Names in the News

Incoming tight end Carroll Papajohn gets a mention in this, uh, column in the Gulf Breeze News. ... The Dartmouth Review had a very interesting Q&A with Athletic Director Josie Harper earlier this month. Commenting on the dynamic of a woman athletic director at a school that long has taken football seriously, Harper said:

I’ve had alums saying, “Oh my god, we can’t win in football, and now we’ve got a woman AD.” And I basically said, “Okay, so who was in charge before me?” I said as long as John, at that point in time, doesn’t send a note, “Josie, it’s third and ten, what do we do?” I think we’re okay. My job was, and my job is, to get every resource we can and to make sure we hire the best possible people. It’s not my job to coach soccer. It’s my job to provide the resources so the coaches can be successful.

The Review also has a scattershot review of Chris Lincoln's book, Playing the Game. Hard to tell whether the reviewer liked the book or not, although the writer does pay it this somewhat backhanded compliment:

"... (T)he focus of Playing the Game is not tight prose. It effectively achieves what it sets out to do—provide insight into the world of Ivy League athletic recruitment. Lincoln examines each facet of the complex and shadowy process, from initial scouting to financial aid offers to academic regulations."

Former Dartmouth football player and Olympic shotput silver medalist Adam Nelson talked a little about his days on the gridiron in this story for the Eugene Register-Guard in advance of Sunday's 32nd Prefontaine Meet. (Could it possibly be the 32nd annual?) From the story:

Once a linebacker at Dartmouth, he was moved to defensive tackle because "as my butt got bigger, they moved me closer to the line.
"I'd like to think I could've made it in football," said Nelson, long interested in theater, "but as an offensive lineman, I'd be hard-pressed to find a spot at 6 foot and 255 pounds. Wish I had their paychecks, though."

It's not football, but it is Ivy League athletics: If you have the time, be sure to read this lengthy story about recent Penn graduate Friedrich Ebede, a former Penn basketball player who escaped Cameroon when his father became a political prisoner:

"With sweat rolling down his cheeks and his heart about to leap out of his chest, he headed to a plane at the airport in Douala. His passport had his photo, but bore the name of another man."