Modest goals: Things I'd like to see in '08-'09

I'm not greedy. Really, I'm not. Especially after seeing the men's hockey team win the national title.

Thus, this list won't be filled with things like "Football team wins the national championship," "Men's hockey team goes undefeated," or "Lauren Wiedmeier wins Patty Kaz." This is just a list of a few modest, attainable goals that I'd really like to see BC accomplish in the upcoming season.

-Baseball team qualifies for the ACC tournament

BC has shown signs of progress in baseball since joining the ACC, but nobody is under the illusion that they are on the verge of becoming a powerhouse. But Sliding into the #8 spot is certainly possible for the Eagles, and to do so the year the ACC baseball tournament is hosted at Fenway Park would be extra sweet. I really want to be able to sit back at Fenway and watch the Eagles participate in the ACC tournament. Make it happen!

-Women's Basketball team qualifies for NCAA tournament

Year 1 of the Crawley Era could obviously go either way. We could take the Jags route, upgrading with the debut of an exciting, new coach; or we could take the Katie King route, taking a step back with an inexperienced regime. The talent, however, is undeniable - BC has a young, strong team that could very well be comfortably within the top 6 of the ACC. That ought to be enough to get into the NCAAs. I think that Crawley, just like Jags, represents change we can believe In. YES WE CAN!

-Women's hockey team cleans up against the bottom feeders

I think every team in every sport looks back on the past season and pinpoints a few games that they 'should have won.'

BC women's hockey was bitten badly by that bug in '07-'08, losing once to Maine and twice to Northeastern. With the HE tournament field expanding to six teams, qualifying that should be a mortal lock (knock on wood). But if BC is going to make it into the Big Dance, they're going to have to beat up on the weaker teams in Hockey East.

-A loud, sellout crowd for banner-raising night against Wisconsin

This isn't too much to ask, is it? I didn't think so. Assuming the banner is actually finished and ready to be hung on Opening Night (always a question mark at BC), it should be a memorable evening at Conte Forum.

-Men's basketball defeats New England foes

I knew last year was probably going to be tough. That's why the games against URI, PC, UMass, NU, et. al. took on special significance - I just wanted to maintain local pride and bragging rights.

No such luck against PC and UMass. Gotta reverse that this year, especially for my first ever hoops road game @ UMass.

-BU loses the Beanpot

Now that I've seen BC win it during my time as a student, I'm less worried about actually bringing the silverware home to Chestnut Hill. Obviously, I want BC to win it. But if Harvard or, even better, Northeastern wins the 'Pot, I'll be very happy.

-Soccer teams to the Sweet 16

Both soccer teams showed great promise last year before fizzing out in the first round of NCAAs. By all indications, both will be back in contention next year. A few NCAA wins will sweeten what promises to be an exciting fall sports season. Which leads, of course, to:

-Football wins at least 8, including ND

I know it's all doom and gloom all the time in the major publications, but I'm high on Chris Crane and I think BC could contend for a berth in the ACC title game.

But since this post is all about modest goals, let's shoot for at least 8-4 and another victory over the Domers. [I know, I know, we have at least two games that are far bigger than the Notre Dame game. But be honest. If we look back at this season as another 8/9 win, Tire Bowl kind of year, wouldn't continued dominance over the Irish make it a little more memorable?]

I think that all of these things can/should happen in the upcoming year. I have loftier hopes, which I will share as the season draws closer.

In the meantime, I will continue to climb the walls, pace, watch Youtube videos, and pass the time until BC sports season finally begins.

I can't wait!

Recapping Freshman Year

In order to get an accurate list of stadiums, sports, and opponents seen, I'm going to look through the schedules from 2006-07 and list the games that I remember attending.

FOOTBALL
vs. Clemson, 9-9-06 (W)
vs. BYU, 9-16-06 (W)
vs. Maine, 9-30-06 (W)
vs. V Tech, 10-12-06 (W)
vs. Buffalo, 10-28-06 (W)
vs. Duke, 11-11-06 (W)

BASEBALL
vs. NC State, 3-30-07 (L)
vs. UNC, 4-7-07, game 1 (L)
vs. UNC, 4-7-07, game 2 (L)
vs. Wake, 4-20-07 (W)
vs. Wake, 4-22-07 (W)
vs. UVA, 5-17-07 (L)

M BASKETBALL
vs. St Francis Xavier, 11-05-06 (W)
vs. UNH, 11-10-06 (W)
vs. Vermont, 11-13-06 (L)
vs. URI, 11-25-06 (W)
vs. Mich St, 11-29-06 (W)
vs. Fairfield, 12-6-06 (W)
vs. Maryland, 12-10-06 (W)
vs. Sacred Heart, 12-17-06 (W)
vs. Duquesne, 12-28-06 (L)
vs. Northeastern, 12-31-06 (W)
vs. Yale, 1-3-07 (W)
vs. UVA, 1-13-07 (W)
vs. Miami, 1-16-07 (W)
vs. FSU, 1-23-07 (W)
vs. Hartford, 1-31-07 (W)
vs. Duke, 2-14-07 (L)
vs. UNC, 2-17-07 (L)
vs. Clemson, 2-24-07 (W)

M HOCKEY
vs. St Thomas, 10-7-06 (W)
vs. Northeastern, 10-10-06 (W)
vs. USA u-18 Team, 10-13-06 (W)
vs. Notre Dame, 10-20-06 (L)
vs. Vermont, 11-4-06 (W)
@ Northeastern, Matthews Arena, 11-17-06 (T)
vs. UNH, 11-22-06 (L)
vs. BU, 12-1-06 (Game suspended due to fog)
@ BU, Agganis Arena, 12-2-06 (W)
@ Northeastern, Matthews Arena, 1-5-07 (L)
vs. Merrimack, 1-10-07 (W)
vs. BU, 1-24-07 (L)
@ BU, Agganis Arena, 1-26-07 (W)
vs. UMass Lowell, 1-27-07 (W)
vs. UMass, 2-2-07 (L)
-Harvard, Beanpot, TD Banknorth Garden (W)
-BU, Beanpot Finals, TD Banknorth Garden (L)
vs. Maine, 2-16-07 (W)
vs. UMass Lowell, 2-22-07 (W)
@ UNH, Whittemore Center, 3-2-07 (W)
vs. Northeastern, HE Quarterfinals, 3-8-07 (W)
vs. Northeastern, HE Quarterfinals, 3-9-07 (W)
-UNH, Hockey East Finals, TD Banknorth Garden, 3-17-07 (W)
-St. Lawrence, NCAA Tournament, Verizon Arena, Manchester, NH, 3-24-07 (W)
-Miami OH, NCAA Tournament, Verizon Arena, Manchester, NH, 3-25-07 (W)

W HOCKEY
vs. Princeton, 10-20-06 (T)
vs. BU, 11-4-06 (W)
@ Providence, Schneider Arena, 12-3-06 (L)
@ Northeastern, Matthews Arena, 12-9-06 (W)
vs. SLU, 1-5-07 (T)
vs. Clarkson, 1-6-07 (W)
vs. Northeastern, 1-9-07 (W)
@ BU, Walter Brown Arena, 1-19-07 (L)
vs. BU, 1-20-07 (W)
vs. Vermont, 1-27-07 (W)
vs. Maine, 1-28-07 (W)
@ UNH, Whittemore Center, 2-3-07 (L)
vs. Harvard, Beanpot, 2-6-07 (W)
vs. UConn, 2-10-07 (L)
vs. BU, Beanpot Final, 2-13-07 (W)
@ Providence, 2-17-07 (W)
vs. Providence, 2-18-07 (W)
vs. Maine, 2-24-07 (W)
-Providence, Hockey East Semifinal, Whittemore Center at UNH, 3-3-07 (L)
@ Dartmouth, NCAA Quarterfinal, Thompson Arena, 3-10-07 (W)
-Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA Frozen Four, 1980 Olympic Arena, Lake Placid, NY, 3-17-07 (L)

M SOCCER
vs. St Peters, 8-31-06 (W)
vs. V Tech, 9-8-06 (W)
vs. St Francis NY, 9-19-06 (W)
vs. Brown, 10-3-06 (L)

W SOCCER
vs. Sacred Heart, 9-6-06 (W)
vs. Brown, 9-15-06 (L)
vs. URI, 9-20-06 (W)
vs. Miami, 10-5-06 (W)

W BASKETBALL
vs. Sacred Heart, 11-12-06 (W)
vs. Delaware, 11-14-06 (W)
vs. UNH, 12-15-06 (W)
vs. Maine, 12-17-06 (W)
vs. Harvard, 12-28-06 (L)
vs. UMass, 12-31-06 (W)
vs. UNC, 2-1-07 (L)
vs. Miami, 2-11-07 (W)
vs. VA Tech, 2-23-07 (L)

W LAX
@ BU, Nickerson Field, 3-28-07 (L)
vs. UVA, 4-21-07 (L)

SOFTBALL
vs. Brown, 4-19-07 (W)
vs. UConn, 4-24-07 (W)
vs. BU, 5-2-07, game 1 (W)
vs. BU, 5-2-07, game 2 (L)

North Shore Navigators

If you want to see what I'll be up to this summer visit www.nsnavs.com

-JG

That's more like it

The season ends with an 11-7 win on the back of an 8th inning grand slam by Tony Sanchez.

Thanks for reading the Eagle Log this year. Over the next few months I'll be using this space to look back on the best and worst of '07-'08.

Wake 2, BC 0

In what may be the final game I get to attend this season, the baseball team lost to Wake Forest 2-0 to assure a below .500 season. There is one game left this year - tomorrow morning at 11 AM, Senior day against the Deacons.

Terry Doyle was brilliant in his final career start for BC, showing the skill that we've long been hoping to see here at the Heights. He was arguably the better pitcher on the day, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits over 8. BC managed 8 hits off of Wake but couldn't bring a single man home.

BC got two men on in the 8th and put the leadoff runner on in the 9th but it was all for naught.

Thus, my BC-viewing season may have come to an end in very BC fashion: plenty of opportunities, but no W.

I hope to make it tomorrow. If not - well, it's been a fun year.

A good day

BC baseball vs. UConn was about the most organic baseball experience you could possibly have: a clear, sunny day; a small, quiet crowd; a basically meaningless game.

And, best of all, a wild comeback and an 11-8 BC win to make them 2-0 over the hated menace to the south.

BC lost to Wake Forest today to fall to 25-26, so they will need to win their last two games in order to finish over .500 for the year.

I'll be there, taking some more pictures. For now, enjoy these from the BC-UConn game:

From the tippety-top of Alumni Stadium

Sam Shaughnessy at bat

Overview. Nice view huh?

Back down at the parking garage

It took every ounce of restraint I had to not key this bus.



It was not a good start for the Eagles...

From the parking garage




Sam Shaughnessy strikes out. Shot from the top of Alumni Stadium.

Border War

Damn you, mother nature.

Fate did not smile upon BC's stick-and-ball teams in their quest for ACC glory.

In a bizarre interpretation of 'game times subject to change,' the ACC used persistent rain as an excuse to change a double-elimination softball tournament into a single-elimination tournament, retroactively eliminating BC and making their comeback win over Maryland about as irrelevant as yesterday's Liverpool-Tottenham English Premier League match. (2-0 win, Liverpool...huzzah - but not relevant to anything)

It's a sucky way to end a team's season. I know BC probably wasn't going to win the ACC tournament, but anyone who's ever played any sport at any level knows that you approach a single-elimination game a lot differently than a double-elimination game. That's not to say the softballers didn't give max effort against FSU - I'm sure they did - but 'anything goes' when you're facing single elimination. Thus, the mid-tournament change in formats is officially bullcrap of Italian soccer levels. (Wow, two references to another sport that is not relevant to this article - this is turning into a Bill Simmons column. I just need to throw in a Borat reference and a gratuitous shot at BC.)

The baseball team was also hurt by mother nature. Due to a number of rainouts involving ACC competitors Wake Forest and Duke, even if BC sweeps Wake this weekend to equal their number of wins, Wake gets into the tournament with a superior winning percentage. Boooooooo. This one is far less egregious than changing tournament formats in the middle of the tournament, but it still stinks.

But there is still something to play for on the diamond: it's called "Fuck UConn."

At 4 PM today, I will watch my 103rd and probably final live BC sporting event of the year, today's ballgame between the United States of America Eagles and the Communist sUeKKKonn Suckskies. Regional pride is on the line as BC looks to go 2-0 against sueconn.

Personally, since the team can't make the tournament, this will be my last home game of the year, and they are playing EVIL EVIL EVIL ukan't, I am treating this game like a combination of the ACC tournament, the College World Series, Copa America, and the premier of the movie Borat. A good time shall be had by all.

GO EAGLES, UCONN SUCKS!

Everybody wins!

BC softball showed some real promise today at the ACC tournament. Their day started with a heartbreaking extra-innings loss to Florida State this morning, 5-1 in 9 innings. But they bounced back with a come-from-behind 7-3 victory tonight over Maryland, keeping them alive at least until tomorrow. They continue their double-elimination tournament tomorrow at 8 PM vs. the loser of UNC vs. NC State.

The Celtics, the Red Sox, and USA hockey all won too, so... hooray!

A winning weekend

The baseball team swept Maryland, the softball team took 2-of-3 from the Terps, the lax team finished the season with a win, the Sox swept the D-Rays, and the Celtics live to see another day.

I'ma go ahead and call that a good weekend.

ACC softball tournament starts on Thursday. Good luck BC!

Walk in the park

I witnessed BC baseball's 8-1 victory over the University of Maryland this afternoon, most notable for some comically bad defense by the Terrapins. Tomorrow: baseball at 1, softball at 1 & 3!

Crawley new WBB coach

http://bostonherald.com/sports/college/basketball/view.bg?articleid=1090239&srvc=sports&position=also

I'm excited about the hire. This has the potential to be the TOB->Jags move of women's basketball. I'm glad the AD took this hire seriously, and picked a true, exciting up-and-comer with a great basketball pedigree. I am a fan of Inglese, but this could be an exciting new era for BC WBB.

BC has all the ingredients to have a powerhouse women's basketball program, and the benefits of becoming a national contender would be boundless: more excitement about BC from young girls age 8-12, increased donations from female alumni, and the visibility of ESPN's non-stop women's basketball tournament coverage.

Let's hope this is the jumpstart the program needs to move into the upper echelon of the ACC.

Congrats to BC's newest pros-

Congratulations to Matt Ryan (Atlanta), Gosder Cherilus (Detroit), and DeJuan Tribble (San Diego) for being selected in this year's NFL Draft, as well as Kevin Challenger for signing with Calgary of the CFL.

Good luck to Andre Callendar, Jamie Silva, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Johnny Ayers, and any other Eagles trying to latch on to an NFL team as a free agent. Just getting a sniff of the pros is more than 99.9% of athletes can ever imagine.

I have a feeling that despite being the lowest picked, Tribble might have made out the best of all 3. He's going to a great organization in a wonderful city with fantastic weather. Given the choice, I'm not so sure I'd like to live in Atlanta, or play for the train-wreck Detroit Lions franchise.

BC BASEBALL/SOFTBALL

I admit that I haven't really been following baseball/softball since the hockey national title. I've kind of just chilled out and enjoyed the afterglow of that.

The softball team is in the cellar of the ACC (5-13) but they are only 1 game away from jumping up 2 spots to 6th place Maryland. All 8 teams make the tournament.

Baseball just took 1-of-3 from NC State but remains 3.5 games behind Wake Forest for the final ACC tournament spot with 6 conference games to play. It looks like we'll have to wait until next year at Fenway to make our ACC tourney debut.

Baseball has a pair of homestands before the season ends - May 2-4 vs. Maryland and May 11, 13, 15-17 vs. Northeastern, UConn, and Wake Forest.

I won't be able to get to softball's next home game (Wednesday vs. UMass), but they close their season with 3 home games vs. Maryland that will prove critical for tournament positioning: a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game Sunday afternoon.