Thank you for reading the Boston College Blog.

The blog is now on an indefinite hiatus, due to my personal and educational commitments. It may return, it may not. If anybody is interested in carrying the torch and blogging at this site, please contact me.

It was a pleasure to report the news and quotes, and to share with you my love for BC.

Thanks again and GO EAGLES.

-Nicholas Scott '03

Boston College has become more popular than ever; this year, BC experienced a nearly 12-percent spike in applications, receiving a record 26,000-plus applications for the 2,250 spots in the Class of 2010. "BC is the fourth most applied-to undergraduate private institution in the United States," said Tom Keady, vice president at the office of government and community affairs.

After briefly shutting its doors to all non Massachusetts residents, BC landmark MaryAnns is now open to all again.

The award-winning Boston College Magazine has a new look.

Elements, the University's first undergraduate research journal, has published its second edition of the semester. See previous coverage from The Boston Globe.

The Black Studies Program at BC recently announced that it will be known as African and African Diaspora Studies. The program was recently taken over by Cynthia Young. See previous BC Blog coverage here.

Boston College professor Derrick Evans '90, MAT '94, head of the Turkey Creek Community Initiatives, a nonprofit group fighting to preserve and revitalize the largely low-income neighborhood of Turkey Creek, Mississippi, has been helping with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Evans spent $20,000 of his own money immediately after the storm. More from CNN.com.

Welcome to the 20th edition of BC in quotes. Old ones here.

I briefly went to Boston College to check it out, and I couldn’t believe how pumped the students were for the food there. They remarked that they sometimes had world class chefs in the school and that the food was always one of the things they looked forward to.

-Sean Culkin, St. John's freshman

The farther BC strays from her Catholic mission, the harder it will ever be to return. BC soon faces a point of no return, and must choose: the world, or your soul?

-The Observer Staff, criticizing BC's decision to allow The Vagina Monologues to be performed on campus

BC cannot become the world's top Catholic university if its nondiscrimination policy continues to prevent it from recruiting and retaining some of the best and the brightest.

-George Jasinki, A&S '06 and Nick Salter, A&S '07

The Jews have taken over BC.

-Unidentified man attending a recent event McMullen Museum event

So where were you, BC? Happy hour? The Mods? Checking away messages? Scanning recently updated profiles on Facebook? I mean, you must have had a perfectly good reason for not voting.

-Shawna Gallagher Vega, Heights journalist

When completed, the re-affiliation will solidify BC's position as the world's premier Jesuit University.

-University President Fr. Leahy, S.J., on the merger with Weston Jesuit School of Theology

If we move, [Boston College] would become the center for the study of Roman Catholic theology in the United States.

-Rev. Robert E. Manning, S.J., president of Weston

God help us. Separately, the BC theology department and Weston were disasters for Catholic thought. Together, who can imagine what baloney they’ll come up with. BC’s president Fr. William Leahy claims as his goal for BC to become “the nation’s Catholic intellectual powerhouse.” Yeah, right.

-Blogger Domenico Bettinelli

Al Skinner's next win at Boston College will make him the school's winningest coach. How big of a hurry do you think BC is to get Jim O'Brien's name out of the record books? O'Brien, you'll recall, was fired at Ohio State for paying a recruit.

-Blogger J.P. Giglio

After some controversy surrounding Boston College's 2006 opener, it has been announced that the Eagles will travel to take on Central Michigan University on Thursday, August 31. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

Although BC had announced a schedule which included an 8/31 matchup against Ohio University, OU subsequently issued a press release indicating that the BC game was not definite.

More from CSTV.

Boston College unveiled some of its plans for the Brighton Campus at a community meeting held at the Yawkee Center last week, reports the Allston-Brighton TAB.

BC hopes to file an amendment to its Master Plan in the fall to include interior renovation and use of the parcels it acquired.

St. William's Hall, where New Orleans students were housed last year, will house the new School of Theology and Ministry, which took a step closer to fruition this week when The Provincials of the Society of Jesus in the United States, acting as the board of the prestigious Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., unanimously voted to authorize the signing of a formal letter of intent regarding re-affiliation with BC.

Other proposed uses presented last week included:

• The Tribunal building will house the new Institute of Aging with offices and meeting space.
• The cardinal's residence will be used for meetings, functions and conference space. Twelve rooms will be maintained for guest housing when the college has visiting dignitaries, faculty visitors or candidates for employment.
• The old gymnasium, which is in need of repair, will most likely become a "swing space" for college dance, theater and music groups who need rehearsal space.

Recent Residential Acquisitions

Four houses were recently acquired by BC on Wade and Foster Streets, "fueling resident concerns of Boston College branching out into residential neighborhoods." But BC assured that the houses will not be destroyed or used for student housing. BC spokesperson Jack Dunn said that BC "is certainly not looking to encroach on the neighborhood, and if we buy residential property, it will most likely be used for much-needed faculty housing."

The locals are "relieved that the college has capped its enrollment, houses 85 percent of its undergraduates on-campus and is not planning to build dorms in the neighborhood."

A "neighborhood charette" will be hosted by BC on Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. - 12 noon to gather public input and continue the master planning process.

The Master Plan is being developed by Watertown-based Sasaki Associates and a team of subconsultants in conjunction with representatives from the BC community. The project has a home on the web here. Of note is the phase-by-phase "Work to Date" page, as well as some fun aerial photographs of BC.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I will hopefully pick up again soon - until then, here are some more Boston College quotes that you love so well. Old quotes here.

At BC, there are a lot of students dedicated to service because of study abroad experiences or other service trips to other countries. BC fosters an environment of community awareness and altruism, which is reflected in the saying 'men and women for others.'

-George Rutherford, Peace Corps recruiter

And here in Boston, the No.17 Boston College Eagles might as well be a Division II team for all the attention they receive. In Saturday’s editions of the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, not one word was devoted to previewing Saturday’s Clemson-Boston College matchup, won by the Eagles. It’s a shame, really...

-Greg Wallace, Anderson Independent-Mail writer

I go to the Beanpot to cheer for BU football.

-Kathryn Dill, A&S '08

The Boston College fans pulled out of the arena so quickly last night, we thought they went to UMass.

-The Daily Free Press, on BC's Men's Beanpot loss to BU

I spoke with Baldwin, the mascot, yesterday, and there are no hard feelings.

-Charles Geyer, BU thug, who tackled BC's mascot between the second and third periods of Monday's Beanpot Championship Game.

Since BC's re-emergence as a hockey power in the mid nineties, they have consistently won more games, more Hockey East championships and been ranked number one more, yet they can not beat BU for the Beanpot, except twice in the last ten times they've played. Make me want to hug a Braves fan. What makes it especially galling is that hockey is all BU really has. It's the only level taunting playing field, unless you want to argue about the relative merits of the pep bands.

-SportsBlah.com

BU might have three stops on the B line train, but it was coined "The Boston College Line" for a reason.

-Lauren Crowne, Heights journalist

Today when I should have been studying, I made a list of some of the things I love about Boston College. Here they are:

• On Valentine’s Day condoms are scattered across walkways and taped to doors for the love birds on campus.
• The t-shirts advertising for the Vagina Monologues. Picture the I <3>
• When is it only 40 degrees people make sure to wear their shorts and flip flops.
• On the day of an exam, you get to see how many people are actually in your class!
• The Jesuit faith was founded by Ignatius and yet, for our theology class we were told to return the books we had on Ignatius because we won’t be studying him.

-LiveJournal user "wshflthnkr"

While most know about the top rankings of Boston College academic and athletic programs, BC also ranks high on recent lists of the nation's top study-abroad participants and volunteering universities.

As reported by The Heights, BC ranks 11th among its peers for producing Peace Corps volunteers. George Rutherford, a Peace Corps recruiter for the New England region, believes that Boston College's high ranking "is a testament to the type of students that go to BC and to the ideals on which the school is founded."

Since the Peace Corps' inception in 1961, over 600 BC graduates have signed on for the 27-month volunteer service commitment, working in fields such as education, health, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, information technology, business development, environment and agriculture. See the complete list of 2006 Peace Corps Top-Producers here.

Boston College also ranks #13 among a respected list of Top Study-Abroad programs. The 2005 Open Doors Report of undergraduate universities ranked BC high on their list of top doctoral/research institutions sending students to study abroad. The Open Doors report is published by the Institute of International Education, the leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States.

Visit the Boston College Center for International Partnerships and Programs (CIPP), and view the full Top 20 here.

The No. 5 Boston College men's hockey team faces rival No. 6 Boston University at the TD Banknorth Garden tonight for the 54th annual Beanpot Tournament Championship. Preview from NHL.com.

This Week

Boston College is coming off an 8-3 anhiliation of the lowly Providence College Friars this past Friday night at Conte Forum. Boston College's two former Hobey Baker Award winners (college hockey's Heisman) David Emma and Mike Mottau were honored and presented with rings for their achievements (Mottau's parents accepted on behalf of their son, who was playing for the AHL's Peoria Rivermen).

Stephen Gionta lit up the Friars for his first career hat trick; the previous night across town, his brother Brian, the former Eagle who once scored 5 - yes FIVE - goals in one period for the Eagles, netted 2 goals, including a spectacular diving GWG, to defeat the Boston Bruins.

Press Coverage

It's Beanpot time, so there was an abundance of press coverage of the team this week. Some of the highlights:

Chris Collins, who last week scored his nation-leading fifth shorthanded goal, has "blossom[ed] into a bona fide lamp lighter." Collins' recent performances have "served notice to the entire nation" that he is also a bona fide Hobey Baker candidate. These guys know it; vote to let these guys know it, too.

BC is dangerous on special teams, reports the Boston Herald.

BC also has very youthful defenders. In fact, overall, Boston College is the youngest Division I hockey team in the country, with an average age of 20 years and 140 days.

Goaltender Cory Schneider is featured by the Boston Globe.

Senior captain and star blueliner Peter Harrold, who "has gotten so good so fast that, from now on, pretty much every move he makes on the ice is going to be jotted down in notebooks held by NHL scouts," has received a lot of attention recently. See the Herald and USCHO.com.

Alum

Patrick Eaves plans to spend his NHL Olympic break "travelling to Boston to visit his brother, girlfriend and roommates from his days at Boston College. He would have been a senior this year, so he still has plenty of friends there. Eaves said he plans on skating with the Eagles. I'd still like to be in a team-like atmosphere,' he said."

Bobby Allen, a 2001 First Team All-America defenseman at Boston College who was picked in the second round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins, is becoming an AHL journeyman of sorts. Now with the New Jersey Devils' organization, Allen is eagerly awaiting a shot at the NHL.

Beanpot Bits and Other Odds & Ends

Need any extra reasons to get geared up for tonight's game against BU? Check out this "BC Sucks" article from the Daily Free Press. It may be the saddest article yet from the BU paper. My favorite part? "Jack Parker recognized ... during last year's Beanpot ... that Eagle fans were wearing t-shirts while BU fans were wearing jerseys." If men's ice hockey (not women's - BU only this year got a varsity club) was the only sport that BC was competitive in, things would be different. BC fans need a more versatile (and not to mention, stylish - I hate those candy-cane, CCCP jerseys) wardrobe...

From the Boston Globe:

Now we learn that BC's motto can be found emblazoned right outside BU's spanking new sports temple, the Agganis Arena.

There it is on the statue of baseball and football legend Harry Agganis, ''the Golden Greek": ''Always excel." BC translates the famous quote from the sixth book of Homer's ''Iliad" as ''Ever to Excel
" . . . but it's all Greek to me.

University of Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson says that his Wolverines would be interested in coming out to play an outdoor hockey game against BC at Fenway.

Women's Beanpot

Meanwhile, the Boston College women's ice hockey team will battle Harvard University tomorrow night as they attempt to capture their first ever Beanpot title. More from USCHO.com.

Rev. Henry Doherty '51 is profiled by TownOnline as St. Mary's of the Sacred Heart Church in Hanover, MA gets ready to celebrate his 50 years of service.

Freddie Mac has named Robert Bostrom (JD '80) EVP and General Counsel. Bostrom joins Freddie Mac from the Winston & Strawn LLP, where he had been managing partner of the New York office.

Deborah A. Golden '76 has been elected by the Board of Directors of GATX Corporation to serve as Vice President and General Counsel.

Kathryn Chadbourne '91, a lecturer in Irish language and medieval poetry at Harvard, sings traditional Irish sea songs and tells old Celtic stories. (via BC Headliners)

The research of Dennis Culhane (Ph.D.'90) is again recognized, this time by The New Yorker. Previous coverage from the BC Blog.

Dr. Jim Bulger's (BS '63) accomplished 43-year career in education in Greenwich, CT is profiled by The Greenwich Citizen.

Gerald T. Zerkin (JD '76), a senior assistant federal public defender and a death penalty expert from Richmond, VA who has represented death row prisoners in Virginia since 1980, is defending Zacarias Moussaoui at his sentencing trial.

Sirna Therapeutics, Inc. has announced the appointment of Gregory Weaver (MBA '92) as the Company's Senior Vice President and CFO.

And, finally... although she is not an alum quite yet, Noble and Greenough School (Dedham, MA) senior Ayla Brown '10, who has a four-year basketball scholarship awaiting her at BC this fall, has been "sent on to Hollywood" in FOX's American Idol program. View her audition here.

From today's Boston Globe:

What started out as a concept a year ago will turn into reality in December when the Boston College men's hockey team plays a regular-season game under the lights, as well as the stars, at Fenway Park.

''We're going to do it," said a BC official yesterday. ''It's just a matter of finding an opponent and a date that will work. But we're going to play a game in Fenway."

The details will be worked out over the next several weeks, and they could include the Boston University team as part of a doubleheader. The original idea called for such a doubleheader, with BU and BC against teams from the Midwest, possibly Michigan and Michigan State.

The article goes on to note that the partnership between BC and the Fenway Sports Group was the "catalyst" behind this venture. The ACC will also reportedly discuss holding the conference baseball tournament at Fenway Park at meetings this weekend in Florida.

Read old quotes here.

Boston College - This is what Notre Dame wants to be: BC has won six consecutive bowl games and finished tied for the Atlantic Division title in its first year in the ACC. Al Skinner is about to take the basketball Eagles to their fourth tournament in six years.

-Dennis Dodd, CBS Sportsline.com

BC lacks a welcoming and warm community of women. We can be competitive toward each other in school and for guys' attention. We're cliquey and don't embrace those outside the norms of BC culture. Can't we all just be a little more open to each other?

-Cassandra da Costa '08

Harvard may have its whiz kids, BU its Beanpot titles, and Northeastern it's ... whatever ... but when it comes to experiencing "college" as it was written across John Belushi's sweatshirt, BC is the only Boston school worth mentioning.

-Kevin Armstrong '06

[P]ound for pound, or dollar for dollar if you will, we might be the most successful athletic program in the nation. And I say that even as I look out my Edmonds Hall window at the cavernous Yawkey (football only) Center. We have the #1 ranked hockey team in the nation, our football team boasts NFL players left and right and has the longest current winning streak in bowl games. But perhaps most surprisingly our basketball program is on its way to its fourth 20 win season in the last five years.

-Blogger "Scalzo"

BC's Catholic identity is at the heart of what it stands for - it is what separates the University from schools like Harvard or Boston University. But this identity should play a positive role on campus, rather than a negative. How will BC recruit the nation's top high school students, bring in the best faculty, and fulfill its mission of providing the best education possible if it tries to dilute what is acceptable to be debated on campus?

-The Heights Editorial Board

At age 17, Hasselbeck rolled into orientation at Boston College with the goal of most freshmen males, to target the best-looking female he could find. He scanned the room, found his opening and scrambled into a seat next to her. Looking over her shoulder, he copied down her schedule so he could be in every class with her.

-Dave Boling, Tacoma News Tribune

Matt Hasselbeck did himself a lot of good in Detroit. He was smart and charismatic with the media all week, wound up playing a better game than winner Roethlisberger, and made no excuses when it was over. Did Xaverian and Boston College proud ... Here's hoping he gets another chance in the big game. Bet he wins next time.

-Dan Shaughnessy

And just for the record, I considered expanding this list to 10 and including snarky ones like "What about the inherent dangers of a former Boston College quarterback (Hasselbeck) being involved in the biggest gambling event of the year? It's like inviting Tom Sizemore to one of those 'Eyes Wide Shut' parties."

-Bill Simmons (Holy Cross '92, Boston University MA '93), introducing the five most underrated stories of Super Bowl XL

Master Plan

Work on the latest Boston College Master Plan is continuing, reports the BC Chronicle (see previous BC Blog coverage here and here).

The Boston College Campus Master Plan is being developed by Watertown-based Sasaki Associates and a team of subconsultants in conjunction with representatives from the BC community. The project has a home on the web here. Of note is the phase-by-phase "Work to Date" page, as well as some fun aerial photographs of BC.

Boston College Blogging

The Heights recently launched "interActive," which seeks to provide coverage to complement its print edition. Among its many features are several blogs: In the Crease, The Soapbox, and Dave's Neighborhood. Hint to The Heights: create feeds these blogs!

A new blog for the Web Technology group at Boston College was launched today. The site serves as the Webtech group’s main tool for communicating its business to the rest of the BC community.

A significant update to the Boston College Blogger Community, with around a dozen new BC blogs, is forthcoming.

Boston College Fund: Thank You

The Boston College Fund has posted its "Honor Roll" of all those who donated to the fund between June 2004 and May 2005. I did (Class of 2003), did you?

Record Applications Received

Boston College received over 26,000 applications for the Class of 2010, the highest in University history. The figure represents an increase of almost 12% over last year's total of 23,823, the previous high-water mark.

What makes BC such a hot choice for college-bound high schoolers across the country? Is it...

• The number of alumni on the list of the Most Powerful Bostonians?
• That BC recently had the highest yield of Fulbright award winners?
• The Flutie Factor (new research on the topic here)?
• The beautiful campus?
  

10 Things Every Student Must Do

The Boston College Observer is back this semester, reporting the top 10 things that every student at BC must do before graduation. The highlights: start an acapella group and go to a sporting event early. The former seems much more likely for the average student.

Holy Cross Football Rules

EA Poster "BCEagleChick" recalls this chant from the days of yore:

(Sing to Oh Christmas tree)
Oh Holy Cross, oh Holy Cross
All you eat is applesauce
You eat in morning, noon and night
You even eat it when you fight.
Oh Holy Cross on bended knee
Kiss the ass of ol' BC :)

Boston, You're My Home

I found this while surfing around, it was news to me:

You would think that Dirty Water was one of the more frequently recorded songs of the garage rock era, but we could find only three versions. This is surprising, because it's a great, upbeat song about debauchery. It was written by producer Ed Cobb for the Standells. It concerns the laments of a young man who hangs out at the Charles River waterfront with "muggers and lovers and thieves." Supposedly, it was inspired by a Boston College midnight curfew for women.

Can anybody substantiate this?

The Legends of Boston College

I also stumbled across this old webpage (only Google's cached version is available)...

Fans, students and alumni of the four major Boston college hockey powers will pack the TD Banknorth Garden tonight as their teams vie for bragging rights in the 54th annual Beanpot Tournament.

No. 3 Boston College (17-6-2) faces Northeastern (1-18-6) in the first game at 5 p.m. BC leads NU in Beanpot meetings (29-8). The Eagles, who last won a ’Pot title in 2004, are chasing their 14th title while NU, which last won the Beanpot in 1988, is on a quest for its fifth. BU faces Harvard later in the evening. Both first-round games will be broadcast on NESN.

The Lowell Sun reports that the Eagles are not looking past the hapless NU Huskies, who are winless in their last 12 games. More from The Heights.

Change the 'Pot?

Richard Tenorio of The Daily Item (Lynn, MA) argues that the Beanpot has lost its magic as of late due to its utter unpredictability. Tenorio notes that the Beanpot title is almost always a battle between Boston College and Boston University; for the past 12 years, either BC or BU has won the Beanpot. He suggests enlarging membership in the tournament as a possible solution.

BC's Lines

BC coach Jerry York made some minor adjustments to the Boston College lines, in the wake of the team's recent struggles. York switched a pair of wingers, putting freshman Brock Bradford back alongside freshman Nathan Gerbe, and moving sophomore center Dan Bertram and freshman Andrew Orpik back with junior left wing Joe Rooney and freshman center Benn Ferriero.

York left the unstoppable "CBS line" of Chris Collins, Brian Boyle, and Stephen Gionta untouched. This line enters tonight's game against "the hottest trio" in the league; in the Eagles' last six games, the line has combined for 34 points.

Women's Beanpot

History will be made at Harvard's Bright Hockey Center this week as the 28th annual Women's Beanpot will be the first with all four Boston schools sending varsity teams (BU had previously sent a club teams to the championship). BC faces off against Northeastern on Tuesday at 5 p.m. BC has already swept the three-game Hockey East season series, but all three games were decided by just one goal.

The Boston College men's basketball team fell to the #2-ranked Duke Blue Devils 83-81 at a sold-out Conte Forum last night. Read about the game at bceagles.com, and check out the quotes of the game below.

Also, it is imperative that you visit The BC's homepage and view their latest commercial, which stars Tim Russert, Jared Dudley, John Oates, Louis Hinnant, Sean Marshall. It chronicles the escapades of Mr. Russert and his son, Luke, as they try to procure tickets to the Duke game. Hilarity ensues. You can download the video here (hosted by The BC).

Read about the media coverage of the game from the business section of The Boston Herald. Also, ESPN's Andy Katz has a story on the game here.

The Game, By The Numbers

8,606 - Fans in attendance at a sold out Conte Forum
37/13 - Foul shots taken by Duke/BC
28 - Season-high point total by BC's Jared Dudley
7 - Shots blocked by Duke's Sheldon Williams
$800 - Ticket price outside the gates, reported by ESPN pre-game coverage
18 - Duke's largest lead
12 - Tents filled with BC students lined-up for courtside seats before the game
1 - Shameful post-game articles written by Bob Ryan

The Game, By The Quotes

"[Conte Forum] is right up there with the Marylands, NC States, and Carolinas. It was great tonight. It was a great college basketball atmosphere. What I liked most was that they were cheering for their team. They weren't about 'let's heckle this guy.' It was 'let's cheer for BC.'
-Duke assistant coach Chris Collins

I commend the fans for coming out like that. A lot of people don't give our fans the credit that they deserve, but tonight I think they did a good job sticking with it even when we were down.
-Louis Hinnant

This is definitely wild. I saw all the kids outside with the tents. I don't think we had this when I was here."
-BC legend Troy Bell

Boston College even got Flutie to wear one of those bright yellow "Solid Gold" T-shirts printed up for the occasion. Did anyone else with a passing familiarity of the NBA catch themselves wondering briefly whether those shirts were a marketing campaign for Patrick Ewing's favorite Atlanta gentlemen's club?
-Lorenzo Perez, The News Observer (NC)

I’m proud of our guys because it was an honor to play against this team.
-Coach K

That Duke won by 2 points shouldn't fool anyone. With even a smidgen of better reffing, BC would have won the game. But why should anyone think that Duke will ever stop getting the calls?
-The Daily Quickie

But the biggest star was the crowd, a raucous sell-out, gold-clad crowd that vigorously christened the Conte Forum as another ACC madhouse.
-Ned Barnett, The News Observer

Boston College got everything it expected from its first Atlantic Coast Conference matchup with Duke. A boisterous crowd. An exciting game. And a loss.
-The Associated Press

Coming off a four game win-streak, a two-point loss to Duke isn't exactly the death knell for Boston College. In addition, BC may have finally shed its reputation for having apathetic fans with the scene tonight.
-Chris Inkpen, blogcritics.org

But even as it rose to No. 6 in The Associated Press Top 25, BC still had trouble drawing attention away from the New England Patriots' playoff run and the Red Sox front office mayhem. On Wednesday night, it was the pros' turn to watch.
-The Associated Press

Our house! Our house!
-Tim Russert, yelled at BC's Sean Marshall during a timeout

Men's Basketball

The Eagles take on the #2 Duke Blue Devils tonight at Conte Forum. BC is riding a five-game win streak and is now ranked #14 in the nation according to USA Today/ESPN (#15 AP, #24 RPI). Tip off is at 9pm, and the game will be covered nationally on ESPN.

Senior star Craig Smith vowed that the team would "protect our house" and summed up the excitement around tonight's game with "If you've got earplugs, bring them. If not, you're in for a long night."

Word is that all fans, students included, will have a "Solid Gold" t-shirt placed on their seat upon arrival to the game.

Men's Ice Hockey

Junior Brian Boyle scored a career-high four goals in the Eagles' 4-3 win over UMass-Lowell this past Saturday. Boyle's four-goal effort marks the first time a BC player has tallied four goals in one game since - yes, you guessed it - Brian Gionta netted an amazing five goals (in one period!) against Maine on Jan. 27, 2001. USA Hockey had this to say about Boyle's four-goal feat:

There’s no truth to the rumor that Boston College’s Brian Boyle (Hingham, Mass.) drove the bus from Chestnut Hill to nearby Lowell, or that he drove the Zamboni between periods of Saturday’s Hockey East game between the Eagles and UMass Lowell at Tsongas Arena. But Boyle did just about everything else Saturday night, as he scored a career-high four goals -- including the game-winner with 48.8 seconds left in overtime.

Sophomore Dan Bertram was recently featured on Hockey's Future.

Collins for Hobey

Senior scoring leader Chris Collins has broken into the Top 5 of CSTV's Hobey Baker Watch.

Collins has also won the CCM / RBK Hockey East Player of the Month for January (he also won the award for December). Running away with the 2005-06 scoring title, Collins added 15 points to his totals in the month of January and now has 20 goals and 20 assists in 24 games played overall.

Where's Our Beanpot?

The Eagles will look to win back the coveted beanpot from cross-town rival and mail-order degree school BU. The tournament begins at 5 p.m. on Monday, February 6th. BC will take on Northeastern in the opening round.

Hockey Alum

Former Hobey Baker winner and BC captain Mike Mottau, who is now with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen, will make his third AHL All-Star Classic appearance this week, having participated in Wilkes-Barre in 2001 and St. John’s in 2002. A native of Boston, Mottau was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2001. Mottau has dished out an assist in each of the last two games with the Rivermen, and skates alongside former Eagle defender Brendan Buckley.

Portland Pirates rookie Ryan Shannon will also be playing in the All Star game. Shannon dominated the speed events in the All-Star Skills Competition, earning a point for PlanetUSA by winning the individual InGlasCo Puck Control Relay, then posting a winning time of 14.084 seconds in the Rbk Fastest Skater event. His "spin-a-rama" goal against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Dany Sabourin was also one of the highlights of the night.

Marci Francis '98 is a member of the U.S. National Team for the sport of skeleton. Francis lives in Rutland, VT with her husband Eric Flaim, a four-time Olympic speed skater (and two-time silver medalist).

Snowboarder Tyler Jewell '99 has made the U.S. Olympic team. The Sudbury, MA native will make the trip to Turin, Italy, for next month’s Games. After graduating from BC, Jewell went out west to pursue his snowboarding dream; without a major corporate sponsorship, Jewell lived in his car, stayed in a tent, and worked whatever jobs he could to finance his training.

Women's soccer player Jenny Maurer (LSOE '07) recently attended training camp for the Under-21 Women's National Team - "a week that put the current Boston College star on a path that could very reasonably lead to her someday playing for her country in the Women's World Cup or the Olympics."

Carrie Howe '03 appears to be headed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team to compete in the 2008 Games. Howe has a very good shot at winning a gold medal in the Yngling class, reports the Detroit Free Press. She was on the sailing team and earned All-American honors at "sailing powerhouse" Boston College, and her sister, Julie, is currently sailing for BC.

As previously reported, Brian Gionta '01 will be skating with Team USA as he tries to bring home gold with the Men's Ice Hockey team.

Boston College's Carroll School of Management fared well on the 2006 Global MBA Rankings, which were released yesterday by The Financial Times. CSOM ranked 34th among American institutions, and 57th internationally.

The FT Global MBA rankings evaluates full-time Masters in Business Administration programs from the world's top business schools and offers a comprehensive evaluation of the qualification and an insight into each of these schools. View an interactive version of the rankings here.

The Financial Times also recently ranked Carroll School 7th on the Top Ten list for “Best in Accountancy.”

More BC quotes... Old ones here.

Boston College is gorgeous; plenty of neo-Gothic architecture, old stone buildings, a beautiful Cathedral, and it's built on the western outskirts of Boston. It's wonderfully long and relaxing ride on the T (Boston's Subway) out there, and its nice geographically, being built on some low hills.

-Blogger "Troy"

We walked around Boston College, which was nice. And huge. Jesuits sure do know where to put their money. If I end up there, I could at least count on losing my "freshman fifteen" just by walking from one end of the hillside campus to the other. I'm not sure if it's really that huge or if it's just the hills that make it seem huge. Either way, it feels huge ... It looks nice though. And the people are nice. I already have a surrogate mother lined up at the admissions office. Her name is Linda.

-LJ "doublespeaking"

I legitimately just got this in the mail today ... I didn't know they knew I was out here playing, but apparently they do.

-Super Bowl-bound Seahawks QB, and former Eagle, Matt Hasselbeck, said while sporting BC hat

You'll always be McElroy to me, Carney's.

-Blogger "Chrissa"

A cross balances atop the spire of Lyons Hall on Boston College's campus. But a hint of a Jewish presence — a small Israeli flag — is visible through one window of the Gothic-influenced building. That's the office of Maxim Shrayer, chair of the Slavic and Eastern languages department — which is also the home of Boston College's new Jewish studies program.

-Jeri Zeder, Forward journalist

This is Boston freaking College, not UC-Berkely! You can't hand out condoms on campus, you can't have co-ed dorms like they did on Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and you sure as hell can't have a dance themed "A Night in Gay Paris!"

-Will Hobson, A&S '06

The world (and Boston College along with it) needs less intolerance and more dancing. I'm not a theologian, and I haven't read the New Testament recently, but I have a feeling that Christ would have agreed.

-Peter Kugel, Associate Professor, Computer Science Department

We Want Duke!

-BC fans

Boston College professor Franco Mormando was recently given the honorary title of knight for his ''achievements in the promotion of Italian language and culture" by Pierluigi Squillante, the consul general of Italy in Boston.

Marketing Associate Professor Kathleen Seiders has been named the winner of the Thomas C. Kinnear/Journal of Public Policy & Marketing Award, which honors the article that "makes the most significant contribution to the understanding of marketing and public policy issues" within the past three years. Seiders earned the award for "Obesity and the Role of Food Marketing: A Policy Analysis of Issues and Remedies," which she co-wrote with Babson Law Professor Richard Petty. (via BCInfo)

The top executive of Procter & Gamble Co., A.G. Lafley, spoke at the Boston College Chief Executives' Club Wednesday. Lafley announced a local charitable donation as well as technology and commercial partnerships in the wake of P&G's recent acquisition of Boston-based Gillette Co.

As reported by the Boston Globe:

Boston College sophomore Luke Russert, the son of ''Meet the Press" host Tim Russert, will join politico James Carville as host of a new sports-themed talk show on XM Satellite Radio. Carville, who's a regular on Luke's dad's Sunday morning political talk show, said in a statement: ''This [new] show will be another opportunity for me to engage in the back-and-forth debates on sports that, until now, Luke and I have limited to the stadium." He added, ''I talk about sports the same way I talk about politics, so it's safe to assume that Luke will be wrong most of the time. . . ."

Take That, Tar Heels

The #18 Boston College men's basketball team defeated the #25 University of North Carolina in the Dean Dome 81-74 tonight, improving to 15-4 overall and 3-3 in ACC play.

Head coach Al Skinner earned his 300th career coaching victory with the win.

The Eagles have now won four straight, and will look to continue the streak as they host Georgia Tech this Sunday in Chestnut Hill.

Here's Your Ball Game, Folks

The Boston College football team has announced its 2006 schedule, available here. The schedule features 7 home games, including the now-traditional Thursday night matchup agianst Virginia Tech. BC will visit the Orange Bowl to play the University of Miami Hurricanes on Thanksgiving night, November 23, 2006, which is 22 years to the day from Doug Flutie's Miracle in Miami.

Boston College Wins the Rose Bowl

Your eyes are not deceiving you. The #6-ranked Boston College co-ed sailing team won the "Rose Bowl" in Long Beach, CA, the first intersectional of 2006.

Boston College Hockey

Former Boston College star Chuck Kobasew had his first career hat trick for the Calgary Flames.

Current Eagle and Boston Bruins prospect Brock Bradford was featured by the New England Hockey Journal.

The women's ice hockey team extended their win streak to 7 straight by completing a sweep over mail-order degree school Boston University. The Eagles won the first contest Saturday afternoon at Conte Forum 5-2 and then took care of the Terriers 2-1 up the road at Walter Brown Arena.

The DeFilippo Family Scholarship

Boston College Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo and his wife Anne have made a $100,000 gift to the University, which will go towards establishing a scholarship for a deserving female student-athlete.