It’s a new era for the Boston College Eagles football program. 

Although the official start to the season starts in 39 days with a Labor Day Night contest against Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., the unofficial start to the season starts on Wednesday afternoon with the Eagles appearance at the 2024 ACC Football Kickoff, also known as “Media Days.”

After going 7-6 last season, winning the 2023 Wasabi Fenway Bowl, and hiring Mass., native Bill O’Brien to be the team’s next head coach after the departure of former coach Jeff Hafley, the expectations for the program are high heading into the upcoming season. 

The team is one of multiple teams talking today, joining Miami, Louisville, Duke, and Wake Forest. This will be the first time that fans and media members get to hear from O’Brien in a professional setting since the spring. 

O’Brien will start the team’s day off with an interview on ACC Network at 10:45 a.m., followed by his press conference at 12:45 p.m. Quarterback Thomas Castellanos, defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku, and offensive lineman Drew Kendall will speak at the podium as well. Castellanos will speak with ACC Network at 2:15 p.m. and both Ezeiruaku and Kendall will talk to the network together at 3:30 p.m. (all times are in Eastern). 

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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers fanbase and Pro Football Focus (PFF) are squarely in opposite camps. Most NFL fans are critical of PFF for their selective use of statistics and “advanced” measurements of players, but Steelers Nation has another bone to pick. Most Pittsburgh fans feel PFF is bias against the Steelers, especially when it comes to ranking the premier defensive players in the game.

Over the past few seasons, Steelers’ star linebacker T.J. Watt has consistently been ranked below Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett. It’s one of the most exciting individual rivalries. Playing in the same division, Garrett and Watt have been the two of the most dominant defenders in the league since they both entered the NFL.

But according to PFF, Myles Garrett continues to be the better player. They released their rankings of the best players in the NFL entering the 2024 season and ranked Watt 14th compared to Garrett who was second. Watt also was below Dallas Cowboys star rusher Micah Parsons.

Unsurprisingly, the list received criticism, especially from Steelers’ fans. Writer Sam Monson, who authored the best players list, heard the backlash and recently defended his choices on PFF’s youtube channel.

“It’s going to be interesting when the NFL releases their top 100,” he said. “They tweeted out a bunch of ballots of players having voted. I didn’t see a single one that had T.J. Watt above Myles Garrett, and that’s one of the things about last season that Steelers fans that are upset that we have this vendetta against T.J. Watt have not found an answer to yet.”

The only problem is that Steelers fans do have answer: on the field performance. The only year Garrett has outpaced Watt in sacks was during 2022, when Watt was limited to just 10 games due to injury. Similarly, 2020 was the last time Garrett forced more fumbles than Watt. Watt has more passes deflected, interceptions, and quarterback pressures on a year-to-year comparison and overall than Garrett. Really, when you look at the two side by side on paper, T.J. Watt is the far better and more productive defender.

The two rushers are also tied in the hardware battle. Neither has secured a Super Bowl championship, but both have Defensive Player of the Year award under their belts. Garrett won his first this past season and Watt won his following a 22.5 sack season in 2021. Even Monson had to admit that Watt’s game is consistent and terrifying.

“There may not be a better playmaker on the defensive side of the ball,” he said.

Yet, PFF and much of the league continue to place Watt below Garrett and disrespect his game. Heading into 2024, they have him ranked as the fourth best defensive player in the NFL. Not that Watt needs the extra motivation, but PFF continues to give him and the Steelers reason to continue proving them and the rest of the league wrong.

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MONROE, Connecticut (WABC) — A 2-year-old boy was shot and injured at a home in Connecticut.

It happened on Tuesday at 9:21 p.m. on Wheeler Road in Monroe.

Police say that the boy’s mother discovered the boy shot in his hand and foot and tried to rush him to a local hospital before calling 911.

Police responded to the intersection of Route 110 and Osborn Lane where they found the shot toddler.

He was rushed to Bridgeport Hospital and was later transferred to Yale New Haven Hospital for surgery.

He’s expected to survive.

Detectives are investigating the circumstances under which the boy’s injuries occurred.

First Selectman Terrence P. Rooney released a statement saying:

“Our hearts go out to the family and our community as the police continue their investigation of last night’s shooting incident involving a young child. I humbly ask that as concerned compassionate community members, we respect the privacy of the family and the articulate efforts of our law enforcement professionals at this time.”

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