The Dartmoose?

The Dartmouth mascot/nickname issue is bubbling to the surface again, as it seems to do every five years or so. There's currently a push for the Dartmoose (or perhaps the Dartmouth Moose) according to this story in today's Daily Dartmouth. I was going to spring this week's poll on you by surprise, but I might as well 'fess up that it will have to do with the same subject. (I'm going to leave the stadium poll up until early afternoon to give those final few voters who are checking in after a long weekend a chance to pick their favorite.) C'mon back later in the day to cast a ballot regarding a mascot/nickname.

In other news from today's Daily Dartmouth, tuition at the college is rising 5 percent next year. The D says that "represents an additional $1,668 over this year's tuition, bringing the total charge including room, board and mandatory fees to $45,483." With two kids who will be heading off to college in the not-too-distant future, my response is one word: GULP.

Given the cost of attending an Ivy school, it might be worth taking a look at this New York Times story shared last week by a reader. The story is about the college convictions of 96-year-old Loren Pope, a Virginia man who has been an independent college counselor since 1975 and is currently updating his 1990 book, "Looking Beyond the Ivy League." From the story:

He sees as false the assumption that the selectivity of Ivy League and other elite colleges translates into the best education. Instead, he advocates colleges that accept a broad range of students, not just the top academic performers. And he argues that colleges with fewer than 3,000 students offer the best educational experience because students will have more opportunities to get to know professors well, both inside and outside the classroom.

Don Hansen's Football Gazette has settled on its 2006 I-AA (FCS) All-America team and Yale offensive tackle Ed McCarthy is the publication's Lineman of the Year. New Hampshire's David Ball is the interestingly named Offensive Receiver of the Year. While no Dartmouth players earned a mention on the three teams (plus honorable mention), a good number of opponents were. (For a PDF file listing the entire team, click on this Columbia link.)

Don Hansen's First Team
OT Ed McCarthy, Yale
DT Mike Berg, Harvard
WR David Ball, UNH

Second Team
RB Clifton Dawson, Harvard
LB Zak DeOssie, Brown
QB Ricky Santos, UNH

Third Team
DB Jim Strickland, Princeton
LB Mike Gallighugh, Colgate

Honorable Mention
QB Jeff Terrell, Princeton
DB Tad Crawford, Columbia
LB Bobby Abare, Yale
RB Jordan Scott, Colgate
OG Tucker Peterson, UNH

Green Alert Take: Don Hansen's Gazette has always marched to the beat of its own drummer. Who else would release the 2006 All-America team in the third month of 2007? I won't take issue with anyone he named, but I have a problem with one player he left out. Overlooked once again, for reasons I can't explain, is Yale running back Mike McLeod. Not only do his numbers stack up well with the two Ivy tailbacks who were named to the team (indeed he outgained by Dawson and Scott this year) but he led his team to a surprise championship despite an untested quarterback.

The numbers:
McLeod 1,364 yards rushing, 19 TD's, 136.4 ypg, 4.6 avg. gain
Dawson 1,213 yards rushing, 20 TD's, 121.3 ypg, 5.1 avg. gain
Scott 1,234 yards rushing, 12 TD's, 112.2 ypg, 4.3 avg. gain