The Mick

 So much of old Route 66 to see but this from after the heyday of the route hit home with this Yankees fan:

That pinstriped water tower honors the "Commerce Comet," Mickey Mantle. We also went by his childhood home and "Mickey Mantle Field."

Route 66 Update

Missed an update on our Route 66 trip while visiting with BGA Brother and his kids in New Albany, Ind. We jumped on 66 in St. Louis after a trip to the top of the Gateway Arch and a "concrete" frozen custard at Ted Drewes' legendary stand. Here's a little taste of what we have seen so far, starting with the "second-largest rocking chair in the world" in front of our EV.

Polling Place

The Ivy League football media poll (sans my vote ;-() came out yesterday and looked like this:

1. Harvard – 118 (9)

2. Dartmouth – 105 (4)

3. Yale – 103 (3)

4. Columbia – 72

5. Princeton – 55

6. Penn – 49

7. Cornell – 42

8. Brown – 32

As promised, here’s how my ballot would have looked if redistricting hadn’t taken way my vote:

1. Harvard

2. Yale 

3. Columbia 

4. Penn 

5. Princeton 

6. Brown

7. Cornell 

Wait, wait, you say, What about Dartmouth?

No, I’m not trying to avoid the ire of Big Green readers and coaches. In a perfect world no beat writer would ever be allowed to slot the team they cover in a poll. Beat writers know way more about the team they cover – both the good and the bad – than they do about the other teams, particularly when there’s precious little available on other teams around the league. When I worked at Dartmouth Ivy schools were required to send along a prospectus with a full fall roster and a relatively comprehensive look at the strengths and challenges each team faces, making voting much more educated. To my chagrin, the Ivy League doesn’t do that anymore.

So where would I peg Dartmouth? I’ll say this much: I’d have the Big Green in the mix and playing for something on the final Saturday of the season along with at least two others.

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EXTRA POINT

The Great Route 66 Road Trip of 2025 made it deep into Ohio yesterday. A Scrabble game is already heating up at the campground and our well-charged EV is keeping a small fridge cool. We’ll hit Route 66 for the first time tomorrow as we visit the Gateway Arch.

EV Across America

Day One could not have gone more smoothly. Charging was a breeze. We finished the day’s drive at the wonderfully named Farmer’s Daughter restaurant in Ohio.

BGA Overtime

It was a gamble last year shifting BGA from the subscription model it had been using since 2005 to a donation model, but the move was a qualified success. The site able to bring Dartmouth football news to a far greater audience than in previous years, and readers were generous enough that BGA Overtime will give it a shot for another season and see what happens.

With practice for the 2025 season not beginning until Aug. 23, Mrs. BGA and I are taking advantage of the first of two years of free charging for our new EV and setting out tomorrow on a three-week road trip. After sprinting to the midwest we will be spending a solid 10 days exploring 1,500 or so miles of legendary Route 66 before a quick visit to Bryce Canyon to see That Certain Dartmouth ’14 and her new husband.

The term Paid Time Off (PTO) has become trendy in recent years but it doesn’t work in this case. For BGA, the next three weeks are a pure vacation, which is why the plan was for this daily site to go dark. But That Certain Nittany Lion ’16 suggested I instead post a picture each day from our trip, which is what I plan to do. So keep coming back to follow along . . . and I’ll see you toward the end of the month.

Cheers,

BW

PS: Correction. I actually plan to interrupt the daily photo series on Monday by posting the Ivy League football media poll – even though for the first time in more than 30 years I was not invited to participate. I’ll even show you how I would have voted (although with a twist ;-).

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EXTRA POINT

This is pure Ripley’s. Last night the meteorologist on one of the TV stations out of Burlington, Vt., informed us that if there is no precipitation today or tomorrow it will be the first completely dry weekend in this part of the world since Dec. 14-15. Wow. 

On The Teevens Center

The Dartmouth has a story headlined New Teevens Center honors the past by building the future that includes these thoughts from Dartmouth quarterback Grayson Saunier and coach Sammy McCorkle (LINK):

Saunier: 

“We’re super excited to honor Coach Teevens and to carry out his legacy through this center.” … Coach Teevens was “a phenomenal leader of our team and a lot of our values and morals today have been set in a foundation from him.”

“Being an Ivy League student and competing at the highest level of college athletics is no joke. It’s full throttle all four years. But, having resources like the Teevens Center coming up will help us take that next step as student-athletes and we’re super pumped about it.”

McCorkle:

“Buddy was a humble, modest guy. He did not do things because he wanted to be ‘the guy’; it was because he wanted to help individuals and I think that’s exactly what the center is all about. It signifies who he was as a person and what he was able to develop in our football program.” 

“We’re very fortunate to be able to utilize opportunities like these. It’s all about having that edge, and … developing leadership, developing team unity…. the fact that our athletic department is providing these different ways to learn leadership, like the DRIVE program, is huge for the success of our athletic programs.”

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Flo Orimolade ’17 in action for the Calgary Stampeders:

pic.twitter.com/30AoXFnRM1

— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) August 1, 2025

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New Stanford athletic director John Donahoe is a 1982 Dartmouth alum and former Dartmouth trustee. From the story (LINK):

He was previously the CEO of Bain & Company (1999), eBay (2008), and Nike (January 2020-October 2024). He also is listed as the chairman of PayPal and has held other high level corporate positions as well. On the academic side, he was on the board of trustees of Dartmouth from 2003-2012, giving him a chance to return to his alma mater where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics (’82). 

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EXTRA POINT

Should have shared this yesterday on World Ranger Day:

That Certain Dartmouth ’14 has been away from her office at Bryce Canyon National Park serving as a public information officer at the White Sage Fire on the Kaibab Plateau north of Grand Canyon. It’s her second posting this fire season, and may not be her last. 

Alumni In The News

Macklin Ayers ’24, the standout linebacker who grad transferred to UMass after picking up his diploma, is honored in a PennLive story headlined The best Mid-Penn football players of the century so far. The story says that the Elizabethville, Pa. product succeeded “either through speed or toughness or sheer defiance,” and that he "covered a ton of ground in his prep career with his blue collar approach.”

The PennLive piece is behind a paywall. but can be found HERE.

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Screenshot from 2004 Dartmouth media guide

A story headlined Mizzou Players Share the Story Behind Their Jersey Numbers includes thoughts from coaches including this from Derham Cato ’05 (LINK):

Tight ends coach Derham Cato, defensive lineman at Dartmouth, No. 90

"Not really a reason. They kind of just gave it to me when I showed up Day 1." "I was 81 in high school, but I was a tight end in high school, and then they flipped me (to defense) overnight, and they kept feeding me, and I kept moving inside (along the defensive line). Like, at least 90, it's like, kind of sexy. So I just let it rip, I didn't mind it too bad.”

Do you think you were a good player?: 

No. I would have been somewhere else. I loved my time in college football. And the beautiful thing about football, there's a place for everybody. And getting ready for playing at Harvard is, I mean, you get the same feeling as doing that as me on the sideline out here getting ready to play an SEC opponent. So football is a beautiful game. Doesn't matter where you're playing. It doesn't matter how many people are in the stands."

Cato was a three-year starter and four-year letterman at Dartmouth. He went on to see time in the Arena Football League, NFL Europe, the Canadian Football League and AFL2 before returning to coach tight ends at Dartmouth in 2010. He’s also been on staff at Vanderbilt, Davidson, Washington for five years, Maine for a short stint before moving on to Missouri in 2023.

(Another Ivy League coaching veteran at Missouri is Sean Gleeson, who spent six years at Princeton before moving on to Rutgers, Oklahoma State and Northwestern.)

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Stats Perform's Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List for the outstanding FCS offensive player of the year features Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig and Cornell wide receiver Samuel Musungu (LINK).

Green Alert Take: I pulled the Payton Watch List up expecting to see Dartmouth All-America Chris Corbo listed but while there were 10 quarterbacks, 13 running backs and seven wide receivers, there wasn’t a single tight end on the list. Granted, it would be hard to quantify an offensive lineman for the award, but whither tight ends? You’d think a year after Penn State’s Tyler Warren finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting the position would get a little more love from the Payton Award folks.

Stats Perform also had two Ivy Leaguers on the Watch List for the Buchanan Award as the nation’s top defensive player. Named were Harvard defensive back Ty Bartrum and Yale DB Abu Kamara. (LINK)

In addition to the two Payton and two Buchanan nominees, Dartmouth will face another pair of players  this fall who were included on the Watch Lists. Fordham linebacker James Conway and Central Connecticut running back Elijah Howard also made the cut.

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EXTRA POINT

On my hike early on this final morning of July I came across a reminder that fall – read: football – is just around the corner.

Check It Out

The High School on SI site has a piece headlined, Vote: Who is the 2025 Florida High School Football Class 2A Preseason Player of the Year? From the story (LINK):

 Jarritt "JJ" Bolz, RB/LB, Bishop Verot (Senior) During the 2024 season, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound two-way player was credited with 134 total tackles (10.5 Tackles for loss) and 5.5 sacks as a junior for the Vikings. Bolz is committed to playing collegiate football at Dartmouth College.

Bolz is one of 10 nominees for the honor. Check out his Dartmouth commitment HERE.

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Nevada SportsNet has a piece headlined Nevada football offensive preview entering fall camp: Lots of production to replace one month ahead of the Wolfpack opening their season against national championship contender Penn State at Beaver Stadium. From the story (LINK):

Tight end

Projected starter: Jace Henry, 6-4/269, sr.

Overview: Henry doesn't technically qualify as a returning start since he only started four games last season. But that was because he had a season-ending broken foot in the Wolf Pack's fourth game, at Minnesota. Since he only played four games, he used that season as a redshirt and got a second senior year. A transfer from Dartmouth, Henry is the size of an offensive lineman and is a big boon to the Wolf Pack's rushing attack, which tailed off after his injury. Henry also proved to be a good red zone threat in non-conference last year, catching a pair of touchdowns in the team's first three games. That's not something he showed a lot of in the Ivy League, but he could be in line for a 35-plus catch, six-plus touchdown season if he stays healthy.

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With a broadcast background, it was a natural for Jake Novak of the Roar Lions Columbia football blog to expand his offerings into the podcast arena. Click on the graphic below to tune in to his Roar Lions Podcast: Poll Preparation episode that delves into why Columbia likely won’t get the respect it deserves, and how he sees the perception of the other Ivies in advance of Monday’s media poll.

Click in the graphic to access the podcast.

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Every once in a while an algorithm brings this stuff up and I have to shake my head:

If you are to believe TicketsCenter, the best deal for a ticket to see New Hampshire visit Dartmouth on Sept. 20 is $69, and tickets are going fast. Two things, one of which the Dartmouth ticket office might not appreciate:

• First, you can buy a midfield, reserved season ticket for Dartmouth football for $85, meaning for $16 more than the online broker is asking you can get all five games.

• And second, while the broker as asking $69 for one ticket (and that may not including handling), here’s a little secret. If you hang around the ticket booth on the day of the game there’s a good chance someone may offer you an extra ticket free of charge. It doesn’t happen every game, but I promise you it happens more than you would expect.

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Finally, it isn’t just Texas that has a strange perspective on high school football. Check out the “$60 million plus” high school stadium opening in Georgia HERE.

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EXTRA POINT

We brought Griff the Wonder Dog to the weekly concert on the green at a little town just south of us last night. While a small jazz group played on the bandstand, a few small children wandered by and asked if they could pet him. We told them he would love it, which he did. A woman who said last week that Griff always looks like he’s smiling came over to pet him and even give him a kiss on his head. He’s that kind of welcoming fellow.

We like to tell people Griff barks maybe once a year, but now that I think about it, that’s not quite right. I honestly do not remember the last time he barked. And he has never, ever barked at a person. I’d venture to say the only time he’s ever barked was when another dog was playing with him and got too rough. When that happens, he may let out a less-than-enthusiastic bark that probably scares him more than the other pooch.