Hulu: An Evil Plot to Destroy Any Memory of Eagle Victories Over the Irish?

Brian: The latest in conspiracy theories? Why is Hulu / NBC Universal not adding more Boston College vs. Notre Dame football games? Eagle in Atlanta is the straw that stirs the drink.


ESPN's HD tells us a lot of stuff we already knew.


Chris Crane is the new Brian St. Pierre, Super Bowl clipboard holder? Crane signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have Peyton Manning, Curtis Painter (Purdue) and Jim Sorgi (Wisconsin) at the QB position. Odds Crane makes the 53 man roster?


Despite being the ninth overall pick in the draft, BJ Raji is not guaranteed a starting position at nose tackle.


In light of this past Saturday's Dallas Cowboys practice bubble collapse, Scott Bordow asks are practice bubbles safe? Certainly, Alumni Stadium's bubble is much more sheltered and less prone to this, but including the Arizona State practice facility collapse last August, this makes two practice facility collapses in less than a year.


And finally, following up on last week's discussion about recruiting, err, vehicles, blog favorite BCMike gives us this artist's rendition of Spaz's new wheels. Your move, Penn State.

BC Draws Michigan in the ACC-Big Eleven Challenge and the Big Finish

Brian: Wait ... what? It's only Thursday?! ...

Yesterday, the pairings for the 2009 installment of the ACC-Big Ten challenge were announced. Boston College draws Michigan and travels to Ann Arbor to play the Wolverines in the Crisler Arena on December 2. Here are the rest of the pairings, with Georgia Tech this year's odd man out.

Monday, Nov. 30
Penn State at Virginia

Tuesday, Dec. 1
Maryland at Indiana
Michigan State at North Carolina
Northwestern at N.C. State
Virginia Tech at Iowa
Wake Forest at Purdue

Wednesday, Dec. 2
Boston College at Michigan
Duke at Wisconsin
Florida State at Ohio State
Illinois at Clemson
Minnesota at Miami (FL)

Three questions Jeff.

1. Both Duke and BC, the only undefeated teams left in the Challenge, have to go on the road. Do you like BC's draw and chances to win their 4th straight ACC-Big Ten Challenge?
2. Any other matchups you particularly like?
3. Which conference wins the 11th installment of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge?

Jeff: Well in the past for BC in the challenge they played a game I expected them to win. This year I am not going to expect them to win but will probably like their chances.

Michigan State at North Carolina is another blowout I do not care to watch and I feel bad for Tom Izzo to have to get pummeled by the Heels for the third time in less than 12 months. Meanwhile, Wake Forest at Purdue might be decent.

Brian: I don't necessarily think Michigan State at North Carolina is another blowout in the ACC's favor. Hansbrough, Lawson, Ellington and Danny Green will likely all be gone. Michigan State has a relatively young team that could hang with the Heels next year.

As for BC's draw, I largely like the draw. This game should prove to be one of the better matchups in the Challenge with two young NCAA tournament teams squaring off at Crisler. I really like what John Beilein has done already at Michigan, picking up the pieces from the Tommy Amacker era and getting the Wolverines back to the tournament in only his second season in Ann Arbor (and first time in 11 years). UM already has some major upsets under Beilein - including UCLA and Duke in 2008-2009 - so this will be a tough matchup for the Eagles.

So way too early prediction for next season ... who do you like in the Challenge?

Jeff: Why would anyone go against the ACC here?

Brian: Not that I'm disagreeing that the ACC will win next year's Challenge, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Big Ten wins this thing in 2009. Some of next year's better ACC teams have to go on the road this year - Duke, BC, Wake Forest, Maryland - and could all get knocked off. And I've already said my piece about how I think UNC won't be nearly the same team they were this year.


Big Finish

Jeff: Even though BC offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill has been through 46 (or 47) seasons in football, he's never quite seen a quarterback situation like this year. You concerned?

Brian: I have my doubts but largely am not too concerned. I did find it funny when Blaudschun writes that Tranquill (age 69) is older than Davis, Tuggle and Boek ... combined.


Brian: This link is 9 days old, yes, but Baseball America has the BC baseball team as a 3 seed in the NCAA baseball tournament's field of 64. Is this finally the year?

Jeff: Yes, but unlike basketball, you can't get too excited about making the field. You can only really get excited after some Ws in the tournament.


Jeff: SEC Junky takes a look at some unofficial spring football attendance figures. Anything jump out at you from this list?

Brian: Even the more popular ACC programs are behind the curve compared to SEC teams in terms of getting fans to these games. I count five SEC teams before an ACC team cracks that list (Florida State at 36,000). To NC State's credit, which is not on that list, they did manage to draw 21,000+. The other thing that seems odd ... Rutgers at 15,899? Wow.


Brian: The next stop on the Greg Paulus Magical Mystery Tour is Syracuse. Personally, I think this story is getting a little ridiculous. If you are Frank Spaziani, do you pick up the phone if Paulus calls?

Jeff: NO! Any QB who is not good enough to play at Duke is not good enough to play at BC either.


Jeff: Here are your Madden 2010 cover finalists. Your thoughts?

Brian: Matt Cassel? Really, EA?! Matt Ryan gets snubbed but in the end, that is OK since we don't want him to inherit any sort of Madden Curse. I say EA should go with a defensive player this season.


Brian: Last one, the Legacyx4 boys broke out their calculators and determined that BC does the most with the least in terms of winning football games and producing NFL draft picks. This obviously doesn't surprise us here at BCI - we know BC football is a bunch of rockstars - but anything on that list that does surprise you?

Jeff: I am disappointed in those Georgia Tech engineers because as they eventually realized, their numbers were useless since wins are capped while draft picks essentially are not in comparison. They basically wasted their time running those numbers.

Brian: I still applaud the effort.

Over/Under: Spring Game and NFL Draft

It's been a few months since we played a game of Over/Under, so let's get to it. We discuss this weekend's spring game and the NFL Draft.


Over/Under - 4,162 people at the Boston College spring game (Duke got 4,162 to Wallace Wade last weekend)

Jeff: According to the LA Times we had 250 more people at our spring game than Duke did last year. But there seems to be some buzz about the Duke Football program which won't allow Greg Paulus to play as the Blue Devils quarterback because he isn't good enough. This weekend I am going under and I think BC will get about 3,500 again. In the south going to a spring game is a Spring Saturday well spent but in Boston people would probably look at you funny.

Brian: I will reluctantly go under here too. There isn't as much hype around this year's BC football team as in years past. Sure, fans want to see what Spaz and his new staff can do, and may be mildly interested in the quarterback competition, the triple-headed, crowded backfield, and/or who is going to clog the running lanes, but there is no headlining offensive star on this team to really draw Eagles fans' attention. Add in the fact that both the Celtics and the Bruins are in the playoffs, the Sox have started playing and that the spring game is the same weekend as the NFL draft, and I don't think BC will crack the 4k mark this weekend. Sadly. Under.


Over/Under - 100 yards for any one of the three running backs (Haden, Ninja, Smith) in this weekend's spring game

Brian: I think there is a very strong possibility that one of our three backs will rush for 100+ yards on Saturday. Last year's spring game saw little to no rushing attack from the Eagles (Mulrooney leading rusher for 33 yards?). Haden and Ninja, in particular, have been putting up much better numbers in our first two intrasquad scrimmages. While the defense tends to usually dominate the offense in the spring, this year our backs won't have to navigate through 650 pounds of Raji/Brace clogging up the rushing lanes. And with a quicker, no-huddle tempo on offense, I think we'll get more plays and more rushes in this spring. I'm optimistic one of these three goes over 100 so I'll go over.

Jeff: The only chance of one of these guys rushing for 100+ is if they break one run for 65+. There is no chance of that happening. I'm going way under.


Over/Under - August 15 Spaziani names a starting QB

Jeff: I think this is an easy where I am going to take the under. Spaz is not going to enter the summer without having named a #1 QB. We will know who that is either after the game Saturday or next week sometime. Fortunately for Spaz and the coaching staff we open up against Northestern so getting the starting QB right for game 1 is not critical. The guy who sees second half action in that game could end up starting the next. Who knows right now, but I do not envision a situation, other than injury, where Davis does not see any snaps in our season opener.

Brian: Over. A lack of quarterback competition over the summer could breed complacency, and Spaz will want these three guys hungry for the starting job. I'm feeling more and more like Boek could actually get the starting job because I don't see Davis or Tuggle pulling away early. If my memory serves me correctly, Crane was named the starter in late August last year. Back in 2004, Paul Petersen was named the starter as late as August 23 of that year. I think it is in Spaz's best interest to keep this competition open until much later this summer and will say that Spaz picks a start after August 15. Over.


Over/Under - Raji picked with the (unpushable) 5 1/2th pick in the first round of this weekend's NFL Draft

Brian: I am going to go under here. I'm hearing a lot of experts - including ESPN's Todd "McDreamy" McShea - predicting that Raji will be drafted #5 by the Cleveland Browns. I would say Raji in the top 5 is slightly optimistic given that Georgia's Matt Stafford, Wake Forest's Aaron Curry and now - out of nowhere - USC's Mark Sanchez appear to be locks for the Top 5. Sports Illustrated has since redacted the "Raji tests positive for marijuana" headline ("Redact it! REDACT IT!!") and when its all said and done, I don't think that non-story will hurt his draft stock at this point. Mel "The Hair" Kiper is not as optimistic as McShea, and has Raji going #9 to the Green Bay Packers. So I will say under but wouldn't be shocked if Raji falls past 5. I would, however, be shocked if Raji falls out of the top 10.

Jeff: You and I must not read the same articles and listen to the same sports shows because Aaron Curry has been talked about as a potential first defensive player taken for as long as I can remember NFL 2009 draft talk. On the Raji subject though, now that the alleged failed drug test thing is cleared up I am going under without hesitation and expect him to go to the Browns or a team that trades up for him.

Brian: You must not be reading what I wrote Jeff because I said that Stafford, Curry and Sanchez are LOCKS for the Top 5.


Over/Under - Brace going in the second round of this weekend's NFL Draft

Jeff: This is the easily pushable question so I will go with a push here and say Brace will go in the second round. Legitimate DTs are few and far between on draft day and Brace is a legit NFL prospect so I would imagine he will fill a team's need on the first day.

Brian: The answer here is indeed a push. From everything I'm hearing, Brace will go anywhere from 30-40 in the draft which makes him an early to middle second round selection. Could Brace pull a Kiwi and get scooped up with the final pick in the first round? Possibly, although I don't really see this happening. So I'll begrudgingly agree with Jeff and go with the very un-manly push on this one.


Last one, Over/Under - Purvis being drafted at all this weekend ...

Brian: ESPN.com's Heather Dinich has Purvis on her list of potential late round ACC picks. My heart says that Purvis will be drafted this weekend, but my head doesn't really think it's going to happen. Purvis had a monster junior year with Matt Ryan under center only to see his numbers and his productivity decrease dramatically last year. Purvis went from 553 yards and 4 TDs in his junior year to a mere 176 yards receiving and 0 scores in 2008. I think this is going to hurt Purvis' draft stock more than anything - he just didn't see the ball much at all last season. Our only recent experience with having an Eagles TE get drafted is Sean Ryan, who went in the 5th round, 144th overall in the 2004 draft. Sean Ryan put up monster numbers at BC after moving from DE his sophomore season (75 catches, 950 yards, 12 TDs). While I personally think Purvis is more than capable to play in the league, I unfortunately don't think a team will take a chance on him. Would be fun to see Purvis become Mr. Irrelevant, but my gut tells me he won't get drafted. So I'll go over?

Jeff: I have no idea on this one. I'll go with my old standby logic of assuming you are going to be wrong and I'll take the under that he does get drafted.

Headlines: Raji Tests Positive At Combine

Jeff: It has been reported that BJ Raji failed a drug test at the NFL Combine. What did he test positive for? We do not know. The assumption in the article and logical assumption for now is that he tested positive for marijuana. Raji had already tested positive for marijuana once while at Boston College.

Is this a big story?

This is certainly noteworthy and newsworthy but will testing positive for marijuana drastically effect Raji's draft stock or how BC is perceived? I don't think so. Marijuana is just too common in pro sports and in college for this to be a huge issue for Raji's NFL future.

Happy Time: Patrick Eaves, 85 Draft Class, BCS and Ivan Caesar

Thursday = Happy Time, Eagles!
Thursday also = May Day, a.k.a. International Workers' Day. For those of you residing in the more socialist reaches of the planet, enjoy the day off work. And be happy that you aren't stuck in a cubicle like me ...

Happy Birthday Patrick Eaves. The right winger currently plays for the Carolina Hurricanes, after being traded earlier this year from the Ottawa Senators for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore. Pat was a member of the Eagles from 2002-2005, tallying 47 goals and 60 assists over his three year career. After his freshman year he was drafted by the Sens with the 29th overall pick (1st round). Patrick's brother Ben played for the Eagles from 2000-2004 and currently plays professionally in Finland. Patrick and Ben's father, Mike Eaves, coaches the University of Wisconsin's hockey team - a team Eagles fans are all too familiar with.

(Leave your humorous caption to the picture above in the comments section below.)


Happy Anniversary to the 1985 Boston College NFL draft class. On this day 23 years ago, 5 Eagles were drafted on the second day of the draft. Who were those Eagles? WR Gerard Phelan (4th round, 108th overall to New England), G Mark MacDonald (5th round, 115th overall to Minnesota), QB Doug Flutie (11th round, 285th overall to L.A. Rams), RB Steve Strachan (11th round, 303rd overall to L.A. Raiders) and Todd Russell (12th round, 317th overall to Philadelphia Eagles).

Five draftees is a significant number of picks from BC, but doesn't come close to the 9 Eagles that were drafted in the 1974 draft that included Kansas City G Tom Condon (10th round, 250th overall). You may know Condon now as the superstar sports agent who represents fellow BC Guys Matt Ryan and Mathias Kiwanuka in the NFL.


Happy Trails to the BCS Plus One System. The 12 Angry Men really like to push my buttons. The 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame's AD voted decidedly against any Plus One or Final Four system for the top 4 highest rated BCS teams at season's end. So we're stuck with the same broken system we currently endure until 2014. Not to mention we get this gem of a sound byte from ACC commissioner and BCS chairperson John Swofford:

"The BCS is in an unprecedented state of health."

Yep, this is the guy who runs our conference. Just saying. Big BC Interruption DAP to SEC Commissioner Mike Silve for sticking his neck out there and lobbying for a much needed fix to the system.


Also, a melancholy Happy Trails to Ivan Caesar. Caesar was shot and killed in his Orlando home on Sunday at age 41. Caesar was a linebacker at Boston College from 1987-1990, and later went on to play one season with the Minnesota Vikings. The Eagle LB also made Arena league stops in Tampa Bay, Portland and Milwaukee. We send our best to Caesar and his family.

Poll Results: Matt Ryan is a Falcon

Brian: Congratulations to the 21 of you that picked the correct destination of Matt Ryan on Draft Day. I personally thought he was going to fall to Baltimore, but Atlanta did the right thing and pulled the trigger at #3. Then Baltimore trades down to nab local boy Joe Flacco at #18?! An interesting pick that will probably forever tie the careers of the two rookie signal callers together.

Ravens 24 (34%)

Falcons 21 (30%)

Chiefs 12 (17%)

Someone else 9 (12%)

Jets 3 (4%)

Vikings 1 (1%)

Our new poll turns our attention to the Eagles that weren't as fortunate as Matt Ryan, Gosder Cherilus and DeJuan Tribble. The question - which undrafted Eagle is most likely to play on Sundays? Voting will be open for 3 weeks. Vote on the sidebar to the right.

Headlines: Ryan to Atlanta, Gos to Detroit

Congratulations to the newest Boston College NFL draft picks. The Atlanta Falcons ended all speculation and took the Eagle signal caller with the #3 pick in the draft. Later in the first round, the Detroit Lions picked OT Gosder Cherilus with the 17th overall pick.

More headlines on Monday. Go BC!