BC vs. Army Preview

Hey, they played 3+ games yesterday and if they want to stay alive they are going to need to win 2 games today. BC had the unfortunate draw of having to play Army after losing less than 11 hours ago in the 25th in but here is my preview of the game.

The Eagles, who are running out of pitchers will toss:
John Leonard (1-4, 7.24)

Leonard has an inflated ERA and a bad record because he struggled heavily for the first half of the year but he has been much better in the second have pitching pretty well and earning Coach Aoki's trust. Leonard is going to need a HUGE outing today to save the BC bullpen after last night and to give them a chance to play Texas again.

BC will probably run out the same lineup but they may have Tony Sanchez DH and have Harry Darling catch this game. Sanchez had the misfortune of squatting for 25 innings behind the plate last night. Here is my lineup projection:
CF Robbie Anston .358 1 HR 29 RBIs
2B Matt Hamlet .311 0 HR 11 RBIs
DH Tony Sanchez .355 14 HR 48 RBIs
3B Mickey Wiswall .318 14 HR 62 RBIs
1B Mike Belfiore .286 11 HR 60 RBIs
SS Barry Butera .333 4 HR 34 RBIs
C Harry Darling .292 0 HR 13 RBIs
RF Andrew Lawrence .320 3 HR 19 RBIs
LF Mike Sudol .275 6 HR 28 RBIs

The Eagles keys to victory for this afternoon's game are:
1. Pitching: The Eagles have taxed Mike Belfiore and Chris Kowalski out of the pen so they are going to need to have guys such as Leonard to step up today and have HUGE performances.
2. Hitting: The Eagles looked ugly at the plate last night and need to get the bats going against the Black Knights.
3. Execution: The Eagles we unable to steal, hit and run and most important sacrifice bunt yesterday against the Longhorns and if they want to win they need to execute them to perfection.

The Eagles are going to have a tough time coming out to play today after such a draining physical and mental defeat and are going to need to score early and often to get over the loss quickly, if they want any chance of winning. The Eagles most definitely want a rematch against the Longhorns and hopefully the can win today and get one.

The Army Black Knights look to take advantage of the long, tiring game the Eagles played last night and win to move on. The Black Nights are a pesky club that don't go away which is something the Eagles would love for them to do but it just won't happen.

The Black Knights will throw:
Kirk Porter (6-3, 4.19)

Porter is their 3rd starter who missed some of the beginning of the year after have torn labrum surgery. He is a ground ball pitcher who has a NASTY breaking ball. The Eagles need to work the count against him and try to get him out of the game early.

The Black Knights will probably roll the same lineup today against the Eagles:
2B Zach Price .347, 0 HR, 24 RBIs
CF Andy Ernesto .307, 3 HR, 38 RBIs
SS Clint Moore .391, 10 HR, 60 RBIs
DH Joey Henshaw .388, 12 HR, 70 RBIs
1B Kevin McKague .387, 6 HR, 42 RBIs
3B J.P. Polchinski .277, 7 HR, 32 RBIs
RF Kyle Fleming .288, 6 HR, 34 RBIs
LF David Darnell .250, 1 HR, 11 RBIs
C J.T. Watkins .256, 2 HR, 28 RBIs

The Black Knights keys to victory are:
1. Getting to the Bullpen: The Eagles bullpen is taxed and the sooner they can get to the Eagles pen the better for them. The need to take advantage of the 25 inning game BC just played.
2. Hitting: They are a big hitting club and need to continue that today against BC in order to have a chance at a rematch with Texas.
3. Pitching: They have gotten good pitching thus far in the tournament, giving up on 7 runs so far and they need to continue that against the struggling BC lineup.

This game should be very interesting. Army has the distinct advantage of not having had played a 25 inning game, 11 hours ago and needs to use that to its advantage. While BC has the confidence of know that they can play with anyone by almost being the #1 overall seed in the nation last year. GO EAGLES!

BC vs. Texas Recap

Well I am pretty sure I can do this in a few words, such as TWENTY-FIVE INNINGS, but it is much more deserving of a bigger and better look. The Eagles lost a heart breaker, 3-2, against the #1 overall seeded Texas Longhorns at the Longhorns home stadium in 25 innings. Sure it is disappointed to lose, but there is this feeling of extreme pride and accomplishment after this game. I mean the huge underdog Eagles come into Texas' home stadium push them to the brink of elimination, shut them down for 23 innings and end up losing it on a wild pitch that was inevitable with a catcher who had been squatting behind the plate for 25 innings. I mean sure BC could have won and it would have been much more satisfactory but losing kind of puts a game like this into perspective. Each closer when a complete game (9+ innings), Outfielders player all 3 positions, Pitchers hit and run, infielders played the outfield, umpires throw out players when it wasn't necessary, there was 3+ games played in 1 game, a ton of records were broken. Just a ridiculous game and one that the players on both sides of the ball will never forget and neither will I nor the rest of college baseball.

Some epic pitching performances tonight by both teams and that is really the story of the game so I will tell you about them. Chance Ruffin, the Texas starter threw 6.1 innings of 5 hit, 2 run baseball while Pat Dean, the BC starter, tried to one up him and threw 7 innings of 9 hit, 2 run baseball. But that wasn't it, the Texas closer, Austin Wood, came in threw 13.0 innings of scoreless, 2 hit baseball while throwing 12.1 hitless innings aswell. BC closer almost matched Wood step for step throwing 9.2 innings of 3 hit, scoreless baseball in relief. The Eagles ended up using 7 pitchers while the Longhorns tried to make their kids arms fall off by using only 3 pitchers. The Eagles had 16 chances to end it at plate but Texas pitching was too good and the BC hitting looked off. However, It was a remarkable game that I hope I get a chance to watch again in my life because it was that good.

I will have my BC-Army Preview up momentarily! Go Eagles!

Boston College vs. Texas Preview

After such a great win in a game where they played bad for 8 innings on day 1 of the NCAA Tournament the Eagles will have a lot of confidence going into tonight's game vs. #1 overall seed Texas. The Eagles must be super excited to have gotten by game 1 while still having their best pitcher available in Pat Dean. The Eagles are going to need Dean to pitch well tonight if they want to have any chance to beat the Longhorns. If BC is somehow able to pull out a win vs. the Longhorns tonight they will be in a great position to move on to the Super Regional so we are going to have to hope and pray they are able to pull it off!

The Eagles Projected Starter tonight is:
Pat Dean (6-4, 3.36)

The Eagles will probably go into the game with the same lineup they used against Texas State but they will probably hope the offense comes alive earlier tonight. Here is BC's projected starting lineup:
CF Robbie Anston .358 1 HR 29 RBIs
2B Matt Hamlet .311 0 HR 11 RBIs
C Tony Sanchez .355 14 HR 48 RBIs
3B Mickey Wiswall .318 14 HR 62 RBIs
1B Mike Belfiore .286 11 HR 60 RBIs
SS Barry Butera .333 4 HR 34 RBIs
DH Harry Darling .292 0 HR 13 RBIs
RF Andrew Lawrence .320 3 HR 19 RBIs
LF Mike Sudol .275 6 HR 28 RBIs

The Eagles are going to have to play one of their best games of the year to beat the Longhorns as they are the #1 overall seed in the tournament for a reason. Dean is going to need to shut down the Longhorns offense while the Eagles offense is going to need to be patient get on base and manufacture runs with a home run or extra base hit or two to drive in the key runs.

My Keys to the game for the Eagles:
1. Offense: The offense was shut down for most of the game by Bobcats Ace Kane Holbrooks and are going to need to fair better against the Longhorns #1 ERA pitching staff. The Longhorns have the best and most deep pitching staff in the Nation so the Eagles are going to need some key offense.
2. Defense: BC was terrible in the field yesterday against the Bobcats. They had 2 errors and looked uncomfortable in every aspect of the game on the Field Turf and need to play better against the #1 Longhorns.
3. Coaching: The Longhorns are an even better small ball team than the Eagles but it will be a good matchup of strategy. The Longhorns are 1st in the nation in Sacrifice Hits while the Eagles are 3rd in the nation in Sac Hits so we are going to need some good strategy to beat the 'Horns.

The Longhorns are not an offensive oriented club as they are the 200th Ranked offense in the nation but they have the best staff in the nation. The Longhorns win games by manufacturing a few runs then shutting down the other teams offense.

The Longhorns projected starter tonight:
Chance Ruffin (9-2, 2.96)

The Longhorns will throw out this lineup against the Eagles tonight:
2B Travis Tucker .286, 2 HR, 23 RBIs
1B Brandon Belt .340, 8 HR, 37 RBIs
3B Michael Torres .317, 2 HR, 28 RBIs
C Cameron Rupp .273, 8 HR, 39 RBIs
SS Brandon Loy .312, 0 HR, 23 RBIs
DH Preston Clark .254, 1 HR, 18 RBIs
RF Kevin Keyes .295, 4 HR, 33 RBIs
LF Tant Shepherd .260, 2 HR, 21 RBIs
CF Connor Rowe .272, 6 HR, 33 RBIs

The Longhorns are great team and even though they don't have a high powered offense, they don't need that to beat you. Like I said before Texas will put up 3 or 4 runs then just shut down your offense. The Longhorns are definitely going to be super tough for the Eagles tonight.

My Keys to a Texas victory tonight:
1. Pitching: This is no different from every game for Texas. They have the best staff in the Nation and will look to hold the Eagles to under 3 runs.
2. Small Ball: The Longhorns need to manufacture runs whenever guys get on base because they aren't a team that will score 10 runs a game.
3. Coaching: Just like for the Eagles, this is a matchup game where both teams will try to do the same thing and which ever team gets the better coaching will have the better chance at winning.

This is going to be a very tough one but I can't wait to watch! GO EAGLES!

Surprise on the Golf Course

I was only able to check the scores a couple times on the golf course and that last time I was able to was when they were down 5-2 after 7. Boy was I surprise when I heard on the radio driving home that they Eagles were up 8-5 after 8 and a half and I was even more surprised when the final score was 8-7. Boy I probably would have passed out and died if I was watching so golfing just may have saved my life. What a HUGE win for the Eagles and their program. Playing a bad game in the field and at the plate all game then still coming up with a huge comeback.

The biggest key for the Eagles is that they were able to saved their #1 starter Pat Dean for the winner of the Texas/Army (most likely #1 overall seed Texas) game that is in progress now in Austin, which gives the Eagles a real chance to win that game and give them a chance to move on to the super regional.

Please go to BC Interruption to get a small recap and their thoughts on the game and the normal struggles of a BC fan as I am not able to give my thoughts because I was unable to watch.

Anyway LETS GO EAGLES! Keep it up!

Eagle Links: 5/28

Articles are popping up here and there about the Boston College baseball and its players. This one is about shortstop/outfielder Barry Butera.

HokieHaven.com put out their top 5 running backs in the ACC, unfortunately their ridiculous bias comes out. Ryan Williams a redshirt freshman is listed as the 4th best (along with Darren Evans at 2nd, which is justified), all while leaving out Montel Harris. All I can do it laugh at that, a guy who hasn't played a game in college is better than I guy who had an awesome freshman season while only getting about 60% of the carries.

Lots of Austin Regional Previews coming out. Two of the better ones come Rivals.com who put theirs out earlier today, with some very good words about BC and The College Baseball Blog who put theirs up last night with snapshots of each team. Not to forget the BC vs. Texas State Preview that I put out earlier today.

CBS College Sports All-Access is streaming the game for free tomorrow at 2:00 PM EST! Click here to find the stream! That is awesome!

I'll be golfing all day tomorrow so I won't be on here but I will be following from my iPhone so GO EAGLES!!

Austin Regional: #3 Boston College vs. #2 Texas State Preview

Boston College comes into the NCAA tournament for the first time in 42 years and it has a very tough matchup ahead of them. In fact, the last time the Eagles made the NCAA tournament in 1967, current head coach Mik Aoki wasn't even born yet. The Eagles will face the Bobcats of Texas State (41-15), an at-large bid out of the Southland conference, at the University of Texas' UFCU Disch-Falk Stadium in Austin, Texas. But Coach Aoki is taking the difficult task at playing in the #1 overall national seed's homefield in stride saying to the Globe this morning, "We're excited about playing games at the University of Texas with its great tradition," said Aoki yesterday before the Eagles went through their final practice session before flying to Austin this morning. "It's truly college baseball royalty." The Eagles are going up against the high powered Bobcats offense and are going to need some stellar pitching this weekend to have any chance at all. I have done some scouting on the Bobcats and feel I have enough info on the team to give you guys a good preview of the game on Friday at 2 PM EST.

The Eagles are coming off a great showing at the ACC tournament going 2-1 while beating Georgia Tech handily and blowing out Miami. They Eagles have 2 very solid pitchers at the top of their rotation and could go with either one of them against Texas State, My guess is they go with Senior Captain J.B. MacDonald, because they are going to need Pat Dean in a tough game vs. Texas is they win OR in a must win game if they lose.

Here are the possible BC Pitchers for the weekend:
Pat Dean 6-4, 3.36
JB MacDonald 5-7, 4.70
Mike Dennhardt 5-1, 4.97
John Leonard 1-4, 7.24

The Eagles key pitchers out of the Bullpen are:
Mike Belfiore 5-1 2.15 8 saves in 25 apperanaces
Kevin Moran 5-2 2.84 0 saves in 23 apperanaces
Nate Bayuk 0-0 3.38 1 save in 29 apperanaces

The Eagles will expect to go into the game with the same lineup they used in their last two ACC tournament games:
1. CF Robbie Anston .358 1 HR 29 RBIs
2. 2B Matt Hamlet .311 0 HR 11 RBIs
3. C Tony Sanchez .355 14 HR 48 RBIs
4. 3B Mickey Wiswall .318 14 HR 62 RBIs
5. 1B Mike Belfiore .286 11 HR 60 RBIs
6. SS Barry Butera .333 4 HR 34 RBIs
7. DH Harry Darling .292 0 HR 13 RBIs
8. RF Andrew Lawrence .320 3 HR 19 RBIs
9. LF Mike Sudol .275 5 HR 25 RBIs

With John Spatola .304 3 HR 23 RBIs, being the only somewhat reliable player off the bench to help the Eagles if need be.

The Eagles are know to be a small ball team and according to one Texas fan, "The Disch (UFCU Disch-Falk Field) might be the most pitcher friendly park in America. The infield is very slow, designed that way for the way the Longhorns like to play small ball with a lot of sacrifice bunts and sigles and doubles rather than trying to hit the long ball.

As stated above, the prevailing winds also tend to keep balls in the ball park. Your only real hope to conisistently hit the ball out of the park is to drive the ball low and hard down either line. If it gets up in the air, particularly betrween left and right center, its going to die."

Which may benefit Texas BUT it also benefits the Eagles because they aren't a team who will out slug you. It has been well documented that coach Mitch Aoki's philosophy is score one run an inning usually through sacrifices and small ball seeing as the Eagles are 3rd in the nation in sacrifice hits.

The Three Keys to the Eagles success this weekend are:
1. Starting Pitching: The Eagles are able to hit and score with the best of them so the key is going to be whether or not th Eagles can keep the other teams from scoring.
2. Tony Sanchez and Mickey Wiswall: These two are the best offensive players for the Eagles and are both going to need to step up even more for the Eagles to avoid losing 2 games.
3. Winning Game 1: Teams who lose game 1 don't usually move on because you then usually have to win 4 games in a row in order to advance to the Super Regionals.

The Texas State Bobcats, as I said before have a high powered offense that has lead them all year through their conference and earned them an at-large bid in this tournament. The Bobcats were the regular season champions in the Southland conference, but were upset in the Conference Tournament by Sam Houston State in the title game. The Bobcats may not play in the ACC like the Eagles, but they have a very good game and are a great matchup for the Eagles.

The Bobcats have a very good ace in Kane Holbrooks, but they may choose to risk it and try to win game 1 with their second starter, Zach Tritz, who isn't nearly as good as Holbrooks.

The possible starters for the Bobcats are:
Kane Holbrooks 10-1 3.34
Brian Borski 7-3 3.89
Zach Tritz 8-2 4.75

With these guys out of the Bullpen:
Tyler Brundrige 3-1 3.42 3 saves in 32 appearances
Michael Russo 4-2 3.86 6 saves in 23 appearances
Lance Loftin 3-0 3.09 1 save in 20 appearances

The Bobcats have a very high powered offense and look to keep that going into their first NCAA tournament since 2000:
1. RF Tyler Sibley .369 10 HR's 38 RBI's
2. CF Bret Atwood .373 1 HR 30 RBI's
3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt .353 17 HR's 85 RBI's
4. DH Keith Prestidge .370 7 HR's 49 RBI's
5. LF Spenser Dennis .408 6 HR's 49 RBI's
6. C Ben Theriot .346 6 HR's 36 RBI's
7. 2B Kyle Livinstone .322 5 HR's 32 RBI's
8. 3B Jordan Kopycinski.298 1 HR 8 RBI's
9. Jason Martinson .302 7 HR's 39 RBI's

They also have two reliable players and hitters off the bench that they can use at any time to replace anyone in the lineup in Lance Lofton .304 6 HR's 30 RBI's and Kyle Bubitza .299 6 HR's 21 RBI's.

The Bobcats three keys to this tournament will be:
1. Paul Goldschmidt: He is probably the best hitter in this regional and the Bobcats offensive production is usually based around him.
2. Pitching: The Bobcats can hit with the best of them but they aren't very deep in pitching. They did well in the Southland but things are much different facing teams from the ACC and Big XII.
3. Confidence: Some Southland conference teams may come in against ACC and Big XII teams, but if they Bobcats want to win they need to come in believing they can win.

This team is pretty solid and the coach from Lamar stated this might be the best team in Southland Conference history. These guys play the game right and enjoy playing together. The Eagles and the Bobcats look to matchup very well and should be a GREAT game tomorrow.

Go Eagles!

Q&A with Travis Everette

Travis Everatte is an associate with Rivals.com who was there to specifically help them blog about the ACC Baseball Championship. Therefore, I contacted him and asked him if he could answer a few questions for me and he was super kind and actually answered them for me!

TOTH: Can you explain to me and other BC fans what making the NCAA tournament after years of mediocrity and a move to such a tough conference means to the program?

TE: I think it is a huge step in the right direction for the players and coaching staff at Boston College. Coach Aoki and his staff have done an amazing job turning that program around and I have no doubt that they’ll continue to be competitive and give the rest of the league fits in years to come. Playing in the NCAA tournament will only add fuel to that fire.

TOTH: Why do you think Boston College and the ACC were looked at by the committee as lesser teams than the Big 12 and SEC schools?

TE: I don’t know that you could say that the ACC teams were looked at as lesser teams. I thought that everyone from the league who had a legitimate case for being included in the tournament was invited. I also think that the right teams got host spots and #1 seeds. I do think that UVA got a raw deal on their regional assignment being shipped all the way out to Irvine and having to face Stephen Strasburg in the first game. Duke’s RPI was a real killer but if you get down to it, I have little doubt that they are a better squad than either Baylor or Oklahoma State, so I guess you could make an argument that they were shorted, but it’s really not a strong argument because in my opinion none of those three should be in. All in all, I think the league got a pretty fair draw.

TOTH: Do you think the Eagles can use their success this year as a spring board for the program or is this just a fluke and they will go back to mediocrity after this year?

TE: I sort of answered this in question #1, but I’ll say it again: I think Boston College is going to be very competitive for a long while, particularly as long as the current coaching staff is in place. Coach Aoki was very impressive during the ACC tournament. That was the first time I”ve had the chance to interact face to face with him and I came away thinking that he was one of the more engaging coaches in the league. Also, make no mistake, Boston College is tremendously talented. They have some kids who can really compete with the best teams in the league. If they continue to mine that northeast talent pool, they will be just fine.

TOTH: What do you think has been the biggest key to Boston College's success this year? And do you think coach Mike Aoki should get more praise for what he has done in such a short time with this team?

TE: I don’t think there is any magic recipe to their success. They’re winning with talented kids playing hard and smart who are coached by a solid coaching staff. That will get it done every time.

TOTH: On to the NCAA tournament and the Austin Regional specifically. Since I and many BC fans haven't got to watch a ton of college baseball, what are some quick strengths and weaknesses for all of the teams in the Austin Regional?

TE: That regional should be one of the more interesting ones to watch. Obviously Texas is the #1 national seed for a reason. They are a tremendously talented team both on the mound as well as at the plate. I think the interesting thing about that regional is Texas State at #2. Honestly, that’s a pretty good draw for Boston College. The Bobcats simply aren’t a #2 seed in my opinion. I think that Boston College will be playing in the winner’s bracket game against Texas. That’s a game I would like to see.

TOTH: Some predictions. Who wins BC or Texas State in game 1? Then how many wins do you think BC can get? Finally, does BC have any chance at all at making it out of this regional?

TE: Boston College most definitely has a chance to advance. In this format, that winner’s bracket game is huge. If they can manage to get past Texas there, I think they have an excellent shot at advancement.

TOTH: Who wins the whole thing?

TE: It’s impossible to predict this tournament with any accuracy whatsoever, so I’ll just go with UNC. They’re the most experienced tournament team in the whole thing and I think it would be fitting for them to finally get it done with the least talented of their recent squads.

TOTH: Lastly, not neccessarily BC related but after the message the committee sent Rhode Island this week, what incentive is there for small northern schools to keep their baseball programs around?

TE: This committee was criminal in their treatment of Rhode Island. If I were a participating member, I would be absolutely embarrassed at the inclusion of Baylor and Oklahoma State while not having Rhode Island in the tournament. Of course they aren’t going to ever have a complete resume when compared to a warm weather school, but they did absolutely everything you could ask of them to improve their schedule and they won the majority of those southern games. I think it is an absolute travesty that they aren’t in. It does send the wrong message to northern schools. I do hope that the schools up there won’t allow the most biased chairman in the history of the committee (and that is saying something) to dissuade them from participating in our national pastime.

I would like to thank Travis so much for taking the time out of his day to answer my questions and give me something to write about on the blog! Go Eagles.

Eagle Links: 5/27

There is a nice little article in the Globe this morning about BC and their trip to the NCAA tournament.

The boys at BCInteruption had a nice Q&A session yesterday with the people at the College Baseball Blog about BC and their NCAA run.

Mickey Wiswall has been spectacular all season and the Herald is giving him some nice print time this morning. Good to see the Eagles are getting some nice publication in both papers after all getting to the NCAAs is a huge accomplishment.

BCI made a good point on Twitter. In the NCAA Lacrosse championship, when the attendance is down it is the economy. But when it comes to football and the ACC championship game, its the matchup and the BC fans.

Tony Sanchez gets a lot of love nowadays and it is a great thing for BC and their baseball program. The College Baseball Blog have him as one of the top 50 players in college baseball.

BC Hockey has got the insurance goalie that they were looking for incase Muse can't get back from his hip surgery before the season starts. The Eagles have added goalie Parker Milner from Waterloo and forward Brooks Dryoff from Phillips Andover.

I'll be back later with a Q&A with Rivals associate for the ACC baseball tournament, Travis Everette.

Memorial Day Eagle Links: 5/25

This afternoon the Eagles awaited word from the NCAA about whether or not they had made the 2009 NCAA Baseball Tournament. Well at about 12:36 they found out the good news that they were in the tournament but they also found out the bad news that they were in the #1 overall seed in the tournament, Texas' bracket. The Eagles finally made it back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1967, but they are going to need some stellar pitching from Pat Dean, JB MacDonald, Mike Dennhardt and John Leonard if they want to do anything in this regional. The Eagles will play the Texas State Bobcats (41-15) from the Southland conference on Friday at 2 PM EST.

Here is what the Bracket looks like:
#1 Texas (40-13-1)
vs.
#4 Army (34-19)

#2 Texas State (41-15)
vs.
#3 Boston College (33-24)

The bracket is a double elimination which gives the Eagles some flexibility but I feel if they want to have any chance they are going to need to win the first game against the big bats of Texas State on Friday. I will have my preview of that game up by Thursday night!

Ivan Maisel has gone crazy on us, he believes BC should have a football game against Auburn at Fenway Park. I think having a game at Fenway may be huge for BC as they definitely need to do something to boost casual fan interest here in Boston and I think a game at Fenway may just do that. What I'm not sure of is playing Auburn. 1. I don't think they would want to play us and 2. I'm just not sure an Auburn/BC matchup would be that interesting for the casual fan.

A little old but The College Hockey News believes the Boston is a shoe in to host either the 2013 or 2014 Men's Frozen Fours. They believe the TD Banknorth Garden could "submit a bid written in crayon comprised of nothing but “we want to host the Frozen Four” and they’d probably still be the favorites for 2013." Well let me send a box of crayons to the TD Banknorth Garden, I want the Frozen Four back in Boston!

There have been rumors from Pittsburgh that a BC wide receiver is going to transfer to Pittsburgh (thanks to Eagle All Access for the link). They have stated that it may be Colin Larmond trasfering to Pitt but Mike Farrell from Rivals.com shot down the rumors quickly by saying,

I've been hearing rumors that Larmond is the rumored transfer to Pitt and, first off, I don't think there's a transfer to Pitt unless it's Hayden-Martin and it's not Larmond according to numerous sources.

Just wanted to end these Larmond rumors before they gain momentum.

Mike Farrell

Alright, off to do some scouting and searching for video on the Texas State Bobcats baseball team!

Day 2 Recap and Miami Preview

Yesterday the Eagles defeated the #14th Ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 7-3 riding the coat tails of Mickey Wiswall at the plate. Wiswall was unbelievable yesterday. The Eagles had the bases loaded with no outs in the first and Mickey came through with the teams first clutch hit of the tournament. He singled to right and drove in Anston and Hamlet. But he wasn't done in the third he came up to the plate with Tony Sanchez on first and he absolutely BOMBED on to right about 20 rows up into the bleachers. Then he decided he wanted to show off some more but going deep over the Blue Monster to the opposite field. Yep Mickey drove in the Eagles first five runs and was a stabilizing force after the Yellow Jackets got it to within one in the 5th. Anston knocked in the other 2 runs for the Eagles in the 6th to finish the scoring for BC.

However, hitting wasn't the only strong point of the day for the Eagle on this day, senior captain JB MacDonald started off the game throwing 4 awesome scoreless innings but struggled a little in the 5th gaving up 3 runs. He finished a very strong outing with 3 runs on 5 hits in 5 innings pitched. But the star of the day on the mound was Relief pitched Kevin Moran. He was spectacular for the Eagles coming in, in the 6th and just shutting the Yellow Jackets down for 3 innings while only giving up 2 hits and striking out 2. Moran was the player of the day in my book, boy was I impressed. I was also impressed with Belfiore who came in, in the 9th and was unhittable. Throwing 94 MPH and lots of movement, its now wonder why he struckout 2 and is a real MLB prospect.

The Eagles were super impressive yesterday and may have just locked up an NCAA bid with the win but they still want to get a higher and higher seed so they have to come out and beat Miami today. The Eagles played Miami 3 times this year losing 2 out of 3 but in the one game they won was a blowout, 13-3. The Eagles need play like that again and they need a good offensive showing to go along with some great pitching by Pat Dean today if they want to have any chance of beating the Hurricanes.

Lets go Eagles!

Day 2 of ACC Baseball!

THE EAGLES UPSET THE YELLOW JACKETS!! WHAT A HUGE UPSET! This almost completely assures the Eagles of an NCAA tournament birth and they aren't done in the ACC tournament yet!

The Eagles won 7-3 today behind the bat of Mickey Wiswall. 3-4, 2 Home Runs, 5 RBis. Wiswall had a brilliant game today. But the player of the game was relief pitcher Kevin Moran. WOW. He came in right after GT got it to 1 run and shut them down for 3 innings. He only gave up 2 hits and no runs. Spectacular. Definitely of the player of the game.

I'll give my full recap later on today. Right now the Eagles got to root hard for the Hurricanes vs. the Seminoles because if the Seminoles get to 2-0, the Eagles are eliminated. So lets go Canes!

BC Baseball and ACC Tournament

The Eagles made a ton of mental mistakes yesterday playing FSU. The coaches sent Tony Sanchez on a single to left from second where he got thrown out at home. So instead of having the bases loaded and 1 out, they had men on 2nd and 3rd with two outs and the next batter hit a groundball up the middle that Sanchez definitely would have scored on. The Eagles ended up losing 7-2 but at the time it was only 2-1 and it might have changed the game.

The Eagles play GT today at Noon on NESN and they will try to keep their ACC tourny and NCAA tournament hopes up.

JB MacDonald is on the mound today and he needs to have a huge outing for the Eagles today!

LETS GO EAGLES!

#8 Boston College vs. #1 Florida State

Our 8th seeded Boston College Eagles are slated to take on the 1st seeded Florida State Seminoles today in the first day of the 2009 ACC baseball tournament.

Boston College Eagles (31-23, 13-15)
Starting Pitcher: John Leonard (1-3, 7.24 ERA)
Leonard is the 5th Starter for the Eagles and they just hope he is able to go out there and give a few solid innings and keeping the Eagles in the game. If Leonard is able to keep the game close, that bodes well for the Eagles as they have the offensive ability to pull off the early upset in the tourament.

Projected Lineup (Subject to Change):
CF Robbie Anston - (.366, 1 HR, 25 RBIs)
LF Andrew Lawrence - (.326, 3 HR, 18 RBIs)
C Tony Sanchez - (.353, 14 HR, 47 RBIs)
3B Mickey Wiswall - (.311, 12 HR, 57 RBIs)
1B Mike Belfiore - (.286, 11 HR, 59 RBIs)
SS Barry Butera - (.330, 4 HR, 33 RBIs)
2B Garrett Smith - (.297, 1 HR, 25 RBIs)
DH Mike Sudol - (.270, 5 HR, 20 RBIs)
RF John Spatola - (.304, 3 HR, 7 RBIs)

Florida State Seminoles (40-14, 19-9)
Starting Pitcher: Sean Gilmartin (10-2, 3.71 ERA)
Gilmartin is the ace of the Seminoles staff and has been dominate all year holding opponent hitters to a .222 batting average against him. He has the ability to shutout the best of the best offenses. The Seminoles are hoping for a strong and long outing from him which would mean a great start and hopefully a win. The Eagles need to get him to early and often if they want a chance to win this game.

Projected Starting Lineup (Subject to Change):
CF Tyler Holt - (.402, 5 HR, 25 RBIs)
SS Stephen Cardullo - (.370, 10 HR, 37 RBIs)
LF Mike McGee - (.363, 16 HR, 65 RBIs)
2B Jason Stidham - (.340, 9 HR, 57 RBIs)
3B Stuart Tapley - (.301, 13 HR, 53 RBIs)
C Rafeal Lopez - (.298, 4 HR, 26 RBIs)
RF Ohmed Danesh - (.275, 5 HR, 29 RBIs)
DH Tommy Oravetz - (.267, 6 HR, 28 RBIs)
1B Jack Posey - (.222, 5 HR, 28 RBIs)

The Seminoles are the ACC champions but the Eagles have beaten them twice this year. They need to put together a great pitching performance and a great offensive performance. The Eagles are going to need their best performance of the year in order to take this one and have any chance at making to 2009 NCAA Baseball tournament. GO Eagles!

Eagle Links: 5/20

The best news of the is Comcast has decided to add ESPNU!!! Which is great news for all of us BC fans. We can now watch Football games, Basketball games AND hockey games along with a ton of other college sports. This is just awesome for someone who has missed a ton of games because I had to deal with Comcast.

There is a great read on ESPN.com right now about Matt Ryan and what he is doing for the Falcons and their fans.

Now I wasn't sure about President Obama before today. Obama is taking shots at Notre Dame football. My respect for him just skyrocketed.

Thats all I got for you guys today but I am working on putting together a preview for the Eagles game today with Florida State in the ACC Baseball Tourament.

Eagle Links: 5/19

The Globe's interview with Mark Herlizh revealed that he is starting Chemotherapy today. This is the beginning of the LONG and hard fight for Mark. Once again, Get well Mark!

The ACC Journal previews Division "A" in the ACC Baseball tournament that includes our Eagles. He explains that going winless could and would most likely kill BC's chance at an at large NCAA tournament bid.

Four Eagles were named to the All-ACC teams yesterday. Tony Sanchez was the lone Eagle on the All-ACC First team, while Robbie Anston, Mike Belfiore and Mickey Wiswall were on the Second team. The Eagles will start play in the ACC baseball tournament on Wednesday at 4:00 vs. Florida State.

Check out this great Herzlich interview with ESPN a few days ago!

LETS GO EAGLES TOMORROW! BEAT THE SEMINOLES!

Busy Weekend with the family

I know all of you aren't Boston sports fans, just BC sports fans but I am going to go on this little rant any way. What a tough, tough week/weekend to be a Boston sports fan.

Well start on Thursday, first early in the afternoon we find out that BC star linebacker has Cancer. Then we go on to the Red Sox game in the afternoon. The Red Sox get up early but go on to blow the game to the Angels. Next the Celtics game 6 was on, up 3-2 in the series and having a chance to close out the series. They played terrible and lost handily. The last game of the day was the Boston Bruins game 7. They also played like crap but they forced overtime. Then Scott freakin' Walker the villian scored the winning goal to ruined us Boston sports fans day.

Friday wasn't bad because on the Red Sox won but they were the only team on. But Saturday was another brutal day. The Red Sox were up 4-0 early and blew the lead allowing the Mariners to come back and win.

Sunday was garbage aswell. The Red Sox lost on a last inning error where again. Then the Lakers went on to win their game 7 where the Celtics go blown out again.

Ugly sports weekend for the Boston Sports fan BUT I myself had a great weekend with my Brother's college graduation and his graduation party.

Eagle Links: 5/15

Herzlich is trying his best to make this deadly and horrible news and turn this into an good thing (somehow). He is doing his best to be an inspiration to others. Go Mark! You know you have everyone in the US on your side!

There has been an outpouring of support for Mark. Some at Maize n Brew, The Smoking Musket, Gobbler Country, CollegeGameBalls, TechSuperfans! and more! Just search the internet for Mark Herzlich and you will see.

The Boston College Eagles baseball team is still fighting for an NCAA birth but they are no longer fighting for an ACC tournament birth. They beat the #4 North Carolina Tar Heels yesterday, 3-1 to clinch their first ever ACC tourny bid. However, today they are going to lose after JB MacDonald was able to follow it up giving up 10 runs on 12 hits today.

BC Sailing continues to dominate the college circut, earning their second consectuative conference title.

Mark Herzlich has cancer

I know I'm a little late to break the news but I would really like to express my deepest and sincerest sympathies to Mark. I mean College is supposed to be the time of your life especially when you are about to be heading into your senior season of football and then you get this news. How horrible, it almost brings me a tears. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE should EVER have to deal with this horrible disease of MANY forms, but especially young people just entering into one of the greatest times of their live. My prayers and I know everyone else in the BC communities prayers are with Mark and his family.

Don't worry about football at all. A disease like this puts things into perspective and just goes to show how unimportant football really is.

GET WELL SOON MARK! Sack this thing, like you do with opposing QBs.

Eagle Links: 5/13

There was one cool new rule change, that occured this week at the ACC meetings. Now away teams in ACC contests no longer have to wear their away jersey's anymore, as long as both teams sign off on it PRIOR to the game. Both teams can wear their light colored jerseys or both can wear their dark colored jerseys. I love this rule and think it is cool to see each teams colored jerseys more often!

HD grades the coaches in the ACC using recruiting stars and discriptions. Spaz was rated as a three star "player".

The Bleacher Report put together a great article on coach Spaz and his tenure here on the Boston College staff and the impact he has made while being here.

Another great article from the Bleacher Report about Joe Boisture coming to BC and looking to be the next Matt Ryan.

Speaking of Matt Ryan, this one writer believes that there is a very strong possibility that he can win the MVP award this 2009-10 NFL football season.

There was a nice breakdown in the Orlando Sentinal about the BC Eagles after the spring from last week.

The move to the ACC

In response to the link I posted earlier about the West Virginian writer saying that the BC move to the ACC hasn't worked, I am going to list the pros and cons of being in the ACC vs. the Big East.

The first few years of being in the ACC have been very good to the Eagles there have been much more pros then cons. Here they are:
Pros:

1. More Revenue
2. Better competition
3. Better bowls (although we may never get selected to them)
4. More and Better Recruits (although our former coach didn't help this last year)
5. Improvement in our sports outside of Football and Basketball
6. Better TV contract
7. Better places to watch BC play an away game
8. More National Exposure

Cons:

1. A lot of Travel
2. Bowls prefer lesser teams because of the amount of travel we have to do.

Then there is the Big East. I am going to give some hypothetical cons towards being in the New Big East.
Pros:

1. Less Travel
2. More Natural Rivals
3. Play good old basketball Rivals such as St. Johns, Georgetown, Villanova and Providence
4. Being at the top of the conference year in and year out.
   

Cons:

1. Playing UConn
2. Less money in our pockets
3. Weaker competition in Football
4. WAY to many teams in Basketball
5. Lesser Bowls
6. Less appeal to new recruits
7. No way BC gets the money they have from the ACC to do their current expansion project.

So in review, there isn't much that makes the Big East more appealing to Boston College than the ACC. The move to the ACC has been a HUGE success for the Eagles thus far and BC will not be switching conferences again any time soon. No matter how hard the members of the Big East was them too.

Eagle Links: 5/12

Kevin Challenger got some former BC Eagles to help him run a local football camp in Canada. Good to see that Challenger is doing good things with his life after BC.

EagleAction.com has a nice little article called the Eagle Draft where they picked the top 15 most important players on the BC football team.

This West Virginian writer thinks the BC move to the ACC hasn't worked and that BC should move back to the Big East. Boy is he wrong.

One EagleAction reader BCMike, the creator of the Spaz Mobile has decided to put together another nice little photoshop.

Boy would that be nice, our own little bowl that we could go to and watch without having to pay a thousand bucks just to get there! Nice work BCMike!

Eagle Links: 5/10

Sorry its so late but I was out all day so here we go.

The Globe has a nice little interview with from BC Eagle Hockey Star Patrick Eaves, currently playing in the playoffs with the Carolina Hurricanes.

This Michigan paper has an interesting tidbit about Joe Boisture, who is going to be playing in the Army All-American game next fall.

Mike Belfiore's walk off grand slam gave the Eagles the win over Le Moyne College this afternoon. The Eagles are still in contention for a spot in the NCAA Baseball tournament.

Mark Herzlich gets some high national praise. USA Today lists him as the #4 Senior prospect in the nation. Looks like it was a good idea for Herzy to stay in school!

Thats about it for today! Hopefully there will be some more BC news tomorrow!

Geoff McDermott to BC??

Due to the lack of news around BC today, I am not going to do the Eagle Links today. The only news around BC involves a former basketball player wanting to play football.

If the name Geoff McDermott is not familiar to you, it may just become very familiar to you. Geoff McDermott is a former Providence College basketball player who just finished up his 4th and final year of basketball eligibility. In his 4 year career at Providence, Geoff was one of their best and was their most consistant each year and he ended up with over 1,000 points and over 1,000 rebounds at PC. He is a ridiculous athlete, at 6'8", 235 pounds he had the ability to play both gaurd and forward at Providence. He has great versitility which will also help his chance on making the BC football team, IF indeed he wants to transfer here.

Now the issue if he decides he wants to try to play football again is what position is he going to play. It is no secret that QB is a need here at BC AND Geoff McDermott was one of the better QBs in the nation while in high school. However, many think that there is no why he could memorize the offsense and take a run at playing QB in the short time he would have to prepare, especially when all the QBs on the BC roster already have a HUGE head start. Therefore, that leads us to a few different positions. With McDermott's size and versitility many feel he has the ability to play TE, DE or LB and I tend to agree. Tight End would be a good spot for a guy with his size and speed however BC is stacked at the Tight End position right now and it would tough for McDermott to earn some playing time there. Linebacker is another great possibility for McDermott as he is the same size at Mark Herzlich but even taller. He combination of speed and size would be a perfect replacement for the injured Mike McLaughlin. But, I feel that the defensive end position would be the best place for him to play at BC. As I have stated many times already his great size and speed would make a perfect pass rusher and BC could really use some help at the defensive end position.

Lets hope we can see Geoff playing with the Eagles come this summer!

Twitter the new trend

Just like atleagle joined Twitter yesterday, I have decided to follow suit and join up as well. Almost every blog I read has a twitter, so I felt like it just had to be done. You can find me @totheights and I hope this will help me build my community around here!

Eagle Links: 5/7

The biggest news of the day comes from the zoning board in Brighton. BC's plans for expansion were finally approved after heavy complaining (more like whining). This should help the baseball and softball teams as they are scheduled to get bigger and better facilities.

No ACC baseball at Fenway. Commissioner Swafford says its for economic reasons. Its a good think he doesn't give a crap about the economic situation us here in Boston are feeling as well. Looks like we will be labeled a "non-traveller" indefinitely. It would be nice to actually feel like we are wanted in the ACC, with the amount our teams have done for the conference.

Norm Reid (I have never heard of him before), the man who overseas the bubble here at BC doesn't seem to worried about ours after the Dallas Cowboy's one collapsed. According to ESPN, "[Reid] doesn't think BC will make any drastic changes when raising the facility again in the winter"

Heather Dinich of ESPN, gives us her spring wrap-up for the Eagles. Also, a little on the shocking side, James McCluskey has a torn achillies. Which is something I did not know, as you could tell from my position previews.

Rivals.com has BC baseball as a 3 seed in the Gainsville regional. Along with Florida, Bethune-Cookman (who we have beat) and Coastal Carolina. I for one am just hoping BC makes the baseball NCAAs.

2010 Football Position Previews: Special Teams

This is the third and final part of my 3 part, "wicked early" break down of the Boston College football team in 2010. I am going to continue this 3 part series by doing the special teams of the football team, giving my own personal views on each player!

Kicker Position

Steve Aponavicius: Sid-vicious is BACK! He looks to be a big part of the offense this year because with an inexperienced QB, BC will look to settle for field goals in order to get points on the board. Aponavicius has been solid this spring making most of the kicks he has been asked to make.

Nate Freese: Has yet to be on campus because he is still a high school Senior but he will look to earn a chance to kick for the Eagles this summer. With such a shaky kicking game, if he is able to be somewhat consistant he may just earn himself that playing time. Also with Bennett leaving school, he may have an opportunity to take over the kickoff role.

Prediction: Aponavicius kicks field goals and does kickoffs.

Punter Position

Ryan Quigley: Quigley came in last year as a freshman and struggled at times, but for the most part he was a solid punter for the Eagles last year. Most punters tend to get better as the get more experience and strength so we can hope for that out of Quigley next year in his sophomore season.

Gerald Levano: Levano also came in last year as a freshman, but he was redshirted so hee didn't see much playing time. This year he will be the backup punter and if Quigley faulters at any point in the season, I am sure Levano will be ready to step in am get some playing time for the Eagles.

Prediction: Quigley is our punter.

Kick/Punt Returner Position

Jeff Smith: As all avid BC fans know from 2006 that Jeff Smith knows how to return kicks and definitely knows how to get into the endzone. If Smith is able to stay healthy and willing to be hit, he will have a very good year and will be out kick returner.

Rich Gunnell: Gunnell may not be the fastest or the most agile person on the team but he is the best at catching the ball and running it. Which makes him a perfect candidate for the Punter Returning position. He returned a punt against Virginia Tech last year and I think he we can count on another one this year.

Montel Harris: Montel is a good combination of speed and power which makes him a very good candidate to return kicks. Last year he was one of the Eagles leading return men and this year he hopes to do more of the same.

Clyde Lee: The breakout player of the Spring has added speed and size to his alreay quick frame which definitely makes him a good candidate as well. Lee has had the praise of all of his teammates this spring and looks to transition that onto the field this year.

Josh Haden: Haden was injured last year so he wasn't able to show of his ability to run and run fast in the open field, much last year. BC needs to do everything in their power to get him the ball in the open field and using him as a kick returner would be perfect.

Prediction: Smith is the main Kickoff Return man, Gunnell is the main Punt Return man while all of the others get their chances as well.

Thank you for joining me and I hope you liked my previews!

Eagle Links

My friends Jeff and Brian over at BC Interruption have come up with a new BC recruiting tool (with help from a reader) after all the news about Rutgers' Helicopter and Auburn's Stretch Hummer Limo. I personally think the Spaz Mobile (as I like to call it) is the best of the three!

Good B.J. Raji article from a few days ago in the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.

Former Boston College Football player Vinnie Ciurciu comes back to area as the 6 year NFL vet signs with the Patriots.

Nice little Q&A posted on the globe site with Ron Brace at Pats rookie camp.

2010 Football Position Previews: Defense

This is the second of my 3 part "wicked early" break down of the Boston College football team in 2010. I am going to continue this 3 part series by doing the defensive side of the football, giving my own personal views on each player!

Defensive Tackle Position

Damik Scafe: Coming into Spring Ball Damik had some huge and I mean REALLY huge shoes to fill as he was the favorite to start at defensive tackle in place of B.J. Raji and Ron Brance. Well let me tell you he stepped up his game big time this spring. He dominated the strength of the offense, the Offensive Line and has gotten bigger and stronger from last year to this year. There will still be some drop off with the loss of Raji and Brace, but it will be much smaller than what most of us thought because of Scafe's play.

Kaleb Ramsey: Kaleb has been working with Scafe all spring and he been player really well for himself. Scafe explains, "He's playing next to me at defensive tackle and he's doing a great job. We work well together and talk a lot, and we have a great chemistry going right now." If Ramsey and Scafe can build some what of a similar relationship to the one Raji and Brace had, BC may not be in as bad of a spot as most people think.

Bryan Murray: Murray worked with the 2nd unit for the spring and he struggled to get going at first but progressed all spring and culminated with a good spring game. He definitely has the size at 6'2" and 292 pounds to be a very good DT but he is still young and inexperienced so a year as the third DT in there should do him some good.

Dillon Quinn: Is still a high school senior right now but he was the best recruit of the BC 2009 class. We have all heard about his strength and size therefore come this summer he should be a very good backup who might even challenge for some playing time.

Prediction: Scafe and Ramsey are the starters with Murray getting plenty of playing time.

Defensive End Position

Alex Albright: Alex Albright has been fantastic for the past two years when he was on the field, but that was his biggest problem. He has had back to back season ending injuries and it has now become a big problem for him. If he can stay healthy he will definitely be the teams best end for the Eagles but we just got to hope he can stay healthy.

Jim Ramella: Ramella filled in last year for Albright went down and he will be a big part of the defense again. He will be asked to not only pass rush this year but also help the tackles inside at stopping the run. Ramella has been a steadying force on the BC defense the past 3 years and hopes to continue that in his senior season.

Austin Giles: Austin Giles is another player like Jim Ramella, who has when asked, stepped up and filled in for injured players and has done a faboulous job. He is one of the better tacklers on the defense which helps him stop the run and can get to quarterback. He will be a big part of this defense next year.

Max Holloway: Another one of the young guys, trying to earn themselves some playing time on the 2010 BC team. He progressed well this spring and finished up strong with a nice sack in the Spring Game. Holloway is probably the backup at one of the end spots right now.

Prediction: Albright and Giles get the starting spots while Ramella plays just as much as them and Holloway is ready to step in if injuries happen.

Linebacker Position

Mark Herzlich: What can you say about this man? He is a man among kids. He is already on the Lott Trophy watch list and is expected to be a top 20 pick in the 2010 NFL draft. He was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year last year and will be the best player on the BC team this year. Expect bigger and better things this year, if that is even possible.

Mike McLaughlin: He was the second leading tackler on the defense last year behind Herzlich but might not see a minute of playing time next year. He injured his Achilles during the winter and his recovery time line in a mystery to everyone, we will just have to wait and see.

Will Thompson: Well McLaughlin may be out and the Eagles have lost Robert Francois and Brian Toal, but Will Thompson played awesome during the spring with the second most tackles behind Mark Herzlich. Thompson looks to fill the holes left by Francois and McLaughlin.

With the likelyhood of McLaughlin missing the 2010 season the Eagles will be looking for a 3rd starting linebacker and it is likely a 4 man cometition. All of these guys have shown flashes of brilliance during the spring and it will be fun to watch this battle unfold this summer. The cadidates are:
Dan Williams: The biggest of the 4 but he has all the instincts you want in a starting linebacker.
Nick Clancy: The quickest of all of these players and he has plenty of size to go with that speed. Size and Speed is always a good combo in a Linebacker.
Mike Morrissey: Morrissey is the smallest of these guys but he is probably the hardest hitter of them all.
Alexander DiSanzo: DiSanzo is the best tackler of the bunch and he always seems to be in the right spot at the right time.

Prediction: Herzlich and Williams are starters, Nick Clancy wins the 3rd spot but Williams, Morrissey and DiSanzo will be used often.

Safety Position

Wes Davis: Davis is a good combination defensive back. He can cover wide receivers in open field while stopping the run if needed. He had a good spring and he receiverd the Jay McGillis Memorial Scholarship because he was such a good player and student.

Marty Bowman: Has very good speed and is a good run stopper he has the ability to play both safety positions and play cornerback if need be. He is a versitile player who has the right size to be a very good safety.

Okechukwu Okoroha: Okechukwu had a great spring and is a probably more of a corner back than a safety but the CB position is stacked right now. He is looking to get on the field in anyway possible and he definitely has the skill to switch over to the free safety spot and succeed.

Stephen Atkinson: Atkinson didn't stand out this spring, but he is still probably third on the depth chart at the safety position. One thing that he has against him is he is a bit undersized for the safety position. He may add size over the summer but can still be a viable option for the Eagles.

Prediction: Davis starts at the Strong Safety position, Bowman starts are the Free Safety position.

Cornerback Position

DeLeon Gause: He dominated this spring even after switching sides of the field. The quarterbacks didn't just struggle cause of inexperience it was because the cornerbacks like Gause were playing awesome. He got injured last year and wasn't 100% but expect him to be ready next year and expect him to be one of the better defenders.

Roderick Rollins: Rollins is looking to come into this year and help fill the loss of Kevin Akins on defense. Rollins is a very good cover corner who can hit with the best of them. Expect him to challenege for the second starting corner spot.

Donnie Fletcher: Was another one of those guys who had a great spring and he finished it up spectactular with a Spring Game. He had eight tackles and 2two pass breakups. Expect him to challenge with Rollins for the second starting corner spot.

Issac Johnson: Issac Johnson played as a true freshman last year but he didn't start. He is looking to come into next year with a starting role but with the brillaint play of Gause, Rollins and Fletcher it will be hard for him start. He should see plenty of time on the field however.

Prediction: Gause and Fletcher get the starting spots with Johnson and Rollins seeing the field often.

The Eagles defense looks to be a stregth for them again this year as they have a ton of talent and are stacked at the Linebacker and Defensive back positions.(which is a surprise as the defensive back position was considered a weakness last year). Herzlich, Albirght and Guase look to be the best players on the defense. Also, I expect some of the incoming freshmen to also be in the mix at some positions.

Tomorrow I will finish up this series with a special teams preview!

Toal gets "cut"

Brian Toal was given a tryout by the New York Jets of the NFL and supposedly he had a very good mini-camp. However, the Jets did not sign him and give him a chance to earn a spot on the team at training camp.

One New Jersey writer says "Interestingly, the Jets didn't sign linebacker Brian Toal, the New Jersey native and former Boston College star. It's believed the club has concerns about his size (6-foot, 238 pounds), attitude, and injury history."

Size, sure he is not even close to the size of a prototypical Linebacker in the NFL. Injury history, sure he has missed 2 whole years with 2 different injuries while at BC. Attitude? Now there is no way Toal has an attitude problem. He is one of the nicest persons I have ever met in my life and he would do anything to play the game of football. He loves the game and I don't see where this is coming from. It is either a flat out lie or some false speculation.

Hopefully Toal gets a shot at someone else's training camp because he surely deserves one.

2010 Football Position Previews: Offense

This is the first of my 3 part "wicked early" break down of the Boston College football team in 2010. I will start off this 3 part series by doing the offensive side of the football, giving my own personal views on each player!

Quarterback Position

Dominique Davis: Davis came into spring camp in the lead for the starting QB position but did not do anything this spring to strengthen that lead. However, even after a mediocre spring, he finished strong in the spring game going 20-of-40 for 145 yards with one interception. Davis is still the leader for the starting spot in 2010 because of the experience he got in 2009 but he is going to need to pick up his play in order to hold that lead.

Justin Tuggle: Tuggle came into spring camp, coming off of a full season of practice after being redshirted last year. After, Davis' struggles to end the year last year, many BC fans tabbed him as the savior for this BC offense. But he didn't show much of that in spring practice. He is very raw and still very young so he may emerge in the summer, who knows. He went a very paltry 2-of-7 for eight yards with no TDs or no INTs in the spring game to end his bad spring.

Codi Boek: Came into camp much differently then Davis and Tuggle, as he was just looking to find some playing time at whichever position he could. Whether it be Tight End, Running Back or Quarterback and you could tell by his commitment that he just loved playing the game of football. But, boy did he surprise us. He came in and was the best of the 3 QB for most if not all of the spring practices. He didn't finish up very good going 2-for-10 for 14 yards in the Spring Game, but Boek is one to watch out for come Summer time!

Prediction: Dominique Davis will be the starter

Running Back Positon

Montel Harris: He established himself as one of the best running backs in the ACC last year as a freshman and did nothing to hurt himself this spring. He was the same old Montel and just ran with power and speed as usual. Harris with definitely be a key cog in Boston College new run first offense next year.

Josh Haden: Was the other freshman running back last year for the Eagles. He was the running back who could break away in open field due to his tremedous speed and could catch the passes out of the backfield. But his freshmen season was hampered by injuries and he came back this spring still trying to get to 100% so he wasn't tested that much this spring. But he, like Harris, with be a key to the running game again next year.

Jeff Smith: Kind of like Boek at the Quarterback position, was the surprise of the spring at the runningback position. He has breakaway speed and we all knew that from his kick returning ability but we have never really seen him as a runningback. But he shined, showed he could hit the corner on the outside and break-away, he could run between the tackles and that he could read defenses. He was the best offensive player in the spring game with 40 years on 16 carries.

Prediction: Montel Harris will start but with BC's new run first, second and third approach, Haden and Smith will see plenty of time on the field.

Fullback Position

James McCluskey: McCluskey has been fantastic as this position the last 2 years, blocking, running and getting the short yardage when we need it. He suffered a season ending injury last year and hasn't practiced in the spring but he looks to be the only person vying for the job right now. There will probably be some seldom used Running Back, Linebacker or Tight End that will fill in the backup role for McCluskey next year.

Prediction: McCluskey takes the starting role and with the impressive Springs by Chris Pantale and Jordan McMichael at the Tight End position, Lars Anderson is moved here as the backup.

Wide Receiver Position

Rich Gunnell: Was arguable the best reciever for the Eagles last year and will be back next year to lead the wide receiving core next year. He will need to step up his game big time as he will have a young and inexperience Quarterback throwing to him next year.

Billy Flutie: Looks to have improved him game going into this year and hopes to earn to more playing time at the wide receiver positon. He has the size and strength to be a good possession receiver who can work the middle of the field and played very well during the spring. He looks to be one of the many wide receivers to see the field next year for the Eagles.

Clyde Lee: Clyde was another one of the surprises of the spring as he showed up bigger and fast then he was last year (Redshirt). He is someone who can burn down the field and catch anything. He is someone almost every team in the nation would love to have. He will definitely see plently of playing time next year with both the offense and the special teams next year.

Justin Jarvis: Jarvis did a commendable job as the slot receiver at times last year. He made plenty of clutch catchs for us and I was very thankful we have him. He will be back this year and I think he is prone to have his best year ever with much more playing time. Watch out for Jarvis this year as he could be a go to guy for our QBs.

Colin Larmond: Larmond is a bigger Clyde Lee and he may even be faster than him too. Larmond showed some flashes of what he could do last year after we were pounded by injuries at the WR position. He has the potential to be a star reciever and this year could be his break out year.

Other Potential Sleepers: Ifeanyi Momah, Clarence Megwa and Ryan Lindsey

Prediction: Gunnell, Lee and Flutie will be the starters with almost all other receivers seeing plenty of time on the field.

Tight End Position

Chris Pantale: Came into spring as another Redshirt Freshman but he was probably the most impressive player at camp and definitely the best Tight End there. He has shown he can run good routes, catch the ball and use his agility to his advantage. He finished off his fantastic spring with five catches for 45 yards in the Spring game and looks to carry that momentum into next year.

Jordon McMichael: Was another Tight End who impressed this spring. The Junior has begun to use his size to his advantage and at 6'5", 262 lbs, it can be a very big advantage for him. He is someone who can block and who is big enough to get open and be a perfect target for our inexperienced QBs.

Lars Anderson: Lars wasn't terrible this spring but he didn't really show much improvement from last year. He has decent size and can catch the ball for the most part, even though he did have a huge drop last year. Like I said earlier, with the great performances by the other two Tight Ends, expect to see some playing time at FB for Lars.

Predictions: Chris Pantale is the starting Tight End as he is the better receiver and McMichael is brought in for most blocking plays. Lars Anderson gets moved to FB.

Guard Position

Thomas Claiborne: Claiborne stepped in last year as a sophomore and played remarkably well. Some would even say he was the second best player on the Offensive Line last year. He is a big body who has a really big mean streak and can just drive people off the ball at will. He is also versatile and can play Center, like he did at points last year, or Tackle if need be.

Nick Rossi: Has some big shoes to fill as he is slated to take over the Guard spot that opened up from Clif Ramsey's graduation. Unfortunately he did not play very well during the spring getting beat over and over again by Damik Scaife and Jim Ramella as the defense dominated most of spring ball.

Nick Halloran: Was another one of those redshirt freshman last year who is looking to grab some playing time next year on the offensive line. He didn't really show much this spring though but I am sure he will be ready is Nick Rossi faulters at any time next year.

Prediction: Claiborne and Rossi get the starting guard spots. With Halloran ready to pounce if someone gets hurt or struggles.

Tackle Position

Anthony Castonzo: The big, tall and very good tackle will be back for his 3rd season at BC and he just keeps getting better. He was the best Offensive Lineman this spring and he seems to have taking responsibility of leading more on the offensive side of the ball. Look for Castonzo to be back blocking the blind side for whoever wins the QB position.

Rich Lapham: Rich Lapham had some big shoes to fill last year, taking over for Josh Beekman and he did a good job. But this year he is going to need to be even better with an inexperienced QB and a whole new offense.

Mike Goodman: Was a highly rated Offensive Lineman coming out of high school and is coming back this year with a goal to earn some playing time. He is probably the guy in line to take over if any injuries or struggles happen at the tackle position.

Emmett Cleary: Redshirt last year and is coming back this year as another young guy trying to earn some playing time. He should be in the mix if injuries happen on the O-Line.

Prediction: Castonzo and Lapham get the start but watch out for Goodman as he should be very good.

Center Postion

Matt Tennant: Was the stabilizer on the offensive line last year and will be the same thing this year as the only senior in the mix. He was throughly missed when he had to miss a play here or there due to injuries or other reasons. Tennant is going to be back and should be in the mix for ACC 1st team next year!

Mark Spinney: Another young guy trying to earn some playing time. He probably won't take over if Tennant gets hurt as Claiborne will probably be moved to Center but he should be good in the near future.

Prediction: This is an easy one. Tennant starts and hopefully gets all the playing time here and avoids injury.

The offense looks to be very young this year but they have a lot of talent around the QB position which makes it much easier to break in a new Quarterback. The Offensive Lines and Running Back positions are the biggest strengths of this offense and should continue to be throughout the year. If one of the 3 QBs can step up and play well, BC could be very dangerous on the offensive side of the ball.

Tomorrow, I will be taking a look at the defensive side of the ball.

Chris Crane latches on!

Albeit with a team that is set at the QB position for years, Chris Crane is going to get a chance in the NFL. He has signed with the Indianapolis Colts this afternoon!

Congratulations Chris!! Best of luck to you in the future! You definitely have the size to be the next Matt Cassel.

Now lets hope Clif Ramsey gets a shot somewhere.

BC Sports Rundown

Baseball played a 3 game series with Miami (FL) this week and struggled until yesterday, where Pat Dean pitched a gem for the Eagles. The Eagles lost the first two games of the series until Dean's brilliant preformance, where the Eagles won 13-3. Dean threw 7.0 innings of 4 hit, shutout baseball and Barry Butera and Mark Belfiore led the offense again. The Eagles are now 29-19 overall and 12-13 in the ACC. They are firmly in the ACC tournament right now in the 8th slot, a half game behind Duke and two and a half games in front of Georgia Tech. The Eagles play 2 versus Lemoyne this weekend at Shea Field, then UConn again on Tuesday.

On to the NFL Draft, only two Eagles got drafted last weekend, B.J. Raji (9th to the Packers) and Ron Brace (41st to the Patriots).

Pats coach Bill Belichick had some good words about the BC defense. He said, “BC has a good system defensively,” he continued on to say “It’s a big transition to the NFL, that goes without saying. But in relative terms, (Brace has) probably had as good a preparation for it as anybody else had in college football.” Send that to all of BC's recruits!

Although BC didn't get many draft picks, many of their players have latched on with NFL teams (either as signings or with tryouts):
Robert Francois signed with the Vikings
Brandon Robinson signed with the Eagles (the NFL kind)
Kevin Akins and Brian Toal (two supposed tweeners) have gotten tryouts with the Jets
Ryan Purvis signed with the Buccaneers and is reunited with Coach Jags

Hopefully Chris Crane and Clif Ramsey can latch on somewhere and get a fair shot!

Some other big news for BC football this weekend was BC got another recruit to nab their third of the year already. Please welcome OL Seth Betancourt to the 2010 Eagles! Betacourt joins QB Joe Boisture and LB Kevin Pierre-Louis on the commit list!

Last but not least the Men's Basketball team is going to play in the Paradise Jam down in the U.S. Virgin Islands to start the year next year! Another year, another preseason tournament for BC!