Should BC Play On Sundays? And The Big Finish

Brian: Given the labor tensions between the NFL Players Association and the owners, and the possibility of a lockout this fall, we could see college football played on Sundays. PAC-10 Commissioner Larry Scott is open to the possibility of playing on Sundays, telling Rivals.com:

"We certainly are monitoring the situation. We have no plans in place at this time, but you want to be prepared and consider all options. Still, these labor situations have a way of getting done the closer they get to a critical situation."

Arizona's Athletic Director Greg Byrne says playing on Sundays has some perks.

"Thursdsay night football hasn't been around forever, and we adjusted to that. Sunday is a day a lot of people look to watch football. You would get good exposure. But Sunday games would be something we would have to think long and hard about before we jumped into."

What do you think about this idea for the ACC? With a 'meh' 6-game home schedule in 2011, is this something that BC should consider signing up for if conferences like the PAC-10 and/or ACC take a long, hard look at playing on Sundays? Would playing on Sunday instead of Saturday for BC's five weekend home games help or hurt home football attendance in 2011? Your thoughts?

Jeff: If the NFL does not work things out by this fall, BC will be a huge beneficiary. College football ratings around the nation will soar because all focus will be shifted to the major conference in college. College football will dominate SportsCenter seven days a week in the fall rather than competing with the NFL as it does now.

I say that Boston College will benefit more than other college programs for several reasons. First, BC is not even going to come close to selling out all its games this season so getting some Pats fans to come for games will be pure marginal gain, rather than at other programs were increased ticket demand will just drive up scalping prices. Also, if Pats season ticket holders are unable to attend games at Foxboro, what options do they have other than to go to BC and UConn games? Both programs have fairly small stadiums and will be the only shows in New England without the Pats.

A little additional demand will have a huge effect on ticket sales and filling the stadiums to capacity. Rutgers might benefit more than any other school in the nation because they'll get both Jets, Giants and Eagles fans coming to get their football fix.

Conversely, the Carolina Panthers not playing this season might not affect college football attendance in the area much. North Carolina, N.C. State, South Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest are all within a two hour drive of Charlotte and the Panthers struggled to sell tickets last year anyway. Another factor that will help BC is that local media should spend a little more time covering BC football if the Pats are not playing. We all know Boston is a pro town but hopefully the Eagles can get in the spotlight for a little while between Red Sox and Celtics coverage filling in the Pats' usual space.

As far as whether or not BC plays on Sunday or not, I think they could certainly benefit in terms of TV ratings but not in attendance. Hopefully the ACC takes advantage of Sunday games if that is an option. TV ratings will probably be similar to Thursday night games with limited college football on that day. For example, a BC-N.C. State game will get lost on most Saturday slates but as a Thursday night game or on a Sunday with limited action, I would expect a lot of college football fans to tune in.

Big Finish

Brian: USA Today ranks Anthony Castonzo as the #1 tackle in this year's NFL Draft. Will he be the first offensive lineman taken in this year's Draft?

Jeff: I want him to so sure.

Jeff: What are the chances there's a Boston College first round pick in both this year's NBA and NFL Drafts?

Brian: Very good. Have you seen this year's NBA Draft class? Weak! 75 percent.

Brian: ATL looks at Gene's relationship with this whole Fiesta Bowl scandal. BC's role in this thing is much ado about nothing, right?

Jeff: Gene's relationship with the Fiesta Bowl is no closer than his relationship with any other bowl in the nation. He has none. He was used if anything from the sound of it.

Jeff: We haven't said anything bad about Heather Dinich in a while. Here she refers to 10 of the 12 QBs in the ACC but Chase Rettig is not among them despite being a returning starter. Some things never change?

Brian: I actually stopped reading her blog in the offseason. It's been glorious.

Brian: The Green Bay Packers have no concerns about DT B.J. Raji's character. Are his troubled days behind him?

Jeff: I don't think they have anything to worry about.

Jeff: The baseball team is really struggling while the basketball and hockey season ended with losses in games where BC was favored. The 2011-2012 academic year and corresponding sports year can start soon enough, right?

Brian: No doubt.

Brian: Last one. Final Four semifinals this weekend. UConn-Kentucky and VCU-Butler. Who ya got advancing to Monday's title game?

Jeff: I like Kentucky-VCU. Those two teams survived tougher competition in the tournament than Butler and UConn did.