Today's food chain: Best pair of Boston College Eagle bros, evah!
The rules. We will consider the complete body of work for each of these pairs of brothers during their time as Boston College Eagles. Bonus points if one or both brothers went on to have a monster pro career. Also, the body of work of both brothers will be considered. If one had a totally sick career and the other didn't, that might outweight two brothers that had mediocre careers.
We will only consider the following 7 sets of brothers in our final list of 5. Honorable mention - the Adams, the Reasoners, the Eaves and any other set of brothers we completely blanked on (go easy on us, we've only been following the team for 8 years) ...
The Rajis - Corey and BJ
The youngest brothers being considered, Corey just finished a solid freshman campaign for the Eagles where he averaged 8.3 points and 4.3 boards / game to work his way into the starting lineup by the end of the season. Older brother BJ, a defensive lineman, has been mentioned as being a potential first round draft pick but had to sit out last season because he was poorly advised on his class schedule and therefore deemed academically ineligible by the NCAA.
The Hasselbecks - Tim and Matt
Tim
- Married a famous Survivor hottie
- Quarterbacked the Eagles through the 1999 and 2000 seasons
- Won the Aloha Bowl, starting TOB's cherished bowl win streak
- Career backup QB in NFL, stops in Carolina, Philly, Washington, NYG and Arizona
Matt
- Elder brother, also a quarterback for the Eagles
- Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in round 6
- 3 Pro Bowl selections
- Lead Seahawks to Super Bowl XL and 4 straight division titles
The Orpiks - Andrew and Brooks
I did a double take when I first read this: Andrew and Brooks Orpik are now 6 for 6 in getting their teams to the Frozen Four, and have played in the championship game an incredible 5 times (Brooks missing the title game in 1999). They have 2 NCAA titles between them. Brooks is now a bruiser for the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he has played for 5 seasons after being called up from Wilkes-Barre. Not to mention that he is named after US Olympic Coach Herb Brooks. Not a bad pedigree! Orpik the younger is a draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, and if he plays anything like his older bro, is sure to have a solid pro career.
The Fluties - Doug and Darren
Doug
- Heisman Trophy winner
- 47-45 ... BC > Miami, Doug > Bernie
- Started the "Flutie effect"
- Grey Cup (Canuck Super Bowl) MVP, one of CFL's greats
- Has his own cereal
Darren
- Top 50 players of all time in CFL
- Played for more than 1 BC, but not a Double Eagle?
- 2 Grey Cup wins, 3 all-stars
- Is the Jerry Rice of the CFL: record for most career receptions (972)
The Giontas - Brian and Stephen
What hasn't been said about Brian Gionta's prolific career on the Heights? Brian was the catalyst behind the beginning of the BC Era, reaching the Frozen Four in all 4 years, coming within a goal of the title in his freshman year, and capping a brilliant 4 year campaign with a National title in 2001. 123 goals in his four years at Boston College, including 5 goals / period (a Hockey East/NCAA record) and a few Hobey Baker snubs in 2000 and 2001. Drafted by the Devils, he has become one of their best offensive weapons. He won a Cup with the club in 2003, and set the franchise record for most goals in a season in 2005-2006 (48). Brian the younger, Stephen, spent 4 years on the Heights and served as an Assistant Captain in his senior year. He scored 32 points in 39 games his senior season. Having gone undrafted, he currently plays in the New Jersey Devils farm system with two other pairs of brothers - the Pandolfos and the Parises (bonus points?). The two have to be considered one of the best pairs of BC brothers to skate for the Eagles.
The Walls - Lenny and Kenny
Lenny
- The older fraternal twin by 36 minutes
- Matching tats with his brother = badass
- Explosive cornerback for the football team
- Now a free agent, has made pro stops with Denver, KC and St. Louis
Kenny
- Talented guard, small forward swing man for Al Skinner, played defense too!
- 2000-2001 basketball season put BC ball back on the map
- Big East tournament champions
- One of the team's leading scorers in his sophomore year (10.5 ppg)
The Toals - Brian and Greg
Brian, the linebacker turned short yardage back (first and toal, baby!), has been an integral part of one of the winningest classes in BC football history. Brian was sidelined by a bunch of neck and shoulder injuries for the 2007 season. He should be back to 100% this fall to lead a senior-laden defense as the Eagles begin life without Matt Ryan. Brian will most likely be a draft pick in next year's NFL draft. The older brother, Greg, had a solid career as a blocking fullback for the Eagles from 2000-2004. Greg was paired with Derrick Knight to provide the Eagles with a decent running attack.
Brian's Food Chain
For those of you scoring at home, I'm going to have to go with the following list:
5) Walls - Only pair of two sport athletes on my list, the Rajis might take this spot in a few years
4) Orpiks - 6 for 6 for Frozen Fours is just filthy ...
3) Hasselbecks - QB is one of the most important positions in sports, and this family led the Eagles over several years in the 1990s
2) Fluties - a Heisman trophy winner and two legend status CFLers
1) Giontas - even though Flutie put the school on the map, Brian broke a ton of individual records and brought the school their first national title since 1949
Jeff's Food Chain
I am going to rearrange these and go:
5) Rajis - Not for what they've already done but more so what they will do. BJ will anchor the best defense in the ACC next season and Corey will be a part of some great bball teams
4) Orpiks - Two national championships so they must make the list
3) Giontas - BC girls and guys loved Brian more than Matt Ryan. Then Stephen was good enough
2) Hasselbecks - Matt is having the greatest NFL career of any BC player ever and Tim has not been as successful but he was still a very good BC quarterback
1) Fluties - Doug takes the top spot by himself
That's it. That's the food chain. Leave your own top 5 in the comments section.
6 comments:
What about the Eaves brothers? I declare a SNUB!!!
admittedly, it was hard to pass up the eaves, but the orpiks do have 2 rings and i believe eaves didn't get any. both of the eaves were sick in college though.
The Hasselbecks have to be the "best bros". One has been to the White House and the other pimps for Campbells Chunky soup and Dick's Sports. And the third Hasselbeck contributed on defense and special teams for at least a year.
Ben was a freshman on the championship 2001 team, and was 4th on the team in points...setting up many of Brian Gionta's goals if I'm not mistaken. Then the two brothers played beautifully together. How many other brothers on this list actually played together? Ben was setting up many of Patrick's goals...at BC, and for their whole lives before college.
so where would the Eaves be on your top 5?
eaves did win the title in 2001. mea culpa. it's hard to bump the walls from #5, but you may have persuaded me.
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