Tuesday's Practice And A Back Of Tricks

HANOVER -- Sometimes when you reach into your bag of tricks all you come out with is a handful of lint.

Dartmouth football coach Buddy Teevens reached into his personal bag of tricks -- OK, it was actually his pocket -- at the end of Tuesday's practice and came up with something else. Find out what by visiting Green Alert premium.

Got That Video Player Working On Your Computer?

Click here to watch a profile of Jared Turcotte, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound running back from Lewiston, Maine, who has been called the best player in that state by Sports Illustrated. The clip from a TV feature shows him on the field, in the classroom and being interviewed. He's impressive all the way around. The clip mentions that he's being recruited by Dartmouth, Harvard and Maine among others, and has ambitions of being a doctor.

Speaking of video clips, the Ivy League has posted a YouTube link to a piece CSTV did about the famed Cornell-Dartmouth Fifth Down game. It takes a bit for the video to load on your computer, but it's absolutely worth the wait. If you know the story, there's nothing much that's new, but the clips are priceless (except for the silly black-and-white shot of the east stands at Dartmouth that didn't exist when the game took place). The best part is the former Cornell player laughing that all these years later the folks in Ithaca are still awaiting the telegram from Dartmouth saying it wasn't going to accept the win. Oops.

An "undersized" quarterback in Norman, OK, hasn't heard from many schools; one he has heard from: Dartmouth.

They are taking this season -- and particularly Saturday's loss to Brown -- hard in Philly. From the Daily Pennsylvanian: "...(I)f you had to put an exact lifespan on the Quakers dynasty, it would be the following: Oct. 28, 2000 - Oct. 28, 2006"

More from the DP: "Tribute to fallen teammate inspires Cornell's upset victory"

The Columbia Spectator thinks Yale offensive lineman Ed McCarthy should be the player of year in the Ivy League, ahead of Harvard tailback Clifton Dawson if the Crimson happens to finish behind the Bulldogs in the league race: "Other than Dawson, McCarthy's only real competition for the award should be his own teammate, sophomore running back Mike McLeod." I think the folks in Princeton might suggest there's another pretty strong candidate calling signals for the Tigers.

Do you ever look at Wikipedia, which describes itself as a "Web-based free content encyclopedia project?" Somewhere I was surfing this morning steered me to this Wikipedia page on Buddy Teevens that I thought I'd share.

Optimist-Pessimist After Harvard

HANOVER -- The Optimist and The Pessimist were hanging out by the watercooler making small talk when they were rudely interrupted. "Why don't you take the week off?" the interloper said to The Optimist. "Make it, The Pessimist and The Pessimist."

Neither The Optimist nor The Pessimist was amused.

The Optimist thinks the new guy is crazy. There was plenty of reason for hope after the Harvard loss.

The Pessimist doesn't think the new guy deserves so much as a mention. That said, he thinks The Optimist is the crazy one. What's to like after a 28-0 loss?

To read more, visit Green Alert premium.

More From Harvard's Shutout Of The Green

The Harvard Crimson writes about Harvard bouncing back from its first loss with a convincing victory over Dartmouth: "With a new weekend and a noticeably weaker offense in the Big Green, Saturday’s task was about more than just performing: the defense had to dominate. Harvard responded by posting its first shutout of the season, and first since a 38-0 whipping of Columbia in 2004." ... Find a sidebar on the Dartmouth game here.

The Daily Dartmouth story on the game can be found here. ... Dartmouth linebacker Justin Cottrell (17 tackles) has made the weekly Ivy League honor roll. ...

Next on tap for Dartmouth: the long slog to Ithaca where Dartmouth has won just one time in 15 years. While the Big Green is trying to do its own "bounce-back," from the Harvard loss, Cornell is on a high after knocking Princeton from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Cornell Sun writes: "After arguably its worst defeat under Jim Knowles ’87 just one week ago, the football team may have given its head coach his greatest victory." ... The Ivy League's notes for the Dartmouth-Cornell game have been posted here.

I remember once talking to a Dartmouth coach about what life must be like coaching basketball at Penn or Princeton, where you are almost guaranteed a trip to the NCAA Tournament every other year. I said something about how much more fun that must be than coaching at Dartmouth, where the team hasn't been to the tournament since 1959. I distinctly remember the coach talking about the incredible pressure constant winning can bring. He pointed out that when you are used to winning championships, even second place is unacceptable. What brings that to mind is a column in the Daily Pennsylvanian suggesting the time could be coming for a football coaching change in Philadelphia if the Quakers don't turn things around soon. The writer notes that "...even if the Quakers win out - which based on who Penn is playing doesn't look very likely - they will have 10 losses in three years and seven Ivy defeats." And that it will be three years without an Ivy title.

Harvard Follow Posted

HANOVER -- In the first six games of the season, Dartmouth lost just two fumbles.

In Saturday's 28-0 loss to Harvard, the Big Green coughed the ball over to the Crimson three times. Add in three interceptions and Dartmouth had the most turnovers it has suffered since last year's finale against Princeton. Perhaps not coincidentally, that was the last time the Big Green was shut out, 30-0. Visit Green Alert premium to read the full story

Harvard Was "Ruthlessly Efficient"

The Boston Globe described Harvard's play against Dartmouth Saturday as "ruthlessly efficient."

The Manchester Union Leader picked up the Dartmouth sports information release.

The Saturday Roundup:
Brown 30, Pennsylvania 27, OT
Yale 21, Columbia 3Cornell 14, Princeton 7
Lafayette 27, Colgate 10
Lehigh 28, Holy Cross 14
New Hampshire 10, Hofstra 6

How windy and muddy was it across the state at UNH? From the Union Leader story: "Ricky Santos completed one pass for all of 11 yards. David Ball did not have a single catch."

A few thoughts: I correctly picked Cornell's win over Princeton. My guess: 17-16. ... Columbia is having an unbelievably hard time scoring in Ivy League games. The Lions have now totaled 16 points in four Ivy contests. ... Yale coach Jack Siedlecki's decision to call two timeouts in the final minute after the ball had reached the Columbia 2 and then punch in a last touchdown instead of taking a knee is being debated on message boards. The last timeout was with eight seconds remaining. ... Brown's win over Penn shows once again the importance of having a very good kicker, and the Bears have one in Steve Morgan. ... It's now official: Colgate isn't very good. Nor is Holy Cross as good as its record.

Harvard Front Four Dominates

HANOVER -- For all the talk about Clifton Dawson, Liam O'Hagan and Harvard's offense, it was the Crimson's defensive line that was the star of the show in Saturday's 28-0 victory over Dartmouth on Memorial Field.

To be sure, Dawson's 74-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, his two other scores and O'Hagan's solid all-around play made a huge difference in how the game played out. But on this day the offense took a back seat to an overpowering defensive front that helped the Crimson post its first road shutout since Oct. 11, 2003 at Cornell. Visit Green Alert premium to read more.

Harvard 28, Dartmouth 0

HANOVER -- Figuratively and literally, Dartmouth's game against Harvard Saturday afternoon was over almost before it began.

The Literal Ending: Played before an announced crowd of 2,028 in heavy winds and an occasional driving rain, the contest was over in a brisk 2 hours, 17 minutes.

The Figurative Ending: Clifton Dawson's 74-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, a lost fumble that sabotaged a promising opening drive by the Big Green, and Dawson's second touchdown on the first play of the second quarter all but condemned Dartmouth to a 28-0 loss to the nationally ranked Crimson. Visit Green Alert premium to read the full account.

Wind, Rain And Harvard

I'm not sure what it is doing down in the valley right now, but up here on the mountain just seven miles away the wind is absolutely howling. We've had heavy lawn furniture blow off our deck and I was relieved to look into the driveway this morning and see that no trees have blown over onto our beloved '84 VW camper bus. If this keeps up I may have to climb over a blow-down and hike to the game today. ...

There's something about when Dartmouth and Harvard meet. Last year in Boston there was rain, sleet and finally snow. I remember one year in Boston when I was shooting pictures on the sidelines, I had layer upon layer of clothing covered by a very good rain coat and rain pants. Still, when I got home, my T-shirt had bled all over my shoulders. That's about as wet as I can ever remember getting.

A PDF file of Dartmouth's game notes for Harvard can be found here. ...

The New York Times has a byline story about Princeton's undefeated season. Interestingly, perennial doormat Rutgers, Princeton's longtime rival and neighbor just to the north, is also undefeated this fall. ... Co-Ed Magazine (I'm not making this up) has a mention of the Ivies and the NFL. From the story:

When the Rams signed linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski last week, it marked the first time in 82 years (1924) that Harvard University had two players on the same NFL roster at one time.

Wonder how Harvard players could be in the NFL in 1924, though the Ivy League is only 50 years old?

In case you missed it, here's a link to the story I did celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dartmouth's undefeated, untied 1996 team. From the story:

It’s a message Buddy Teevens has been preaching to his young team for two years.

Winning, the Dartmouth coach reminds his players time and again, isn’t a matter of hoping. It’s a matter of believing.

Winning, Teevens explains to them, is about expecting to come out on top and then going out and doing whatever you have to do to make it happen.

No team in the past three decades embraced that philosophy more fully and more successfully than the 1996 Big Green, which 10 years ago this fall completed the only undefeated and untied season Dartmouth has enjoyed in 35 years.

Harvard may have worn down the junior varsity Friday afternoon, but the Big Green got its revenge in a big way Friday night as the Dartmouth men's hockey team opened the 2006-07 season with a serious thrashing of the Crimson at Thompson Arena, 5-2. Read about the big win here. The attendance was 4,318. If the weather were nice, the football game would double that attendance but given the conditions and the forecast, I wonder if Memorial Field will even match it.

For what it's worth, Dartmouth's ice hockey game against Vermont Sunday is being broadcast nationally from Thompson Arena at 7 p.m.. Check your local listings. (I can't get it, though, because cable doesn't come up our mountain road and our satellite package is bare bones.)

Harvard Preview; Harvard JV 20, Dartmouth 7

HANOVER -- The formula for a Dartmouth upset of Harvard is simple.

Turn record-breaking Crimson tailback Clifton Dawson and quarterback Liam O'Hagan from active participants into spectators.

"The best defense is to have them on the bench," Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said. "That's the charge our offense has; to try to keep the ball away from their offense." To read the full preview, visit Green Alert premium.


Freshman tight end Carroll Papajohn caught four passes for 151 yards but the undermanned Dartmouth junior varsity wore down and dropped a 20-7 decision to Harvard on Memorial Field Friday. For unofficial stats and a recap, visit Green Alert premium. (A preview of the Harvard-Dartmouth varsity game will be posted later tonight.)

Picks Are Posted

This week's picks have been posted on the Green Alert site. ... If you haven't seen the plans for the interior of the new Floren Varsity House, you can find them here. (Actually, you can find them there even if you have seen them, but you get the idea ;-) ... Check the Green Alert site tonight both for a recap (and stats) from jayvee football against Harvard and a preview of tomorrow's varsity game against the Crimson.

Gearing Up For Harvard

The Daily Dartmouth preview for the Harvard game is now on line.

Erik Estabrook and teammates sign autographs and hand out treats at Thursday's practice. (Click to enlarge)
Casey Frost, wearing one of the gold football necklaces the team gave out, signs a cap.
No one seemed to have more fun and smiled any more than quarterback Mike Fritz.

From today's Harvard Crimson:

(Harvard coach Tim) Murphy is well aware of this contest’s potential to be a trap game, and is making sure that his team is not taking the Big Green lightly.

“Dartmouth always plays us tough,” Murphy said. “Right now in our league, there are no bad teams. If you don’t come to play, if you’re not healthy, if you make mistakes, then you’re not going to win.”

Matt Dougherty of The Sports Network has a capsule preview of Harvard-Dartmouth in which he picks Harvard in a tight game, 24-17.

Ivy weekend previews have been posted by the Daily Pennsylvanian and the Columbia Spectator.

The Atlantic City Press has a "hometown" release on Dartmouth linebacker Justin Cottrell.

I-AA.org has a lengthy "diary" of last week's Harvard-Princeton game.

Thursday's Practice Report

HANOVER -- The Dartmouth football team gave new meaning to the increasingly popular term "trickeration" Thursday afternoon.

It had nothing to do with the fumblerooski, or with 5-foot-7 running backs squatting behind the line of scrimmage or anything remotely like last week's well-designed fake field goal against Columbia. Find out what it had to do with here.

Harvard QB Back For Dartmouth

To the surprise of no one, Liam O'Hagan will make his first start at quarterback when Harvard visits Dartmouth Saturday. O'Hagan, suspended for the first five games this fall, entered the Princeton game last week in the second quarter. Talking about what O'Hagan brings to the table, Harvard coach Tim Murphy told the Crimson: “All things being equal, you ask any defensive coordinator, you get two guys of basically somewhat equal ability, and one guy can make plays with his feet … it’s tougher to defend. It’s a dimension that’s more intangible.” ... O'Hagan, by the way, outgained Clifton Dawson on the ground in three quarters last week at Princeton.

The Dartmouth Sports Information advance story on the game can be found here.

Harvard's game notes have been posted. Click here for the PDF file. From the notes: "... Harvard head coach Tim Murphy will try to defeat one of his closest friends in Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens. The two head coaches were classmates and teammates at Silver Lake High School in Kingston, Mass., and were assistants together at Boston University from 1982-84. Teevens hired Murphy has his offensive coordinator when the former was named head coach at Maine in 1985, and Murphy succeeded Teevens as Black Bear head coach in 1987.

There's an interesting story in the Columbia Spectator about athletes who quit playing at the New York school as well as at other Ivies. The well-written piece was pulled together by a former walk-on kicker who quickly realized he'd made a mistake giving the college game a shot, but agonized about the decision to walk away. The next time you criticize someone who gives up a sport, think about this sentence from the story: "... (S)ports teams can easily absorb the defection of one player, but one young man cannot readily retrieve four years of an unhappy life." ... The story is particularly timely given the decision by Columbia's backup quarterback to leave the team after being passed on the depth chart. Find that story here.

The Gridiron Power Index (GPI) coordinated by I-AA.org collects rankings from various polls and combines them into what it bills as the "top indicator of at-large playoff selection." Although Ivy teams aren't going on to the playoffs, the GPI still ranks them and the results can offer an indication of how the teams are viewed nationally. The latest rankings can be found here. Here's how the Ivies and Dartmouth's opponents rank among the 122 I-AA programs in the latest GPI index:

11. Princeton
18. Harvard
24. Yale
35. Penn
64. Brown
75. Cornell
83. Columbia
84. Dartmouth

9. New Hampshire
36. Holy Cross
57. Colgate

Whether you like the NFL, the Giants or the Bucs, you'll enjoy this New York Times story about twins Tiki and Ronde Barber.

And finally, a change of pace. I sometimes laugh about what friends from metropolitan areas must think when they take a look at our local paper and see big splash stories about things like cow tipping. (This slide show about cow tipping is actually pretty interesting; be sure to turn on the captions.) Well, I'd bet a few Dartmouth students will grimace when their Ivy friends tease them about this story in the Daily D. Here's the "nug graf" as they say in the journalism business:

"As anecdotal evidence suggests that the skunk population in Hanover has increased, the skunks have reportedly been hitting all the campus hot-spots, including the entrance of Thayer dining hall, the steps of Baker-Berry library, the bushes behind La Casa, the dumpster by the Gap, the McLaughin Residence Cluster and even the occasional School Street apartment."

A Cooler Conundrum: Wednesday Practice

HANOVER -- The ubiquitous orange cooler dispenser sat innocently on the first row of Memorial Field's north end zone bleachers Wednesday.

Anyone who sidled over to sneak a quick sip would have been in for a big surprise because it wasn't exactly Gatorade inside.

Visit Green Alert premium to find out what the cooler contained.

Perrennial Cellar Dwellers?

This is the third time in a week a blog posting disappeared. Very frustrating.

From the Columbia Spectator: "...(T)he Princeton Tigers were given a preseason rank of sixth in the Ivy League, just ahead of perennial cellar-dwellers Dartmouth and Columbia." How jarring is that? It's not untrue, of course. From 1998-2005, the Big Green has finished last -- or tied for last -- in the league four times. Columbia: five times. Ivy League wins since 1998: 1. Penn 45; 2. Harvard 39; 3. Brown 35; 4. Yale 31; 5. Princeton 25; 6. Cornell 24; 7. Dartmouth 13; 8. Columbia 12.

In the Spectator, a story headlined Tigers, Elis Unexpectedly Top Ivy Football

Harvard coach Tim Murphy quoted in the Boston Globe about this weekend's matchup with boyhood chum Buddy Teevens: "Our friendship happens the other 364 days a year. On Saturday we'll be competitors and that's the only way we'd both have it."

The Wall Street Journal has a story about the fight over Dartmouth's alumni constitution. Among those mentioned in the piece: Buddy Teevens and Jeff Immelt.

Teeming Tuesday Practice

HANOVER -- In Buddy Teevens' lexicon there are Teaching Tuesdays and there are Typical Tuesdays.

The Dartmouth football coach is too savvy to say it, but you can be sure there are occasional Terrible Tuesdays and Tedious Tuesdays as well.

This one? You might call it a Teeming Tuesday. Visit Green Alert premium to read more.

Dartmouth-Columbia Analysis

Jake has posted a crisp analysis of the Dartmouth-Columbia game, albeit from the Columbia angle, on his Roar Lions Roar blog. It's well worth a stop over there to take a look. I've heard from several people who appreciated the travel insights he shared on Green Alert and think you'll find his football knowledge just as keen.

Another Example Of Pregame Unruliness

Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens said after the recent fiasco with Holy Cross that he thinks rules are needed to delineate what teams can and cannot do during pregame. What happened in the Grambling State-Jackson State game is yet another example of why those rules would be a good idea. From the News Star:

The afternoon began with JSU players surging toward midfield, as pregame warm-ups got underway, chanting: "We own the SWAC."
A raucous announced crowd of nearly 19,000, many of them JSU fans, only added spice to this bubbling roux by joining in.

"That little stunt got to us," said junior Clyde Edwards, one of two GSU receivers with more than 100 yards on the day. "That's the worst thing they could have done."

Grambling's squad broke ranks and charged to the 50-yard line, where coaches and security officers kept a shaky peace. That set the tone for a contentious day on the field.

"Robinson Stadium is hallowed ground," (coach Melvin) Spears said. "They disrespected us."

Green Alert Take: If the word "disrespect" were to be removed from the dictionary it would be fine by me. It brings nothing but problems. And yes, it was used after the Dartmouth-Holy Cross fiasco and it bothered me just as much then. More, actually.

The Columbia Spectator analyzes the Lions' futile drive at the end of the first half of last Saturday's game. It's written from the Columbia perspective but offers some interesting insights for a Dartmouth fan.

The Hartford Courant came down to the Columbia-Dartmouth game for a story on former UConn assistant Norries Wilson, who did not have a particularly good day against the Big Green.

Princeton punter Colin McDonough's kicks of 64, 62, 61 and 59 yards in the undefeated Tigers' win over previously unbeaten Harvard led to him being named the Sport Network's National Special Teams Player of the Week.

Most of us probably don't know all that much about rugby. That said, a 100-0 win over UMass is hard to ignore. Read about Dartmouth's overpowering of the Minutemen in this Daily Dartmouth story.

Ivy Title Still A Possibility? The Optimist Thinks So

Wien Stadium has been rightfully called one of the most scenic venues to watch a college game. (click to enlarge; it's worth it.)
You have to look hard to see it, but the scoreboard Saturday told the story.

The Optimist gets a little help this week from his role model, The Optimist To End All Optimists (TOTEAO), who sent along a scenario that would have Dartmouth winning a share of the 2006 Ivy League title. The Pessimist can hardly control himself out of glee at the thought of poking holes in whatever silliness TO and TOTEAO have come up with. Click here to visit Green Alert premium and read more.

Fritz Makes Ivy Honor Roll; The Case For More

UPDATE: The Columbia game story has been posted on the Daily Dartmouth site.

The Ivy League's weekly awards are out and Dartmouth quarterback Mike Fritz, a strong candidate for offensive player of the week honors, was named to the honor roll. Princeton quarterback Jeff Terrell won the offensive award for a big game against previously unbeaten Harvard.

No question Terrell deserved the honor, but so did Fritz.

Terrell threw for 223 yards and ran for 32 with two touchdowns in the air and one on the ground. He completed 17-of-33 throws (with an interception) and his 32 yards came on 16 carries.

Albeit not against the same level of competition, Fritz ran for 120 yards on 14 carries, completed 14-of-21 passes for 133 yards with one interception.

Fritz accounted for 253 yards on 35 plays for a team winning its first game of the year. Terrell accounted for 255 yards on 49 plays for a team avoiding its first loss of the year. Do I hear a vote for co-offensive player of the week?

Picking players for weekly honors is a thankless task. I know; I've been a weekly selector for the New England Gold Helmet Award for the past few years and will be the selector for this week's games. One factor I always take into consideration while I agonize over who to pick is whether a player or his school has won the award previously. If I'm choosing between two otherwise equal performances that can help break a tie.

In the Terrell-Fritz case, Princeton has had three defensive players of the week and one special teams player. The only school to have no offensive, defensive, special teams or rookie of the week is Dartmouth. Add it up and while I wouldn't have overlooked Terrell (who hasn't been named offensive player previously this year) I'd have made he and Fritz co-players of the week.

I'm getting a little tired of the Dartmouth-Holy Cross postgame fracas story and will be cutting back on links referencing it. On first reading a Sunday column in the Manchester Union Leader the melee, I decided it was more of the same. But an email from a subscriber included the full text led me to reread it. I decided to post a link because of the suggestion at the end. Writer Jim Fennell suggests if it's true one Dartmouth player was most responsible for what happened that he step forward and admit it. Fennell also suggests that if such a person isn't ready to step forward that his teammates encourage him to do so. I rather think the whole thing is over, it's not going to happen again and it's time to move on. But to each his own. The column can be found here.

Whew! Dartmouth Win Came Just In Time

The Sports Network weekend roundup has three notes of interest for Dartmouth and Ivy fans:

• Indiana State stopped a 24-game losing streak Saturday, leaving North Carolina A&T with the nation's longest skid of 12 games. (Dartmouth, which avoided a 10th-consecutive loss with the win at Columbia, would have been second in line if it hadn't beaten the Lions.)
  
• NCA&T is now the only winless team in I-AA, another mark of ignominy Dartmouth dodged.
• Princeton's win over Harvard leaves the Tigers as one of just three undefeated Division I-AA teams (San Diego and Charleston Southern are the others)

A Columbia Spectator story from Dartmouth's win over the Lions Saturday begins this way: "It was the most winnable league game of the season."

The Spectator game story can be found here.

The Harvard Crimson writes about the return of quarterback Liam O'Hagan, who very well may open up under center Saturday at Memorial Field. After inserting the dynamic QB -- who missed five games because of a violation of team rules -- into the Princeton game Saturday, Harvard coach Tim Murphy said: “I just thought that (O’Hagan’s) combination of enthusiasm, mobility, and improvisational skills could give us a spark and a dimension to our offense that we don’t have right now.”

(The Daily Dartmouth site hasn't yet been update; check back to see what the school paper has to say and for the weekly Ivy League awards.)

Columbia Follow Posted

HANOVER -- How many quarterbacks have led Dartmouth in rushing over the last 50 years? Bonus question: Name at least one of them.

Before you drive yourself crazy, here's a clue to save you time: It's a trick question.

It has never happened.

Mike Fritz, who ran for 120 yards in Saturday's win over Columbia, is on pace to become the first. Visit the Green Alert premium site to read more.

Princeton, Yale Alone At The Top

Here are links for the Ivy League roundup:
Princeton 31, Harvard 28
Yale 17, Pennsylvania 14, OT
Brown 28, Cornell 7
Holy Cross 38, Lafayette 28
Northeastern 36, New Hampshire 35, OT
Colgate 46, Fordham 3

The New York Times Ivy roundup understandably leads with Princeton's big win over Harvard. ... The Ivy League's quick trip around the conference is here.

The Ivy Standings:
Princeton, 3-0, 6-0
Yale, 3-0, 5-1
Harvard, 2-1, 5-1
Penn, 2-1, 4-2
Brown, 1-2, 2-4
Dartmouth, 1-2, 1-5
Columbia, 0-3, 3-3
Cornell, 0-3, 2-4

A 6-foot, 200-pound running back from New Jersey is reported as being recruited by Dartmouth and Princeton in this story in his local paper.

A West Coast letter writer to the Mercury News thinks people blaming all of Stanford's current woes on its previous coach is both piling on and incorrect.

Looking at the scores from yesterday it's more than a bit humbling. I knew picking road teams was a gamble and that's about all I was correct on. I got just two games right and I didn't even put the second one in writing. I had Colgate walloping Fordham, 35-7. And I had Dartmouth as my lead-pipe cinch over Columbia. No, I didn't post it because I don't pick Big Green games. But I've got witnesses. Honest ;-).

Six games into the season and no Dartmouth player has been named offensive, defensive or special teams or rookie player of the week. Quarterback Mike Fritz should have a shot at offensive. And while Ian Wilson's tackle total won't win him the defensive award, anyone who saw Columbia's final drive of the first half knows what an impact he had on the Big Green's first win.

And if you are wondering ... down to New York City for a game, two stories and a drive back into the wee hours makes for a l-o-n-g day. I'll be grabbing a nap this afternoon and then have a follow story on the Green Alert site tonight.

Dartmouth 20, Columbia 7

NEW YORK CITY -- That sound you heard at 3:13 p.m., eastern time Saturday was not a certain oversize primate falling off the Empire State Building.

But it sure felt like it.

Read about Dartmouth's first win on the Green Alert premium site and check back for a sidebar by 9 p.m.

The sidebar has now been posted. Read away while I get in the car for the long drive back to Hanover. ... Come back for a follow tomorrow.

Off To Columbia Before The Crack Of Dawn

Zipping off to New York City shortly so there's not much time to blog. I'll try to fill in the gaps when I get down there. ...

The New York Times has a short piece on the untoward happenings at Dartmouth and around the league. The writer somehow came across Green Alert, we talked a bit and he used a comment. ... The Times story is a lot fairer than the Top 10 Topics in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The second short bit is titled: " Some Dartmouth players picked the wrong week to stomp on some Holy Cross players."

The first video of the brawl (it doesn't show much) has landed on YouTube. Find it here.

Columbia-Dartmouth Preview Posted

NEW YORK CITY -- On paper it looks like a potential mismatch. A 3-2 team against an 0-5 team.
But things aren't always what they seem to be. For the full preview, visit Green Alert.

Friday Blog Postings Vaporize ...

For the second time this week, Blogger has punted at least an hour's worth of work pulling together the Blog. When it happened earlier, I had time (although barely the energy) to reconstruct the Blog. Today I have neither. Hopefully what happened is maintenance by the Blogger people and, miraculously, the posting will reappear. But I'm not optimistic.

Starting with the next posting I'll copy the Blog and save it on my hard drive so I can retrieve it if this happens again. But that's for the next time. Sorry.

Columbia Visitor's Guide Now Posted

With a big assist and a hearty thanks to Jake Novak of the Roar Lions Roar Columbia football blog, a brief visitor's guide to Wien Stadium and its environs has been posted on the Green Alert premium site.

One Of Those Days

HANOVER -- There are days when there's an electric feeling the minute players hit the practice field.

There's a spring in everyone's step. Passes are crisp. Runners explode into holes. Defenders swarm to the ball. Kicks boom into the sky. There's yelling by coaches and exhortations from teammate to teammate on every play.

You know the kind of day.

Thursday wasn't one of them. Visit the Green Alert premium site for the full story.

Dartmouth's Statement on Saturday

The AP writes a story out of the Dartmouth release (below).

Dartmouth has released its statement on the melee after the Dartmouth-Holy Cross football game last Saturday:

Statement by Dartmouth Director of Athletics Jo Ann Harper

I have concluded a Dartmouth Athletics Department review of the altercation between the Dartmouth and Holy Cross football squads immediately following their Oct. 14 game on Dartmouth's Memorial Field.

It is obvious that many players and some staff of both teams were involved in this incident. While I have been unable to determine individual responsibility, I have told the Dartmouth players and staff that this type of behavior is unacceptable. I have subsequently shared with the Dean of the College Office all the information I have been able to gather, for review by that office.

We have emphasized to the team and the coaches that representing Dartmouth in intercollegiate competition is an honor and a privilege, one that is contingent on our confidence that individual players, staff and teams can conduct themselves in ways that represent our values of sportsmanship. We have also told them that the College will continue its review of the matter, and that any further behavior that undermines our confidence would call that privilege into question.

Coach Teevens, his staff and his players have acknowledged that the actions displayed Saturday were not in keeping with acceptable standards of behavior at Dartmouth, nor with the great traditions of Dartmouth football and Dartmouth athletics in general. They join me in apologizing to the Dartmouth community, the Holy Cross community and the public. All of us pledge to do our best to see that this behavior is not repeated by the Dartmouth football team or, for that matter, any Dartmouth athletes or teams.

More Fallout

The Fracas Fallout continues. ...

The Boston Herald used the weekly college football luncheon to address the issue. From the story:

Area coaches yesterday condemned Saturday night’s brawl between the University of Miami and Florida International at the Orange Bowl, as well as a less violent pushing and shoving match between Holy Cross and Dartmouth.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch web site:

The yapping, shoving, punching and actual kicking of opponents when they were down was appalling but not exactly unprecedented for Miami in its obscene fracas with Florida International on Saturday.

More troubling in many ways was that also described the scene the same day on the supposedly more refined and enlightened campus of Dartmouth, where the Big Green were so offended by Holy Cross' celebration after its 24-21 overtime win that players greeted the Crusaders afterward not with handshakes but fists.

From a Palm Beach Post editorial:

Even if you aren't a sports fan, you've probably heard about what happened Saturday. Two college football teams embarrassed themselves and their schools by brawling on the field. It got ugly, flaring up again and again just when police thought they had snuffed it out.

No, this wasn't the University of Miami and Florida International University in the Orange Bowl. It was Holy Cross College and Dartmouth College, mixing it up on Dartmouth's Memorial Field in Hanover, N.H., after the 24-21 victory by Holy Cross.

Finally, a little football. The Sports Network has its weekend picks up. There's a big writeup on Harvard-Princeton but just a pick for Dartmouth-Columbia. The Sports Network pick? Columbia. As for Harvard-Princeton, TSN picks Harvard, 27-24.

The Daily Dartmouth Columbia preview is up.

Now THESE Are Special Teams Guys

HANOVER -- A 295-pound placekicker knocking it through the wickets from 50 yards out?

A 5-foot-7 soccer player-turned walk-on placekicker now lining up in the defensive backfield?

Wednesday's Dartmouth football practice was a page torn out of Ripley's. To read the full story, visit the Green Alert Premium site.

Cramer: AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Former Dartmouth tight end Casey Cramer named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. From the release:

Contributing mightily toward Tennessee's first win of the season, tight end and special teams ace Cramer blocked a punt through the end zone in the third quarter for a safety in a 25-22 win at Washington. Cramer also recorded three special teams tackles and recovered a Titans' fumble on a punt return on the day. Cramer's safety gave the Titans a 22-14 lead midway through the third quarter to earn the visitors a significant eight-point cushion. Later in the game he recovered a fumble on a Titans' punt return. Tennessee's offense proceeded to drive into field goal range where kicker ROB BIRONAS split the uprights from 30 yards for a 25-22 lead and eventual victory. Cramer was claimed by the Titans off waivers from Carolina on September 3. He was originally selected by the Buccaneers in the seventh round (228th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft.

Here's the story on the Titans' site with a good picture of Casey.

The Worcester Telegram's follow after Saturday's fracas is headlined: "Green acts stun coach"
From the story: "“I’m shocked at what Dartmouth did,” (Holy Cross coach Tom) Gilmore said yesterday. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life."

Also: “There was pushing and shoving for maybe a minute at the most,” Holy Cross radio announcer Bob Fouracre said. “I didn’t see any punches thrown.”

No one has come up with any video of the postgame, but here's video of the rules-break halftime "show."

Just when it seems everyone is trying to blame Buddy Teevens for the woes at Stanford, a respected voice hits a different note. Check out what he says here (you'll have to scroll down a bit to find the mention).

Word Spreads Nationally

One more "brawl" story from the Providence Journal.

On the AP wire via ESPN.com:

Miami and FIU weren't the only college football teams involved in a brawl last weekend -- players from Dartmouth and Holy Cross fought at the end of their game when the teams lined up for postgame handshakes.

The Union-Tribune in San Diego headlined a story about the Dartmouth-Holy Cross fracas: "Button-down crowd can put 'em up, too"

The Dartmouth follows the local daily in writing about an off-campus legal issue from last summer regarding a Dartmouth football player.

A Daily Pennsylvanian columnist presents a laundry list of indiscretions regarding Ivy League sports over the past year or so and comes to the conclusion the league has reached a fork in the road. It can go full Division I, "Or the Ivy League can drop to Division II or III - or even out of the NCAA altogether - and make sure that none of these image problems and academic issues occur."

Princeton coach Roger Hughes, quoted in a Daily Princetonian: "We try to recruit a lot of character when we recruit, and we do a lot of investigation on that. We want to make sure we're bringing the right kinds of people here to Princeton, and you know, again, college kids are going to make mistakes just like all people do in their life, we've just got to make sure we help them through it and try to avoid it."

The Columbia Spectator writes about football coach Norries Wilson's apology for his remarks at Penn.

A Spectator Columnist suggests Wilson wasn't necessarily off base in what he said, just in the how, the when and the where he said it.

The Daily Pennsylvanian explains how the Lions were subdued at Penn: They were physically beaten by a bigger, stronger team.

Fallout From The Fracas

HANOVER -- With the Associated Press writing about Saturday's postgame fracas between the Dartmouth and Holy Cross football teams and ESPN.com and other media outlets picking the story up, it was clear Tuesday that Buddy Teevens was champing at the bit to say his piece.

But the Dartmouth coach instead reluctantly bit his lip. Visit the Green Alert premium site to read more.

Ivies Going Strong

First the good news from the Daily Pennsylvanian: "For the first time this season, half of the Ivy League has received votes for the top 25. Not only have No. 15 Harvard and No. 22 Princeton - up two spots from last week - maintained their top-25 rankings, but Penn and Yale fall under the 'Others receiving votes" category.' The story notes the Ivies finished a startling 14-4 against Patriot League schools.

So much for the good news. The DP story also includes this quick barb at Dartmouth, saying the Big Green "seemed to be doing its best impression of the University of Miami football team on Saturday during its overtime loss to Holy Cross. Unfortunately for the Big Green, it waited until after the closing whistle to do it."

The Manchester Union Leader has a blurb about the Homecoming problems.

A Harvard Crimson blogger writes: "Perhaps the team was demoralized by the absence of unofficial mascot Keggy the Keg, who was denied entrance to the game."

A New Haven Register columnist wonders what the Ivy League was thinking when it named Yale's Mike McLeod Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for his play against Dartmouth less than a week after his arrest following a fight. The columnist writes:

For his part in the Dartmouth win, McLeod deserved an attaboy from his coaches and teammates, and the knowledge that he helped Yale win. But you don't pin a medal on him that same week. The fact that the charges were subsequently dropped changes nothing.

The Ivy League has posted its brief notes on this week's games. For the Dartmouth-Columbia game, click here.

For a picture of Casey Cramer celebrating his blocked punt in the Tennessee Titans first win of the year, click here.

Optimist-Pessimist After Holy Cross

The Optimist and the Pessimist are in the house. Come say hello at the Big Green Alert premium site.

Holy Cross Etc.

Pulling links together for the blog and adding a few thoughts here and there is kind of like flossing. It's a bother sometimes, but once you get in the habit of doing it, you just go ahead and do it. It's not usually too much of a bother (blogging, not flossing) except for days like today, when I spent a full hour on it and for some reason everything I worked on just vaporized into the blogosphere. Argh! So, on a day when I have other deadlines to meet, the best I can offer is a modified version of the first posting. ...

The Daily Dartmouth writes about the Homecoming loss to Holy Cross.

The D notes the Homecoming weekend included 15 arrests (mostly alcohol and rushing the field) but also includes this disturbing bit:

After losing the football game, a brawl broke out at midfield between members of Dartmouth's football team and Holy Cross's team. Several officers descended onto the field to break up the fight and isolate some of the players. The brawl was videotaped and will be reviewed as part of an investigation, according to (Hanover police chief Nick) Giaccone.

From another story in The D: (E)ven with the failings of Big Green football, Homecoming remains our only (almost) sold-out game of the season. Although it might have seemed that way, the attendance Saturday wasn't much different than it has been all season at reconfigured Memorial Field (capacity: 13,000)

Holy Cross (Homecoming): 7,414
Yale: 7,307
UNH: 7,023

Columbia coach Norries Wilson made headlines for his comments in the interview room after the Lions fell to Penn, 16-0. Quoted in a Columbia Spectator story headlined, Saturday's Hardest Hit, he said: "The only person here that treated us with any modicum of respect was Coach Bagnoli, because he's a class guy."

The Daily Pennsylvanian story was headlined: "Coach Wilson crossed a line with remarks" It included this backhanded slap at Dartmouth: "Speaking of conspiracies, Columbia may be weak now and looked at as an easy win, but so is Dartmouth."

Listen to Wilson's comments here.

Another game of interest was Cornell's thrashing of Colgate. Raiders coach Dick Biddle's comment in the Cornell Sun story was telling: "They were very physical on the offensive line. I think it was kind of a mismatch, which is unusual for us."

Dartmouth grad Casey Cramer blocked a punt for a safety in the Tennessee Titans first win, earning a spot on a Top Performers, special teams list.

Former Dartmouth defensive back-turned-actor Brian White is in Boston filming a movie. The Boston Herald caught up with him.

Progress Is Slow But Steady

Homecoming saw a large crowd in the west stands ...
... and the reduced east stands looking terrific. The attendance: 7,414. (Click photos to enlarge)

Dartmouth's rushing yardage is well up at the midway point of the season compared to last year and sacks are well down. The points against average has fallen each of the last three weeks and the points for has risen each week. Progress? It isn't as fast as anyone wants when a team is 0-5, but it is happening. Click here to read the story on Green Alert premium.

Charges Against Yale Players Dropped

The news that Yale football players had been arrested was splashed prominently in newspapers and across the web (including here), so it's only right that news of the charges against them being dropped should start today's post. Here's the New Haven Register story. From the story: "Under the dismissals, each admitted to probable cause for the arrest. However, under Connecticut statute nothing appears on their criminal record, and they are permitted to swear under oath that they have not been arrested in the past."

Here's an edited version of the story I wrote on the Dartmouth-Holy Cross game for the Worcester, Mass., paper. As is sometimes the case, they shared the story with the Boston Globe.

Counting Princeton's win over Brown on Friday night, I was 4-2 on this week's picks. Best pick: Cornell to upset Colgate. I missed on Yale-Lehigh (I guess the Bulldogs are for real) and James Madison's upset of New Hampshire. The roundup:

Penn 16, Columbia 0
Cornell 38, Colgate 14
Harvard 24, Lafayette 7
Yale 26, Lehigh 25 (ot)
James Madison 42, UNH 23

From the Ivy League web site in anticipation of this week's matchup of undefeated Princeton and Harvard teams: "Harvard and Princeton have not met with records of at least 5-0 since Nov. 11, 1922 ... Both teams were 6-0 heading into that meeting at Harvard Stadium."

Holy Cross 24, Dartmouth 21 (ot)

Update: A sidebar dealing with the altercation at midfield has now been posted.

HANOVER -- With about two minutes remaining in regulation the feed carrying both the audio and video of Dartmouth's game against Holy Cross to computers across the country went kaput and switched to another game.

Those who subscribe to the service were fortunate.

They were spared the agony that a stunned Homecoming crowd of 7,414 would suffer on a sun-splashed afternoon. To read more, visit the Green Alert premium site.

Princeton Defense Drowns Brown

As the Princeton Packet said (with a nod toward both baseball and Ivy League football): "It was good to be a Tiger on Friday." ... Three things became clear in Friday night's 17-3 Princeton win:

• The Tigers (5-0) aren't going to score many points this year
• It won't matter
• Brown (1-4) is down

From the AP story: "After Princeton shut down Brown's explosive offense Friday night, Tigers coach Roger Hughes said it was the best defensive effort he's had in his seven years at the Ivy League school." Just how good a defensive performance was it? Three Brown quarterbacks completed 10-of-30 passes for 116 yards with two interceptions. The running game amassed (better: was held to) 41 yards on 26 carries. Folks, that's 157 yards of total offense for the Bears, who had 453 yards last week against Holy Cross.

It's Homecoming in Hanover and if there's been a nicer Saturday morning at this time of year there can't have been many. Up here on the mountain the sky is as clear and as blue as you will ever see. I'm heading into town early today to check out the atmosphere and maybe squeeze off a few pictures to post tonight or tomorrow.

Green Alert will have the game story and a notes column tonight. I'll also be stringing for a Massachusetts paper, so it will be a busy day.

Holy Cross Preview Posted

HANOVER -- A lot of fans probably do it. The media do it. Coaches?

They might do it, but there's nary a one who would ever admit it publicly.

What is it these disparate groups do?

Visit the Green Alert premium site to find out.

For those of you keeping score, the Hanover 7th/8th grade football team continued undefeated today with a lopsided win. I don't even know what the score was, but suffice it to say Hanover came into the game having outscoring its opposition 169-12 and this was the most lopsided game of the bunch. On a happy note, a certain 7th grade fullback who had to learn what it's like to play behind someone else for the first time, got his first touchdown of the season on a short run. Smiles have been few and far between this fall, but that brought a big one.

On the field hockey front, Hanover tied Lebanon, 0-0 this afternoon. A certain freshman playing on the Hanover varsity has now helped the Marauders tie the undefeated, arch-rival Raiders twice this year, so it was a pretty good day all the way around.

Homecoming 2006

The Daily Dartmouth writes about alumni returning for Homecoming and the history of the bonfire. Losing has sapped some of the spirit out of attending football games according to this story. (From the story: Between 1970 and 1984 "Dartmouth football often attracted more than 20,000 fans." That's not really the case. Crowds of 20,0000 fans were extremely unusual.) ... The D's Holy Cross game preview is here.

Here's a look at other sports contests taking place this week. There's also a rugby preview here.

Princeton and Brown play tonight under the new lights at Princeton and if you happen to have ESPNU (we don't) you can watch the game live. For Princeton's preview, click here. For Brown's preview, click here. (Green Alert picks will be posted today because of the Friday game.)

The Daily Pennsylvanian (PDF file of entire paper) has 14 "PrognostiQuakers." Thirteen of them pick Holy Cross over Dartmouth. And the one who picks Dartmouth? You have to wonder about him because he predicts a 63-6 win. (In case you are wondering, Dartmouth has scored 45 points ... in four games.) ... The regular DP roundup of the weekend in Ivy play is found here. ... The Sports Network picks Holy Cross and calls Princeton one of the nation's surprise teams in its exhaustive look at the week in I-AA.

The Cornell Sun has a column of sorts about Cornell grad Keith Olbermann turning away from sports in favor of news. From the story: "Olbermann gave up every kid’s fantasy in order to truly serve his country." And this: "Olbermann has put away the New England Patriots to become a real American patriot." Okay then ...

Thursday's Practice

HANOVER -- It probably wasn't the best practice of the year.

Still, it wasn't hard to bring a smile to Buddy Teevens' face Thursday afternoon. All you needed to do was mention the new Floren Varsity House, rising above Memorial Field's east stands. A college press release Thursday finally revealed the identity of the benefactors of the previously unnamed facility and allowed Teevens to comment publicly for the first time on the family that is making the building possible. Click here to read more.

Floren Varsity House

The following news release has been sent to media outlets regarding the gift that made the new varsity house possible:

Floren Family Provides Naming Gift to Dartmouth Varsity House

HANOVER, N.H. ­ Douglas C. Floren, Class of 1963, and his family have made a $10 million gift to Dartmouth College to support the construction of a new $19.5 million Varsity House to be named the Floren Varsity House. The facility will provide varsity athletes with a 10,000-square-foot varsity strength training center, a 130-person "smart" classroom, meeting rooms, football locker room and equipment facilities, and offices for football, baseball and two women's sports.

Find the full release here.

Homecoming Rugby

From a subscriber: "For those of you who remember Friday afternoon freshman (football) games and Saturday morning rugby games, visit the Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse this weekend. The Dartmouth freshmen play the Harvard freshmen at 4:30 on Friday afternoon, and the Dartmouth A side plays the Harvard A side at 10:30 on Saturday morning. The winner of the A side match advances to the New England playoffs." ... Editor's Note: If you haven't been out there, it's quite a scene and really does have some of the feel of those bygone days of freshman football. It's worth making the short drive over just to see the new clubhouse.

From the Princetonian: "The Department of Athletics, over the next year or so, will be phasing in a collaborative sponsorship effort with Nike to outfit all Princeton varsity sports with their equipment, apparel and footwear."

The Harvard Crimson has an inspirational story about freshman running back Cheng Ho. Coach Tim Murphy: "“It’s a great country when a kid can go from practically an orphan, can’t speak English, never played football, to Harvard, in six or seven years. It’s amazing.”

The Columbia Spectator follows yesterday's Daily Pennsylvanian story about Ivy football scheduling with a story of its own that includes this: "...(I)t was decided that the order in which Ivy League opponents face each other will not change until 2022, 16 years from now."

The Spectator also revisits the legal issues with Harvard and Yale football players.

And this: On the heels of a Daily Dartmouth story with information about the school's "polocrosse" club, the Daily Pennsylvanian writes about the newly sanctioned Penn curling club.

Finally, the following email "blitz" that made its away around Dartmouth was shared with me yesterday. Apparently someone else likes the sound of GREEN ALERT ...


**********************************************

GREEN ALERT!!!

**********************************************

** What is this??? **
Weekly blitzes that highlight featured athletic contests happening that week/weekend. It's an effort to encourage school spirit and get more Big Green Fans in the stands!

Featured Games:
** WEDNESDAY **
Women's Soccer is taking on the #10 ranked Boston University. Our girls are 4-0 in the Ivy's just coming off of a win over Yale this past weekend. Help the girls show BU they're not worth the #10 seed!
Gametime: 3:00pm - Chase Fields

** THURSDAY **
Attention all you hockey-lovers and Harvard Hater's... the Women's Hockey Team is scrimmaging the s-m-a-h-t kids! Be there to heckle and show 'em how seriously The Big Green takes it's hockey.
Gametime: 5:30pm - Thompson Arena

************************************************
Sponsored by SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee)

Crimson Writer Criticizes Yale

The Harvard Crimson takes a swipe at Yale coach Jack Siedlecki for playing tailback Mike McLeod and quarterback Matt Polhemus against Dartmouth last week in spite of their legal problems. The writer contrasts Siedlecki's decision with the one made by Harvard coach Tim Murphy, who acted forcefully when his players were in trouble. From the Crimson:

Unlike the swift and direct “Murphy’s Law” that has (unfortunately) had to be exercised far too often recently around here, Siedlecki is telling his players that he’d rather win football games than send valuable messages.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a blurb about a Christian Brothers College high school wide receiver/defensive back who has received recruiting interest from Dartmouth as well as Yale, Columbia and Ball State.

The San Jose Mercury News is only the latest West Coast publication to take a swipe at Buddy Teevens.

The Sports Network has updated its Payton Watch and Buchanan Battle "watch lists" for the outstanding offensive and defensive players in the nation. No surprise that Harvard's Clifton Dawson remains on the former, along with UNH quarterback Ricky Santos and UNH wide receiver David Ball. Brown linebacker Zak DeOssie remains on the Buchanan list.

The Gridiron Power Index is a composite poll of sorts for Division I-AA. Here's how it ranks Ivy League teams:
13. Harvard
16. Princeton
31. Yale
33. Penn
57. Columbia
82. Cornell
83. Brown
T-93. Dartmouth

Holy Cross, this week's opponent, checks in at No. 53.

After that I went to the Sagarin Ratings (combined for I-A and I-AA) for grins and here's how the Ivy teams stack up in that venerable ranking system:
107. Princeton
114. Harvard
128. Yale
147. Penn
183. Columbia
189. Cornell
200. Brown
208. Dartmouth

Sagarin has Holy Cross at No. 177. (New Hampshire is No. 48, ahead of, among others, the Miami Hurricanes.)

Wednesday's Practice Report

HANOVER -- When it comes to pep talks, Buddy Teevens doesn't have to take a back seat to much of anyone.

That's not completely true. In the interest of honesty, the Dartmouth coach would have a hard time topping the oration rattling off the Davis House locker room doors at the end of Wednesday's practice. Click here to learn the identity of the mystery speaker.

More Scheduling Thoughts

The Daily Pennsylvanian tackles Ivy League scheduling again. The DP wrote recently about how the order of Ivy games has been the same for years and will be the same for years to come. From the latest story:

Out of the 18 other Division I-A and I-AA conferences in which every team plays every other team in the same year, only two - the MEAC and the NEC - play their 2006 schedules in the same order as their 2005 schedules. Forget the last decade and a half.

Green Alert Take: They don't call it the Ancient Eight for nothing. The Ivy League doesn't like change. Period. End of sentence.

For years I've been writing about how much better Ivy League basketball would be if the weekend "travel partners" were flip-flopped every two years. Instead of forcing the rest of the Ivies to deal with Princeton and Penn on the same weekend year, after year, after year, I'd like to pair off Princeton with Columbia, and Penn with Cornell for two-year cycles. (Dartmouth would then be paired with Yale -- instead of Harvard -- and Harvard with Brown in alternating two-year cycles.) At the very least, it would relieve the boredom of the same old, same old and spread out the excitement that comes when the P's come to town. Ah, but the fine burghers of the Ivy League want nothing to do with such revolutionary change.

The Oliver Stone in me wonders if the schools that wield the hammer in basketball (Princeton and Penn) are behind the status quo. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders, likewise, if two schools -- Harvard and Yale -- are behind maintaining the status quo in football scheduling. To be sure, more than a few knowledgable people have suggested maintaining The Game's posture as, well, The Game, has at least something to do with the Ivy's refusal to go to the I-AA playoffs.

The Columbia Spectator takes a look around the league and offers the following on Dartmouth's woes: "For the Big Green to have any chance at an Ivy victory, the defense must continue its solid play, while the offense must play a game of ball possession." I've used this analogy before, but that analysis reminds me of the bit from the Muppets where Fozzy Bear is bombing out as a standup comedian. Kermit the Frog ambles (do frogs amble?) over to his buddy and whispers some helpful advice: "Be funnier."

The Daily Princetonian tries to figure out what's in the water in Tigertown so far in this surprising 4-0 season. Maybe quarterback Jeff Terrell said it best: "When we are behind, we know that we just have to keep our composure and expect that we're going to do what it takes to win." Hmmm. Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens would like that quote. All year long he's been preaching to his team about expecting to win instead of hoping to win.

The Holy Cross game notes are up for Saturday's game at Dartmouth. I don't want to scare you or anything, but the preliminary research I've been doing makes me think the Crusaders are significantly better than a lot of people (present company included) expected them to be.

The AP writes about UNH receiver David Ball getting his phone call from Jerry Rice. I didn't hear the call (carried on ESPN) but it almost made me grimace reading the awkward quotes from the two. I'm sure they would have had a better conversation without millions of ears eavesdropping.

Teevens Looks Back At Yale

HANOVER -- It's little consolation when there's still a bagel on the left side of the won-loss column, but Buddy Teevens can see one positive difference between how last season went and how this season is going.

A year ago at this time, Teevens admitted after Tuesday's practice on Chase Field, he was "pounding my head against the wall" trying to find answers.

This fall, he said, the Big Green has come far enough that the answers, while still challenging to implement, are at least more identifiable.

So, coach, what was the difference in Yale's 26-14 win over Dartmouth Saturday? Click here for the answer.

Bash Program Story Link

For the freelance story I wrote about fifth-year tailback Jason Bash for the Dartmouth football program series, click here. Learning more about Jason's story, it's impossible not to root for him. It is a crying shame that he hurt his ankle late in the preaseason because he deserved better. Hopefully the ankle will heal enough for him to finally get a chance to show what he can do.

Dete On Ivy Honor Roll

The Ivy League has its mini-preview of Dartmouth-Holy Cross and honors Yale's Mike McLeod as the conference offensive player of the week. Dartmouth linebacker Andrew Dete earned a spot on the Ivy honor roll.

The Sports Network poll shows Holy Cross earning seven votes in the I-AA national poll this week. Harvard comes in at No. 15 with Princeton at 24 and Penn No. 36.

The Brown Daily Herald has posted its game story from the loss to Holy Cross last week. You'll learn more about Brown's imploding than about the Crusaders in the story.

Quoted in the Cornell Sun, Big Red coach Jim Knowles on this year's Harvard team: “They’re as good as any team I’ve been around in the Ivy League.” ... The Harvard Crimson notes that Cornell held Dawson under 100 yards for the fourth year in a row and that the record-setting tailback averaged just 66 yards against Cornell over the four years. But he did have an impact Saturday: He returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for the tone-setting touchdown.

Some relatively harsh words in a Columbia Spectator column about the Lions' game against overmatched Iona:

"This game was as close to a guaranteed win as Columbia football has seen in years, and it gave the team a golden opportunity to get its offense on track and bolster its confidence. That opportunity passed this team by."

Former Dartmouth and Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Reggie Williams is interviewed as part of the Ivy League's 50th anniversary package.

Daniel Guerinckx of Hainaut, Belgium, is a big Tennessee Titans fan. (Go figure.) According to this story, Guerinckx was a guest on coach Jeff Fisher's radio show where, "Guerinckx’s special night included meeting Fisher and Casey Cramer, the Titans player guest that week. "

The Middlebury varsity team that the Dartmouth jayvees beat last month is 3-0 heading into Saturday's game with unbeaten and second-ranked Williams.

Former Dartmouth coach John Lyons has led Kimball Union Academy to a 3-0 record, outscoring the opposition, 92-14. Find Lyons' bio here. Among those assisting Lyons are former Dartmouth part-time coach Ted Stewart and former Dartmouth men's basketball coach Dave Faucher, also working in adminstration at KUA, who heads up the 2-0 jayvee football team.

Optimist-Pessimist Oct. 9

The Optimist and the Pessimist are back at it on the Green Alert premium site. And be sure to check back during the day Tuesday for a surprising update on a former Big Green standout.

Dartmouth-Yale: Another Look

The Daily Dartmouth's take on the loss to Yale is here.

The New Haven Register game story is here. The Register also has a follow out of the game.

A Palm Beach Post columnist opines about Yale playing the quarterback and tailback who got in trouble last week:

I'm all for waiting until the defendants have their day in court before handing out the final punishment. But these players needed to be suspended for at least one game. Heck, even the big-time football factories have that rule. Not a smart move for a university known for producing brilliant students.

Princeton's 4-0 football team has fooled a lot of people including this writer from the Daily Princetonian. Like many others -- present company included -- he thought rebuilding an entire offensive line was going to make winning tough. He notes: " Going into the game against Colgate, senior quarterback Jeff Terrell had only been sacked twice, second-least in the Ivy League." Another story in the Princetonian quotes coach Roger Hughes, the former Dartmouth offensive coordinator: "This year we've had the ball bounce our way. Over the last seven years we've had the ball not bounce our way a little bit, so things are kind of evening out."

From the Columbia Spectator: "Four games into this year's football season, the Ivy championship race may be up in the air, but there's no doubt that this is the weakest crop of quarterbacks in recent history." (The story has a quick and positive mention of Josh Cohen, the Dartmouth QB out of school this fall.)

Don't get too excited over Columbia's 3-1 start. In Saturday's 24-0 win over Division I-AA pretender Iona, the Spectator notes, "The Lions continued to struggle offensively as the defense outscored the offense, posting 14 of the team's 24 points and accounting for all of the game's second-half scoring."

The Dartmouth junior varsity's 28-14 loss to Milford is mentioned here. Much more interesting: To see the size of the Milford players and learn where a few of the very talented athletes that were on Memoril Field Sunday are headed to school, click here.

Dartmouth Jayvees Push Milford

HANOVER -- The powerhouse Milford Academy football team remained undefeated Sunday -- but not without a fight.

Freshman Alex Jenny threw a pair of touchdown passes and classmate Ian Ferrell was on the receiving end of four throws for 90 yards and one touchdown as the Dartmouth junior varsity made the 6-0 Falcons from New Berlin, N.Y., work hard for a penalty filled 28-14 victory.

The full story and stats have been posted on the premium Green Alert site.

Jayvee Game at the Half

It's halftime of the junior varsity game against Milford Academy on a glorious October Sunday. A Milford Academy team stocked with talented athletes headed to some of the nation's top I-A schools leads the game, 14-7.

Trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, Dartmouth got a 32-yard touchdown pass from Alex Jenny to Ian Ferrell and the PAT by Erik Estabrook to cut Milford's lead in half.

More later.

McLeod's Catch And Run On Screen Pass Was Huge

Never thought the day would come when Keggy would be on the field in a pseudo-official role with the college band, but there he/she/it was at halftime of the Yale game. (Click to enlarge)

The Hartford Courant game story from yesterday's 26-14 Yale victory over Dartmouthmakes an interesting observation. For as impressive as Mike McLeod's 198 yards rushing were against Dartmouth, his biggest play may well have been carrying a third-and-23 screen pass 25 yards on the first drive after the Big Green had pulled within 19-14.

Here's how the game looked through the eyes of the Yale sports information folks.

The Ivy League office is pretty quiet on weekends, but here's the abbreviated league roundup.

Looking ahead: Holy Cross -- next week's Homecoming opponent -- snuck past Brown, 35-30, as the Crusader quarterback completed 30-of-39 passes for 329 yards and four touchdowns. Here's the Worcester Telegram story.

Looking back: David Ball, who tied Jerry Rice's career I-AA touchdown reception record against Dartmouth, broke the record yesterday. Here is what the Manchester Union Leader's Jim Fennell wrote about Ball and the mark.

The New York Times writes about James Madison University cutting sports to comply with Title IX. A Richmond Times Dispatch writer makes the argument that if I-AA football simply cut back on scholarships schools like JMU might be able to maintain their full array of sports.

Did you ever wonder about the real story behind Georgia Tech's 222-0 win over Cumberland in 1916? As Frank Litsky points out in a short piece in the New York Times, Cumberland did not field a football team that fall, but had to pull a squad together or face a fine for not living up to a scheduling contract. Oh, and the second half? It was cut to 15 minutes.

Harvard Rolls; Ivies Continue To Dominate Patriot

Elsewhere among Dartmouth's opponents:

Holy Cross 35, Brown 30
Columbia 24, Iona 0
Harvard 33, Cornell 23
Penn 34, Bucknell 24
Princeton 27, Colgate 26 (ot)
New Hampshire 27, Richmond 17

The Dartmouth-Yale notes story has been posted on Green Alert premium.

Big Green's Wheels Come Off Against Yale

HANOVER -- It is the 1960s and you've been wrestling with those ornery rabbit ears through the first two quarters and still the game is a jumbled mess on your new-fangled Zenith color TV.

Fed up, you are about to kick something -- the wall, the dog, maybe the TV -- when suddenly the picture comes in as clear as day, and you t-i-p-t-o-e back to the couch.

But seconds after you sit down to enjoy the rest of the game one of the wheels on the TV cart the set is perched on starts to wobble and then collapses in a heap, taking the tube and the game you wanted to see down with it.

Now you know how pretty much how Dartmouth (0-4, 0-2 Ivy League) felt after Saturday's 26-14 loss to Yale (3-1, 2-0 Ivy).

Just when it seemed everything was working the way it should, the wheels came off.

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Harvard's Problems In Spotlight

Can 60 Minutes be far behind? Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times prowled the Harvard campus recently and filed a story that began this way:

The team captain, an all-league linebacker, is kicked off the team and charged with domestic assault after allegedly breaking into his girlfriend's dorm room.

The quarterback is suspended five games for violating team rules, but details of his transgression are kept secret by the school.

A senior running back is dismissed because of actions the coach calls "disgusting" during an annual preseason "Skit Night."

These are only a few of the story lines generated by a single football team during the last year, incidents that seem to go hand-in-hand nowadays with big-time college sports.

Except never before has the team been Harvard, one of the world's most prestigious universities.

The Los Angeles Times story, by the way, included this back-hand slap at Dartmouth, delivered by Harvard alum and former NFL punter Pat McInally.

McInally says Harvard football was different in the 1970s.

"If you won too many titles, it was a negative," he said. "Then you were becoming Dartmouth."

Sean Barker of the New Haven Register quotes Yale coach Jack Siedlecki on the emphasis he put this week on stopping Mike Fritz from making plays outside of the pocket this afternoon:

"We're going to face the quarterback, rush the quarterback and contain the quarterback. We're not going to spin around and lose him. That's my first priority."

Be sure to check out Sean's fine blog, Portal 31, for additional coverage of the game.

I saw something I don't think I've ever seen before in a Harvard Crimson blog: a prediction that a football team is going to score 11 points. The prediction: Yale 23-11.

The Journal and Courier, which covers Purdue, has a story about Boilermakers defensive backs coach Lou Anarumo, a former Harvard assistant. He says: "At Harvard you're dealing with kids who literally are rocket scientists sometimes." But he goes on to say that while the players are highly motivated, intelligence doesn't always carry over to the field.

A subscriber sent along a link to this AP story about North Dakota taking the NCAA to court over its Fighting Sioux nickname. Got to admit, the North Dakota folks make the NCAA look a little foolish regarding what it portrays as selective enforcement of its "mascot" rules. From the story:

The North Dakota lawsuit says UND does not have a mascot and points out that that Florida State has a "stereotypical Native American" riding a horse.

"During every home football game, the mascot rides onto the football field and throws a flaming spear or lance into the ground at midfield," the state's lawsuit says. "The FSU marching band, called the 'Chiefs,' perform and lead the student body in what is called the 'war chant,' accompanied by a chopping motion often referred to as the 'tomahawk chop.'"