About That Schedule

Dartmouth's repetitive football schedule isn't getting any love in an Any Given Saturday discussion forum thread. From a poster who follows Colgate:

"This is the exact same schedule they play every year. No, really. Switch home/away in the offseason and the game order is exactly the same. Somewhat disturbing, actually."

And this from another poster, apparently with Lafayette leanings:

I remember looking at Dartmouth when choosing colleges a few years ago. I recall looking at their future scheudles (sic) page and their football schedule was the SAME exact one every year until 2017 or 2019 or whatever... it's pathetic, but I doubt they will ever win an Ivy title up there...

By the way, have you noticed the new poll feature over to the right? It's your chance to vote on what team you'd like to see Dartmouth pick up if there is a schedule change. If people do start to vote on the poll, I'll throw a new question up there from time to time. If the poll gets largely ignored, I'll just toss it.

Unless he runs for 1,000 yards in the next couple of years, it's about time to stop posting about one that got away, Maine high school running back phenom Jared Turcotte. But before moving on, here's a Q&A with the student-athlete who had tremendous interest in Dartmouth before committing earlier this week to Maine.

Jay Fiedler is always taking shots in the media, but this one is pretty funny. A gossip-type columnist from the Palm Beach Post terms the Dartmouth grad and former Miami Dolphins' quarterback "nerdy." Check out the column for an anecdote about Fiedler, former Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly and a dance floor. ... In a more positive vein, this posting notes something about Fiedler that the revisionists who once cheered him in Miami and now revile him might not realize. Since Dan Marino retired in 1999, the Dolphins have had eight starting quarterbacks. Only one of the eight finished a season with a passer rating above 80. It was Fiedler, and he did it twice. In 2001 and 2002.

Another former Ivy League quarterback-turned-pro athlete gets a nod in this tongue-in-cheek Sporting News column about "Five major leaguers who could step in for Rex Grossman if he struggles in the big game." From the list:

Mark DeRosa, 2B, Cubs. He started at Penn for two years and led the Quakers to a conference title as a sophomore. Penn won his first 12 starts. Impressive, even if it was the Ivy League.

Can someone tell me when exactly Ivy League football became a standing joke? Oh yeah. When I-AA came along.

On Super Bowl weekend, this New York Times story about three-time Super Bowl linebacker Ted Johnson and problems believed to be caused in part by concussions is even more disturbing. From the story:

Ted Johnson helped the New England Patriots win three of the past five Super Bowls before retiring in 2005. Now, he says, he forgets people’s names, misses appointments and, because of an addiction to amphetamines, can become so terrified of the outside world that he locks himself alone inside his Boston apartment in bed with the blinds drawn for days at a time.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, the Boston Globe has an informative piece on James Brown. No not that guy. The football announcer, JB, who was a student-athlete at Harvard. Um, no again. He didn't play football for the Crimson. He was a hooper.

From a Hartford Courant story about collectors having interest in unused football tickets:

"Now I like this one because it reminds me of cash," he says of a green kaleidoscopic-patterned voucher to admit one to the Bulldogs' 1923 contest with Dartmouth.

Hmm. I've got an unused ticket from the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid if anyone is interested ;-). True story. I went to the "Miracle" Games opening ceremonies to write a story from a man-on-the-street perspective and walked right through the entrance to the opening ceremony without anyone so much as looking at my ticket. Oh, and I got the ticket for free. Somehow I don't think either of those things is going to happen again any time soon.

Speaking of the Winter Olympics, we got about six inches of the white stuff up here on the mountain last night and I'm guessing they got four or so down in the valley. So much for "Global Warming Awareness Day," taking center stage for the Winter Carnival. (I'm not making that up. Check this out.)

And finally ... that certain Hanover High School freshman thoroughly enjoyed her first New Hampshire Class I-M-S state indoor track championships last night at Leverone Fieldhouse. She sliced five seconds off her personal best in the 3000 meters (11:15.05 ) and came back to run within a second of her personal best in the 1500 (5:17.48). Her 3000 time would have placed her fourth a year ago, but a much stronger field this time left her ninth in the state, the same as she was in the 1500. She was kicking herself for having too much energy left at the end of the 3000 and was a bit disappointed with the place, but ninth in the state in two events is pretty neat for a freshman. And she finished ahead of her seeding in both races.

Now it's on to softball, a game she's never played before because she's always played baseball with the boys. Two years ago we (and she) had to go before the Hanover Recreation Commission to plead her case to stick with baseball and she responded with a couple of terrific years playing shortstop and center field on the 7th-8th grade team. She also had a successful summer playing Junior Babe Ruth and would have played again if we hadn't gone cross country last summer.

Ah, but girls aren't allowed to play baseball in high school so the time has come to make the switch. The nice thing is if she doesn't like it, there's always outdoor track ;-) And she has every intention of returning to baseball during the summer. ... Seems the people who run summer leagues are a little more enlightened than those who run high school sports.