Dartmouth On Brink of Rare National Championship

Thanks to a 14-8 victory over Notre Dame last night, the Dartmouth women's lacrosse team will play Northwestern tomorrow for the national championship and a page in the college history books. (It appears I'll be at the game down at Boston University on assignment.) From the release about the win over the Fighting Irish:

In the history of Dartmouth athletics, Big Green teams have won only four recognized, NCAA-sanctioned titles -- golf in 1921, football in 1925 and skiing in 1958 and 1976. There have been other national banners -- 21 in all -- but the only women's was the AIAW Ski Championship in 1977.

Former tailback Ikechi Ogbonna competed in the hurdles at the NCAA regional track championships in Greensboro, N.C., but did not make it to the finals. Two other Dartmouth athletes did qualify including ski/run phenom Ben True, who was second in his heat in the 1,500.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a story on what it considers five of the top candidates to be the next commissioner of the NFL. Four of the five have Ivy League degrees including Reggie Williams, the former Dartmouth and Cincinnati Bengals linebacker.

Remember a week ago when it seemed to be a slam dunk that if he were healthy, Jay Fiedler would be the backup quarterback for the New York Giants next fall? It could still happen, but the odds got a little longer when the team signed Rob Johnson yesterday. From the New York Daily News:

The Giants made no secret of their desire to add a veteran quarterback - Accorsi previously expressed interest in Jay Fiedler, who is coming off shoulder surgery - but the acquisition of Johnson comes as a surprise, considering his recent history. He spent the past two years working in California at Camp Quarterback, which is run by his father.

The New York Post summarized the race to back up Eli Manning this way:

Johnson's addition gives the Giants four backups behind Eli Manning. He joins Tim Hasselbeck, Jared Lorenzen and Josh Harris. The Giants also are interested in Jay Fiedler once he recovers from the shoulder injury he suffered last season with the Jets. Fiedler also played for Coughlin in Jacksonville.