The showdown between Boston College and its football coach, Jeff Jagodzinski remains at the top of the Boston sports scene for another day. Having stolen the spotlight from the hoops team’s upset of North Carolina, this drama prepares to move into its second day, with indications that Jagodzinski may have been on his way out even before any interview with the Jets. (It figures that it is the Jets though, doesn’t it? Do they have to try and steal or copy everything about football in New England?)
Mark Blaudschun says that BC may not even wait for confirmation of a Jets interview to make a move. Steve Conroy has BC waiting for Jagodzinski to cross the proverbial line in the sand.
Gerry Callahan says that Jagodzinski is proving to be just another football coach – after we had thought he might be different. Bob Ryan says that Gene DeFilippo and BC should know how the system works by now. Lenny Megliola examines how the Jagodzinski-DeFilippo relationship become so strained so soon.
Sticking with BC for a moment, Julian Benbow has hoops coach Al Skinner not shocked that his team was able to pull off the upset over then top-ranked UNC on Sunday night. Jessica Heslam has NESN re-playing the game in full last night.
Patriots
Ron Borges shows a bit of his old Patriots/Belichick hating ways when he mocks any “apologists, bum kissers and FOBs” who might argue that the loss of Asante Samuel was huge this season. He says that it is in fact the sole reason that the Patriots are not in the playoffs, and makes it out like Samuel was a huge piece in pushing the Eagles over the top this season.
I’m not going to argue that the Patriots would’ve been a better defensive team with Samuel in the secondary this year. But a couple things about this Borges article are hilarious to me. First, is the fact that he makes the loss of Samuel out to be the sole reason the Patriots are not in the playoffs. I think the injury to Tom Brady might be worthy of mention, as should the loss of Adalius Thomas and Rodney Harrison. Second…the Eagles were 9-6-1 this season, while the Patriots were 11-5. The Eagles are one game (and a tie) better than they were a season ago. Third, in the past, Borges absolutely mocked anyone who believed Samuel could be anything other than a nickle back. When Ty Law left town, Borges brutally mocked anyone who suggested Samuel could step up and be a number one cornerback. Now, that’s forgotten and Samuel is irreplaceable.
Would I prefer to have Samuel here? Of course. Let’s not put the entire season on his departure, however.
Bill Burt says that while the NFL is more competitive from top to bottom, it doesn’t make it a better league. Jonathan Comey looks at the Patriots options with Matt Cassel, and if another team making a good investment if they do deal for Cassel. Mike Reiss looks at what’s happening with Scott Pioli. Christopher Price says that poaching from the Patriots isn’t a guarantee of success. John Tomase and Borges have Pioli meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs about their GM job.
The Globe notebook has Tedy Bruschi looking to return for a 14th season with the Patriots. They also name Bob Costas as the media member who gave Bill Belichick a coach of the year vote.
Celtics
Frank Dell’Apa has the Celtics using their recent struggles to come together closer as a team. Steve Bulpett has the Celtics looking to be more consistent on defense. Jeff Howe has the veterans believing that this rough patch is just temporary. Mike Fine thinks that Stephon Marbury might actually be a good fit for the Celtics.
Bruins
John Powers offers up a feature on the success of the Bruins this season, and how the type of players that the Bruins have on their roster have made coach Claude Julien’s system work.
Rich Thompson and Mike Loftus have a look at the success of the Bruins goaltending rotation. Garry Brown talks to former Bruins goalie Pete Peeters, who isn’t a fan of the shootout.
Loftus has the Bruins hoping to beat the Minnesota Wild for the first time at home…ever. Kevin Paul Dupont doesn’t think that Brendan Shanahan would be a good fit for the Bruins. Joe Haggerty submits his first mailbag for WEEI.com
Red Sox
Sean McAdam examines the remaining roster holes on the Red Sox with Spring training a little more than a month away. He says that with each passing day it becomes more and more likely that Jason Varitek has played his last game with the Red Sox. Amalie Benjamin also takes a quick look at the openings at catcher and fourth outfielder.
Joe McDonald has Jim Rice hoping that this is finally the year he gets the call from the Hall of Fame. Chaz Scoggins says that is is probably now or never for Rice. Tom Caron also looks at the case for Rice.
David Scott has some analysis of Glenn Ordway’s new contract with WEEI, and has more on NESN’s claims of a transmission issue with the BC/UNC game Sunday night.
Boston Sports Media Watch 
With DeFilippo at the helm, BC can assure itself of a string of coaches ‘promoted from within.’ And at the rate they’re leaving, it may be quite a string of them. DeFilippo has eight months of grace before the hammer falls on him, too; even a slight backwards slide by the football program will cause the focus to be totally on him. And if Skinner moves on, that will be an even bigger nail in DeFilippo’s coffin. If you were Skinner and just had your biggest victory trumped by an angry, autocratic boss, you might politely (and properly) ride out your string and move on.
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Revealing quote from Callahan – who writes better than he talks:
“And yesterday, DeFilippo’s phone was buzzing with calls and texts, and they weren’t all from reporters. Other ADs were congratulating him for standing up to a coach with wanderlust.”
Good for DeFilippo.
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I’m not altogether sure how Callahan would know anything about the texts and calls coming into DeFilippo; who they were from or what they said. Of course, it’s part of his MO to engage in hyperbole to fit a narrative (e.g. siding with DeFilippo).
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I never understood how a college coach’s “contract” works. I mean, you sign a x-number deal with an employer, but if you want to go somewhere else, you’re free to do so. So what the hell is the point of a contract? Save a tree, shake hands, and resolve yourself to the fact that if your coach came from the pros or has any aspiration to go to the pros, then at some point — regardless of his “contract” — he’s as good as gone.
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They have contracts because the coach wants to get paid if he doesn’t leave and the school wants to lay out his responsibilities as coach. In any employment contract, the employee can always walk away. The courts cannot force an individual to work for somebody else and it is difficult to otherwise quantify damages. What employees do is put in certain penalties or restrictions for an employee who walks out on a contract (do-no-compete, etc). Recently, schools have been including buyouts in coaches contracts, so that if the coach does leave he (or some nice alum of the new school) has to pay a few million to the school.
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Two things:
1. Can’t we all agree that although it may have been personnel losses that would cost the Pats the Super Bowl, it was very specific, clearly identifiable plays that cost them the playoffs (I’m looking at you, Mr. Responsible for Blown Coverage on 3rd and 15).
2. Do I really have to revise my view of Costas as the leader of the anti-Belichick pack in the national media?
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You must mean Deltha “Kickin’ It Old Skool” O’Neal and Ellis “Lettin’ It All Hang Out” Hobbs.
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Ron Borges is the Pat Buchanan of Boston Sports Media. No one knows how he got the job, why he still has any relevance, and when he’ll ever just.go.away., but there he is, week after week, living his shrill fantasy of a life for all to mock.
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WE NEED ANSWERS ON TEXEIRA!!! I hope Tonie Mass get’s to the bottom of what happened with the Red Sox and the trader first baseman. THE CASE ISNT CLOSED!!!!
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Bill Burt continues to be the most useless writer on the planet….
The league stinks because a couple of playoff teams didn’t win ten games?
Wins are sometimes determined by one bounce, a random play or in San Diego’s case, a terrible call by the refs.
This guy really gets paid to write? hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
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And that’s why he, “…is a very special part of the WEEI “Magic”. Tool…
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Bill Burt solidified is uselessness years ago with the column on pre-recorded, months-old appearance of Jerome Bettis on the Late Show. You’re telling me there wasn’t one context clue in that entire appearance that The Bus wasn’t live (or at least taped that week)? Idiot.
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Bill Burt’s low moment came when he reported the death of Keith Ryan on his blog on something he “heard in the press room” at the Super Bowl. Not only did he not know the deceased’s name, but was wrong with where he had died. Disgusting.
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A competent Athletic Director would have put it in writing.
Both personally and professionally, DeFillipo is strictly small-time.
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Felger was in rare BC-bashing form on Comcast Sportsnet last night over this whole Coach Jags thing. I know he’s a BU guy and by nature he hates all things BC, but really, it’s not very professional to bring your college hockey rivalry emotions to your workplace with you, especially when your job is in the media.
As for Bill Burt, he lost me when he blamed Pedro for the Game 7 loss in the ’03 ALCS and gave Grady Gump a free pass. I haven’t listened to or read a word he’s said (or written) since then, because that article convinced me that he’s an idiot.
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I’m from Hartford and about a year and a half ago WEEI started retransmitting from somewhere in the Springfield area and I’ve been able to pick it up since then. I gave it a listen for a while and didn’t really care for it. And I’m their target audience. I listen to ESPN Radio often and I root for the Red Sox and Celtics. I listened to ‘EEI a bit over the vacation and enjoyed it for the first time in ages. Then the regular hosts came back…
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….typical of todays sports media….I’m not saying it isn’t a story,HOWEVER….for the most part, Boston College sports gets TOTALLY IGNORED in this area (especialy by WEEI) and now it’s the “Jagodzinski/DeFilippo Show” 24/7……OH THOSE STORYLINES!!….they are so much more interesting than THE GAMES themselves,don’t ya think?….SEE: Spygate, Manny being Manny, the Theo/Luccino Feud, Belichick’s handshake etiquette…etc…etc..etc..
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Thnaks AOB. I read the approval ratings over the summer and wondered what exactly was meant by storylines. Yeah, it’s the stupid, usually off-field stuff, that get’s rehashed every ten minutes on a sports radio show. Pretty much what I thought.
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