alleged players have remained relatively silent about what happened. I don't know if ESPN's cameras would be enough to finally get them to talk in more detail.

"The upset that saved BC"
In 1942 undefeated BC lost its final regular season game to Holy Cross at Fenway Park. The loss caused the team and BC fans to cancel their postgame celebration at Coconut Grove night club. That night the club caught on fire killing nearly 500 people. It is assumed that if BC had won and gone on to celebrate, many of the team would have died in the blaze. This is probably a little to dated to draw ESPN's interest, but it could make for a good documentary.

Filmmakers could build full features around Peter Frates, Jay McGillis, Jerry York or Welles Crowther, but I don't think ESPN would see enough marketing dollars to support a "30 for 30" for any of them.  The BU-BC Hockey rivalry has already been a subject of a sports film by another company. I would love to see a film about the rise of the Big East and about the conference shuffles of the 2000s, but ESPN is too involved in those stories to allow someone to make an honest film out of them. If you could give someone a blank check and a camera, what BC story would you want ESPN to tell?

ESPN is the only thing that can save the ACC as we know it

Florida State is frustrated and ready to move. As a matter of self-preservation another ACC school will jump to the Big XII with them (Miami, Clemson, Georgia Tech) and then all the ACC teams will scramble in another game of musical chairs. (Maryland and Virginia to the Big Ten? NC State and Virginia Tech to the SEC?) If this happens, it will be ESPN's fault. And ESPN's will pay dearly for it. They will pay in increased rights fees and loss of control. The worldwide leader in sports has the chance to hit the brakes and preserve their investment and control in the ACC, but based on the actions out of Bristol, no one there seems to see the big picture.

Here are the factors in play, what ESPN can do and why they should act.

Money and ACC parity
Issue: Every time the ACC signs an ESPN TV deal, it is outdated and below market before the ink is dry. This naturally causes resentment among the members and puts them behind their competitors in other conferences. ESPN probably feels blameless in this area. They are not forcing the ACC to sign these deals. They can't help the timing. It's not ESPN's fault that the ACC leaders are playing checkers while the other conferences play chess. But ESPN needs to preserve the ACC deal. They have a partner that is 100% in bed with them. ACC games are going to fill ESPN3 and ESPNU. The conference is willing to play in timeslots where ESPN needs programming and provide reliable ratings.
Resolution: ESPN needs to get Florida State, Clemson and whoever else has wandering eyes in a room together with the rest of the ACC. They need to revise the ACC deal again only this time with some sort of parity clause. Allow that the ACC TV payout will always be within X% of the top conference deal and always X% above the average of the major conferences. This may seem like a huge pill to swallow for ESPN. But instead of getting a discount on ACC games, they should be paying a premium. This is their only exclusive partnership in major college sports. That has value. Whatever money they give up in the deal they will make back in other areas.

Access to the playoff
Issue: The ACC cannot be left out of the playoff. Because the other conferences are aggressive and forward looking, they are dictating the size and shape of the new four-team playoff. ESPN has stated that they want to run and broadcast any playoff. ACC teams are scared less about the bowls and more about never having access to the playoff.
Resolution: If ESPN does want to run that show, they need to provide assurances that ACC will have the same level of access and ability to qualify as the Big Ten, Big XII, Pac 12 and SEC.

Third Tier Rights/ACC Network
Issue: Three conferences have their own network and the SEC is about to form one. The ACC is the only "major" conference without one. I don't think ACC fans care about a conference network. I think this issue, like many is about perception and money.
Resolution: If ESPN had to placate Texas by forming the Longhorn Network, they may have to do the same with the ACC.

Since the ACC does a terrible job championing their own case, let me sum up all the facts and hope that ESPN steps back and sees what is at stake.
Facts
1. In similar timeslots on ESPN Networks, ACC Football delivers bigger ratings than Big XII or Pac 12 games.
2. If Florida State and any other schools leave the ACC, ESPN will have to pay more for their TV rights AND have less content (as some of those games will move to FOX or other cable channels).
3. The PAC 12 has taken back first tier rights. An expanded Big XII will try to do the same. CBS has first tier rights to the SEC. The Big Ten's deal is up in 2016. They will attempt to take back first tier rights too. The only conference where ESPN controls first tier rights is with the ACC. As ESPN sees the best games moved off of their channels to others, a strong ACC led by Florida State is a great insurance policy. If ESPN doesn't act, all the good Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Duke and North Carolina games will be on other networks.

The ACC created this mess, but ESPN gladly signed them up for deals that they knew were undermarket. No one ever wants to fork over more money when they don't have to. I don't expect ESPN to save the day this time around...and that probably means the end of the ACC as we know it. Hopefully someone in Bristol will see what needs to be done and protect their investment in the ACC.

"The Man In The Red Bandanna" wins Sports Emmy

Monday night at the Sports Emmys, ESPN's "Outside the Lines" team won the Emmy for Long Feature for their story on "The Man Behind the Red Bandanna." A special thanks should go to the Crowther family for sharing their story with the world. I also think we should thank ESPN Producer Drew Gallagher (BC '99) for his work on the project. Drew advocated Welles's story for many years and then brought it to air last fall.

Gene's Big East ESPN comment is snowballing

Mark Blaudschun wrote another love letter to the Big East this weekend. His premise -- that the ACC's expansion was all about basketball -- was pretty flimsy. So flimsy that Gene had no problem going on record to refute it. The only problem was that in refuting one theory, Gene sparked an entirely different controversy. Here is the quote:

"We always keep our television partners close to us," he said. “You don’t get extra money for basketball. It’s 85 percent football money. TV - ESPN - is the one who told us what to do. This was football; it had nothing to do with basketball."

The "ESPN told us what to do" line has sent conspiracy theorists over the edge. Everyone knows ESPN is the bully and power behind college sports, but very few will say it. Now Gene has. In addition to the Big East fans and administrators going nuts, he's also pissed off other schools within the ACC. Of course no one at ESPN Headquarters is too happy with him either.

The people loving it though are the media. CBS, Deadspin, The New York Times, The Daily News, The Big Lead, and Business Journals have jumped on the story. I expect a few more news outlets will join the story soon. ESPN is obviously silent.

Unless this becomes a legal issue -- and you never know when UConn is involved -- I don't see this creating any real pain for BC, Gene, the ACC or ESPN. But he has made himself a target of criticism and ridicule again. BC doesn't need that and he doesn't need that. If our losses keep piling up, look for many to take glee in his failings. I guess my only hope from this is that more checks are put in place to balance out Gene's power regarding the direction of our athletic department.

Mike Leach will never coach BC

Mike Leach would be awesome at BC. I think he would put fans in the seats, engage the Boston media, have us competing in the ACC annually and graduate his players. There is a movement among some BC fans to generate interest in the Leach-BC marriage. I hate to rain on parades, but Leach at the Heights will never happen.

Forget about the cultural fit or if Leach could work with the powers that be at BC. The biggest reason that BC nor any BCS program will hire Leach is because of the ongoing ESPN lawsuit. That makes him untouchable. No smart school is going to alienate their largest PR arm, their biggest source of revenue, and the outlet that controls its kickoff times like that. The ACC will also strongly pressure any ACC school to avoid Leach as long as the suit is open and our TV deal is still in the works. Is that fair? Probably not. Is it illegal? Maybe but don't see BC taking a chance on Leach when there are hundreds of other options. Because even if Leach was a sure thing and a winner, the ESPN factor and his difficult to manage reputation would not allow BC to move forward. This isn't just a Gene thing either. No one associated with BC will take this risk with this hire.

BC's growing army of talking heads

With Jared Dudley headed back to ESPN's First Take I thought is was time to look around at the growing wave of BC guys on sports TV and radio.

Malcolm Huckaby. I was pessimistic about Malcolm taking over for Bill Ebben. Fortunately for BC fans, Malcolm has been a nice addition to the radio team. He's got a great voice and he can desibe the plays well. He's also able to work in more neuvo basketball lingo related to stats and pace. He and Meter have good chemistry too. I also think Huckaby is the right sort of age for the job. He's played in the modern big tourney, AAU era but also is a bit older so he has an informed perspective on players and coaching.

Tim Hasselbeck. Tim's been on TV for a while, but seems to get more and more exposure each year. He's actually become quiet good. Tim gives good insight and is not afraid to criticize. I've also heard him on ESPN Radio throughout the winter and he's even good there. At this point I think the sky is the limit for Tim. I could see him grow to become ESPN's key guy on various NFL shows.

Mike Mayock. Mayock doesn't have Kiper's brand yet, but he is also becoming closely associated with the NFL Draft. Some joke about his speech impediment, but I must not be hearing it. I like Mayock and appreciate his candidness on prospects. This fall he'll also be part of the NFL Network's play by play team on Thursdays. (And he's also on NBC's Notre Dame broadcasts.)

National Champions? and other links

Can BC win a national championship? ESPN thinks the pieces are there: friendly schedule, returning talent, luck. This is a classic ESPN filler article but I like the spirit of it all. 2007 though should be a lesson to us all. If we remain undefeated we will climb in the rankings. However, 2007 was also rare in that so many heavy weights dropped games early, clearing any logjams. If BC were to go undefeated, we would need some help getting into the national championship game. An extra win from the ACC Championship game would help our BCS standings and the Herzy story would get some humans to vote. We would also need the traditional powers to lose a game or two. I am not buying my plane tickets yet, but this is a reminder that we shouldn't lower expectations. We are a better team than the team our staff is poor mouthing in the press (TOB style).

Here is Part II of BC Draft's interview with Weber State's coach.

Tough break for Jamie Silva. Let's hope he makes a full comeback next year.

Virginia Tech fans respect our team.

More on the ACC TV deal

So the smoke has cleared a bit and now we can analyze the ACC's new TV deal with ESPN.

1. It was better than anyone thought. ESPN passed on their exclusive window earlier this spring and lowballed the ACC until the end. Thankfully FOX came in with a full court press and forced ESPN's hand. ESPN also needed the ACC now more than they did last spring. With Turner entering the college hoops world, ESPN needed to secure the flagship college hoops conference for content. ESPN also rebranded ESPN 360 into ESPN3. As part of that they need a major conference willing to put their games online. The SEC was not willing. The ACC was.

2. Some of you will still have a hard time seeing all of BC's games. Because we are now in bed with them, this means more games on ESPN U, more games on ESPN3.com and continued regional partnering with Raycom. Sorry folks. If your cable company doesn't step up, consider a dish or fios.

3. ESPN will sell some of their games to Raycom. Instead of Raycom bidding seperately they have agreed to buy ACC games from ESPN. That means there will still be regional, syndicated broadcast coverage of ACC sports. It is to be determined if this will carry ESPN branding, ACC branding or Raycom branding, but it will be a Raycom production and probably have the same affiliate network Raycom now has.

4. The ACC is betting on the future. The ACC's deal is smaller than the SEC's. It is also shorter. So next time the ACC will negotiate before the SEC. The thought process with this is that the economy will be better, there is an advantage for setting the market and the power football teams (Miami and FSU) will be stronger.

5. This helps protect the conference but doesn't guarantee anything. The deal is strong and makes it much less likely that anyone will bolt but it is still short of the Big Ten and the SEC's deals. As long as there is money on the table, teams will listen.

ACC and ESPN reach TV deal

I'll post more details and thoughts later today but the good news is that ESPN and the ACC agreed to a new deal worth a reported $155 million per year.

ESPN up close and other links

As you may have noticed ESPN's Ivan Maisel was on campus this week and produced a bunch of content. The most candid piece was on David Shinskie and it was loaded with quotes that didn't exactly inspire confidence. I find it frustrating that a guy working on his second chance and who is older than Matt Ryan is still struggling with the demands of DIA football. This just confirms what many of us have been hearing. I expect Shinskie to be the starter this fall, but I don't think the staff will have any problem giving him the hook if he falters or shows less than 100% commitment.

The much more uplifting article focused on Herzy's return. It seems like lingering scar tissue will be an issue with his agility, but like Bill McGovern said: "Never bet against that kid." Maisel is also excited to see Herzy and Kuechly on the field together (aren't we all?).

I strongly disagree with Spaz's support for five years of playing time. In fact, I think the current system of four years of play within five years helps BC. We redshirt so many guys that we often benefit from late bloomers going up against younger opponents.

Another strong blog post from WEEI's BC blog, this time with a draft focused feature on Tennant and McLaughlin.

It was a bit under the radar, but the baseball team won the baseball Beanpot.

Our marketing arm, Fenway Sports Group, has new leadership.

Jamie Silva chatted with fans via the projo online.

Charlie Davies is still hoping to make the US's World Cup team.

CMU's TV slate vs BC's

ESPN U decided to pick up our game against Central Michigan. That's good news. However, the kickoff was pushed back to 3:30. That's terrible news for attendance. Since the game is on Halloween, I think there will be plenty of no shows. I will gladly miss good chunks of the second half live to take my little ones out.

The second issue related to the game was a fact I read in CMU's press release:

With the addition of the ESPNU telecast, 11 of the Chippewas' 12 regular season games in 2009 will be televised either regionally or nationally. Seven of those games will have been produced by the ESPN family of networks.

11 of their 12 games were on TV?!? BC has already had three games relegated to ESPN 360 and may have more. How does that happen? I know we get much of more money from ESPN than Central Michigan. But why doesn't the extra $$$ come with extra TV support? The whole concept is backwards. I agree with Gene in that 360 is better than just radio, but in our new TV deal we need to have guarantees that nearly all our games will be on a true TV platform.

Dinich takes a cheap shot at BC

From her chat today:

Brody (Miami)


What would be your ideal (plausible) matchup in the ACCCG?


Heather Dinich
(1:06 PM)


Miami and anyone besides Boston College.

I am sure that she was trying to be funny, but most Eagle fans will miss any humor. This just confirms to BC fans that the media is rooting against us.

BC Guy in Bristol and other links

Have you seen the ESPN ads for the new live SportsCenter? In this version, recent BC grad Mike Gualtieri makes an appearance. He's the guy in blue opposite the main speaker.

With all the BC folks at ESPN, you'd think we'd get more respect from the worldwide leader in sports.

Josh Beekman played well this weekend. The Bears are dealing with numerous injuries on the line, so Beekman should get some playing time this year.

Jerry York is getting commitments from kids who are still a few years away from college.

BC is still in the mix for Florida QB prospect Nico Flores.