Suspended football captain Matthew C. Thomas ’06-’07, the first-team all-Ivy League linebacker facing criminal charges for assault and battery, has been replaced as team captain and is no longer listed on the squad’s roster, according to the 2006 football media guide, which was released yesterday.A story out of the WAC notes: "Since 1990, only the Pac 10 and the Ivy League have the same membership, while the 29 other conferences have changed." ... I wouldn't anticipate any changes in the Pac 10, but I'll bet the farm that it makes a change before the Ivy League does. The Big 10 has been relatively stable as well, with the exception of the addition of Penn State. I would like to see one change in the Big 10 and that would be the addition of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish (and I'm not a fan) would be a great addition. But frankly, the Ivy League may expand before the Irish join a conference. ...
There was an interesting ESPN column out of Auburn, where SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, a Dartmouth alum, referenced the Ancient Eight with regard to Auburn athletes (and football players in particular) taking "self-directed" courses. A newspaper story noted that (Slive) "this week defended Auburn by saying that directed-study courses also are offered at Ivy League schools." Of course, the football players at Auburn had a 3.31 GPA in the self-directed classes given by one professor and a 2.14 GPA in their other courses at Auburn.
Tampa Bay has put quarterback Jay Fiedler on the Unable to Perform list, but he's not expected to spend much time on it, judging by this story. Said Fieldler: "It's basically day to day. There are no instructions on what I'm cleared to do. It's as much as I can handle, as much as the arm can handle."
Finally, Dartmouth's Memorial Field has long been the home of the Vermont-New Hampshire Shrine Game, one of the oldest and biggest such games in the country. With all the work going on at Memorial Field, the game has been shifted for this one year to Plymouth State University, a Division III school made famous when tailback Joe Dudek was Sports Illustrated's pick to win the Heisman one year. Plymouth State seats only about 2,000 and the Shrine Game has historically drawn upwards of 10,000 people. They don't expect that many this year, given that Plymouth State is a lot harder to get to and less central to the two states than Dartmouth. Still, one story suggests it's a better place to watch a game that might draw 4,000 people. The story says a "nice feature of having the game at Plymouth State is a better atmosphere. The fans are fairly far removed from the field at Dartmouth, owing to a track that circles the playing surface. The stands will also be much fuller. Much of the bleacher space at 20,000-seat Memorial Stadium was empty. It will be a more intimate atmosphere," (Plymouth State University Director of Events Peter) Cofran said. "I think it will be very festive. Now, when a photographer takes a photo, it will have people in the background, not empty bleachers." ... Now, recognizing the Director of Events' built-in bias, he makes a couple of valid points. A smaller venue (as will be the case in the "new" Memorial Field) really does work better when crowds are smaller, which is why the reduction in seating a Memorial Field isn't a bad thing. And the track at Dartmouth really does remove fans a bit from the action. Too bad Dartmouth didn't have the room or the inclination to build a new track elsewhere and close the stands in at Memorial Field.
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