More For The Board

It's a good thing the Dartmouth football team is moving into Floren Varsity House at some point because there can't be much room left for bulletin board material in Davis. And, as they say, the hits just keep on coming.

From today's Princetonian season preview:

"This year, the Big Green figures to once again be among the bottom-dwellers of the Ivy League, picked to finish dead last."

From the Daily Pennsylvanian Dartmouth preview:

Someone has to finish last in the league. This year, Dartmouth is bringing up the rear of the preseason Ivy football poll. But head coach Buddy Teevens isn't miffed by the lack of confidence in his squad.

"The poll has never been accurate," he told reporters.

He should know. Dartmouth proved the pundits - who picked them to finish seventh - wrong last year. Instead, the Big Green finished eighth, with a 2-5 conference record and a 2-8 overall record.

(Editor's note: It's nothing to brag about, but Dartmouth actually tied for sixth last year, defeating the other sixth-place finishers, Brown and Columbia, along the way. True, sixth was last. But it wasn't eighth.)

The Boston Herald has a thin Ivy preview today. Dartmouth was accorded one sentence.

With the start of the season just two days away all kinds of Ivy football stuff is in the school newspapers. One of the most interesting is a piece in The Princetonian about quarterback Bill Foran finally getting his shot as a senior. It mentions him running the 100 and 200 meters for the Princeton track team. That got me curious so I went back to the Princeton track site and found that the QB really is fast. Listed as his best time at 100 meters: 10.67. Brian Evans, arguably the fastest player on the Dartmouth team and a sprinter on the track team, was listed last year (the site hasn't been updated) with a best time at 100 meters of 10.8. Suffice it to say you don't want Foran to get the corner.

From the Ithaca Journal preview of the Cornell team:

With a deep, talented group of receivers at its disposal, a gunslinger in the backfield, and a two-time All-Ivy pick at tailback, Cornell plans to turn its offense into an aeriel show.

I'm from Missouri. Show Me. Clearly the intent is to pass the ball more, and I think they will. But with that two-time All-Ivy pick at tailback the guess here is that the Big Red will still make its living on the ground.

A subscriber sent this link to a New York Times story headlined "High School Football Teams Reflect Changes in Rural Life." It uses a very successful nine-man high school football team in northwest Minnesota to tell the story of the graying of farm country. For the record, Stephen/Argyle Central High has won 56 consecutive games and will try to do Joe DiMaggio one better the next time out. By the way, there are 111 students in the school with 68 of them boys. A quote for the ages from the story:

“Good for football,” Coach Mark Kroulik said. “Tough for finding a prom date.”

Two more notes. Tonight's practice recap will be late as I take in the first of that certain eighth-grader's football games this evening. I won't be able to catch many of them, so I'm gonna steal a little time to get there for the first one. (An aside: That certain Hanover High sophomore had an assist yesterday while helping the varsity field hockey team improve to 3-0. She's switched from forward to midfield this year, the better to take advantage of her ability to run all the day long.)

Finally, as I looked out the window this morning I had another visit from my friends the turkeys, who have been coming by every morning to nibble at my uncut grass while I work on the Blog. (The grass in the picture will be cut today. Promise ;-) Some days there will be 20 turkeys out there, which certainly gets golden retriever Cooper's attention.

Anyway, I was wondering as I looked out at one good-sized Tom: Should he be eating a lot while he can, what with turkey season coming? (I always liked the saying, "Eat desert first. Life is uncertain.")

Or should he starve himself until he's so thin no right-minded hunter would ever shoot him? You know, make it obvious that the gobbler standing next to him would look a lot better on a platter come Thanksgiving.

Life's great questions ...