Back to the Gridiron

This weekend I will be attending my first BC football game in about 10 years. I can't recall the exact last game that I went to but I believe it was at the end of the 1998 season though I won't swear I didn't catch a game in 1999. I am dutifully excited about it but at the same time I will miss my weekly ritual of sitting on the couch watching several different games from noon through bedtime. It will be interesting to see how the team handles the news this week of the departure of Justin Tuggle and Josh Haden.

On that note, I think more is being made of this departure than it actually is. Some people are attributing it to added turmoil in a program that had faced its share of obstacles this year. But I don't see it that way. Quite frankly I'm surprised that there haven't been more kids transferring with all the head coaching issues the program has had these past few seasons. Even top schools lose important players when the coaching staff changes. A good example would be Ryan Mallett who left Michigan for Arkansas because he knew that Bobby Petrino would offer an offense geared more towards his skills than Rich Rodriquez.

Now I am not putting Tuggle and Haden in that same echelon of player as Mallett and Frank Spaziani is certainly not as drastic a change in coaching style as going from Llyod Carr to Rich Rod. But the fact remains that both players were recruited by someone else and neither was looking at having much hope of serious playing time or of being the star at the Heights. I don't blame them for wanting to go somewhere else and play every down instead of riding the bench (Tuggle) or platooning and being on the short end of that platoon (Haden). Both players were passed by other players who have simply shown themselves to be the better fit for the system. One might even argue that Tuggle had even moved to third in the depth chart behind true freshman Mascovetra. Plus, from what Montel Harris has said, it sounds as though Haden has never been happy at BC and if that is the case then it is better for both sides that he leaves and opens a spot for someone who actually wants to be at the Heights.

College football is about a lot of things but one of the most important elements is passion. If you are unhappy with your situation you will lose some of that passion and not perform to the best of your ability. I wish both Haden and Tuggle the best and hope they find a home that wants them as much as they want to be there. Undoubtedly, they will be missed by the Eagles but as this team has done all year I expect them to rise about the distraction and continue to play hard. They will certainly need it this weekend against a very good Central Michigan squad who in beating us could be on their way to a very special season.

The antithesis

2008 was all about good things for Boston sports. The Red Sox were the reigning World Series champs until October. The Celtics won the NBA title. BC won its third national title in hockey. The Bruins were following up a surprising 2007-08 campaign with a fantastic start to the 2008-09 season which would get them the best record in the conference.

2009 has been the antithesis of last year. The Lakers won the NBA title. Boston University is the reigning NCAA hockey national champion. The Yankees look more and more like the team to win the World Series this year. The Bruins are struggling and have lost two of their most important players (Milan Lucic & Marc Savard) for at least the next month. And this past weekend BC football ended its 6 game win streak against Notre Dame with a turnover plagued performance in South Bend. O "City of Champions" where have you gone??

I know - I sound like one of the doom and gloom writers I always rail against. Things are not as bleak as my previous paragraph may lead you to believe. To those who aren't BC fans, a BU victory is just as much of a Boston championship as a BC victory. With a healthy KG, the Celtics are once again a viable title contender this year. After some ups and downs early in the season the Patriots look like they are righting the ship and if they stay healthy should be considered among the NFL title contenders. The jury is out on the Bruins until we can see where they stand once Lucic and Savard come back. But there are positive signs over the past three games that this team may be regaining their competitive fire with a couple of come-from-behind performances. The BC football team, while not great, has performed much better than anyone thought they would and should make a bowl game this year when many people thought they would be lucky to win 3 games.

So I guess I need to be happy for what we have. Even though we don't have the dominant beat everybody teams from 2008, Boston still has title contenders in almost every sport. Not many cities can boast that. I guess I will suffer through 2009 - the year when all my most hated rivals won the prize.

Good luck

I'm not a gambling man. I don't play football cards or bet when I go to Vegas or play the lottery or enter into those on-line contests to win a new car or $1 million. However, what I have done the past couple years is enter into the Red Sox random ticket drawings.

Those who are unfamiliar with this system allow me to explain. Basically, because certain seats have a higher demand than others (Yankee games, Monster seats, postseason tickets), the Sox seek to limit the traffic on their server and allow people a real chance to get tickets. So, to attain this goal the Sox hold a drawing. You enter you name and email address and then if you win that lottery you have the right to try an log in and get tickets to the game.

I have never won a lottery of any kind that I remember (beyond maybe $5 off a scratch ticket I got for Christmas) so imagine my shock and surprise to win three times this year. I won the lottery to buy the Yankees playoff ticket early in the season, I won the lottery to buy ALDS tickets, and today I bought ALCS tickets (should the Sox make it past the Angels). Not too shabby. Now if I can just win the lottery to attend the Winter Classic between the Bruins and Flyers - I might actually start playing the numbers!