Boston College

Boston College fired Jeff Jagodzinski on Wednesday, days after he was warned of dismissal if he interviewed for the coaching job with the New York Jets. Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo told Jagodzinski on Saturday that his job would be in jeopardy if he went through with the Jets interview. Jagodzinski met with the Jets on Tuesday night. A few hours later, at a Wednesday meeting lasting about 25 minutes, DeFilippo told Jagodzinski he was out.

No. 9 Carolina Panthers: ILB Luke Kuechly, Boston College - - Kuechly (pronounced  KEEK-lee) led the nation in tackles in each of the past two seasons, with a career-high 191 last year alone. He finished his Boston College career as the leading tackler in both school and Atlantic Coast Conference history (532 tackles). Comment: The Panthers lost Jon Beason and Thomas Davis for the season in Week 1 last season. Kuechly is phenomenal in pass coverage and never has to come off the field.

There's something strange happening in Lakerland. A team from Boston appears to be luring top high school basketball players from Southern California back east. Boston College and its new coach, Steve Donahue , who used to be at Cornell, on Monday got commitments from 6-foot-8 Ryan Anderson of Long Beach Poly and guard Lonnie Jackson of Valencia. Earlier, Boston College landed another promising player from the region, 6-11 center K.C. Caudill from Brea Olinda, who announced his choice in August.

Now that the Final Four is over, it's time for the Frozen Four. The NCAA Division I men's hockey semifinals and finals will take place this week at  the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The site might be nontraditional but that's fitting because there are some nontraditional semifinalists involved. In Thursday's first semifinal, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, Union College of Schenectady, N.Y., will face Ferris State of Big Rapids, Mich., in a matchup of first-time semifinalists.

Dave Shinskie spent more than six seasons toiling in the minor leagues, dreaming of one day pitching in a major league stadium. Shinskie will be on the field Saturday at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, but he won't be on a mound. Instead, the 25-year-old freshman quarterback will lead Boston College against USC in the Emerald Bowl. "Not a lot of guys get this opportunity," Shinskie said in a phone interview. "Especially, after not playing football for six years."

Boston College shocked another of the Atlantic Coast Conference's top teams. Reggie Jackson scored on a drive with 47 seconds left and the Eagles scored the final six points in an 80-74 victory over No. 6 Duke on Sunday, their first win over the Blue Devils in 24 years. Tyrese Rice had 21 points, including a key three-pointer, and Joe Trapani scored 20 for the Eagles, 19-8 overall and 7-5 in the ACC. Jackson finished with 15 points.

News flash: USC is going to put a big guard on Boston College's 6-foot-1 star, Tyrese Rice. Rice shrugged his shoulders during Thursday's news conference at the Metrodome and all but said big deal. After playing all year against Tobacco Road in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Rice probably isn't going to be intimidated by Figueroa Street. Concerned? "Not really," Rice said. "We have big guards in our league . . ." Even in practice, where Rice regularly was defended by 6-5 teammate Rakim Sanders.

By now, USC Coach Tim Floyd and his staff would like to think they know more about Boston College's basketball team than anyone this side of the Charles River. For starters, they know the Trojans need to clamp down on defense or they will be up the creek. And they realize that point guard Tyrese Rice is the guy who paddles the Eagles' boat.

Boston College played like a team on a mission. Brian St. Pierre led the Eagles to touchdowns on their first six possessions and Boston College routed Toledo, 51-25, in the Motor City Bowl on Thursday. St. Pierre completed 25 of 35 passes for a career-high 342 yards and three touchdowns as Boston College (9-4) capped one of the most successful four-year runs in school history. The Eagles' senior class, which includes St.

Jack Bicknell, who coached Boston College to four bowl games in his first six seasons but had losing records in his last four, was fired Tuesday. Bicknell departs after a 4-7 season in which the Eagles lost their last four games. His 10-year record was 59-55-1. "I have no bitterness," Bicknell said after a meeting with Boston College President J. Donald Monan. "I think they made a mistake. I think they got rid of a good coach."

SERIES Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss: Plus-size brides hope to find just the right dress for their big day in this new series (9:30 p.m. TLC). Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse: Spun off from the movie "Why Did I Get Married?" and its sequel, this new sitcom follows the daily lives of a football player turned sports commentator (Michael Jai White) and his outspoken wife (Tasha Smith) and their friends (10 p.m. TBS). A second new episode follows at 10:30. SPECIALS Jingle All the Way: In this new special, a spirited husky puppy looking for a home at a Christmas tree farm bonds with a boy visiting with his parents, and then escapes to find his new friend (7 p.m. Hallmark)

Break out the chips and cold drinks but let Chris Dufresne handle the remote. Each Friday, the Times' national college football writer handicaps what's worth watching, and skipping, on Saturday's menu of games: MORNING No. 21 Auburn (2-0) at Clemson (2-0) 9 a.m., Channel 7 The Tony the Tiger Frosted Flakes Bowl. We pick the Tigers to win. Injury report: Auburn's eagle mascot is listed as "perch-to-perch" after crashing into a luxury-box window last week.

Given what appears to be a tightly competitive year in college admissions, Katie Frake of Long Beach hedged her bets by applying to 11 schools. "I figured it would be the safest thing, the best thing. So I applied to a bunch because I wanted to be sure I would get into someplace I like," said the 17- year-old Wilson High School senior, whose application list includes UCLA, Stanford, Santa Clara University and the University of Chicago. Frake is far from alone with those concerns as she and other students hover around their mailboxes and computers this month to await admission decisions.

FIGHT HUNGER BOWL BOSTON COLLEGE (7-5) VS. NEVADA (12-1) When: Sunday. Where: San Francisco. Time: 6 p.m. TV: ESPN. About Boston College : After a 2-5 start, the Eagles closed the season with five consecutive victories to earn a spot in a bowl game for the 12th consecutive season. Boston College's offense never really came around this season, although Montel Harris led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 1,242 yards rushing, but the Eagles' run defense ranks No. 1 nationally and gives up an average of 80.2 yards rushing per game.

They're loyal Lakers fans headed into Celtics territory and having no second thoughts. Kyle Caudill from Brea Olinda, Lonnie Jackson from Valencia and Ryan Anderson from Long Beach Poly are set to sign letters of intent with Boston College on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA early signing period for winter and spring sports. Each is a Southern California native who decided leaving for the East Coast was best for his basketball and educational future. "It's kind of another challenge in life, getting outside your comfort zone," said Caudill, who is 6 feet 11. "On the East Coast, you either learn to play or you don't play.

There's something strange happening in Lakerland. A team from Boston appears to be luring top high school basketball players from Southern California back east. Boston College and its new coach, Steve Donahue , who used to be at Cornell, on Monday got commitments from 6-foot-8 Ryan Anderson of Long Beach Poly and guard Lonnie Jackson of Valencia. Earlier, Boston College landed another promising player from the region, 6-11 center K.C. Caudill from Brea Olinda, who announced his choice in August.

William Green's next big run could be to the NFL. The nation's second-leading rusher led Boston College to a 20-16 victory over No. 16-ranked Georgia in the Music City Bowl on Friday, setting up one touchdown with a 75-yard run and powering seven yards for the go-ahead score with 4:43 left. After gaining 149 yards in 35 carries in his final game as a junior, Green reiterated that he'll decide whether to make himself available for the NFL draft after meeting with his coaches next month.

Forty years ago, in 1970, the young George V. Higgins was working as a federal prosecutor in Boston. By then he'd graduated from Boston College, done a creative writing course at Stanford and worked as a newspaperman before going back to school to study law. He'd written a string of unpublished books and his latest, "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" (Picador: 182 pp., $14 paper), had already been rejected many times. But Alfred A. Knopf decided to take a chance, offering Higgins the not-so-princely sum of $2,000 for the novel.