Boyle has media in her blood

New London

If facial expressions came with captions, the quizzical looks of most young athletes during impromptu media interviews might read, "Why is this overweight guy with the mismatched ensemble writing down everything I say?"

And then there's Aly Boyle.

She doesn't talk to the media much, mostly because the media rarely descends on Connecticut College for women's basketball games. But the kid is a pro: Eye contact with the questioner, thoughtful, engaging responses, occasional bouts with humor.

It makes more sense if you know Boyle's family tree. In the same spirit that coaches' kids always make free throws, media members' kids always know what to say and how to say it.

Aly Boyle's mom is Jackie MacMullan, formerly of the Boston Globe and Sports Illustrated and now of ESPN.com and "Around the Horn."

Clearly, however, Boyle shares more than a comfort with words and people with her mom. Jackie MacMullan is one of the greats in this profession and - unlike many others in this business who have accomplished far less - remains singularly unimpressed with herself. If you don't know MacMullan once received the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for her contribution to basketball, she'll be the last one to remind you.

Same concept with young Aly.

"We became friends pretty fast. We lived on the same floor and kind of bonded," Patty Shields of East Lyme was saying the other day, alluding to her freshman year. "It took kind of a while to realize who Aly's mom is. You'd never know by talking to her."

Shields, who will be the unofficial mayor of the campus by the time she graduates, recalls The Moment during a conversation with her dad, Fran, Conn's athletic director.

"My dad asked me if Aly ever talks about sports," Patty Shields said. "I said, 'no, not really.' He said, 'Do you know who her mom is?' After we all found out, now we make fun of Aly when we're in the gym and her mom comes on TV."

Aly is a sophomore with the Camels, currently enjoying their new life in the Gatsby district of the New England Small College Athletic Conference. She doesn't play as much as she'd like. But then, weep not for an aspiring behavioral neuroscience major, who will leave our corner of the world with a degree from Conn and study things that go beyond the Tampa Twos and 2-2-1 traps that occupy her mom's time.

MacMullan was front and center at Luce Field House one night last week, watching Conn defeat Bates. Boyle hardly played. But that didn't stop her mom from cheering for everyone else.

"Obviously, we're all proud of what my mom has done. The thing I'm most proud of is how respected she is," Boyle said. "But she doesn't let 'Jackie MacMullan' define who she is. What she really likes is being Jackie Boyle, coming to my games and watching my brother's high school games."

Boyle learned at an early age that membership in her household has its privileges. Start with enviable access to big games and famous people.

Patty Shields has discovered the same.

"Aly's mom was writing a book with Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) and helping him with his retirement speech," Patty said. "They were going to Shaq's house and Aly got to bring a friend. When she asked me if I wanted to go, I went, 'Oh. My. God.' It's such a Boyle thing to do to bring other people into it.

"Shaq's hilarious," Patty said. "Down to earth. We sat at his kitchen table and watched NBA finals reruns with him. We watched TV in his movie theater."

And now Fran Shields has a photo on his phone of Shaq bear-hugging his daughter.

So now you know that Jackie MacMullan not only has a connection to us, but has raised her daughter with the same unpretentiousness. Aly Boyle is a credit to Conn College. And her family.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.