Ranking The Opponents

Matt Dougherty's final Sports Network column before he joins the Patriot League ranks position players at the FCS level. Although it baffles me how someone can rank, say, the top 10 offensive guards, it's done all the time and we all eat it up. So, without further ado, here are ranked players on teams Dartmouth will face this year:

Tailback
4. Mike McLeod, Yale
6. Jordan Scott, Colgate

Defensive Tackle
6. Brandt Hollander, Yale

Linebacker
3. Mike Gallihugh, Colgate

Corner
3. Casey Gough, Holy Cross

(Matt already looked at the top quarterbacks and UNH's Ricky Santos got the nod in this column. Dominic Randolph of Holy Cross was ranked 13th and there was special mention of the Harvard QB tandem led by Liam O'Hagan.)

The South Bend Tribune is doing a series on College Football Hall of Famers. This edition is on Earl "Red" Blaik, who coached Dartmouth to a 22-game unbeaten streak in the 1930's before moving on to Army.

Our local paper today has a page one story about the age discrimination lawsuit brought by former Dartmouth assistant Pat O'Leary against Buddy Teevens. Both coaches testified yesterday in federal court in Concord. O'Leary, 58, contends that he was fired because he was too old. Teevens says the firing was related to negativism and recruiting deficiencies. The story says Dartmouth Athletic Director Josie Harper, Associate AD Brian Austin and O'Leary's wife may testify today. The jury of seven men and one woman may get the case today or tomorrow.

The national championship Dartmouth Ski Team visited the White House yesterday as part of NCAA Champions Day that honored 20 teams. President Bush's remarks can be found here. Well-prepped, here's what he said about the Big Green skiers:

Some of the teams here have been waiting a long time to reclaim a championship. Dartmouth Men's and Women's Skiing Team -- they won their first title 30 years ago, and now they're here at the White House. Congratulations.

Hopefully the Blog is getting back up to speed, although I've got a lot of work to catch up on after a couple of difficult weeks. My brother from Indiana and sister from Texas are still in town to help take care of family obligations. Thanks again for the emails and phone calls over the past days.