Next on Tap: UNH-UMass

We had a great trip to the I-AA playoff game between UMass and Lafayette yesterday. The weather was unbelievable -- there were people there in shorts -- and the game was entertaining. If you have any worries about an Ivy League team embarrassing itself in the playoffs, consider this: Lafayette (6-6) was hardly run off the field. The Leopards were within a touchdown at halftime and while the game finished 35-14, the Patriot League champions absolutely proved they belonged. Oh, and the Leopards were 0-4 against Ivy League teams this fall.

We'll be back at Amherst Saturday for what should be a tremendously entertaining rematch between UMass and UNH in the quarterfinals of the tournament. UMass won the first game, 28-20.

From the opinion page of the Manchester Union Leader in response to Athletic Director Josie Harper's letter of apology regarding the North Dakota mascot:

Dartmouth owes no one an apology for inviting the UND Fighting Sioux to campus.

Harper, however, owes the Sioux an apology for insulting the tribes' collective intelligence and judgment.

In case you missed the earlier Associated Press story about the non-athletic issues regarding the college and Native Americans, it included this quote from Dartmouth President James Wright:

"They are members of this community … they are your classmates and your friends. And they deserve more and better than to be abstracted as symbols and playthings."

For what it's worth, I clearly remember the day I heard North Dakota was coming to town and thinking it was going to make for some interesting times on campus. No doubt, the college is on a slippery slope. On December 18, the women's basketball team plays at Central Michigan University. That would be the CMU Chippewas.

Today at 4:15 p.m. it's the New York Giants against the Tennessee Titans and former Dartmouth tight end Casey Cramer. From a story in the Charlotte paper:

The season-ending injury to Tennessee tight end Ben Troupe means more playing time for former Panther Casey Cramer.