Shannon, Fuselier Honored

Dartmouth center Mike Shannon is the winner of the 2006 Nason Award winner for Senior Achievement. Presented by the New England Football Writers Association, the award is given to the senior who has "persevered against all odds to succeed in football." A three-year-starter who had a terrific first season snapping the ball, Shannon is a more-than-deserving winner of the award. From the Dartmouth sports information release:

After spring practice in 2004, Shannon was slated to be Dartmouth's starting left tackle. During the summer, a bruise in his calf, the remnant of being kicked at the bottom of a pile during May, became a nagging soft spot. It was the focal point for a bacterial infection of unknown origin that spread throughout his body.

For nearly a month in August, Shannon was hospitalized at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center as he battled what was ultimately diagnosed as necrotizing fascitis and septic shock. Family, teammates and coaches were at his bedside throughout the life-threatening ordeal, and Shannon was finally released on August 25.

Dartmouth wide receiver Ryan Fuselier is the Big Green football team's representative on the fall Academic All-Ivy team. According to the Ivy release: "The 80 men and women were starters or key reserves on a officially recognized varsity team with 3.0 or better cumulative grade point averages." ... Fuselier, who led the Ivies in catches this fall, also has been named to the All-New England first team along with standouts like UNH's David Ball.

For an interesting look at the "likely letter," process in Ivy League recruiting, check out this Brown Daily Herald story. According to the story, 35 or so of the roughly 120 athletes who are accepted early at Brown receive the letters. According to the story:

Likely letters tend to go out to students fielding attractive athletic scholarship offers from other institutions, which often require students to commit before early decision letters arrive.

Dartmouth is recruiting one of a pair of speedy twins in Plano, Texas, (although a coach's visit has been put on hold) according to a story in the Dallas Morning News.

From today's Daily Dartmouth: "Several hundred students, staff and faculty members gathered outside Dartmouth Hall for a 'Solidarity Against Hatred' rally on Wednesday afternoon." The rally was largely in response to the Nov. 28 issue of the Dartmouth Review's treatment of the Native American issue on campus. The Boston Globe writes about it all here.

Regarding Athletic Director Josie Harper's apology for inviting the North Dakota Fighting Sioux to the holiday ice hockey tournament, a letterwriter (and Dartmouth alum) writes in the Concord Monitor (the daily newspaper in the state capital):

Some, who are not as sensitive as I, might suggest that the athletic director could better spend her time figuring out how to put competitive football and basketball teams in play.

A Happy Ending For A Feel-Good Story

UPDATE: Supporters of both sides of the Dartmouth-North Dakota issue line up in an AP story including the Dartmouth-educated governor of North Dakota: Gov. John Hoeven '79.

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Last fall a Green Alert blog posting told about football players from Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island helping raise money to keep rival Roosevelt High School's program going. One of the leaders of the initiative was Peter Ottaviano, who has expressed interest in playing for Dartmouth. The denouement came when Roosevelt capped a 10-1 season with a Long Island championship. Grateful players from Roosevelt made a point of thanking Ottaviano and his father after the title game according to this Newsday story. To watch a news report about the Roosevelt-Cold Spring Harbor relationship, click here. The original New York Times story can be found here.

New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos is one of three finalists for the Payton Award as the nation's top I-AA player on offense.

The Grand Forks Herald talked with Dartmouth Athletic Director Josie Harper regarding the Fighting Sioux issue and wrote this:

Defenders and opponents of the UND logo are also taking their feelings directly to Harper. She said she's received about 50 emails since the letter to the editor first appeared. She said those included letters of support from people on campus but also many letters harshly attacking her.

"I have trouble deciphering it," she said, "when they're so sure no one is being insulted (by the nickname) and I shouldn't be worried, but they're doing a really good job of insulting me."

The Dartmouth men's basketball team (minus four potential starters out with various injuries) played at Kansas last night and if you are easily humbled, don't click here. The lede to the story about an 83-32 win for the Jayhawks:

Teams have been coming into Allen Fieldhouse to play Kansas for more than half a century. Every one of them managed to score more points than helplessly outmanned Dartmouth Tuesday night.

Gargiulo Works Out For The Jets

Former defensive end Anthony Gargiulo '06 had a workout with the New York Jets Tuesday at their Hofstra University headquarters as he looks to return to football after a year away from the game.

"It was exciting," said Gargiulo, a two-time member of the All-Ivy League first team and a member of Dartmouth's 50-Year Ivy League anniversary first team. "I was pleased with the way things went. My 40 wasn't what I wanted, which was frustrating, but my shuttle was exactly what we had on the information sheet we sent out and the other numbers were good. Overall I think I did well. It was a great experience and I got some good feedback."

Gargiulo's agent at New Jersey-based Aregatta Sports and Entertainment sent out packets to NFL teams that run defenses that would be suitable for the 6-foot-3, 262-pound Dartmouth grad who led the Ivy League in sacks both as a junior and a senior. He also has a highlight DVD that includes clips from his play against Cornell as a senior when he posted 10 tackles -- including five for a loss -- against an offensive line anchored by current Oakland Raiders starter Kevin Boothe.

"My agent sent (the information packet) to 12 teams and 10 of the 12 had positive feedback," Gargiulo said. "One of the concerns was the level of competition I played against so (the highlight DVD) showing me playing against someone starting in the NFL should help.

"We'll see what happens, but now I've been out in front of somebody and that's good."

While he wasn't pleased with his 40 time in his solo workout with the Jets -- he said his best is a 4.55 and he's usually no higher than the low 4.6's -- he was battling a back issue that might force him to postpone an upcoming tryout with the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena League. He's anticipating a workout with the Philadelphia Eagles within several weeks.

Gargiulo played rugby for Dartmouth last spring before committing himself to training for football over the summer. Having turned 22 just last month, he's the same age -- or younger -- than most players completing their college eligibility this fall.

Gargiulo has been projected as either a standup defensive end or outside linebacker at the professional level. Should no NFL teams bite, he plans to attend NFL Europe tryouts with an eye toward getting his first real experience at OLB. Although he would prefer that to the Arena League, he's keeping his options open.

"It was exciting to be back around football guys," Gargiulo said. "I've realized how much I missed it. I'm going to give this everything I have and I'll keep at it as long as I feel as if I'm getting better."

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Click here for a cached version of a story from his hometown Courier-News about his decision not to pursue pro football last spring. From that story:

The people who know Gargiulo well talk a lot about his desire and competitive nature that is described as relentless. His father, Pete, said that his son told him, "I can always play football."

"I think he'll miss it once he realizes it's over," Pete Gargiulo said. "He's been working out nonstop. He never missed a beat.

Turns out he had it right.

---

Find a story I wrote about Gargiulo last year on the CSTV site.

Immelt '78: AFCA 'CEO Coach of the Year'

Jeff Immelt '78 and Chairman of the Board and CEO of General Electric, is the first recipient of the American Football Coaches Foundation’s "CEO Coach of the Year." Here's what Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said about Immelt's selection in an Ivy League release:

"Mr. Immelt was chosen for this recognition because of his outstanding leadership qualities that parallel the leadership traits believed in and taught by the American Football Coaches Association, and emulated yearly by the AFCA’s Coaches of the Year. When an award of this magnitude is given, the individual who receives the award should set a standard for the future. The Foundation has achieved this standard with the selection of Jeffrey R. Immelt.”

Harvard has wasted no time "reappointing" Tim Murphy as head football coach. His "reappointment" is through 2011. Acting quickly is a smart PR move by the school given the talk that began to surface about Murphy's future following some highly publicized off-the-field incidents involving Harvard players and the fact that coaches are currently on the road recruiting. The first quotes in the press release regarding Murphy make no reference to wins and losses:

“In Tim Murphy, Harvard has a football coach who has taken a strong personal interest in the education and development of his student-athletes,” said Derek C. Bok, interim president of Harvard University. “By his personal example and the values he upholds, Tim represents the best of what we hope to achieve with our coaching staff.”

More from the release:

The announcement comes on the heels of a 7-3 season that concluded Nov. 18. It is Harvard’s sixth consecutive season with at least seven wins, marking the Crimson’s best six-year run since 1910. The current stretch includes two unbeaten, untied seasons (in 2001 and 2004) and three Ivy League championships.

For the Boston Globe story on Harvard retaining Murphy, click here. ... The Harvard Crimson story is here.

The buzz surrounding Dartmouth Athletic Director Josie Harper's letter apologizing for scheduling the North Dakota Fighting Sioux in men's ice hockey is getting old. And it's getting louder. The Daily Dartmouth, which isn't even publishing right now, has this relatively extensive "web update." ... For the Harvard's take on the issue, check out the Crimson story.

A columnist in the Wisconsin State Journal notes that Wisconsin of the Big 10 has a policy "that prohibits scheduling non-conference opponents with Native American nicknames and logos." (Ironically, the school was assigned to play the Florida State Seminoles in the ACC-Big 10 basketball challenge.) The columnist writes:

At least UW has a proactive record on the issue. In contrast, Dartmouth athletic director Josie Harper responded to complaints about "cowboys and Indians" parties on campus last week by apologizing for inviting the North Dakota men's hockey team to a holiday tournament next month. She said the Fighting Sioux nickname is "offensive and wrong." Pretty weak, sister. ...

Agree or disagree, National Review Online makes an interesting point:

There's a basic question of manners here: It's not possible to perform the duties of hockey-tournament host when you're bashing one of your guests. The players and coaches on Dartmouth's hockey team must feel deeply embarrassed.

Finally, and you had to know this was coming, Inside College Hockey has a blurb (with a picture of Dartmouth's highly unofficial mascot) about the controversy under a bold line that says:

From the Do We Have To Take This From a School Whose Unofficial Mascot is a Keg? Dept.:

Rare Dartmouth-MIchigan Rose Bowl Video

It's not what you think. But if you want to start your week with a smile, click on this youtube link to watch the pregame show for the 2010 Rose Bowl between Michigan and Dartmouth. It's the stuff of dreams (or at least video games). ...

Columnist Norm Chad has some fun writing about NFL officials. He notes there's one back judge who graduated from Dartmouth and with tongue firmly in cheek writes, "Heck, Dartmouth's no more than DeVry with pine trees. It's time for the league to recruit officials from upper echelon Ivy League institutions." Anyone know if there really is a back judge from Dartmouth and who it might be?

On a more serious note, the Daily News-Record in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley writes:

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas — in addition to the holiday overtones — might be described as the silly season in American politics. After a mid-year election, no one wants to focus on serious political matters until a new year.

This year’s silly season promises to be more ludicrous than most, staring with the abject apology offered by Dartmouth’s athletic director Josie Harper. She was profoundly grieved because Dartmouth’s college hockey team will soon play the University of North Dakota.

For a balanced look at the whole issue, check this Insider Higher Ed story.

Prose from today's Yale Daily:

For the first time since the turn of the current century, the Yale football community exited Harvard Stadium with heads held high, content and acutely aware of the Bulldogs' return to the summit of Ivy League football.

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.

Ivy League Ranked 6th of 16 I-AA Conferences

The web site I-AA.org has put out its final Gridiron Power Index (GPI), a system that synthesizes the results of 12 different rankings. The Ivy League ended up the sixth-ranked conference of 16 playing I-AA football with the Patriot League 10th. That's one step up for the Ivies from last year. The league was ranked fifth in both 2003 and 2004.

Here are the conference rankings:
Rank, Conference (Average Rating)

1. Great West Football Conference (22.35)
2. Atlantic 10 Conference (24.93)
3. Gateway Football Conference (30.04)
4. Southern Conference (35.67)
5. Big Sky Conference (36.59)
6. Ivy League (40.90)
7. Big South Conference (46.69)
8. Ohio Valley Conference (50.21)
9. Southland Conference (50.81)
10. Patriot League (55.79)
11. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (58.23)
12. Northeast Conference (64.49)
13. Southwestern Athletic Conference (64.63)
14. Independents (67.70)
15. Pioneer Football League (69.58)
16. Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (83.64)

Here are the Ivy League (and Dartmouth opponent) team rankings:

T-15. Princeton (17.44)
23. Yale (21.11)
31. Harvard (27.11)
37T. Penn (34.56)
60T. Cornell (48.00)
73. Columbia (57.11)
75. Brown (58.22)
83. Dartmouth (63.67)

The kids and I are headed off to UMass this morning to watching the Minutemen take on Lafayette at noon. It doesn't figure to be much of a game but it will be fun to see former Dartmouth assistant Don Brown's team, ranked No. 1 in the GPI. I've known Don since I covered high schools for the local daily and he was an assistant coach with the Hartford Hurricanes in White River Junction. Aided by no fewer than 15 I-A transfers, he's got a powerhouse down in Amherst, Mass. ... It will also be fun to watch the I-AA playoffs and see what the Ivies are missing. We went to both of the New Hampshire home games in the tournament last year and had a blast.

The Impending Visit Of The Fighting Sioux

By now you should have seen Athletic Director Josie Harper's letter of apology for scheduling the North Dakota Fighting Sioux in the Daily Dartmouth. In the apology, Harper wrote:

When we scheduled UND nearly two years ago to participate in our tournament, we did so without considering their team's nickname and symbol. Perhaps we should have, but I deeply regret that we didn't.

The spin has already started in reaction to the letter. The Deadspin, that is. The wildly popular site has mentioned the apology and the emails have come flying in. If you can get past the foul language and the bad taste, you'll find some interesting commentary (and some funny stuff as well) if you click here.

Two outtakes from a Manchester Union Leader column on the apology etc.:

Don Kojich, executive associate vice president for university relations at North Dakota, referred all questions to the state's attorney general, but did say that he has never heard of another school publicly apologizing for playing the Fighting Sioux.

And this:

Marty Scarano, the athletics director at the UNH, said no such measures were taken when the North Dakota's men's hockey team played at the Whittemore Center last year.

"UNH has not or will not make a judgment on another institution's prerogative pertaining to their logo or nickname," Scarano said.

The Powerline blog (a product of three Dartmouth-educated lawyers) tries to connect the dots between this controversy and football's struggles:

Zach Hafer is a 1999 Dartmouth alum, former member of the hockey team and supporter of Dartmouth athletics. He writes that he is not surprised "that the football team just capped another 2-8 season, given that the AD is spending her time meeting with 'aggrieved' students,' 'develop[ing] a specific and continuing plan to address issues of respect and tolerance within the athletic department,' and writing letters of profuse apology."

The Princeton Packet takes a lengthy look back at how the Tigers became a championship team. One of the amazing things, perhaps the most amazing, is they did it with a completely rebuilt offensive line. That simply doesn't happen. Here's coach Roger Hughes on how he and his assistants approached that problem:

"We tried to factor the offensive line out of the game plan. We wanted to get the ball to the perimeter. The other thing (quarterback Jeff Terrell) did was make it easier for the offensive line, he controlled what way we slid the protection. That way if blitzes were coming, he always had time to give it up. Who would have guessed that with our inexperience on the offensive line, we'd lead the league in total offense and give up the fewest sacks we've ever had? That just shows the kids hung in there and fought their tails off."

The Ivy League doesn't name a coach of the year but Hughes would get my vote for figuring that out. Columbia's Norries Wilson would get my second-place vote for coach of the year and Yale's Jack Siedlecki would be third. Why third place for the coach of one of the co-champions? I won't be spending much time bragging about my season (or game) predictions this year, but here's what I wrote about Yale before the season:

Yale might just be the sleeping giant of the Ivy League. If a quarterback steps up and a strong defensive line keeps a new secondary off the hot seat, the Bulldogs might be able to win it all. Harvard, Penn and Brown are in the spotlight but Yale might have as much talent as any of them.

By the way, I'm thinking about renaming my predictions the Green Alert Football Forecast. You could call it GAFFe for short.

Enjoy the leftovers, stay away from the mall and arrive home safely!

Happy Thanksgiving

In the spirit of the day, click here for the inspiring story of a onetime Ivy League football player who is making a difference the way others made a difference in his life. ...

Remember that big running back from Maine who was interested in Dartmouth? Jared Turcotte still is and expects to make a college decision by Christmas. Click here for the story. ... If you missed the link for the video of an impressive young man the first time I posted it, you can access it here.

Enjoy the Four F's of the day: Family, Friends, Food and Football. Happy Thanksgiving.

2015 Senior Survey

Gargiulo Going Strong (and Fast)

Former Dartmouth defensive end Anthony Gargiulo '06, a two-time member of the All-Ivy League first team and conference sack leader, has signed with New Jersey-based Aregatta Sports and Entertainment as he chases the dream of playing pro football after one year out of the game.

The 6-foot-3 Gargiulo, who played rugby last spring at Dartmouth, has been training since summer and is now at 262 pounds, considerably over the 235 he was listed at as a Big Green senior a year ago.

Even with the added weight, Gargiulo's recently clocked times in the 40, the 10, the shuttle drill and cone drill (all on multiple watches) are faster than the times of every one of the defensive ends selected in last year's draft according to numbers pulled together by his new agent. His broad jump ranks high and his vertical and bench are toward the middle of that pack.

Although he is about 20 pounds heavier than the heaviest of the outside linebackers chosen in the draft, his numbers compare favorably there as well. His 10-yard time is ranked first, his cone drill is first, his 40 time is in the top quarter or so, and his bench, broad jump and vertical are middle of the pack compared to last year's draftees.

Gargiulo, who turned 22 last month, is planning to attend Arena 1 tryouts, but has his sights set on NFL Europe tryouts shortly thereafter.

While most Ivy League papers are turning their attention to winter sports, the Columbia Spectator is still writing about the Lions' 5-5 season. One key, according to this story, is their 3-3-5 defense. ... Says coach Norries Wilson in another story: "I would like to be able to go back and start the season with the knowledge that they have now. It took them 10 weeks to figure out what we were talking about."

Check Green Alert tonight for a Q&A with Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens answering your questions.

Green Shut Out Of All-Ivy First Team

For the first time since the official start of formal Ivy League play in 1956, Dartmouth didn't have a single player chosen by a vote of the league coaches to the All-Ivy first team.

Named to the second team were senior wide receiver Ryan Fuselier and junior safety Ian Wilson.

Chosen honorable mention were senior quarterback Mike Fritz, senior offensive lineman Preston Copley, junior safety Jon Pircon and junior linebacker Justin Cottrell.

Fuselier's omission from the first team was curious after he led the Ivies in receptions and was second in receiving yardage. Wilson was fifth in the Ivies in tackles but likely lost points for not having any interceptions.

My predictions (not what I thought should happen, but what I thought would happen):
1st team: Fuselier
2nd team: Wilson, Cottrell (and possibly Fritz)
HM team: Linebacker Joe Gibalski and possibly Copley or center Mike Shannon

Last year defensive end Anthony Gargiulo was Dartmouth's lone representative on the first team. Even in the recent lean years Dartmouth has had multiple representatives on the first team with Gargiulo, fellow defensive end Ryan Conger and safety Clayton Smith making it in 2004, two players making it in 2003, four in '02, four in '01 and three each in 2000 and 1999.

The full All-Ivy listing is available here and there are some shockers.
The All-Ivy release is here.

Questions for Coach Teevens?

I'm meeting with Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens Wednesday, Nov. 22, for a look back at 2006 and a look ahead at the 2007 Big Green. If you have questions you'd like me to ask, click here.

Former Dartmouth Assistants On Coach Of Year Ballot

Two former Dartmouth assistants are on the final ballot for the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation's top I-AA head coach. Princeton head coach Roger Hughes earned the nod after leading the Tigers to a share of the Ivy League title. Also in the running is Don Brown, another onetime Big Green assistant who has Massachusetts in the running for the national title. ... Yale coach Jack Siedlecki also made the cut thanks to the Elis sharing the Ivy crown with Princeton.

The Sun Chronicle has a story about former Dartmouth player Dave Reed '02 being inducted into the Attleboro (Mass.) Area Football Hall of Fame. A true student-athlete, Reed earned a masters in bio-chemical engineering at Dartmouth and is now in medical school at Ohio State.

The Daily Dartmouth wraps up the fall season for football (and other sports).

There's a follow story in the Princeton Packet about Tigers tailback Rob Toresco, who scored the clinching touchdown Saturday.

Casey Cramer may get a little time at tight end for the Tennessee Titans this week because of an injury at the position according to this story.

The All-Ivy picks will be out today so be sure to check back. ... There's a report that Princeton quarterback Jeff Terrell has won the league's player of the year award and after watching him Saturday I hope it's true. When Hughes said Terrell put the Tigers on his back and carried them to the Ivy League title, he wasn't kidding.

Optimist And Pessimist Wrap Up 2006 Season

HANOVER -- The Optimist really likes a story the fellow who does this Green Alert thingie tells about a high school football coach he got to know while covering the preps for the local newspaper some years back. It seems the coach came into this particular fall thinking his team was going to be terrific, only to see the season collapse horribly under the weight of great expectations.

Apparently this Green Alert guy covered the last game of the season that year and in an empty locker room, amid discarded adhesive tape, crushed paper cups, soggy towels and dashed hopes, he heard the throughly disheartened coach say something along the lines of, "I'm through. It's over. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm resigning Monday," and the rookie reporter guy believed him.

A few days later the writer ran into the coach in the underwear aisle at K-Mart (OK, that's part's probably not true) and all he wanted to do was talk about this new-fangled offense he was going to install next year and how it was going to make his team unbelievably hard to defend.

After listening patiently to the mildly interesting story, The Pessimist asks how that pertains to the business at hand. The Optimist says it probably doesn't, but it's a pretty good story, huh? The Pessimist just shakes his head, something he does a lot.

The Optimist, like the high school coach, can't wait for next year.

To read more, visit Green Alert premium.

Dartmouth Awards Presented

Dartmouth's season-ending awards were handed out at the breakup banquet late Sunday morning. Here are the winners (with abbreviated descriptions of the awards). For the full release, check the official Dartmouth release.

• Bob Blackman Trophy (MVP): Senior quarterback Mike Fritz
• Kenneth T. Young Award (Top underclassman): Junior safety Ian Wilson
• Jake Crouthamel Award (Top underclassman on offense): Junior offensive tackle Ben Goeke
• Doten Award (Top sophomore on defense): Sophomore llinebacker Andrew Dete
• Manners Makyth Man Award (gentleman): Senior fullback Bobby Calderwood
• Earl Hamilton Award (friendliness, humor, outdoors): Senior offensive lineman Preston Copley
• Earl Hamilton Freshman Award (top rookie): Freshman linebacker Philip McKeating
• Scout Team Players of the Year: Freshman fullback Tom Brown; sophomore linebacker Josh Speicher
• The John M. Manley '40 Award (weight room): Junior linebacker Justin Cottrell
• 12th Man Award (dedication regardless of playing time): Senior offensive tackle Lucius Alexander
• Lester R. Godwin Award (senior rising above personal disadvantage to contribute: Senior defensive end Dan Cook
• Alan Hewitt '34 and Robert Hewitt '40 Award (epitomizes athletic performance with academic achievement): Senior wide receiver Ryan Fuselier
• Gordon P. Bennett Award (outstanding lineman): Senior defensive tackle Brian Osimiri
• The Frank Hershey Award (senior who possesses a genuine zest for life): Senior tailback Jason Bash

Fuselier Drawing Attention

There's a nice article about Ryan Fuselier in the North County Times. Jason Bash gets a little nod there as well.

While the article spends some time talking about the fifth-year senior's pro potential, it also includes this: "Fuselier calls the decision to attend Dartmouth, 'the best of my life.' " That's nice to read when the wins haven't come with anywhere near the frequency players, coaches, alumni and fans would like.

Looking Back At Princeton

The Daily Dartmouth writes about Saturday's game at Princeton.

The Princetonian game story on Saturday.

The Princetonian sidebar.

Dartmouth linebacker Joe Gibalski has been named to the weekly Ivy League honor roll. The posting says:

Dartmouth senior linebacker Joe Gilbalski (Tucson, Ariz.) had a big day for the Big Green with five solo tackles and 12 assists for a total of 17 stops in a 27-17 loss at Princeton. He also had two pass breakups as well as one tackle beyond the line of scrimmage.

The only Dartmouth opponent going on to the playoffs is New Hampshire, which will visit Hampton. The Sports Network looks at the field.

If you missed the Boston Globe story on Harvard's Matt Curtis, by all means go back and read it. If you think all Ivy Leaguers are born with silver spoons, consider this from the story:

His father is gone, dead from cancer, and he hasn't seen his mom , who has struggled with addiction most of her life, in years. He has lived in public housing, stood in line at the Salvation Army for breakfast, spent too much of his childhood with his fate hinging on the decisions of strangers from the Department of Social Services.

Later today on Green Alert premium: The final Optimist-Pessimist of the year. Also this week: A review of the season and thoughts about Green Alert.

Princeton Follow Posted

Fritz, Fuselier Among Ivy League Leaders;
Thoughts On I-AA Playoff Ban

Click here to read the story on Green Alert premium.

Coming Monday: The final Optimist/Pessimist for 2006.

Ivy Roundup and More

Final Ivy Standings Ivy (PF/PA) Overall (PF/PA)
1. Princeton 6-1 (166/129) 9-1 (233/179)
1. Yale 6-1 (177/111) 8-2 (257/212)
3. Harvard 4-3 (177/138) 7-3 (267/192)
4. Pennsylvania 3-4 (153/129) 5-5 (228/191)
4. Cornell 3-4 (123/162) 5-5 (189/217)
6. Columbia 2-5 (66/135) 5-5 (150/163)
6. Brown 2-5 (140/157) 3-7 (225/241)
6. Dartmouth 2-5 (105/146) 2-8 (147/244)

The Princeton Packet's lengthy Dartmouth game story is here.
The Trenton Times story is here.

Find the New York Times story on Princeton-Dartmouth here.

Just jumping into the car at 5:30 a.m., for the ride back to New Hampshire. Lots to come later. Here's a link to the Star-Ledger story about yesterday's game to get you started.

The Boston Globe writes about Harvard-Yale.
Yale 34, Harvard 13
Cornell 28, Pennsylvania 27
Columbia 22, Brown 21
New Hampshire 19, Maine 13, OT
Bucknell 31, Colgate 28

While Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens and fifth-year center Mike Shannon were in Princeton yesterday, Buddy Teevens Jr., (Salisbury School) and Mike's younger brother Chris (Phillips Academy of Andover) were squaring off in the NEPSAC Eaton Estey Bowl at Trinity College. The Boston Globe reports Salisbury won with Teevens catching an important 48-yard pass.

Princeton 27, Dartmouth 17; Sidebar Up

10:15 p.m.: The sidebar has now been posted.

Four hours of sleep, a seven-hour drive and then watching the second half of Ohio State-Michigan added up to a late game story tonight. But it's now up on Green Alert premium.

Coronation Day?

It was a short night ;-). I got back from Middlebury, where I was on assignment, at 11:45 p.m., and it's now a little after 4:30 a.m., and time to hop in the car for the drive to New Jersey. My wife will drive the first leg of the trip and I'll try to grab another hour's sleep.

Not much time for blogging but here are a couple of stories: The New York Times writes about Princeton QB Jeff Terrell.

The Trenton Times has a story headlined, Coronation Day in the Ivy League.

The Hartford Courant writes about The Game between Harvard and Yale. Ditto for the Boston Globe.

More later.

Team Of Destiny II? Or Destiny Denied?

"In terms of raw talent and offensive stats, the Tigers definitely had better squads than the one they fielded in 1922. (A)ll the Team of Destiny did was win."

ESPN College Football Encyclopedia*
page 1085

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Maybe the Princeton team Dartmouth will face Saturday should be called the Team Of Destiny II. ...

Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens would like nothing more than to make the nickname of this year's Princeton team Destiny Denied, but he knows it won't be easy.

The full preview is on Green Alert premium.

Teeth-Grinding Story In The Times

Lots of Princeton-Dartmouth stuff this morning but first, there's a lengthy New York Times look at the current state of Ivy League football. There's a lot in there and it's generally well done.

What made me grimace wasn't the Times' analysis but rather this quote from Jeff Orleans, executive director of the Ivy League:

“For those who wonder why we didn’t stay in Division I-A as Duke, Stanford and Northwestern did, I would ask, what do you think of their football experience this year?”

The quote bothers me for two reasons. First, while I know Jeff well enough to realize it comes across differently in print than it probably did when he said it, he should have known how smug and self-congratulatory that would read. It only serves to confirm the preconceived notions so much of the rest of the nation has about the Ivy League. And second, I might argue that if you were to poll players across the Ivy League and ask them if they would take a full scholarship to a Northwestern or a Stanford or a Duke over playing before 8,000 people in the Ivy League, a good number of them would leap at the chance.

The Times story also includes this from interim Harvard President Derek Bok in yet another attempted defense of the Ivy League's prohibition against the I-AA football playoffs: "Once you start worrying about a national football championship, then you begin to worry about getting the quality of athlete, and the numbers needed, to win a national championship. And that worry leads to pressure to compromise academic standards to admit those athletes. That’s how even responsible institutions end up doing things they don’t like doing.”

In other words, let's punish the student-athletes who play football because we don't trust the coaches, the athletic departments, the admissions directors and the colleges themselves to do what they are supposed to do. The key words there: we don't trust.

And while I'm venting, I'm not at all sure football programs would be worrying very much about what they need to do to win the national championship. A game or two in the playoffs is all anyone really wants.

Of course, there are a few Ivy sports that really do have a legitimate shot at winning nation titles. Perhaps most prominent among them are men's and women's ice hockey and men's and women's lacrosse. It's ironic that not only are those sports allowed to go to the national playoffs but they are celebrated by the Ivy League and the individual schools for how they do there.

The Times article also includes this from Jeff Orleans: “One could argue that the Ivy League has had the better football experience than those institutions (Stanford, Duke, Northwestern) have had for the last 25 years. You might want to ask why they didn’t do what we did."

They're gonna love that around the country. ...

Princeton coach Roger Hughes, quoted in the Princeton Packet newspaper, talking about Dartmouth:

"I've seen them improve as the year's gone on. I think the quarterback does things that have hurt us the last couple weeks. He's a very athletic quarterback, he's their leading rusher, does a great job of scrambling when protection breaks down. We need to do the things we didn't in the second half of the Yale game and be disciplined in our pass rushes and make sure we have all the gaps covered. They're not going to come in here and lay down by any means. They're going to come in here with a chance to win the game and I know what that program stands for and how tough a kid they get."

There's a preview in the Daily Princetonian and a column imploring Princeton students to attend tomorrow's game.

The Daily Dartmouth preview is here.

The Harvard Crimson has a well-done piece in advance of The Game that begins this way: "I’ll make this quiz real simple for the Yale kids reading. Something of the multiple-choice variety should be more familiar to you guys." ... The Yale Daily notes that The Game: "...features the league's top rushing offense for Yale against the league's preeminent run-stopping defense for Harvard ..."

Unheralded, Not Unappreciated

HANOVER -- For every senior like Ryan Fuselier, who deserves All-Ivy League recognition as a Dartmouth receiver this fall, there's been a senior like Joe Scola, a safety whose final year hasn't been anything like hoped, but who has stuck with it. For every senior like Mike Fritz, who has burst on the scene at quarterback this fall, there's a senior like Don Bly helping out the junior varsity at tight end, or a classmate like Bobby Calderwood, doing the dirty work at fullback all year but not carrying the ball even one time.

At the end of their final home practice Thursday, Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens was asked about not about the standouts or co-captains Preston Copley and Mike Rabil, but about the less heralded members of his senior class. Some, like linebacker Joe Gibalski, center Mike Shannon, defensive tackle Brian Osimiri and corner Chris Blanco, have been starters. Others, like Sam McDonald and Cullen Gilchrist, have made the most of limited opportunities. All have been an integral part of the team.

Check Green Alert for Buddy Teevens's thoughts on his unheralded seniors.

Different Points Of View

Apparently truth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. If you talked with Dartmouth football coach Buddy Teevens this week, he'd have told you films confirm that two of the disputed calls in the Big Green's win over Brown were absolutely correct. There was early contact on a pass interference call against the Bears' Jose Yearwood and a near-touchdown catch in the end zone was bobbled as receiver Colin Cloherty went out of bounds.

Now ask Brown coach Phil Estes about what he saw watching the same two plays on film. Providence Journal reporter Mike Szostak did just that and here's what Estes had to say: "Jose clearly knocks the ball away. That was a great play. And Colin Cloherty got two feet in. He got his first foot down and dragged the second." Estes told the ProJo that he submitted the films for review by the officials. Estes: "They'll look at it, and it becomes part of their training film. We might get an apology, or they might say the call on the field was the right call. Either way, nothing will change."

I remember when I was researching my master's thesis in journalism coming across a quote about how sometimes sports columnnists try so hard to be funny that they can sabotage a good point. I think that's the case in a story by Lester Munson in SI.com. The subhead for the story sums up what it is about: "Harvard, Yale differ in dealing with off-field incidents." After applauding Tim Murphy for taking quick and decisive action after several Harvard players were involved in off-the-field incidents, Munson takes Yale coach Jack Siedlecki to task for how he handled incidents involving his players. Munson writes: "Maurice Clarett and Lawrence Phillips probably should have taken a harder look at Yale when they made their college plans." Whether you agree or disagree with how Siedlecki handled the affair, that's unfair.

Speaking of Siedlecki, he doesn't get any love from his own school paper today. From a column in the Yale Daily:

I fear that if Yale somehow beats Harvard this year (in spite of, rather than because of, the coach) and gets a share of the Ivy League title (which would be superficial if Princeton also wins next week), the Yale athletic director will forget the five consecutive losses to Harvard, the back-to-back defeats at the hands of San Diego - a team that had previously never beaten an Ivy League opponent and regularly schedules games against NAIA and Division III opponents - and doom us to another ten years of coaching ineptitude.

The Harvard Crimson has a story about former Crimson linebacker Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 and one Harvard linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski '00 being teammates on the St. Louis Rams.

Speaking of the NFL, former Dartmouth tight end Casey Cramer has returned after missing a week with a concussion to practice with the Tennessee Titans according to the Nashville paper. ... To read a story I wrote about Casey for the Dartmouth football program series, click here. ... On the Green Alert site yesterday I wrote about co-captain Mike Rabil; for the program series I wrote a piece about Mike's fellow co-captain, Preston Copley. ... You can find my 10-year anniversary story on the undefeated 1996 team here. ... I also wrote about wide receiver Ryan Fuselier and about Jason Bash.

Play Every Play As If It Were Your Last; It Might Be

HANOVER --The setting was the locker room after a ragged first half at Cornell two weeks ago.

Sidelined since suffering a Jones Fracture of his right foot in the final two minutes of Ivy League opener at Penn, defensive tackle Mike Rabil was so frustrated with what he saw in the first 30 minutes of uninspired play that he fleetingly thought about yanking the swollen appendage out of its cast, pulling on a cleat and hobbling out on the field like a latter day Willis Reed or Kirk Gibson.

But because the doctor, the trainers, the coaches and most importantly, his body simply wouldn't allow it, he did the only thing he could do.

Find out what he did by visiting Green Alert premium.

Sports Network Picks: Princeton, Harvard

Dartmouth athletics historian and former director of sports information Jack DeGange is interviewed at Memorial Field Friday for the upcoming documentary on Ivy League football, FOR LOVE AND HONOR. The film, directed by Erik Anjou, is based on the book, “Football: The Ivy League Origins of an American Obsession” by Mark F. Bernstein. It is due out next year.

Onetime Dartmouth Sports Information intern Matt Dougherty takes an exhaustive look at the I-AA playoff possibilities in his Sports Network column. Scroll down far enough and he has his picks for Saturday including relatively detailed looks at Dartmouth-Princeton and Harvard-Yale. His picks: Princeton 27, Dartmouth 13. Harvard 27, Yale 20. That combination would give Princeton the outright Ivy League championship and complete a season-ending tailspin for Yale which needed just to win its last two games to claim the title outright. ...

Meant to mention this earlier, but the Thetford Jaguars youth football program wants to thank sophomore wide receiver Andrew von Kuhn and freshman defensive back Tony Pastoors for graciously attending their banquet and helping to hand out awards.

Another Reason For The Playoff Ban

I know Jeff Orleans, executive director of the Ivy League for the past 23 years, and I've asked him in the past about Ivy football and the league's I-AA playoff ban. I've found it awkward even to bring the touchy subject up with him because he doesn't make the policy that keeps football from the postseason while every other sport in the league can go on. It is the Ivy presidents who make the policy and Orleans who faces the music. Having to explain the unexplainable and justify what seems unjustifiable, isn't easy.

So once more with feeling, Why doesn't the Ivy League participate in the I-AA playoffs? In this answer in the Cornell Sun Orleans adds something I'd not seen him mention before:

(The Ivy Presidents have) also seen in some other sports ... changes in scheduling, changes in post-season activities, that they’re not entirely happy with. Football is the one where they feel that it’s kind of easiest to lose control, so that’s where they are most conservative.

I understand what he's saying, but the natural response would be to counter, So because of things that are wrong in other sports you punish football rather than make adjustments to the policy in those sports?

For those looking for hope, Orleans' started his answer to the question this way:

Well, there’s always a possibility. The presidents talked about this last in 2005, and they seem to review it every three, four or five years.

From a Boston Globe story built around The Game, Harvard's chances for the Ivy title, and the necessity that Dartmouth beat Princeton to give the Crimson a chance: "Dartmouth's 19-13 OT victory over Brown last Saturday served notice that it's no pushover."

Just when you think you have the Ivy League figured out ... . Penn tailback Joe Sandberg told the Daily Pennsylvanian he is planning to return for a fifth year next fall, although nothing has been finalized with the Ivy League. I don't know all the details, obviously, but it was always my understanding that the Ivy redshirt rule required petitioning for the extra year based on medical or extreme personal issues. The DP story, at least, makes it sound as if Sandberg missed his season of football because of football, if that makes any sense. From the story:

The Pittsburgh native came to Penn three years ago in 2003 and then transferred to Rutgers following his freshman season after carrying the ball just once. But after the requisite year off following a transfer, Sandberg decided that he wasn't meant to be a Scarlet Knight and transferred back to Penn last year.

The story includes this quote from Sandberg about wanting to return: "It's another year to play the game I love to play."

Princeton and Rutgers, where the game started, are learning all over about college football according to this story in the Princetonian. From the story: "So chalk it up to our college football innocence that we Princetonians charged the field at the Yale Bowl. For we too are innocent, just like Rutgers fans, to all this excitement over college football."

Princeton fans, like Harvard fans, have a long, long way to go according to this column in the Harvard Crimson. Of the tailgating scene before The Game, the writer suggests, "Even Harvard’s attempts at debauchery are served up with silver spoons."

Speaking of The Game, I hope there's another prank this weekend. Tough to outdo the last one, though. Check out this site, watch the video and laugh away. The video runs 1:55 and it's well done.

From the Yale Daily regarding The Game: "Yale has never lost to Harvard six times in a row. Well, they'd never lost to them four or five times in a row, either, but that's in the past."

Finally, the New England Patriots are getting FieldTurf before their next game and Dartmouth gets a mention for having the same surface in this story. It certainly isn't taking the NFL team as long to put the surface down as it took in Hanover ;-)

Looking Back At Brown, Ahead To Princeton

HANOVER -- With apologies to a 1970's cult flick, last Saturday's win over Brown might be called, "Five (Not So) Easy Pieces."

After the first full practice since the 19-13 win, Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens shared a few thoughts about the dramatic, come-from-behind victory.

There were "five situations (when) we had to make things happen and all five we did," Teevens explained.

To learn what those five situations were, visit Green Alert premium.

Princeton QB Wins National Honor

The Sports Network has named Princeton quarterback Jeff Terrell the national I-AA co-offensive player of the week after he led the Tigers to a critical comeback-victory over Yale Saturday. ... Princeton coach Roger Hughes, the Dartmouth offensive coordinator when Jay Fiedler was in Hanover, called Terrell's performance Fiedleresque.

Should Princeton defeat Dartmouth and Harvard knock off Yale Saturday, the Tigers would win the Ivy League title outright and Terrell might just claim the Bushnell Cup as the conference's player of the year. If he does, he'll be at least the second son of a Dartmouth man to win that award for Princeton. Terrell's father, Steve, was a three-year Dartmouth punter and classmate of current Big Green head coach Buddy Teevens. The 1974 Bushnell winner was Princeton running back Walt Snickenberger, son of Dartmouth grad Walter Snickenberger '46 and brother of Dartmouth co-captain Tom Snickenberger '75. (Thanks to Dartmouth athletic historian Jack DeGange for pointing out the intertwined Ivy family tree.)

Also of note, the last time Princeton won a title by tying Dartmouth in Hanover on the final day, the current Tiger coach had a first-hand view as a Big Green assistant. Dave Rackovan, a Hughes assistant, was also on the Dartmouth staff at the time.

Now, a Dartmouth win, combined with a Cornell win over Penn would guarantee the Big Green no worse than an upper division finish -- a tie for fourth in the Ivy League. (An earlier post incorrectly said that would be a fifth-place finish.) Dartmouth and Cornell winning would put both teams -- along with Penn -- at 3-4 in the league. A Brown win over Columbia would make it a four-way tie for fourth and leave the Lions next -- in eighth place.

If you are a subscriber to the Big Green Insider audio/video service, you are in for a treat Saturday. Instead of a single-camera operation, the service will be picking up the TV feed for the Princeton-Dartmouth football game, which is being broadcast on Central New Jersey cable station Patriot 8.

I-aa.org's latest Gridiron Power Index (the unofficial BCS-like poll for I-AA) has Dartmouth ranked behind two teams it defeated this fall. A total of 122 teams are included. The rankings:
16. Princeton
24. Harvard
26. Yale
37. Penn
T-67. Cornell
71. Brown
79. Columbia
82. Dartmouth

Other Dartmouth opponents:
8. UNH
54. Holy Cross
70. Colgate

A Daily Dartmouth story about what's happening at James Madison University, which is cutting sports to comply with Title IX, has some interesting quotes from Dartmouth Athletic Director Josie Harper. ... The D also has this story about Harper being inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Optimist And Pessimist Check In After Brown

The Optimist and The Pessimist were in demand at the tent after Saturday's dramatic win over Brown. "I can't wait to hear what they think after today," an acquaintance said as they passed by. The Pessimist just averted his eyes.

The Optimist agrees with Coach Buddy Teevens that Saturday's win was a defining moment for the rebuilding Dartmouth football program.
The Pessimist says, whoa, let's take a step back. What if that fourth-down pass interference penalty hadn't been called? Far from a defining moment, it would have been ... simply another loss. To continue reading, visit Green Alert premium.

Of Calls And Non-Calls Saturday In Hanover

The Brown Daily Herald has a couple of interesting quotes about pass interference calls -- or non-calls -- in Dartmouth's win over the Bears Saturday.

Brown coach Phil Estes on the flag that was picked up at the end of overtime: "On that last play (wide receiver Lonnie Hill) said it was tipped, so it was a good call. Once the ball is tipped, there's no interference."

Estes, sounding as if he's seen film of the play, on the fourth-down interference call the kept Dartmouth's game-tying drive going: "There was contact, but (Jose Yearwood) can play the football, and it wasn't like he went through the guy. He was successful at knocking the ball away, and I'm not sure this guy's going to be able to catch the football (anyway)."

Dartmouth linebacker Justin Cottrell and placekicker Andrew Kempler made the Ivy League honor roll for their play against Brown.

The Daily D story has been posted here.

A quote by Yale coach Jack Siedlecki in the Yale Daily's recap of Princeton-Yale: "I don't think I've ever seen a game with such contrasting halves. We played the best half of offense we've played all year in the first half. We just didn't have the answers and didn't make plays in the second, and that's not a good combination."

From the start of a column in the New Haven Register:

NEW HAVEN — Before a Yale football player goes on television proclaiming his team's superiority over an arch-rival as solid as Princeton, he might want to make sure there's a few pelts in the trophy case.

Someone should have reminded senior defensive end Brendan Sponheimer of that fact before proclaiming on WTNH-8 camera in mid-week that "We know that we're better than (Princeton). We scrimmaged them and we're not afraid to say we're better than them."

To quote Sammy Davis, Jr., "ouch babe."

Penn coach Al Bagnoli, quoted in the Daily Pennsylvanian after his team ended a run of three overtime losses in a row by beating Harvard in regulation: "Thank God we didn't have to go to overtime. That's my first statement."

Harvard will be rooting hard for a Dartmouth win over Princeton Saturday because the Crimson needs that -- and a win over Yale -- to grab a one-third share of the title. The school paper doesn't seem to think a Big Green win in New Jersey is likely, writing: "Barring a miracle next Saturday, the Tigers will ensure a share of the title by defeating Dartmouth. The Bulldogs can win their own share by winning The Game."

Found something interesting in the Harvard Crimson regarding Clifton Dawson's surpassing Ed Marinaro's career rushing mark. While most people know that Marinaro set the record in three nine-game season and Dawson broke it in his 38th game, the story points out the number of carries each had. Marinaro set the record with 918 career carries. Dawson broke it on his 920th. Pretty amazing. It's yet another indication of how much of a workhorse Marinaro was.

Dartmouth Jayvees Win In OT

HANOVER -- If Sunday's junior varsity game didn't top Saturday's varsity win over Brown for drama, it came close.

Freshman wide receiver Ian Ferrell was on the receiving end of 17-yard and 21-yard touchdown throws and tight end Carroll Papajohn caught TD passes of 18, 19 and 28 yards -- the last the gamewinner in overtime -- as Dartmouth posted a 42-35 victory over Maine's Bridgton Academy.

For a full story and complete stats, visit Green Alert premium.

Dartmouth-Brown Follow

HANOVER -- Almost lost amid the "penalties-no penalties" discussion after Dartmouth's 19-13 overtime win against Brown Saturday were two significant time management issues.

One was a mistake by Brown. The other a correction by the officials. To find out what they were, visit Green Alert premium.

Dartmouth-Brown Pictures

The final scoreboard tells the story.
A flag on the last play is waved off and Dartmouth players react.
It's hugs all around after the thrilling win.
With camera and movie crews shooting, the singing is loud and joyful.

Dartmouth-Brown Reports

The Providence Journal: "Two questionable officiating decisions, one in the last minute of the fourth quarter and the other in overtime, went against Brown and helped Dartmouth to a 19-13 victory yesterday before 4,211 spectators at Memorial Field."

The Manchester Union Leader: (courtesy of Dartmouth sports information): "Senior tailback Jason Bash blasted over from the 1-yard line in overtime, propelling Dartmouth team to a 19-13 Ivy League victory over Brown yesterday. Bash's touchdown capped off a dramatic comeback that started in the fourth quarter, which began with Brown holding a 10-0 lead."

The Associated Press: "Andrew Kempler kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired and Andrew Bash scored on a 1-yard plunge in overtime to give Dartmouth a 19-13 win over Brown on Saturday."

The roundup:
Princeton 34, Yale 31 (attendance: 43,406)
Pennsylvania 22, Harvard 13 (Clifton Dawson runs for 119 yards to break Ed Marinaro's record)
Columbia 21, Cornell 14
Colgate 29, Holy Cross 28
New Hampshire 63, Rhode Island 21 (David Ball ties Jerry Rice's record of 23 100-yard receiving games)

Dartmouth-Brown follow to come this morning on Green Alert premium with a report on the junior varsity game with Bridgton this afternoon.

Bash TD Lifts Dartmouth Over Brown

Dartmouth 19, Brown 13 (ot)
HANOVER -- In the dog days of a one-win season, there was no way the Dartmouth football team could ever find what it takes to beat a Brown team on the upswing.

But it did, as Jason Bash's one-yard plunge in the first overtime lifted the Big Green to a dramatic 19-13 win over the Bears that, for a lot of reasons, simply wasn't going to happen.
Click here to read the story.

Winning Touchdown A Fitting Tribute To Bash
HANOVER -- If you know Jason Bash's story -- and if you have a pulse -- you could be excused if you had a lump in your throat after he scored the winning touchdown in Dartmouth's dramatic 19-13 overtime victory against Brown.
Click here to read the story.

Dartmouth 19, Brown 13: Game Story Posted

8:15 p.m. Update: The game story is now up. Sidebar to come.

---

The guess is that there will be a few hits on the Green Alert site before I get the story up and I can understand your eagerness to get the report. But it's about 6 p.m., and I'm just getting down to pulling the story together, so it's going to be a bit.

The reason: After being with the team virtually every step of the way since the start of camp and seeing everything they've been through, I stopped by the Friends tent to share in the pure joy of so many people who wanted this so much. It was pretty special.

The game story and a sidebar are coming.

Dartmouth-Brown Today

I spent most of the day Friday as the unofficial tour guide for the film crew from FOR LOVE AND HONOR, the documentary in the works about Ivy League football. In addition to mood or scenic shots, they did a few interviews with random students, asking them about football and football players, about the mascot (Keggy was the mascot of choice) and about life in general at Dartmouth. There was a lunchtime standup with former sports information director and unofficial Dartmouth football historian Jack DeGange in Memorial Field and then an interview with Preston Copley up at the Bema. The best part of that, other than Preston being gently coerced into singing the alma mater, was the interchange between Preston and Erik Anjou regarding the name bema. Each of them floored the other. Preston was surprised that bema was Hebrew for stage or platform; Erik was surprised to find out that in Dartmouth culture it is Big Empty Meeting Area. ... The crew will be in the locker room filming before and after the game as well as on the sidelines during the contest.

Brown's game notes for today can be found here. (PDF file) ... Jake Novak's very thorough Roar Lion Roar blog gives the nod to Brown, 24-17, while suggesting, "Brown seems like a prime upset victim after three straight weeks of playing very well ..."

Missed this one the first time around. Yale linebacker Bobby Abare was the Sports Network's national I-AA defensive player of the week after picking off three Brown passes, returning one for a touchdown and making seven tackles last week.

A Toledo-area linebacker has Dartmouth on his radar screen. Or maybe he has Dartmouth on his screen. Either way, find the story here.

You probably know Clifton Dawson, Harvard's standout running back, is from Toronto. Read what the Toronto Star has to say about Dawson, who should eclipse Ed Marinaro's Ivy League career rushing record this afternoon.

If you are sitting at home today and want to flip back and forth, you might, that's might, be able to watch the Yale-Princeton game for free on an experimental video feed. Click here to learn more. There's a story about the matchup of 7-1 teams in the Hartford Courant.

Dartmouth-Brown Preview

The Dartmouth-Brown preview and Week Nine picks have been posted on the Green Alert premium site.

"Dartmouth always seems to play the Bears tough"

The Brown Daily Herald: "Dartmouth always seems to play the Bears tough, and this game should be no different." The story includes this from Brown coach Phil Estes: "I look at the film and say we should be able to get one over the top (of the coverage), but people have tried and they've covered it very well."

The Columbia Spectator thinks Brown's offense will have its way because "... Dartmouth has the worst defense in the league. And through eight games, that statistic is unlikely to change."

From the Daily Dartmouth: "If the Dartmouth football team hopes to notch its first home victory in its final opportunity Saturday afternoon against the Brown University Bears, the team will need to avoid its recent recipe for failure." Hmmm.

The Sports Network has Brown over Dartmouth in its "just the picks" section, and offers a capsule preview that goes with Princeton over Yale in the biggest game of the week in New Haven.

From The Yale Daily: "The Game isn't until next week, but for all intents and purposes, it might as well be tomorrow when second-place Princeton rolls into town." ... Here's the Daily Princetonian's take on the Yale game. ... According to the Trenton Times, as least 10 busloads of students are headed up from Princeton for the game.

This is an amazing story. Can you believe someone has played at Cornell, then for Oklahoma and now is playing for Northwestern? Me neither, but it's true. His name is Dan Dixon and his story is in the Tulsa World. From the story:

"Ivy League football is not what you think," said Dixon. "Yes, the academic standards are very high. But they are serious about their football. The effort is just as intense as anywhere in college football. The difference is the talent level. There are just more great athletes at a Big 12 or Big 10 school."

Former Dartmouth tight end Casey Cramer is questionable for this week's game with the Tennessee Titans because of a concussion.

From the Daily Dartmouth: "First Nations Week -- an effort to promote awareness of Native American issues at Dartmouth -- will culminate Saturday with a discussion on the history of the controversial Dartmouth Indian mascot."

Of Brown And Green And The Silver Screen

HANOVER -- It would be one thing to make a big play Saturday and have it end up on the 2006 Dartmouth highlight reel.

But this is something else.

Make a notable play against Brown and it could end up immortalized on the silver screen.

Seriously.

Setting up shop in Hanover Friday and Saturday is a crew shooting footage for "For Love And Honor," a feature-length documentary film on Ivy League football. Based on Mark Bernstein's book, Football: The Ivy League Origins of an Obsession, the film is being directed by Erik Greenberg Anjou, a former Middlebury College football player and award-winning filmmaker.

To read more, visit Green Alert premium.

I have a trailer made for "For Love And Honor" and it is nothing short of terrific. ... The crack that former Yale (and Dallas Cowboy) great Calvin Hill made about Harvard had me laughing aloud. ... I've spent time talking football and the Ivy League with Erik Anjou over the past couple of months, sat with him throughout the Columbia game and am impressed by the heart -- and the art -- he is putting into this project. ... Keep an eye out for this film in 2007. If the trailer is any indication of what's to come, anyone who visits this site often won't want to miss it.

Brown Coach: This Is My Game

There's a good preview of the Dartmouth-Brown game in the Providence Journal. The story is built around the fact that Brown coach Phil Estes was born in New Hampshire and went to school at UNH. It sounds as if Estes means business as he tries to fire the Bears up after last week's heartbreaking loss to Yale. From the story:

"We have to get back on track," Estes said. "We can't sit and dwell on what could have been. Sunday, I could see a different mood on the team, and my job was to change the whole tone of this game. I'm making Dartmouth my vendetta. I've been out there screaming at them all week, 'This is my game!' "

The Boston Globe has a story about senior Mike Shannon's 6-foot-6, 300-pound brother Chris, who has been offered scholarships by Maryland, Duke and UConn, and has received recruiting interest from a number of top programs. Referring to Mike's life-threatening illness several years ago, Chris -- who has written a column about his recruitment for espn.com -- told the Globe:

‘‘If there’s ever a time when you’re having a bad day or things just aren’t going your way. I think of what my brother went through.’’

Harvard's Clifton Dawson needs just 54 yards to pass Ed Marinaro's Ivy League career rushing record, but there's no such thing as a sure thing. This Harvard Crimson piece recalls the sad story of Cornell back Chad Levitt, who in 1996 was on pace to break the mark set by his predecessor in Ithaca when a broken arm ended his season just 58 yards short of the record.

Maybe it's the Penn Stater in me, but -- to the chagrin of at least one Green Alert subscriber -- I'm no big fan of Ivy League band shows. I take that back; I like Cornell's traditional band. To get a sense of what an Ivy band is like, read this story in the Daily Princetonian. ... The paper also has its top 10 reasons why Princeton students should go to New Haven for the big game against Yale this weekend.

From the Ivy League web site: "More than half of the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District I football team was made of Ivy Leaguers." You can find the team here. Dartmouth is not represented.

Finally, and you know this book and this story won't be well received on campus, alum Chris Miller '63, has written the "true story" behind the movie Animal House. The book is entitled: "The Real Animal House: The Awesomely Depraved Saga of the Fraternity That Inspired the Movie." The Daily Dartmouth quotes Miller:

"I am curious as to what sort of ... what the coloration of the official Dartmouth College response with this will be. They were not too pleased with me when 'Animal House' came out. (The book) is very politically incorrect. But very accurate and honest of our serial drinking and sexual escapades and acts of depravity."

If you want more, check out what the New York Times has to say:

His book is sophomoric, disgusting, tasteless, vile, misogynist, chauvinist, debased and at times so unspeakably revolting that any person of decent sensibility would hurl it into the nearest Dumpster. I couldn’t put it down. I make this self-indicting admission with all due trepidation, but there it is. For better or worse, this an utterly hilarious book.

Let There Be Light

HANOVER -- The great lights-capade of 2006 finally hit the big stage on a rain-soaked Wednesday to mixed reviews. Visit Green Alert premium to read more.

Dartmouth In The Rankings

The Gridiron Power Index is sort of a BCS standing for I-AA football pulled together by I-AA.org. The latest GPI numbers are out and they have Dartmouth 93rd nationally of 122 ranked teams.

The Ivy League in the GPI:
15. Harvard
20. Princeton
22. Yale
45. Penn
53. Cornell
55. Brown
89. Columbia
93. Dartmouth

Dartmouth's Non-League Opponents:
9. UNH
43. Holy Cross
75. Colgate

Out of curiosity, I went back to see where Dartmouth has finished in the GPI in recent years. Here's what I found:
2005 -- 75
2004 -- T-78
2003 -- 52
2001 -- 78

Harvard's Clifton Dawson is 54 yards away from Ed Marinaro's all-time Ivy rushing record. The Boston Globe leads off its weekly notebook with a look at the Crimson standout.

The Yale Daily has a nice piece about what the Abare twins have meant to the league-leading Bulldogs. From the story: "At Acton-Boxboro high school in suburban Boston, the twins led the Colonials' football team to four league and state titles and a combined record of 50-1. The sole loss came in the first and only game in which the freshmen twins didn't start."

Steve Bassermann, apparently the life of the Yale football party, is the subject of stories both in the Hartford Courant and the New Haven Register. ... Will ESPN's GameDay be at Yale-Princeton Saturday? Not so fast my friend, according to Sean Barker in his Portal 31 blog. But ESPN will have a presence there.

Teevens Springs A Surprise

HANOVER -- If you happened by Dartmouth practice Tuesday and were paying attention, you saw something out of the ordinary.

Something you haven't seen for a while.

Something that even caught the Big Green players by surprise.

To find out what it was, visit Green Alert premium.

HYP

No doubt to the chagrin of "the other five," Harvard, Yale and Princeton are all 7-1 for the first time in 99 years. The Daily Pennsylvanian points out the acronym really should be YHP. Or maybe YPH.

Should have done this yesterday because Multimedia Tuesday doesn't quite have the same ring as Multimedia Monday, but the Princeton web page has an interesting story and accompanying video of The Perfect Pitch. In case you missed it, that came in Saturday's game against Penn when a Princeton running back tried to dive over the pile on a fourth and goal, got stopped, slid back off the pile and on the way down flicked the ball back to his quarterback, who ran it around right end for a touchdown. That's the Reader's Digest version of the story. To read the full account and access the video (which is available without a subscription) click here.

The Perfect Pitch, by the way, was ESPN's Top Play the next day. When I heard about that play, I couldn't help but think about the last time Dartmouth played at Princeton when something even more bizarre happened. If you remember (or even if you don't ;-), Dartmouth's Clayton Smith blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter of a 10-10 game. The Princeton holder grabbed the rebound and started to run. Just as the whistle was about to blow the play dead, a teammate yanked the ball out of his arms and ran 24 yards for a touchdown. I've got to think that trumped the Penn play, although the stakes weren't nearly as high because on that occasion neither team was in the running for a title.

For some reason, those plays got me thinking about Dartmouth's game at Cornell when Milan Williams carried nine yards for a six-yard touchdown. You read that right. Here's what happened: Milan broke through the hole, lost the handle and essentially dribbled the ball off the AstroTurf right back up into his hands, and then finished off the run. Statistically, and this caught me by surprise, he gets the full nine yards rushing, but the TD is only as long as his "fumble recovery." It makes sense but seemed weird at the time.

As part of our Multimedia Monday offerings, sorry Multimedia Tuesday, how about a look back at a player who was better than we (and maybe he) knew? There's a compilation of terrific plays by defensive end Anthony "Knuckles" Gargiulo on YouTube. Just click here. ... No word yet on whether Anthony has signed with an agent as he pursues a pro career after a year out of the game. ...

Dartmouth, Princeton and Holy Cross have been talking to a big quarterback in Ohio. Click here and read down.

Granted, Green Alert hasn't been the place to find much about Dartmouth women's soccer, but an injustice is an injustice and it shouldn't go unnoticed. The Big Green, ranked No. 21 of more than 300 teams in the country, was shocked to learn last night that it had been overlooked by the NCAA Tournament committee. Apparently, Dartmouth isn't the only one shocked. ESPN's analysis of the event includes a section titled, Which team has the biggest gripe about being left out? Want to guess who they write about?

Optimist-Pessimist After Cornell

What a difference a week makes! Last week it took forever to collar The Optimist and you just about needed a pair of handcuffs to drag him to his weekly appointment. You'd think he was on his way for a root canal judging by the look on his puss.

Having him show up isn't the problem this week. Having him shut up is another matter.

The Optimist just can't stop smiling. A 15-point fourth quarter and a stirring comeback on the road Saturday put a frightful scare into the same Cornell team that knocked Princeton from the ranks of the undefeated one week before.

The Pessimist smirks -- something he does a lot -- and answers with a two-word question: Who won?

To read more of the friendly antagonists' banter, visit Green Alert premium.

Dartmouth-Cornell Wrap

The Daily Dartmouth has a recap of Saturday's 28-25 loss at Cornell. ... The Ithaca Journal, in a backhanded compliment of sorts, wrote: "Dartmouth, despite its poor record, did not roll over and die."

Check out the Cornell Sun game story. ... The Sun sidebar says Cornell quarterbacks made the difference.

The quote of the day Saturday came from the game of the day: Princeton's two overtime win over Penn. Coach Roger Hughes in the Daily Pennsylvanian: "If you guys don't believe in God, I'll send you the tape."

More from the DP on a third overtime loss for the Quakers in a row: "It's been the tale of this whole season with the kicking game," (Penn coach Al) Bagnoli said. "It's very ironic that three field goals, the longest of which has been from the six-yard line, separates us from being unbeaten to where we are now."

The Ivy League rushing leader is not Clifton Dawson. It's Yale's Mike McLeod. Here's a New Haven Register story about him. ... It's surprising that the Sports Network's revised Payton Award watch list (for the top offensive player in I-AA) lists Dawson, but not McLeod, who has helped Yale reign as the only team in the Ivies with an unbeaten conference record. Harvard was supposed to be at the top of the league; Yale was not and McLeod is a big, big reason why.

Tonight on Green Alert: The Optimist and The Pessimist