Boston College 64, #17 Florida State 60

It's been a rough year for the few BC basketball fans that bother to show up to the Conte Forum each game. The Eagles were 7-16 coming into last night's game, at the bottom of the ACC standings. But those who did show up were treated with an upset win over Florida State, who were sharing the top of the standings with North Carolina.

To say this has been a rebuilding year might be overly polite to the Eagles. BC is loaded with freshmen, and this season is essentially a lengthy pre-season for the 2012-13 campaign. You can tell that coach Steve Donahue is trying to teach his team how to play the game properly, so once their skills are honed, they can contend to return to the NCAA tournament.

Which means this season's games look more like practices and scrimmages. Except when BC hits 10 of its 22 three-pointers and Florida State turns the ball over 14 times.

I think the Eagles will be respectable in a few years. This wasn't a glimpse of things to come as much as it was a statistical aberration. But it was quite fun to be there and watch it. And the 4,000 or so who showed up got more than their money's worth, and got their loyalty rewarded.

-The Commodore

Change for the BCS?

There may be change coming to college football's postseason. At the very least, it will be discussed by the 11 Division I-A conference heads along with Notre Dame's AD. There will be mafia style meetings like when the heads of crime families from across the country meet. There will be discussions on what's best for college football's future. There will be stubbornness, there might be compromise, and the Big East might get whacked.

The SEC wants a playoff. Ironic considering how much they've thrived in current BCS format.

The ACC also wants a playoff.

The Big Ten doesn't. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney is adamant that there be no playoff. He also believes that the world is flat and that the earth is the center of the Universe.

The Pac-12 is a wild card, and could be the best chance for compromise. They could be open to a playoff. So long as the Pac-12/Big Ten/Rose Bowl threesome remains intact. At least they're willing to talk.

The Big XII might want a playoff after seeing Oklahoma State lose 1 game and go to the Fiesta Bowl.

The Big East just wants to survive.

As a demonstration of how messy this discussion is, nobody involved even uses the word "playoff" because it's too inflammatory. "Plus-one" is the term to describe a 4 team playoff. Which makes no sense because there'd be 2 rounds, 3 games, and 4 teams.

Call me cynical, but I don't think there will be any major change from these meetings. Maybe the BCS will only sanction the national title game, instead of the title game and 4 BCS bowls. Maybe the notion of automatic qualification will go out the window, which might stop the musical chairs we've seen in college football.

But there are too many uncompromising people, too many various deal-breaking demands for everyone to be satisfied. And without consensus, there will be no big changes.

Until Jim Delaney dies or gets fired, there won't be any significantly positive change to college football's postseason.

Or maybe, if the BCS does separate itself from the bowls, it might grow as an independent entity. It might eventually build its own playoff system. Just like the NIT. Only with no NCAA tournament to compete with. Think of how popular the NIT would be if it were the only postseason tournament and featured all the best teams. ESPN would pay billions to broadcast a football version of that. And where the TV money goes, the teams will play.

That might make the Orange Bowl less profitable, but I really don't care.

-The Commodore

GDP #2: Battle Of Ontario @ Toronto

Proud Leaf fan displaying his pride from 1967

The Senators are back at it tonight, hoping for a better result against a much more manageable opponent in the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sens will be looking to build on a solid 3rd period last night in Detroit, a period that saw them score 3 goals and put a scare into one of the best teams in the league.

Tonight is a match up of 2 non playoff teams, but whenever the Battle of Ontario happens, you can throw the records out the window. If anything, these 2 teams will always play for Provincial pride, but so early into the season, there's a big 2 points on the line. The Sens want to get on the board this year, while the Leafs want to start 2-0.



The lone lineup change for the Sens will be Bobby Butler is a healthy scratch in favor of Zenon Konopka, who gets his first action as a Sen tonight. With the absence of Matt Carkner at the moment, one would imagine that he's in there for his toughness to counter Colton Orr, and to win us some faceoffs. That means the Sens will have 5 centres dressed for tonight. David Rundblad will sit again. Sens head coach Paul MacLean on Rundblad: "we're going to make sure that he's working on his defensive game and he's comfortable before we put him in."

Here's a look at the Sens morning skate at the ACC. Peter Regin continues to wear a non contact jersey, which means he is clearly more hurt than we first thought. I hope he comes back soon, as I feel he has a lot to prove and a hungry, talented player in the lineup is never a bad thing, especially in a contract year.


No local flavor tonight. Hardly surprising given these 2 organizations don't like each other.

The lines should be basically the same, minus Bobby Butler. Because of the 5 centres playing, one line will have 2 playing on it. Most likely the 4th line with Konopka dressing tonight. Craig Anderson starts in net again.

Prediction: It's always tough to call the B.O.T. games because the previous games don't matter. Both teams will always give their all for these 6 games per year. The Leafs are coming off a shutout win, and the Sens played last night and are coming off a loss, a fairly bad one, but for some reason I like the Senators chances. If the top line of Michalek-Spezza-Filatov can find that chemistry again, then we have a good chance and let's face it, the Leafs are more of the Sens speed than Detroit. Sens take it and get their first win of the year 3-2.

Record so far: 1-0 with zero correct predictions

Thoughts? Do the Sens bounce back?

Cowen vs Phaneuf

Fake GDP #1: Sens @ Toronto

Most of the stars aren't playing except for Karlsson, but we will get a look at a bunch of up and comers like Filatov, Zibanejad, Cowen and Rundblad. Auld starts and Lehner finishes. There is no TV coverage of the game unless you have Leafs TV and if you do, I don't know why you'd be on this blog. No TV is kind of a big fail to me, especially when playing Toronto. At least hockey is back.