prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: When will BC leave Boston?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 1: Eagle in Atlanta -- atleagle com: July 2012
Why Spaz's recruiting doesn't matter anymore
After BC picked up another below the radar recruit, Spaz's most vocal critics were out again disparaging his recruiting class  I don't trust the recruiting rankings, but it does concern me that our commitments aren't drawing more interest from BCS teams  There is a similar concern on the Penn State front  There's plenty of speculation, but BC is not a factor among the rumored PSU transfers  But really none of it matters  Spaz is going to wrap up most of the recruiting this summer and then focus on the games come fall  While not inspiring, the plan is practical  There are two outcomes:
1  Spaz has a losing season and gets fired  If this happens, our 2013 recruiting class will be a hodgepodge of current commits, a transfer or two and whatever our new coach can uncover  For a new guy Spaz's lower profile recruits might be an advantage  If they aren't valued, they are less likely to be poached by other programs  A new Head Coach can then exert a little effort in getting the Spaz commits to stay committed and spend more time on filling out the class 
2  Spaz has a winning season and keeps his job  In this scenario Spaz stays off the hot seat and has to finish filling out the 2013 recruiting class  With a little more job security he can use his last few scholarships on bigger names  He may even luck into a decent prospect who suddenly becomes available due to another school's coaching change (like he did with Rutgers last year)  In this case Spaz doesn't waste time recruiting during the season and then picks up some low-hanging fruit 
Spaz is never going to recruit an elite class  There are many contributing factors as to why, but mostly it is because Spaz is not a salesmen  And we shouldn't care  He's not going to change  It is just a matter of who will finish out this class four months from now 
Labels: fire Spaz, Recruiting, Recruiting Rankings, Speculating with Spaz
Key Players for 2012: Chase Rettig
Junior Quarterback, Chase Rettig
What he's been: We all hoped Rettig would be a phenom  That he would some how save the Spaz era from its offensive funk and lead BC to unexpected glory  Instead, he's been mediocre  He completed just over half of his passes last year and never put together back-to-back great games nor enough sustained drives  Apologists for Rettig like me blame the system, the talent around him and of course the way his Spaz has screwed up the offense  But even the biggest Rettig cheerleaders have to admit he's yet to have a memorable BC moment or done anything to get on an NFL radar 
What he needs to be: Someone who can put the team on his back  I know the offensive line has been terrible, leaving Chase running for his life  I know plenty of passes have been dropped and no one is making big plays  But a truly great QB would show more by now  He's started 21 games  He's finally is a simplified offense that will get the ball out of his hands  If Chase does have an accurate arm, if he is as cerebral as people say, if he can get off throws in a collapsing pocket, now is his chance to show it 
Why I like his chances to shine: I don't know if Doug Martin is going to be a miracle worker, but QB's can make huge leaps with a new offense  Just look at Dominique Davis  He went to East Carolina and became one of the most accurate passers in the country 
Last year I thought Rettig would be great  I thought his toughness and preparation would overcome the offensive limitations  Here I am a year late thinking the same thing  But the difference is Doug Martin  We finally have an experienced OC running a current, simple offense  Rettig will be asked to make quick decisions and get the ball out fast  I think he can do it  I also think that throwing 400+ passes will give him a rhythm and a confidence that he's never had at BC 
Labels: 2012 Preview, Chase Rettig, Doug Martin, Key Players, Season Previews
Rich Thompson will cover BC football this Fall for the Herald
There is some news on the BC media front  The Herald assigned Rich Thompson to the BC beat for this Fall's football season  Rich has covered BC on occasion over the years, but mostly on the basketball side  Thompson is a welcome addition, as the Herald's focus has been spotty since Steve Conroy started splitting his time on hockey  Hopefully a new voice on the BC scene will also spark Blauds to improve his work 
For many years, BC fans' main source of news was Mike (Vega at the Globe) and Mike (Shalin at the Herald)  We complained about their identical features and soft touch on the BC coaches  Little did we know how good things were  Since Vega's move in 2007, we've been left with a beat writer who seems to loathe his job and also makes excuses for our Head Coach  Blauds also rarely writes or tweets during the college offseason  That sort of editorial decision may have been fine 20 years ago, but now college sports is a year round news cycle  When you look at all the work produced by college beat writers around the country, it makes the Boston media look lazy or oblivious 
Thompson also plans to tweet regularly once the season starts  I hope he makes the most of this opportunity  It is a shame to see the beat neglected like it is across town 
Labels: blauds, Boston Herald, Boston media, Media Criticism, Rich Thompson
Revisiting a Boston (BC) Olympics using London as an example
During the 2010 Winter Olympics I tossed around the idea of Boston hosting a summer or winter games  My point then remains that the same: Boston is ideal because the local universities could already supply many of the venues  The big obstacle would always be the main stadium for Track & Field and the opening and closing ceremonies  Nearly every city that hosts is left with a White Elephant that costs hundreds of millions of dollars  But London may provide a solution  They built their Olympic Stadium as a temporary venue  It looked great on TV, holds enough for the games and can be shrunk as soon as it all wraps up  Londoners haven't decided what they will do with the space  There are a few different bidders looking to take over the remains of the stadium  Boston would probably have similar suitors depending on the location  I would guess that UMasss Boston would want a small stadium or maybe the Revolution would want to convert it to a soccer only facility  The possibilities are endless 
I would still love to see Boston host the games and wish our partner Fenway Sports Group would get behind it  I am practical too  This wouldn't just be a vanity project for BC  It would be a backdoor way to get the IOC to fix the air conditioning in Conte!
Labels: Alumni Stadium renovations, Boston Olympics, Conte Forum renovations, Fenway Sports Group, renovations
New soccer Eagles and other links
BCeagles com released the bios of the six new freshmen and two transfers for the men's soccer team  Four of the newbies hail from New York 
It feels like every ACC team returns a starting QB  While the depth gives the conference advantages that other conferences don't have, I think some of the talent is overrated  In fact, I can't believe that Rettig is considered the 10th best  I would rank him 5th and think he could be even better by the end of the year 
Despite shoulder surgery, Alex Albright is healthy heading into his second NFL season  He's also ready to move to inside linebacker 
In case you missed it, BC will play Baylor in the Charleston Classic this Fall  That gives all the Boston media, the college basketball writers and the BC bloggers a chance to rehash the Donahue-Heslip situation again 
Labels: Alex Albright, Brady Heslip, Chase Rettig, Links, Steve Donahue
Can BC sell a faceless program?
As the team prepared for the poster photo shoot, I started to think about some of the current challenges BC faces marketing the program  Who will be the focus of the poster? Can a casual BC fan name our best players? With the team coming off its worst season in over a decade, it would be nice to have a focal point  A person who fans could rally around  With Kuechly gone, BC doesn't have that player or coach 
Spaz is not a compelling public speaker  BC uses coordinators in their Youtube videos  No BC player made the ACC's preseason all conference team  They have two likeable but rather unknown Seniors on the cover of the media guide 
Perception matters in college football  Obviously tickets sales are part of that, but lacking a star player hurts when TV networks are selecting our games  Even if some of our players have breakout years, they will have a hard time winning national awards 
BC created some new and unique ticket packages to help attendance for the less attractive games  If we are play well, TV networks might pay attention during the last month of the season  But if the team struggles, it will be hard to sell anything  You can't force players to be great or be dynamic personalities  Even if players aren't well known, I am consistently proud of how they handle themselves  But BC can ask its coach to sell the program  Spaz doesn't and won't  But I hope that when we hire a new coach that sales and marketing aspect are not ignored  Coaching is primary, but representing BC should always be a factor 
Labels: BC marketing, emmett cleary, Fenway Sports Group, Kaleb Ramsey, Spaziani
Phil Steele talks ACC and other links
Here is Phil Steele previewing the Big East and the ACC 
Former Eagle Tim Bulman signed with New England His teammate Ricky Brown is hanging on too and is now with the Ravens 
Did anyone else hear this comment from Spaz?
"We've tied Chase's hands behind his back his first two years  He's at the point now where he's ready to cross the line "
I know this sort of thing is off the cuff, but why is he saying that he's held a QB back? Am I the only one who gets frustrated by this stuff?
VCU hired BC grad Ed McLaughlin as their new AD  If and when Gene retires McLaughlin will be one of top targets to replace him 
This is from earlier in the week, but I am glad Kimble is confident  I think he could have a big season 
Emmett Cleary provides some insights into how the offense will change 
Labels: BC women's soccer, fire Spaz, Links, Ricky Brown, Spaz, tim bulman
Viva Espana: what you need to know about the basketball team's trip to Spain
NCAA rules allow a basketball team to take an overseas summer tour once every four years  These trips are a huge advantage as they allow the team to play together and at a high level during a dead period  In addition to improving skills, the trips also bond teams together and help the coaches experiment with different rotations and lineups  In the past BC has traveled to France, Switzerland and Australia  In a little less than a month, BC will take its first trip to Spain  This is our first tour under Donahue and a critical chance for this team to get better  Below are some of the facts, figures, schedules and nuggets about the trip 
All players can and will attend, including new freshmen Joe Rahon, Olivier Hanlan and incoming Senior Andrew Van Nest  Transfer Alex Dragicevich cannot go 
Aside from the players, the rest of the travel party includes the coaching staff, a trainer, a sports information director, and two managers 
Some of the schedule is still being finalized, but here are BC's current plans for games:
August 27 Madrid - Game 1
August 29 Valencia – Game 2 (ACB Team - Valencia Basket)
August 31 Barcelona - Game 3 (ACB Team - Penya or Manresa)
September 1 Barcelona - Game 4 (LEB Team)
The team leaves Boston on August 25  In each city they will practice and see some of the local sights  They also have community service time scheduled  The team returns on September 3  Classes begin back in Boston the next day 
The games will be played with international rules, courts and FIBA balls 
BC doesn't know if the referees will speak any English (but they're hoping) 
For any Eagle fans in Spain, try to catch a game or two  It should be fun  For those of us stateside, there are presently no official broadcasts but I imagine an internet feed will pop up for some of the action 
Labels: BC basketball, spain trip, Steve Donahue
Key Players for 2012: Dominic Appiah
Sophomore Defensive Tackle, Dominic Appiah
What he's been: Appiah surprised many last year  Playing for the first time after redshirting his freshman year, Appiah ended up starting most of the games  He made his presence known quickly with the ability to get an inside push and make plays in the backfield  Appiah was new to the inside but he showed natural ability and moved very well considering he played nearly 30 pounds lighter in high school 
What he needs to be: We need Appiah to be like B J  Raji or Ron Brace  We don't have as many difference makers in other areas of the defense  If Appiah and Ramsey partner to become a dominant force -- like Brace and Raji -- it will create all sorts of opportunities for the rest of the defense  If the two of them can control the line of scrimmage we can become one of the elite DLines in the ACC 
Why I like his chances to shine: It feels like I am head of the Appiah fan club  Spaz doesn't even have him at the top of the preseason depth chart  Of all the guys I have profiled, he would probably be viewed as the least likely to make an impact  He's still young  He's still learning the position and he's still getting used to moving with his added bulk  But I saw enough moments that I believe Appiah can be a great DT  He has the push, the leverage and surprising speed for big guy  Other teams had trouble handling him last year  If Appiah remains focused and works hard, he is going to dominate every interior lineman in the conference  And if Ramsey and Appiah both play well, BC will be a bowl team again 
Labels: 2012 Preview, Dominic Appiah, Kaleb Ramsey, Key Players, Season Previews
ACC Media roundup and other links
The ACC Media voted BC 5th overall in the Atlantic Division  That's not particularly surprising since the majority of the reporters are from Carolina and still view us as a secondary program  Although I teased him on twitter, even Meter avoided his usual "BC: 1st" vote 
The recurring question for Spaz was regarding Kuechly  He handles it well and points to Ramsey as the type of player who can fill the void  Not too many asked Spaz about the "Hot Seat " (I didn't embed that video due to the auto play issues )
It will be interesting to see if BC benefits from the looming exodus at Penn State  We are positioned well since we have scholarship space and recruited many of their kids  But I wonder if Spaz will have any hesitation in taking advantage of his alma mater 
Virginia Athlete Atem Ntantang committed to BC 
The ACC Digital Network is running a countdown of great moments  Of course they included BC comeback against Virginia Tech  It doesn't have Chris Fowler yelling "Lane Stadium goes silent" but it does have Meter losing it 
BC is one of the schools to leverage the transfer up phenomenon in college football 
Labels: ACC Media Day, basketball transfers, Links, Meterparel, Recruiting, Spaz, Video
ACC Kickoff, Day 1 -- UPDATE
UPDATE: I took down the video since it was auto playing for people  You can listen to Ramsey and Cleary here 
I hoped that Spaz would address the Penn State situation  Knowing that those types of questions were coming, the ACC coaches released a joint statement on Penn State and Paterno  Someone should still ask Spaz on Monday since he does know Sandusky and played under Paterno 
This is a shot of Kaleb Ramsey talking to the media  And here is all the players together  Cleary also fielded questions, including those about biology and chemistry 
I expect more on Monday when Spaz talks  I also think all the newspaper guys (including Blauds) will write up their interviews from Sunday into Monday posts 
Labels: ACC Media Day, emmett cleary, Kaleb Ramsey, Video
The field is finished
Reader Doug took these pictures yesterday  I think the field and wall look great  The next step will be hearing how the players like the look and feel 
Labels: Alumni Stadium renovations, Astro Turf, pics
Questions I want asked at the ACC Media Days
The ACC convenes this weekend in Greensboro for the annual ACC Media Days  I am not going  But I do have questions I would ask 
Questions for Frank Spaziani
-- Is he aware of the "hot seat" talk? Does he feel the pressure  How does he get the team and staff to focus? Is it impacting recruiting?
-- What are his expectations for the season? Does he see the team competing for a division title?
-- What attracted him to Doug Martin's offense? What are his expectations for the offense? Does he think the increased tempo will impact the defensive side of the ball?
-- What will Bollman's role be as "running game coordinator"? Is Bollman using different techniques and or approaches to the offensive line play?
-- What traits was he looking for as he hired new coaches to replace the departed?
-- As a Penn State alum and former player, what are his thoughts on the Freeh report? Are the former players talking among themselves about what they can do to help rebuild the Penn State football reputation? What does he want done with the Paterno statue?
-- When did the staff approach him about moving to the left side? How is he preparing for the new position?
--Who is leading the OL drills in the offseason?
-- How are things different with a new position coach? What will fans see?
-- What aspects of his game is he focusing on this year?
-- How is Chase Rettig adjusting to the new offense?
-- Which offensive player will surprise BC fans this year? Who is going to make a big leap?
-- What are his expectations for the season? How important is it to the Seniors to get back to a winning record and a bowl game?
-- How is his health?
-- What was it like to sit out a season?
-- Earlier in his career there was speculation that he might transfer from BC  How does it feel to be a 5th year senior at BC now?
-- Last year BC played more three man fronts than ever before  Will we see more of that this year?
-- Does the talk of an NFL career add any extra motivation?
We know Blauds and HD will be in Greensboro  Hopefully they or others will slip in one or two of these questions  I don't expect anything particularly revealing, but I would like to hear Spaz talk about the pressure of the season 
Labels: ACC Media Day, emmett cleary, fire Spaz, Kaleb Ramsey, Speculating with Spaz
Willis commits, decommits and then commits, and other links
It was a strange night if you follow BC recruiting on Twitter  First Rivals reported Georgia running back Myles Willis' commitment  Then Willis himself took to twitter to say that he didn't commit  Later in the night he clarified that he did commit  Regardless, it seems like it is over and he seems like a good pickup  He plays for local Atlanta power Marist  I will try to check out one of his games this fall 
One of the great under-appreciated aspects of BC sports is "For Boston " However, the bloggers at Atlantic Coast Convos have great taste as they listed our fight song as the best in the ACC  (Am I the only one singing "For Boston" to himself right now?)
BCeagles com put out another player Q&A, this time with basketball transfer Alex Dragicevich  Dennis Clifford is one of the players who has made an early impression on Alex 
Labels: Alex Dragicevich, BC Marching Band, For Boston, Myles Willis
Wey Q&A and other links
BCeagles com posted a Q & A with Patrick Wey  He talks about his summer training and trying to win another National Championship 
BC basketball fans will enjoy this pic of the early '90s stars 
Although she still has two more years of High School volleyball player Brittany Pavich committed to BC 
From earlier in the week, here is an article on new commitment Matt Milano 
Baseball player John Nicklas is ready to make an impact 
Labels: BC Hockey, Bill Curley, Links, malcolm huckaby, Matt Milano, Patrick Wey
Key Players for 2012: Ian White
Junior Center, Ian White
What he's been: The redshirt JR has played a lot and almost all of it at guard  What's been frustrating is that White would be very, very good in some games and then off in others  Because he is playing primarily inside, the issues usually involve getting overpowered by bigger DTs  Like most of the olinemen the past few years, White's flashed moments of greatness but lacked consistency 
What he needs to be: In my opinion the offensive line play really started falling apart after Matt Tennant left  I think Centers are underappreciated   at times even by their own coaches  It seems like the Spaz/Devine MO was to put the best five on the field regardless of positional fit and not to worry about rejiggering the lineup  The way the staff yo-yo'd Mark Spinney and others at Center the past two years hurt our consistency  And it impacts the QB position too  White's new to the role, so this could lead to more chaos  I hope not  We need him to be good from Day 1  He needs to set the tone for the OL and communicate with Rettig  Other players are important, but White -- or whoever starts at Center -- will be the keystone to the offense 
Why I like his chances to shine: Like Cleary, I think White is one of those guys who would have thrived under old BC regimes  He's been smart and tough from the minute he was eligible to play  He might not be as powerful as needed, but now as a redshirt JR, he should be fully matured  Plus playing Center doesn't require as much power and is more reliant on smarts and quickness 
I don't know if White will be our starting Center for Miami or even later into the season  Under Devine positions and the depth chart were constantly being tweaked  I pray things are different with Bollman  Let White learned to be a Center  He has a chance to be a great one 
Labels: 2012 Preview, Ian White, Jim Bollman, Key Players, Preseason, Sean Devine
How I talk myself into thinking we are going to be good   
You can see it on the BC message boards  You can see it on twitter and on the blogs  Optimism is rising  People are looking forward to the BC Football season  On Eagle Outsider they sarcastically call this "10-2 season " It is that time of year when every aspect of the team and season still has hope and promise  Despite my best judgement and spending half of my posts speculating on Spaz's future, I am falling into this same trap  The closer we get to kickoff and the more I read, the more I think BC might surprise people this year  I am not ready to post my predictions for the season, but here are a few reasons why I do think this team should be bowl bound 
It looks tougher on paper than it really is  Our toughest opponents come to us  We play three of our first four at home  Playing FSU and Georgia Tech on back-to-back weeks is a bit rough, but playing Georgia Tech any time forces a team to regroup  If you have to play a gimmick offense, you might as well do it after facing a top 10 team  Maybe it will serve as a rally point after playing the 'Noles 
Underrated talent
Look at that depth chart again  It is not an all star lineup, but I think our front seven will be better than last year  I love some of the young DBs (Keyes, Asprilla) and think with a healthy Noel and improved ALJ, we can be solid defensively  I still think Chase Rettig can be great  I have real hope for Doug Martin and think our WR and TE talent is good enough  The biggest question is the offensive line  But as someone who has preached for a OL coaching change, I keep telling myself that Bollman will make a difference 
Emotion and Pride
Football is an emotional game and emotional sport  Point fingers at whomever you like, but BC had awful team and coaching chemistry last season  When I see Al Washington posting on Facebook about his excitement, when I hear about the 5th year Seniors wanting to end their careers on a high note, when I look at the new field, I think that positive energy and emotion will carry us to an extra win or two 
As long as these two (see pic below) stay out of the way and Spaz coaches to win, I think this might be a fun season  Is anyone else talking themselves into a big year?
Labels: 2012, 2012 Preview, 2012 Schedule, Chase Rettig, Doug Martin, fire Spaz, Speculating with Spaz
Key Players for 2012: Jim Noel
Senior Safety, Jim Noel
What he's been: A contributor since day one, Noel has grown from back up to fill in starter, to a full time starter over three years  While primarily a safety, BC has also used him at corner  He missed a good portion of 2011, leaving our already depleted secondary without an impact player  Noel has never been a big hitter or ballhawk, but he's been good in coverage and done what's been asked 
What he needs to be: Noel needs to take over  Our defense is at its best when we have safeties with great anticipation  If you design your defense to exploit QB mistakes, you need a smart and athletic Safety to be in the right place at the right time  One of the reasons we struggled ending drives last year and giving up big plays to teams like Central Florida was because our safeties just couldn't make plays  Noel was doing his best filling in at Corner, while Syvlia, Hughes and Rositano kept getting burned  Hopefully Noel can focus on one area this year, stay healthy and have a big season 
Why I like his chances to shine: Look back on the interceptions Noel has made  They are often really great athletic plays  Few are gimmes that just landed in his hand  If he can be that great for 12 games and get even a little help from his other safeties, he will have a big year 
Last season BC only had 13 interceptions  It was our lowest output since the TOB years  If Noel can help end a few drives with big takeaways, BC could be a strong defensive team again 
Labels: Jim Noel, Key Players, Preseason
Precamp Depth Chart and other links
BC updated the depth chart in time for preseason camps to begin  This should be viewed as temporary and not who will start Labor Day weekend  There will be injuries and position switches that will alter things a bit  Hopefully no one is kicked off the team between now and the start of the season 
Florida DB Matt Milano committed to BC over the weekend  Milano also had offers from Arizona and Air Force 
Andy Katz listed BC among the possible destinations for BU transfer Jake O'Brien  Rumor is Providence is his most likely destination  I hope he gives BC a long look  He'd be another no risk big man for Donahue and give us some nice depth 
Labels: Jake O'Brien, Links, Matt Milano
Coaches to Watch this fall Part 4: Current Offensive Coordinators
Since everyone has Spaz on the Hotseat List, now is as good a time as any to look at future BC head coaching candidates  Unlike our past profile series, the timing and style on these posts will be a little different  Instead of being weeks or days away from a potential change, we have the benefit of a whole season to evaluate these guys  Some stocks will rise, while others will fall and it will make our usual scoreboard watching that much more interesting 
The natural inclination would be for BC to replace Spaz with an offensive guy  Unfortunately there is not a great pool of candidates among current college offensive coordinators  There are plenty of good coordinators, but I don't know how many are ready to be head coaches or coach at a place like BC  These are some of the more prominent names  After the 2012 season, we'll have a better idea of if they are ready to take on an FBS head coaching job 
Chad Morris
Offensive Coordinator, Clemson
Chad Morris was coaching high school football three years ago  His meteoric rise to Clemson's playcaller is another example of how much college football has changed  Gus Malzahn and guys like Chip Kelly and Art Briles before him shot from relative obscurity to changing college football within a few season  Pedigree and climbing the ladders doesn't mean as much anymore  All that matters is how you score and Morris showed that he could give new life to Clemson's attack  Like the others mentioned Morris emphasized tempo and a no huddle  His track record is impressive, as is his reputation for teaching and implementing this offense 
What to Watch for in 2012: Can Clemson keep it up? The ACC now has a chance to adjust to his scheme  It will also be interested to know what Morris wants to do  All these guys want to be head coaches, but is he willing to roll the dice on a job like BC? Would he even fit in? BC's very different from coaching high school in west Texas 
Offensive Coordinator, Wisconsin
The Badgers have been a good proving ground for coordinators  I like the fit for BC since Wisconsin tends to develop and recruit like we do  They also have run "pro style" offenses with an emphasis on OL and the running attacks  Canada will be new there this fall, but he's got BCS experience and led explosive offenses in the MAC too  If Canada became a candidate for BC, I would have hesitation about his time at Indiana  They threw it a ton while he was calling plays but didn't win much 
What to Watch in 2012: Will Canada keep throwing it at the more conservative Wisconsin? If Wisconsin keeps up their recent success will he emerge as a candidate elsewhere?
Bill Lazor
Offensive Coordinator, Virginia
Lazor's been a good coordinator at Virginia  He's not changing the game but they've been better than they were before he got there and they've been consistent  Lazor's ACC experience -- especially at a school like UVA -- translates well to BC (as it did for TOB years ago)  He can also sell his NFL ties to recruits  He played at Cornell and is from Scranton, so geography and academics wouldn't be an issue 
What to Watch for in 2012: How will UVA handle their pending QB controversy  Will they also move up within the ACC or stay middle of the pack offensively?
Offensive Coordinator, Alabama
Nussmeier moves from Washington to being the playcaller at the Defending National Champions  He's got a good profile for a rising coach in that he played professionally, coached in college, the NFL and Canada, and is now at an elite program  He runs a pro-style west coast offense, so the transition to BC would be relatively easy  Nussmeier lacks any obvious ties to BC or the northeast 
What to Watch in 2012: How will Nussmeier adjust to the pressure cooker of Saban and Alabama? Saban's offensives have been bland but effective  I expect more of the same this year  It doesn't make for compelling football but working for Saban can be good training for future head coaches 
Labels: Bill Lazor, Chad Morris, Coaches to Watch, fire Spaz, Matt Canada
ICYMI: Links from the past week
Phil Steele thinks we will score more points this season 
Kevin Pierre-Louis was named to the Nagurski watch list 
Pennsylvania Tight End strongly considered BC but verballed to UConn instead  BC's interest seemed to fade as other Tight Ends/Defensive Ends committed 
Temple closed on Jersey prospect Jarred Alwan  That's a big coup considering how hard BC went after him 
Former Eagle Steve Hailey now coaches on the Boston AAU circuit  Maybe that will help us with local talent 
BC still has interest in Ohio RB Keith Watkins 
Labels: Kevin Pierre-Louis, Links, Phil Steele, Steve Hailey
No King at BC may be a good thing
Nearly everything that needs to be said about Penn State and Joe Paterno has been said  But one point that Bruce Feldman made regarding College Football's King culture reminded me of how different BC is from most FBS schools  We don't and never have had a "King " I've often longed for that iconic winner that could serve as the face of the program, but maybe it is better that we don't  For whatever we miss by not having a "Woody" or a "JoePa" or "Bear" we also avoid the power struggles and corruption that often comes with an all-powerful Head Coach 
What does a King really provide anyway? Branding   a little nostalgia   someone to embrace  But it doesn't really win you football games or make you a better school  Florida State's losing in the final Bowden years proved that and Penn State has a permanent stain on their whole community because of their Kingdom 
BC's had some dynamic leaders, but none have ever stayed long enough to reach statue status  Our winningest coach and longest tenured even left and no one put up a fight to keep him  TOB could have been our icon  A little more fire and one or two more critical wins and we would have celebrated him like other schools have done with their biggest winners  But it wasn't to be and that's probably a good thing 
When I've profiled coaching candidates in the past, I've hoped that one would stay for a long time  That's changed  I don't want a guy who want to be bigger than the University  Things are better that way 
Labels: Bruce Feldman, college football, penn state, TOB
Key Players for 2012: Emmett Cleary
This is a series on the key players for the 2012 season  Big things are expected for some, while others will need to improve over their previous performances  If 2012 is a good year, it will be in part to the key players overachieving 
Senior Offensive Tackle, Emmett Cleary
What he's been: A long-time starter and one of the leaders on offense  Cleary has played on both sides of the line and at both guard and tackle  When he first arrived, Jags said that he could be the next Costanzo  Tall and lean (for a lineman) Cleary's been a consistent contributor like Costanzo (playing in 36 games and starting 26) yet he's never been the consistently great like Costanzo  How much of Cleary's occasional mistakes or setback are due to talent, coaching or the offense? I think it's been a bit of everything 
What he needs to be: Good isn't good enough anymore  Cleary takes on the big responsibility of left tackle this year  Rettig has been running for his life the past three years  If the offense is ever going to take off, they need to improve pass protection  That will start with Cleary  And in the ACC, he'll be facing some of the top defensive linemen in the country on a weekly basis  Cleary's always been good with speed guys on the edge  He'll also need to improve on run blocking  If Martin uses more stretches and zones like Logan, that will leave Cleary often sealing off edges on run plays 
Why I like his chances to shine: We've seen offensive lineman make huge leaps from season to season before  Part of it is maturing into their bodies and understanding the position  But a lot is coaching  I think Cleary has been underserved in that department  Even if Bollman is not some OL guru, I think Cleary playing in a more pass happy, up tempo offense will play to his strengths  I think his leadership position and the coaching staff's confidence in him will make him shine at LT  I think he will live up to his potential and have multiple games where he dominates and plays mistake free football  Plus he still has the NFL on his horizon  If he can perform at an elite level, he can jump up from a late round afterthought to a high-round pick 
I think if Cleary stays healthy, he shoot up draft boards  If BC's offense breaks out of its doldrums he'll be named an all conference player 
Labels: 2012 Preview, emmett cleary, Jim Bollman, Key Players
BC using coordinators as face(s) of the program?
BC posted this "thank you" video as an invite to a special practice for season ticket holders  Notice anyone missing? It is just a silly Youtbue video but I find it very telling that the school left out the Head Coach  This is college football  Your head coach is the face of the program  Ours isn't even mentioned in a direct marketing message to our most loyal customers 
There are many likely explanations for Spaz's absence  He's not particularly good on camera  He's never really shown any sort of enthusiasm for this sort of thing  And I think BC has heard enough to know that Spaz is not very popular with our fan base  No reason to trot him out when it will just dampen excitement about the upcoming season 
I like Bill McGovern and Doug Martin  Both are capable coordinators and leaders  Martin's been a head coach and I know McGovern wants to be one, so giving them face time is not a bad idea  Let's hope they are also given autonomy this year (which hasn't been Spaz's strong suit with coordinators)  If these two are given real power, season ticket holders will probably be happy they renewed 
Labels: BC marketing, Bill McGovern, Doug Martin, fire Spaz, Speculating with Spaz, Video
Optimism from Football Outsiders and other links
I am a sucker for football analytics and I also really respect CBS's Matt Hinton  So when his ACC preview piece on Football Outsiders listed BC with a  500 record and a 3rd place finish in the division, I was pleasantly surprised  FO is betting on our returning players and the positive trends of the last few games of 2011  I still don't know what to think about the upcoming season, but my love for BC and articles like this have me looking on the bright side 
BC is sending Emmett Cleary and Kaleb Ramsey to Greensboro to represent the school during ACC media days  I think this is actually a great sign for BC and for both players  I expected Cleary to have a break out season last year  He was good, but not all conference  Maybe this year is his chance to shine and get on NFL radars  Ramsey has always had the talent  His health and attitude have been bigger issues  If he is healthy and focused this year, he will be a game changer on D 
Here is more on our newest recruit out of Cincinnati Truman Gutapfel 
Chris Pantale is on the Mackey watch list  The award is given annually to the country's best Tight End 
Beaver Country Day big man Jacquil Taylor is generating local interest  BC has yet to offer, but is following him 
BCeagles com posted a Q&A with Bobby Swiggert yesterday  I found his talk about paring down the offense encouraging  We need to work on execution not diversity of plays 
HD put out this offseason filler piece ranking coaching jobs in the ACC  I don't really care where she perceives us  When the job changes we will be very attractive to the right guy for us 
Labels: Bobby Swigert, Chris Pantale, emmett cleary, Heather Dinich, Kaleb Ramsey, Links, Recruiting, Truman Gutapfel
Where is the one that got away?
While we've struggled recruiting Massachusetts players this year, we've cleaned up in Connecticut and in Ohio  Those local kids (or other lay-up recruits) we miss generate plenty of frustration but they happen every year  What's fortunate about our misses though, is that very few have come back to haunt us  When was the last time a great recruit spurned BC and became a star? I can think of a few over the years, but most of the recruits that "got away" had middling careers elsewhere 
Some recent examples of guys who spurned us include Graham Stewart, Arthur Lynch and Joe Boisture  All three committed to BC at one point only to rethink their decisions and go to bigger programs  Stewart washed out at Florida and is now sitting out a transfer year at UConn  Boisture is out of football altogether  Lynch has been a backup at Georgia  He has a chance for a bigger role this season, but so far has not lived up to the hype that surrounded his recruitment  Even with our terrible offense, Chris Pantale has had a much more productive Tight End career 
The closest thing I can think of to a recent recruit who had success elsewhere is Virginia OT Oday Aboushi  But should he even count? He didn't spurn BC  Our admissions office turned him down after he verbaled to BC  Prior to that, you would have to go back to Dorian Bryant  But like Aboushi, his case was less about being seduced by a bigger, flashier program and more about not meeting BC's minimum standards for admissions at one point in time 
Where these guys all over-hyped by the recruiting services? Where they wrong fits at their post-BC choices? I don't know  I do think a program like BC is probably more patient with players than some of the bigger programs  We won't rush a guy out of the program to free up a scholarship  We prefer to redshirt  And I think the nature of a program -- with good academic support and less of a big school mentality -- keeps kids from falling through the cracks  Every recruit thinks they are going to be a star, so selling them on development and a safety net doesn't sway many, but it should  If anything BC should use a guy like Marcus Grant -- a local kid who left a Big Ten program to come "home" as an example to Massachusetts recruits  Massachusetts kids keep leaving to play at the "highest level " Our counter should be that we will develop them for life and the NFL (the real highest level) and not chew them up and spit them out like a football factory 
I am sure that there will be a guy in the near future who decommits from BC and becomes a star  Or a guy we should have had who leads another team to glory  Right now I am just glad that we have very few regrets when it comes to old recruits  Our recruiting still has major challenges, but that's one area where things have broken our way 
[Note to commentors: let me know if you think I missed any recruits who "got away "]
Labels: Graham Stewart, Joe Boisture, mike siravo, Recruiting, Spaz recruiting
Key Players for 2012: Kevin Pierre-Louis
Junior Linebacker, Kevin Pierre-Louis
What he's been: BC's second-leading tackler  On most teams KPL would already be a star  But he played next to college football's tackling machine  There wasn't much room for headlines or an extra tackle with Luke Kuechly doing so much  Pierre-Louis also missed three games last year and played through pain in others  When healthy, he showed great anticipation and was a very solid tackler  In a way, he's a lot like Kuechly 
What he needs to be: KPL needs to be more of a game changer  He's got the speed and instincts to do it  Also, his role won't be in the middle, so he can take chances that Kuechly could not  Ideally he'd have a season like Herzy's 2008  Where on one play he's blitzing the QB and on the next he's running a fumble back  While our scheme has defined much of the defensive success the past five years, we've also benefited from great individual performances  To be great again, we need someone with the tools like KPL to become elite 
Why I like his chances to shine: KPL played really well in the first half of 2011  If he had stayed healthy, he would've been all conference  There's no reason he can't be even better this year  We'll miss Kuechly, but the defensive line might be better this year -- that will create more opportunities for big plays from Pierre-Louis  I also like his stats  His tackles for loss and pass break ups in a shortened season give me hope that he'll do even more when playing in all games and playing at 100% 
I think KPL takes off this year  I think he'll be first team ACC, lead BC with over 110 tackles, and have at least two INTs and two fumble recoveries 
Labels: 2012 Preview, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Key Players
Montel Harris to Temple now officially official
Although it's been rumored and reported multiple times over the past few months, Montel Harris finally enrolled in Temple over the weekend  Supposedly the delay was due to Harris completing his academic commitments to BC  To be eligible at Temple, Montel must have completed his BC degree 
All the past comments hold true for me  I hope Montel has a great end to his career and gets his shot at the NFL  He was a pleasure to watch the past four years 
Labels: Kevin Rogers, Montel Harris, Ryan Day, Temple
What would Spaz need to do to hold on?
I've been speculating about new coaches all summer, but what if Spaz actually pulls through? Crystal Ball Run thinks it could happen  Ultimately it will come down to our record  In my opinion, this is how it would play out  Let me know your thoughts in the comments 
4-8 or worse   
Spaz is gone  Back to back 8 loss seasons would be too much  The diehards are already calling for his head  Another embarrassing and hard to watch season would kill goodwill among the casual BC fans 
8-4 or better   
Spaz is safe  We have the talent and the schedule to be this good  I don't think it will happen, but if it does we will see Year 5 of the Spaz era 
6 or 7 wins   
Spaz "retires " He gets his money  He gets to go out with a winning record  He saves face  This is probably the best outcome for everyone 
This is the unknown in my opinion  I could see the powers that be wanting to keep him one more year  Especially if we end on a high note 
Labels: Coach Flip is running the show, fire Spaz, Speculating with Spaz
Coaches to Watch this fall Part 3: Current Defensive Coordinators
BC has turned to college coordinators in the past to step up as Head Coach  While there is risk with any hire, the nice thing about a rising coordinator is that they've usually proven themselves adapt at one phase of the game and you have the chance to hire the next great football mind  Plus most coordinators come in hungry and hard working, looking to make the most of their first chance as a head coach  Because Spaz is a a defensive coach, I am sure BC fans will want a replacement with an offensive background, but that doesn't mean we should overlook these guys 
Pat Narduzzi
Defensive Coordinator, Michigan State
Until Bruce Feldman dropped his name as a Spaz replacement, I don't think many BC fans were even thinking about Narduzzi  On paper he's a very solid candidate  He's got BCS experience at Michigan State  The Spartans love him and recently gave him a huge raise  While they haven't been elite, I like what Michigan State has done under Dantonio (and Narduzzi)  They overachieve given their talent base and work hard on the recruting front  Because of his stops in Cincinnati and growing up in northeast Ohio, Narduzzi has ties to our important midwest recruiting territories  What I like most about him as a candidate is his time at Rhode Island  I don't think our new head coach needs ties to BC, but I do think it helps if he comes in with an understanding of what BC is and can be  If you've coached at URI, you know what New England football is like  You know about the difference in fan interest and the space crunch BC is under  And you'll know that BC can be successful with the right coaching 
What to Watch for in 2012: How high Narduzzi's profile rises  He interviewed for head coaching jobs last year  If Michigan State continues to improve and Narduzzi earns more accolades, other schools will have interest 
Mark Stoops
Defensive Coordinator, Florida State
Normally I would worry about the fit of a guy like Stoops  He's coming from a football factory  His last name brings some good and bad baggage  But I do think there are some strong pluses in his candidacy at BC  Like Narduzzi, Stoops has deep ties to the Ohio Catholic high school circuit  He also has a good understanding of the ACC landscape after stops in Miami and Florida State  His FSU defenses still begin with the 4-3, so he could take our current roster and install his own system  Although the Stoops name isn't a household name in Boston, his track record, name and personality would be an easy sell to the BC faithful 
What to Watch for in 2012: How Florida State handles their expectations  If this is the year they finally return to being "Florida State" Stoops will get much of the credit and be a hot name  Even if they are good, not great, he's still viable at BC 
Defensive Coordinator, Texas
Due to his unusual path into coaching and his sudden rise, Diaz is a very hot name among coordinators  Aside from his time coaching at other ACC schools, there's not much tying him to BC  But I think his ability to recruit, his Xs and Os and the ability to be the face of the program deserve consideration  Diaz is young, but serving as a coordinator at Texas is a good proving ground  Mack Brown is in CEO mode, so his coordinators do much of the heavy lifting  It's great preparation for making the jump to head coach 
What to Watch for in 2012: TOB's potential retirement  Diaz is one of the names on many NC State wish lists  If TOB steps down, some in their fan base will make a big push for Diaz to return to Raleigh 
Defensive Coordinator, Notre Dame
Diaco is one of the most relentless recruiters in college football  If he took over at BC, I think we could upgrade our talent quickly  The New Jersey native has plenty of ACC experience and has recruited at schools with academic restrictions  I don't love his scheme (3-4) and have a few concerns about his defenses being good but never dominant  But he would be a very good fit at BC and worth the risk 
What to Watch for in 2012: An Irish implosion  Although his seat is not as hot as Spaz's, Kelly needs to win this year  If he's fired, we can't hire his fired defensive coordinator  The perception would be terrible among fans and recruits 
Labels: Bob Diaco, Coach Flip is running the show, Coaches to Watch, fire Spaz, Manny Diaz, Mark Stoops, Pat Narduzzi, Speculating with Spaz
More people to follow
A little over a month ago, I posted a few BC related names that you should follow  Now, I have a few more   
BC Hockey Blog: twitter and blog  The diehard hockey fans already follow, but for those more casual BC hockey fans, this is a good place to keep up with our best team 
Warren K  Zola: twitter  BC's Assistant Dean of Graduate programs is pretty plugged into the student athlete scene at BC  He contributes to the Huffington Post on Sports Law, sports news and College Sports 
Lou Imbriano: twitter  The former Patriots executive and current BC professor tweets about a variety of sports and sports marketing news  In my opinion, BC should be leaning on him more with regards to how we market our programs 
BC Che Chi's: twitter  A parody account that only a BC alum would understand  Parody accounts are tough to sustain, but I look forward to Che Chi's contributions come football season 
Justin Rowland: twitter  The Rivals recruiting writer is breaking more and more BC news lately  If you follow recruiting, you should probably follow Rowland 
Labels: BC Hockey, BC voices, follow, twitter, Warren Zola
Pass the Van Nest koolaid and other links
The Globe's feature on 5th year basketball transfer Andrew Van Nest has me fired up  Aside from being a good story, what if this kid can actually play? I know he didn't see the court much at Harvard, but do you trust Tommy Amaker when it comes to managing a roster? The best part of the Van Nest situation is that there is no risk to BC  If he doesn't pan out, he is gone within a year  But who knows, maybe he can give us 10 minutes a game  We need another big body and 6'11 with shooting touch translates into most leagues 
Earlier in the week, the ACC locked in a deal with the Orange Bowl  There is still plenty of conjecture about what it means but there are some strong points in the deal  First the ACC will be able to sell the media rights  That gives us the chance to earn similar dollars to the Big Four conferences  Second, the Orange Bowl will be a New Year's Day game  That's huge as it should help travel and ticket sales  Finally Notre Dame will have an affiliation to the game  One more tie to the Irish is a good thing from a TV standpoint 
Connecticut WR Dave Coggins supposedly verbaled to BC the other day  Rivals says it is not a sure thing yet  BC offered a scholarship to Ohio Dlineman Truman Gutapfel  BC is hoping to get two Florida targets as a packaged deal 
Another Cincinnati-area BC target Evan Jansen committed to Indiana  BC also lost out to California offensive lineman Alex Redmond  Florida LB Nick Internicola seemed like a solid BC target, but he committed to Rutgers earlier this week 
Matt Humphrey is adjusting to his third college team 
Parker Milner has impressed the Bruins at their developmental camp 
Labels: Andrew Van Nest, Dave Coggins, Links, Matt Humphrey, Orange Bowl, Parker Milner, Truman Gutapfel
History Lesson: the Eagle
In honor of the 4th of July, I thought it might be a good time to revisit one of the symbols BC shares with our great nation: the eagle 
Although the Eagle is now synonymous with BC through statues and other references on campus, we were without an official mascot during our first few decades  In 1920 the Heights published a cartoon showing a cat licking a plate of its sports rivals  Yes, we could have been the "Cats " While that would have inspired plenty of nicknames and unique imagery, Father McLaughlin didn't think a cat was the proper representative for our university  He suggested the eagle due to its majesty, power and freedom  We officially became the "Eagles" that same year 
Contrary to millions of sports writers' work, we are not the "golden eagles " And despite Baldwin's looks and name we are not the "bald eagles" either 
Two other FBS programs also use the eagle as their mascot  Like us Eastern Michigan is just the Eagles  Southern Mississippi uses Golden Eagles 
I can't find any evidence that McLaughlin wanted to tie BC's symbols to those of the United States, but it is a nice connection 
Labels: Angry Chicken Logo, Baldwin, bc history, BC logo, U-S-A, We are BC
More Turf news
This is bordering on overkill, but I am going all in   
The good people at AstroTurf have premiered a live video feed of the Alumni Stadium turf installation  Now instead of spending your holiday week outdoors with family and friends, you can watch as synthetic grass is laid down in Chestnut Hill 
Labels: Alumni Stadium renovations, Astro Turf, grass, Turf
Keep fighting the good fight Lax diehards!
AJ's tweet brought the following comments on BC's Facebook page to my attention  After BC posted an update on the new field, Gene and Spaz's critics took to Facebook to vent  The usual complaints about both guys, tailgating and the state of the program filled the discussion  But what stood out to me was one simple comment from Connor Wilson: "bring back lacrosse " I don't share the BC Lax community's mission, but I respect their passion  Lacrosse is never coming back, but that doesn't mean BC shouldn't hear about it every day 
Labels: bring back lacrosse, Coach Flip is running the show, Gene D, Lacrosse
Anderson interview and other links
BCeagles com posted a Q&A with Ryan Anderson  He talked about his summer break and his new teammates  Hopefully the new guys are as far along as Anderson feels they are 
HD is banking on our experience as a reason we could surprise people this year 
BC keeps hitting Ohio prospects hard  The latest target is Cinci LB Marcus Oliver 
Here is more on future Eagle Dan Monteroso  Monteroso also generated some interest from basketball schools  Maybe Spaz will let him play basketball in the Spring 
This matrix took a different look at the Hot Seat issue  With regards to losing and underachieving, Spaz is not as bad as some of the bigger names on the list 
Former eagles Carolyn Swords and Molly Schaus discussed how Title IX impacted their sporting careers 
Labels: Carolyn Swords, Dan Monteroso, fire Spaz, HD, Hot Seat, Links, Marcus Oliver, Ryan Anderson
NFL attendance problems a lesson for BC
BC's faced some attendance issues the past few years  We like to blame the tailgating or Spaz or the schedule, but the reality is there are multiple factors  Just look at the attendance issues facing the most popular league in American sports -- the NFL  If they can't get butts in the seats, how can BC? The NFL has a few different solutions in play  Perhaps, BC can learn from them 
Fewer Seats
The NFL is lowering the bar, so that blackout rules don't require sellouts  Blackouts are not an issue in college, but perhaps few seats will help demand and make Alumni seem full  I don't want to tear out seats, but maybe we can replace the bleachers with actual seats  That would take up more space, eliminate seats and improve the watching experience 
The internet has added fluidity to the ticket market  It used to be BC fans would buy season ticket packages to assure themselves Notre Dame tickets or some other desirable game  Now most know that they can buy the game they want without committing to others they don't  One way to win them back is to lower the investment  BC will miss out on the mark up of the premium games, but at least they will have more people invest in a whole season  BC is indirectly doing this already with their discounts of the less desirable games  If the NFL is lowering prices on parking and concessions, BC should also explore it  Like the NFL we are getting more and more money from TV  Why not make the ingame experience more affordable 
In-game experience
This has been discussed ad nauseum, but needs to be looked at again  I don't think it is as simple as the NFL's push for wireless  We need the game day experience to be inviting from the moment the gates open to the moment the last fan is leaving  It is about the music, the ushers, the video boards, the halftime, the activities during commercial breaks  I don't want BC to turn into a barrage of nonsense, but we can do more 
I don't go to many BC games  That's mostly because of my location  But I also like the watching the game in my home  The convenience, the visuals, and the costs all factor into my decision  But live sports is still a great experience   especially college football  I just hope BC doesn't wait around until the Alumni is empty 
Context 2: \section{Introduction}\label{S1}

The multiple access interferences (MAI) is the root of user
limitation in CDMA systems \cite{R1,R3}  The parallel least mean
square-partial parallel interference cancelation (PLMS-PPIC) method
is a multiuser detector for code division multiple access (CDMA)
receivers which reduces the effect of MAI in bit detection  In this
method and similar to its former versions like LMS-PPIC \cite{R5}
(see also \cite{RR5}), a weighted value of the MAI of other users is
subtracted before making the decision for a specific user in
different stages \cite{cohpaper}  In both of these methods, the
normalized least mean square (NLMS) algorithm is engaged
\cite{Haykin96}  The $m^{\rm th}$ element of the weight vector in
each stage is the true transmitted binary value of the $m^{\rm th}$
user divided by its hard estimate value from the previous stage  The
magnitude of all weight elements in all stages are equal to unity 
Unlike the LMS-PPIC, the PLMS-PPIC method tries to keep this
property in each iteration by using a set of NLMS algorithms with
different step-sizes instead of one NLMS algorithm used in LMS-PPIC 
In each iteration, the parameter estimate of the NLMS algorithm is
chosen whose element magnitudes of cancelation weight estimate have
the best match with unity  In PLMS-PPIC implementation it is assumed
that the receiver knows the phases of all user channels  However in
practice, these phases are not known and should be estimated  In
this paper we improve the PLMS-PPIC procedure \cite{cohpaper} in
such a way that when there is only a partial information of the
channel phases, this modified version simultaneously estimates the
phases and the cancelation weights  The partial information is the
quarter of each channel phase in $(0,2\pi)$ 

The rest of the paper is organized as follows: In section \ref{S4}
the modified version of PLMS-PPIC with capability of channel phase
estimation is introduced  In section \ref{S5} some simulation
examples illustrate the results of the proposed method  Finally the
paper is concluded in section \ref{S6} 

\section{Multistage Parallel Interference Cancelation: Modified PLMS-PPIC Method}\label{S4}

We assume $M$ users synchronously send their symbols
$\alpha_1,\alpha_2,\cdots,\alpha_M$ via a base-band CDMA
transmission system where $\alpha_m\in\{-1,1\}$  The $m^{th}$ user
has its own code $p_m( )$ of length $N$, where $p_m(n)\in \{-1,1\}$,
for all $n$  It means that for each symbol $N$ bits are transmitted
by each user and the processing gain is equal to $N$  At the
receiver we assume that perfect power control scheme is applied 
Without loss of generality, we also assume that the power gains of
all channels are equal to unity and users' channels do not change
during each symbol transmission (it can change from one symbol
transmission to the next one) and the channel phase $\phi_m$ of
$m^{th}$ user is unknown for all $m=1,2,\cdots,M$ (see
\cite{cohpaper} for coherent transmission)  According to the above
assumptions the received signal is
\begin{equation}
\label{e1} r(n)=\sum\limits_{m=1}^{M}\alpha_m
e^{j\phi_m}p_m(n)+v(n),~~~~n=1,2,\cdots,N,
\end{equation}
where $v(n)$ is the additive white Gaussian noise with zero mean and
variance $\sigma^2$  Multistage parallel interference cancelation
method uses $\alpha^{s-1}_1,\alpha^{s-1}_2,\cdots,\alpha^{s-1}_M$,
the bit estimates outputs of the previous stage, $s-1$, to estimate
the related MAI of each user  It then subtracts it from the received
signal $r(n)$ and makes a new decision on each user variable
individually to make a new variable set
$\alpha^{s}_1,\alpha^{s}_2,\cdots,\alpha^{s}_M$ for the current
stage $s$  Usually the variable set of the first stage (stage $0$)
is the output of a conventional detector  The output of the last
stage is considered as the final estimate of transmitted bits  In
the following we explain the structure of a modified version of the
PLMS-PIC method \cite{cohpaper} with simultaneous capability of
estimating the cancelation weights and the channel phases 

Assume $\alpha_m^{(s-1)}\in\{-1,1\}$ is a given estimate of
$\alpha_m$ from stage $s-1$  Define
\begin{equation}
\label{e6} w^s_{m}=\frac{\alpha_m}{\alpha_m^{(s-1)}}e^{j\phi_m} 
\end{equation}
From (\ref{e1}) and (\ref{e6}) we have
\begin{equation}
\label{e7} r(n)=\sum\limits_{m=1}^{M}w^s_m\alpha^{(s-1)}_m
p_m(n)+v(n) 
\end{equation}
Define
\begin{subequations}
\begin{eqnarray}
\label{e8} W^s&=&[w^s_{1},w^s_{2},\cdots,w^s_{M}]^T,\\
\label{e9}
\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!X^{s}(n)\!\!\!&=&\!\!\![\alpha^{(s-1)}_1p_1(n),\alpha^{(s-1)}_2p_2(n),\cdots,\alpha^{(s-1)}_Mp_M(n)]^T 
\end{eqnarray}
\end{subequations}
where $T$ stands for transposition  From equations (\ref{e7}),
(\ref{e8}) and (\ref{e9}), we have
\begin{equation}
\label{e10} r(n)=W^{s^T}X^{s}(n)+v(n) 
\end{equation}
Given the observations $\{r(n),X^{s}(n)\}^{N}_{n=1}$, in modified
PLMS-PPIC, like the PLMS-PPIC \cite{cohpaper}, a set of NLMS
adaptive algorithm are used to compute
\begin{equation}
\label{te1} W^{s}(N)=[w^{s}_1(N),w^{s}_2(N),\cdots,w^{s}_M(N)]^T,
\end{equation}
which is an estimate of $W^s$ after iteration $N$  To do so, from
(\ref{e6}), we have
\begin{equation}
\label{e13} |w^s_{m}|=1 ~~~m=1,2,\cdots,M,
\end{equation}
which is equivalent to
\begin{equation}
\label{e14} \sum\limits_{m=1}^{M}||w^s_{m}|-1|=0 
\end{equation}
We divide $\Psi=\left(0,1-\sqrt{\frac{M-1}{M}}\right]$, a sharp
range for $\mu$ (the step-size of the NLMS algorithm) given in
\cite{sg2005}, into $L$ subintervals and consider $L$ individual
step-sizes $\Theta=\{\mu_1,\mu_2,\cdots,\mu_L\}$, where
$\mu_1=\frac{1-\sqrt{\frac{M-1}{M}}}{L}, \mu_2=2\mu_1,\cdots$, and
$\mu_L=L\mu_1$  In each stage, $L$ individual NLMS algorithms are
executed ($\mu_l$ is the step-size of the $l^{th}$ algorithm)  In
stage $s$ and at iteration $n$, if
$W^{s}_k(n)=[w^s_{1,k},\cdots,w^s_{M,k}]^T$, the parameter estimate
of the $k^{\rm th}$ algorithm, minimizes our criteria, then it is
considered as the parameter estimate at time iteration $n$  In other
words if the next equation holds
\begin{equation}
\label{e17} W^s_k(n)=\arg\min\limits_{W^s_l(n)\in I_{W^s}
}\left\{\sum\limits_{m=1}^{M}||w^s_{m,l}(n)|-1|\right\},
\end{equation}
where $W^{s}_l(n)=W^{s}(n-1)+\mu_l \frac{X^s(n)}{\|X^s(n)\|^2}e(n),
~~~ l=1,2,\cdots,k,\cdots,L-1,L$ and
$I_{W^s}=\{W^s_1(n),\cdots,W^s_L(n)\}$, then we have
$W^s(n)=W^s_k(n)$, and therefore all other algorithms replace their
weight estimate by $W^{s}_k(n)$  At time instant $n=N$, this
procedure gives $W^s(N)$, the final estimate of $W^s$, as the true
parameter of stage $s$ 

Now consider $R=(0,2\pi)$ and divide it into four equal parts
$R_1=(0,\frac{\pi}{2})$, $R_2=(\frac{\pi}{2},\pi)$,
$R_3=(\pi,\frac{3\pi}{2})$ and $R_4=(\frac{3\pi}{2},2\pi)$  The
partial information of channel phases (given by the receiver) is in
a way that it shows each $\phi_m$ ($m=1,2,\cdots,M$) belongs to
which one of the four quarters $R_i,~i=1,2,3,4$  Assume
$W^{s}(N)=[w^{s}_1(N),w^{s}_2(N),\cdots,w^{s}_M(N)]^T$ is the weight
estimate of the modified algorithm PLMS-PPIC at time instant $N$ of
the stage $s$  From equation (\ref{e6}) we have
\begin{equation}
\label{tt3}
\phi_m=\angle({\frac{\alpha^{(s-1)}_m}{\alpha_m}w^s_m}) 
\end{equation}
We estimate $\phi_m$ by $\hat{\phi}^s_m$, where
\begin{equation}
\label{ee3}
\hat{\phi}^s_m=\angle{(\frac{\alpha^{(s-1)}_m}{\alpha_m}w^s_m(N))} 
\end{equation}
Because $\frac{\alpha^{(s-1)}_m}{\alpha_m}=1$ or $-1$, we have
\begin{eqnarray}
\hat{\phi}^s_m=\left\{\begin{array}{ll} \angle{w^s_m(N)} &
\mbox{if}~
\frac{\alpha^{(s-1)}_m}{\alpha_m}=1\\
\pm\pi+\angle{w^s_m(N)} & \mbox{if}~
\frac{\alpha^{(s-1)}_m}{\alpha_m}=-1\end{array}\right 
\end{eqnarray}
Hence $\hat{\phi}^s_m\in P^s=\{\angle{w^s_m(N)},
\angle{w^s_m(N)+\pi, \angle{w^s_m(N)}-\pi}\}$  If $w^s_m(N)$
sufficiently converges to its true value $w^s_m$, the same region
for $\hat{\phi}^s_m$ and $\phi_m$ is expected  In this case only one
of the three members of $P^s$ has the same region as $\phi_m$  For
example if $\phi_m \in (0,\frac{\pi}{2})$, then $\hat{\phi}^s_m \in
(0,\frac{\pi}{2})$ and therefore only $\angle{w^s_m(N)}$ or
$\angle{w^s_m(N)}+\pi$ or $\angle{w^s_m(N)}-\pi$ belongs to
$(0,\frac{\pi}{2})$  If, for example, $\angle{w^s_m(N)}+\pi$ is such
a member between all three members of $P^s$, it is the best
candidate for phase estimation  In other words,
\[\phi_m\approx\hat{\phi}^s_m=\angle{w^s_m(N)}+\pi \]
We admit that when there is a member of $P^s$ in the quarter of
$\phi_m$, then $w^s_m(N)$ converges  What would happen when non of
the members of $P^s$ has the same quarter as $\phi_m$? This
situation will happen when the absolute difference between $\angle
w^s_m(N)$ and $\phi_m$ is greater than $\pi$  It means that
$w^s_m(N)$ has not converged yet  In this case where we can not
count on $w^s_m(N)$, the expected value is the optimum choice for
the channel phase estimation, e g  if $\phi_m \in (0,\frac{\pi}{2})$
then $\frac{\pi}{4}$ is the estimation of the channel phase
$\phi_m$, or if $\phi_m \in (\frac{\pi}{2},\pi)$ then
$\frac{3\pi}{4}$ is the estimation of the channel phase $\phi_m$ 
The results of the above discussion are summarized in the next
equation
\begin{eqnarray}
\nonumber \hat{\phi}^s_m = \left\{\begin{array}{llll} \angle
{w^s_m(N)} & \mbox{if}~
\angle{w^s_m(N)}, \phi_m\in R_i,~~i=1,2,3,4\\
\angle{w^s_m(N)}+\pi & \mbox{if}~ \angle{w^s_m(N)}+\pi, \phi_m\in
R_i,~~i=1,2,3,4\\
\angle{w^n_m(N)}-\pi & \mbox{if}~ \angle{w^s_m(N)}-\pi, \phi_m\in
R_i,~~i=1,2,3,4\\
\frac{(i-1)\pi+i\pi}{4} & \mbox{if}~ \phi_m\in
R_i,~~\angle{w^s_m(N)},\angle
{w^s_m(N)}\pm\pi\notin R_i,~~i=1,2,3,4 \\
\end{array}\right 
\end{eqnarray}
Having an estimation of the channel phases, the rest of the proposed
method is given by estimating $\alpha^{s}_m$ as follows:
\begin{equation}
\label{tt4}
\alpha^{s}_m=\mbox{sign}\left\{\mbox{real}\left\{\sum\limits_{n=1}^{N}
q^s_m(n)e^{-j\hat{\phi}^s_m}p_m(n)\right\}\right\},
\end{equation}
where
\begin{equation} \label{tt5}
q^{s}_{m}(n)=r(n)-\sum\limits_{m^{'}=1,m^{'}\ne
m}^{M}w^{s}_{m^{'}}(N)\alpha^{(s-1)}_{m^{'}} p_{m^{'}}(n) 
\end{equation}
The inputs of the first stage $\{\alpha^{0}_m\}_{m=1}^M$ (needed for
computing $X^1(n)$) are given by
\begin{equation}
\label{qte5}
\alpha^{0}_m=\mbox{sign}\left\{\mbox{real}\left\{\sum\limits_{n=1}^{N}
r(n)e^{-j\hat{\phi}^0_m}p_m(n)\right\}\right\}
Context 3: The 1951 Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team represented the Ohio State University in the 1951 NCAA baseball season  The head coach was Marty Karow, serving his 1st year 

The Buckeyes lost in the College World Series, defeated by the Texas A&M Aggies 

Roster

Schedule 

! style="" | Regular Season
|- valign="top" 

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 1 || March 16 || at  || Unknown • San Antonio, Texas || 15–3 || 1–0 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 2 || March 17 || at B



ground_truth: August 25.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What algorithm is engaged in the PLMS-PPIC method?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 2: 
\end{equation}
Assuming $\phi_m\in R_i$, then
\begin{equation}
\label{qqpp} \hat{\phi}^0_m =\frac{(i-1)\pi+i\pi}{4} 
\end{equation}
Table \ref{tab4} shows the structure of the modified PLMS-PPIC
method  It is to be notified that
\begin{itemize}
\item Equation (\ref{qte5}) shows the conventional bit detection
method when the receiver only knows the quarter of channel phase in
$(0,2\pi)$  \item With $L=1$ (i e  only one NLMS algorithm), the
modified PLMS-PPIC can be thought as a modified version of the
LMS-PPIC method 
\end{itemize}

In the following section some examples are given to illustrate the
effectiveness of the proposed method 

\section{Simulations}\label{S5}

In this section we have considered some simulation examples 
Examples \ref{ex2}-\ref{ex4} compare the conventional, the modified
LMS-PPIC and the modified PLMS-PPIC methods in three cases: balanced
channels, unbalanced channels and time varying channels  In all
examples, the receivers have only the quarter of each channel phase 
Example \ref{ex2} is given to compare the modified LMS-PPIC and the
PLMS-PPIC in the case of balanced channels 

\begin{example}{\it Balanced channels}:
\label{ex2}
\begin{table}
\caption{Channel phase estimate of the first user (example
\ref{ex2})} \label{tabex5} \centerline{{
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
\multirow{6}{*}{\rotatebox{90}{$\phi_m=\frac{3\pi}{8},M=15~~$}} & N(Iteration) & Stage Number& NLMS & PNLMS  \\
&&&&\\
\cline{2-5} & \multirow{2}{*}{64}& s = 2 &  $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{3 24\pi}{8}$ & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{3 18\pi}{8}$ \\
\cline{3-5} & & s = 3 & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{3 24\pi}{8}$ & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{3 18\pi}{8}$ \\
\cline{2-5} & \multirow{2}{*}{256}& s = 2 &  $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 85\pi}{8}$ & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 88\pi}{8}$ \\
\cline{3-5} & & s = 3 & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 85\pi}{8}$ & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 88\pi}{8}$ \\
\cline{2-5} \hline
\end{tabular} }}
\end{table}
Consider the system model (\ref{e7}) in which $M$ users
synchronously send their bits to the receiver through their
channels  It is assumed that each user's information consists of
codes of length $N$  It is also assumd that the signal to noise
ratio (SNR) is 0dB  In this example there is no power-unbalanced or
channel loss is assumed  The step-size of the NLMS algorithm in
modified LMS-PPIC method is $\mu=0 1(1-\sqrt{\frac{M-1}{M}})$ and
the set of step-sizes of the parallel NLMS algorithms in modified
PLMS-PPIC method are
$\Theta=\{0 01,0 05,0 1,0 2,\cdots,1\}(1-\sqrt{\frac{M-1}{M}})$,
i e  $\mu_1=0 01(1-\sqrt{\frac{M-1}{M}}),\cdots,
\mu_4=0 2(1-\sqrt{\frac{M-1}{M}}),\cdots,
\mu_{12}=(1-\sqrt{\frac{M-1}{M}})$  Figure~\ref{Figexp1NonCoh}
illustrates the bit error rate (BER) for the case of two stages and
for $N=64$ and $N=256$  Simulations also show that there is no
remarkable difference between results in two stage and three stage
scenarios  Table~\ref{tabex5} compares the average channel phase
estimate of the first user in each stage and over $10$ runs of
modified LMS-PPIC and PLMS-PPIC, when the the number of users is
$M=15$ 
\end{example}

Although LMS-PPIC and PLMS-PPIC, as well as their modified versions,
are structured based on the assumption of no near-far problem
(examples \ref{ex3} and \ref{ex4}), these methods and especially the
second one have remarkable performance in the cases of unbalanced
and/or time varying channels 

\begin{example}{\it Unbalanced channels}:
\label{ex3}
\begin{table}
\caption{Channel phase estimate of the first user (example
\ref{ex3})} \label{tabex6} \centerline{{
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
\multirow{6}{*}{\rotatebox{90}{$\phi_m=\frac{3\pi}{8},M=15~~$}} & N(Iteration) & Stage Number& NLMS & PNLMS  \\
&&&&\\
\cline{2-5} & \multirow{2}{*}{64}& s=2 &  $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 45\pi}{8}$ & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 36\pi}{8}$ \\
\cline{3-5} & & s=3 & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 71\pi}{8}$ & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 80\pi}{8}$ \\
\cline{2-5} & \multirow{2}{*}{256}& s=2 &  $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{3 09\pi}{8}$ & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 86\pi}{8}$ \\
\cline{3-5} & & s=3 & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{2 93\pi}{8}$ & $\hat{\phi}^s_m=\frac{3 01\pi}{8}$ \\
\cline{2-5} \hline
\end{tabular} }}
\end{table}
Consider example \ref{ex2} with power unbalanced and/or channel loss
in transmission system, i e  the true model at stage $s$ is
\begin{equation}
\label{ve7} r(n)=\sum\limits_{m=1}^{M}\beta_m
w^s_m\alpha^{(s-1)}_m c_m(n)+v(n),
\end{equation}
where $0<\beta_m\leq 1$ for all $1\leq m \leq M$  Both the LMS-PPIC
and the PLMS-PPIC methods assume the model (\ref{e7}), and their
estimations are based on observations $\{r(n),X^s(n)\}$, instead of
$\{r(n),\mathbf{G}X^s(n)\}$, where the channel gain matrix is
$\mathbf{G}=\mbox{diag}(\beta_1,\beta_2,\cdots,\beta_m)$  In this
case we repeat example \ref{ex2}  We randomly get each element of
$G$ from $[0,0 3]$  Figure~\ref{Figexp2NonCoh} illustrates the BER
versus the number of users  Table~\ref{tabex6} compares the channel
phase estimate of the first user in each stage and over $10$ runs of
modified LMS-PPIC and modified PLMS-PPIC for $M=15$ 
\end{example}

\begin{example}
\label{ex4} {\it Time varying channels}: Consider example \ref{ex2}
with time varying Rayleigh fading channels  In this case we assume
the maximum Doppler shift of $40$HZ, the three-tap
frequency-selective channel with delay vector of $\{2\times
10^{-6},2 5\times 10^{-6},3\times 10^{-6}\}$sec and gain vector of
$\{-5,-3,-10\}$dB  Figure~\ref{Figexp3NonCoh} shows the average BER
over all users versus $M$ and using two stages 
\end{example}


\section{Conclusion}\label{S6}

In this paper, parallel interference cancelation using adaptive
multistage structure and employing a set of NLMS algorithms with
different step-sizes is proposed, when just the quarter of the
channel phase of each user is known  In fact, the algorithm has been
proposed for coherent transmission with full information on channel
phases in \cite{cohpaper}  This paper is a modification on the
previously proposed algorithm  Simulation results show that the new
method has a remarkable performance for different scenarios
including Rayleigh fading channels even if the channel is
unbalanced 


Context 3:  A  M  C  || Unknown • San Antonio, Texas || 7–8 || 1–1 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 3 || March 19 || at  || Clark Field • Austin, Texas || 0–8 || 1–2 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 4 || March 20 || at Texas || Clark Field • Austin, Texas || 3–4 || 1–3 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 5 || March 21 || at  || Unknown • Houston, Texas || 14–6 || 2–3 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 6 || March 22 || at Rice || Unknown • Houston, Texas || 2–3 || 2–4 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 7 || March 23 || at  || Unknown • Fort Worth, Texas || 4–2 || 3–4 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 8 || March 24 || at TCU || Unknown • Fort Worth, Texas || 7–3 || 4–4 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 9 || March 24 || at  || Unknown • St  Louis, Missouri || 10–4 || 5–4 || 0–0
|-

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 10 || April 6 ||  || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 2–0 || 6–4 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 11 || April 7 ||  || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 15–1 || 7–4 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 12 || April 14 ||  || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 0–1 || 7–5 || 0–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 13 || April 20 ||  || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 10–9 || 8–5 || 1–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 14 || April 21 || Minnesota || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 7–0 || 9–5 || 2–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 15 || April 24 || at  || Unknown • Oxford, Ohio || 3–4 || 9–6 || 2–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 16 || April 27 || at  || Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan || 2–3 || 9–7 || 2–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 17 || April 28 || at Western Michigan || Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan || 5–7 || 9–8 || 2–0
|-

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 18 || May 1 || at  || Unknown • Athens, Ohio || 7–6 || 10–8 || 2–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 19 || May 4 ||  || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 12–6 || 11–8 || 3–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 20 || May 5 || Purdue || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 14–4 || 12–8 || 4–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 21 || May 8 ||  || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 6–8 || 12–9 || 4–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 22 || May 9 || at Dayton || Unknown • Dayton, Ohio || 11–2 || 13–9 || 4–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 23 || May 12 ||  || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 6–5 || 14–9 || 5–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 24 || May 12 || Indiana || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 5–2 || 15–9 || 6–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 25 || May 15 || Ohio || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 6–0 || 16–9 || 6–0
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 26 || May 18 || at  || Northwestern Park • Evanston, Illinois || 1–3 || 16–10 || 6–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 27 || May 19 || at Northwestern || Northwestern Park • Evanston, Illinois || 10–3 || 17–10 || 7–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 28 || May 22 || at Cincinnati || Carson Field • Cincinnati, Ohio || 8–4 || 18–10 || 7–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 29 || May 25 ||  || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 4–1 || 19–10 || 8–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 30 || May 25 || Michigan || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 3–6 || 19–11 || 8–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 31 || May 30 || Miami (OH) || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 3–4 || 19–12 || 8–2
|-

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 32 || June 1 || at  || Old College Field • East Lansing, Michigan || 8–0 || 20–12 || 9–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 33 || June 2 || at Michigan State || Old College Field • East Lansing, Michigan || 9–8 || 21–12 || 10–2
|-

|-
|-
! style="" | Postseason
|- valign="top"

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 34 || June 8 || Western Michigan || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 1–0 || 22–12 || 10–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 35 || June 8 || Western Michigan || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 2–4 || 22–13 || 10–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| 36 || June 9 || Western Michigan || Varsity Diamond • Columbus, Ohio || 3–2 || 23–13 || 10–2
|-

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 37 || June 13 || Oklahoma || Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska || 8–9 || 23–14 || 10–2
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
| 38 || June 13 || Texas A&M || Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska || 2–3 || 23–15 || 10–2
|-

Awards and honors 
Dick Hauck
 First Team All-Big Ten

Stewart Hein
 First Team All-Big Ten

References 

Ohio State Buckeyes baseball seasons
Ohio State Buckeyes baseball
Big Ten Conference baseball champion seasons
Ohio State
College World Series seasons



ground_truth: The normalized least mean square (NLMS) algorithm.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What was the Buckeyes' record in their first game of the season?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 4:  Although there doesn't seem to be a connection between Njoroge's family and the murder, it is eventually revealed that Njoroge's brothers are behind the assassination, and that Boro is the real leader of the Mau Mau  Ngotho soon dies from his injuries and Njoroge finds out that his father was protecting his brothers  Kamau has been imprisoned for life  Only Njoroge and his two mothers remain free, and Njoroge is left as the sole provider of his two mothers  Njoroge fears that he cannot make ends meet; he gives up hope of continuing in school and loses faith in God 

Njoroge asks Mwihaki's for support, but she is angry because of her father’s death  When he finally pledges his love to her, she refuses to leave with him, realizing her obligation to Kenya and her mother  Njoroge decides to leave town and makes an attempt at suicide; however, he fails when his mothers find him before he is able to hang himself  The novel closes with Njoroge feeling hopeless, and ashamed of cowardice 

Characters in Weep Not, Child
 Njoroge: the main character of the book whose main goal throughout the book is to become as educated as possible 
 Ngotho: Njoroge's father  He works for Mr Howlands and is respected by him until he attacks Jacobo at a workers strike  He is fired and the family is forced to move to another section of the country  Over the course of the book his position as the central power of the family weakened, to the point where his self-realization that he has spent his whole life waiting for the prophecy (that proclaims the blacks will be returned their land) to come true rather than fighting for Kenyan independence, leads to his depression 
 Nyokabi and Njeri: the two wives of Ngotho  Njeri is Ngotho's first wife, and mother of Boro, Kamau, and Kori  Nyokabi is his second wife, and the mother of Njoroge and Mwangi 
 Njoroge has four brothers: Boro, Kamau, Kori and Mwangi (who is Njoroge's only full brother, who died in World War II) 
 Boro: Son of Njeri who fights for the Allies in World War II  Upon returning his anger against the colonial government is compounded by their confiscation of the his land  Boro's anger and position as eldest son leads him to question and ridicule Ngotho, which eventually defeats their father's will (upon realizing his life was wasted waiting and not acting)  It is eventually revealed that Boro is the leader of the Mau Mau (earlier alluded to as "entering politics") and murders Mr Howlands  He is caught by police immediately after and is scheduled to be executed by the book's end  It is highly likely that it is also Boro who kills Jacobo 
 Mwihaki: Njoroge's best friend (and later develops into his love interest)  Daughter of Jacobo  When it is revealed that his family killed Jacobo (most likely Boro), Mwihaki distances herself from Njoroge, asking for time to mourn her father and care for her mother 
 Jacobo: Mwihaki's father and an important landowner  Chief of the village 
 Mr  Howlands: A white settler who emigrated to colonial Kenya and now owns a farm made up of land that originally belonged to Ngotho's ancestors  Has three children: Peter who died in World War II before the book's beginning, a daughter who becomes a missionary, and Stephen who met Njoroge while the two were in high school 

Themes and motifs
Weep Not, Child integrates Gikuyu mythology and the ideology of nationalism that serves as catalyst for much of the novel's action  The novel explores the negative aspects of colonial rule over Kenya  Njoroge's aspiration to attend university is frustrated by both the violence of the Mau Mau rebels and the violent response of the colonial government  This disappointment leads to his alienation from his family and ultimately his suicide attempt 

The novel also ponders the role of saviours and salvation  The author notes in his The River Between: "Salvation shall come from the hills  From the blood that flows in me, I say from the same tree, a son shall rise  And his duty shall be to lead and save the people " Jomo Kenyatta, the first prime minister of Kenya, is immortalised in Weep Not, Child  The author says, "Jomo had been his (Ngotho's) hope  Ngotho had come to think that it was Jomo who would drive away the white man  To him, Jomo stood for custom and traditions purified by grace of learning and much travel " Njoroge comes to view Jomo as a messiah who will win the struggle against the colonial government 

See also

Things Fall Apart
Death and the King's Horseman

References

External links
Official homepage of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
BBC profile of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Weep Not, Child at Google Books

British Empire in fiction
Novels set in colonial Africa
Historical novels
Kenyan English-language novels
Novels by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Novels set in Kenya
1964 novels
Heinemann (publisher) books
Postcolonial novels
African Writers Series
1964 debut novels



ground_truth: They won their first game with a score of 15-3.