Thursday, December 20

Boston College is already looking ahead to the 2008 football season, as some scheduling news was released today. Kent State has requested, and received approval, for their season opener be moved from Dix Stadium (capacity: 30,000) to Cleveland Browns Stadium (capacity: 73,000).

The Eagles are also still looking for a replacement for Army, as the Black Knights have asked out of next year's game. BC has sent a letter to all the Bowl Subdivision (Division 1-A) teams (with the exception of UConn, Rutgers, Pitt, and West Virginia, I imagine) to see if anyone's available. The Army game was a road contest for BC, so it would seem it'd be easy to find someone with an open slot looking for an extra home game so long as they are willing to come to Chestnut Hill for a return game. The only down side aside from this game BC's schedule is filled through 2014, so the second contest wouldn't be for a while. I'd love for the Eagles to pick up a big name opponent from the SEC or Big 12. If they want to take the easy way out I think BC still owes Baylor a home game from when they visited Boston in the late '90s, if that hasn't been scheduled already.

Also, Champs Bowl Ticets aren't selling too well from BC's side. This is disappointing. I remember during the '80s BC football was a pretty big. That hasn't been the case for a while, although I'm not sure why.

Tuesday, December 19

The Celtics were on the main page of espn.com today. J. A. Adande (of Around the Horn fame) wrote an interesting piece about how the current celtics roster is changing the team's perception in the eyes of African Americans. Apparently, unbeknownst to yours truly, the Celtics of the '80s were considered a "white team." I guess that makes sense, and the city's attitude through much of the latter half of the 20th century left something to be desired. However, Adande delves into the team's history, comparing the Celtics of the 1950s and 1960s to the Brooklyn Dodgers. All in all, it's a great article.

Monday, December 17

The Patriots ran their record to 14-0 yesterday, beating the Jets 20-10. They become only the second team in NFL history to open a season with 14 straight wins, the other being the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The Globe's Christopher Glasper and the Herald's Karen Guregian have the game recaps. Bob Ryan writes about the Jets' anemic red zone offense inside the New England 20 = 3 points.) Mike Reiss has the Patriots' defense calling yesterday's win a "throwback." Tony Massarotti says now that the Patriots have wrapped up the division, a first round bye, and home field advantage for the playoffs, we'll find out how much an indefeated season really means to them.

The Celtics also won yesterday, beating Toronto 90-77. Mark J. Spears and Steve Bulpett have the game recaps. In the Globe's Notebook, Spears has Doc Rivers saying Ray Allen will return to action Wednesday.

More fallout from the Mitchell Report, as Brendan Donnelly denies ever using steroids.

Saturday, December 15

The Celtics won again last night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 104-82. As the Globe's recap points out, the only other Celtics team to start 12-0 at home is the 1983-84 team. Also worth remembering the Celtics won Championship #15 in 1984.