One That Got Away

From the What Might Have Been department... The Associated Press writes about New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, who went to Cal but had the chance to play at Dartmouth or Columbia. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2002 draft and went on to play with the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys before moving on to the Saints.

Speaking of Columbia, congratulations to Roar Lions Roar editor/writer Jake Novak, who has landed the color commentator position for Columbia radio broadcasts this fall. ... Oh, and still speaking of radio, a couple of us have talked generally about trying to start up a Dartmouth football podcast. What we really need is a 16-year-old kid with a computer and an interest in football to get us started ;-) ...

Back on the subject of Columbia, former Lion standout Marcellus Wiley is without a contract and might be headed for retirement. That doesn't necessarily mean he's slowing down, as this SI.com story notes.

Off the fields (and onto the water) the Daily Dartmouth reports on an idea floated to possibly hold Tubestock on Storrs Pond in Hanover. The idea was nixed.

Record Smasher

In case you are wondering (or even if you are not ;-) the Dartmouth record for career touchdown passes is 58, held by Jay Fiedler. Second on the all-time list is Brian Mann, with 33. Got it?

Now consider this: As Allen Lessels reports in the Manchester Union Leader, the next touchdown pass New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos throws with be the 100th of his career. That's right. The UNH signal-caller has averaged 33 TD throws a year. At his current rate, he would finish his career with 132. The old UNH record: 53.

For the record, Santos has seven TD passes against Dartmouth. (He did not take over as the starter until after the game against the Big Green his freshman season.)

As a Hanover High School student in the early '90s, Tris Wykes volunteered as a student-manager of sorts for the Dartmouth football team. The son of Dartmouth English professor David Wykes, Tris also helped out in the Dartmouth sports information office before heading off to the University of Minnesota. A gifted sportswriter, Tris has worked for the LA Times and most recently the Virginia Pilot.

Having recently left the daily newspaper grind, he's trying his hand at creating a Big Green Alert of sorts for the Norfolk State University football team he covered last year. You can check in on his Spartan Spirals here. Best of luck to Tris as he tries to get the Spirals to fly; I can only hope that the Norfolk State fans and football family are as devoted as so many are to Dartmouth, and that they appreciate how lucky they are to have someone as talented as Tris to deliver them the daily scoop.

Another Poll; Another Low Projection

Sports Media Entertainment, an "internet-based broadcasting company," picks Dartmouth seventh in the Ivy League. The SME poll:

1. Princeton
2. Harvard
3. Yale
4. Cornell
5. Pennsylvania
6. Columbia
7. Dartmouth
8. Brown

Anthony Gargiulo '06 had four tackles last night as the Calgary Stampeders narrowly missed an upset of the undefeated British Columbia Lions and former Columbia star Tad Crawford, falling 32-27. Click here for a story.

For a thorough look at Jason Garrett, the former Princeton alum and now offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, check out this San Antonio Express-News story.

The New York Times covers the memorial service for the family of Connecticut doctor Dr. William Petit Jr. '78.

Today is the final day of the Tommy Keane Invitational golf tournament at Hanover Country Club. I mentioned in an earlier post about the media work I am doing for the TKI (blog) that Scott and Mike Peters, who have combined to win the title six times, are the sons of former Dartmouth Athletic Director Seaver Peters. I should have mentioned that the tournament honors legendary Dartmouth golf coach Tommy Keane, the Hanover pro from 1922 until 1966. ... Among the founders of the tournament: former Dartmouth football assistant (and freshman head coach) "Cactus Jack" Curtis and longtime Dartmouth trainer Fred Kelley.

And for those of you wondering ... the basement clean-out project while the kids are away at overnight camp is progressing quite nicely, thank you ;-)

Same Old Same Old

To see future Dartmouth football schedules, click here.

Yup. We've been down this road before ... and it looks as if we'll be down it again. A few more times. Colgate. New Hampshire. Holy Cross. The same three non-league opponents the Big Green has been playing every year are listed on the schedule through at least 2011.

Ah, but looks can be deceiving. I'd be surprised if there isn't a change -- or two -- in the non-league opponents well before the published schedule is completed. But even if there is, Dartmouth shouldn't stop there. Although the Ivy schedule is set for years to come, that doesn't mean it can't change, and it should. Dartmouth should not be forced to make its four longest Ivy road trips (at Penn, at Princeton, at Cornell, at Columbia) all in the same year.

Here's a novel idea: How about moving either the Harvard or Yale game? Not only would it sub for one of the long trips in even-numbered years, but it would correct another flaw in the current schedule that has Harvard and Yale -- two of the better draws and two appealing Homecoming opponents -- both in Hanover one year and both away the next.

Dartmouth President James Wright has been named a New Englander of the Year. The college news release can be found here. The Dartmouth has a story here. The D writes:

(Wright's) work with U.S. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan was the major impetus behind his selection.

Former Dartmouth defensive end Anthony Gargiulo and the Calgary Stampeders will play host to former Columbia safety Tad Crawford and the B.C. Lions tonight. Gotta admit, I thought it was kind of cool when Crawford was drafted by B.C. I mean, from the Columbia Lions to the British Columbia Lions? Find Tad's bio here.

This story says the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl all-star game at Dartmouth on Aug. 4, will feature a New Hampshire-bred quarterback hoping to play in the Ivy League. He's headed to Phillips Exeter first for a prep year. Might he be playing in another week on his future home field? Out of curiosity, I Googled the kid and who knows? Rivals has him listed as a 6-3, 200-pound kicker with 4.8 speed and an interest in Georgia Tech, Stanford, Harvard and Brown. Scout.com lists him as a WLB (I assume that's a Willie -- weakside -- linebacker) and running a 5.03.

Meet The Freshmen

Bios for Dartmouth's incoming freshmen have been posted on the football web site. To access a roster with the freshmen batched at the top, click here.

A lot of what follows will change but here are the first numbers assigned to the incoming freshmen. If two numbers are given, the first is for the jersey, the second for workout shorts, which is helpful in the event of duplicate numbers. Understand, numbers such as the 88 for running back Joseph Zimring, will be changed. (Postions, heights, weights, hometown and high school are from the official roster.)

Freshman Numbers (Subject to change)
96 Charles Bay DE 6-3 235 Marietta, Ga. (Wheeler)
92 Buddy Benaderet DE 6-3 230 Palo Alto, CA (Palo Alto HS)
22/100 T.J. Cameron RB 5-11 197 Greenwich, Conn. (Greenwich)
70 Michael Cummings TE 6-5 240 McLean, Va. (Deerfield Academy)
85/116 Kevin de Regt WR 5-9 170 Stamford, Ct. (King & Low Hywd Thos)
17/101 Will Deevy QB 6-5 210 Englewood, Colo. (Kent Denver)
80 Kevin Gallagher TE 6-3 235 Princeton, N.J. (Hun School)
51/103 Charles Grant LB 6-0 210 Byfield, Mass. (Governor Dummer )
95 Tyler Green DE 6-4 255 Concord, Mass. (Middlesex School)
62 Spencer Hood LB 6-2 210 Carlsbad, Calif. (Carlsbad)
27/105 Luke Hussey DB 6-0 176 Seattle, Wash. (Lakeside)
46/106 Chase Jensen TE 6-3 235 La Jolla, Calif. (The Bishop School)
64 Alex Johns LB 6-4 233 Washington, D.C. (Gonzaga College HS)
23/107 David Johnson DB 5-9 178 Bronx, NY (Horace Mann)
39 Matthew Kelly K 6-3 185 Tampa, Fla. (Tampa Catholic)
24/109 Donald Kephart K 5-11 200 Lafayette, Calif. (Acalanes)
26/110 Robert Krattiger WR 5-11 183 Norman, Okla. (Norman North)
10/111 Tim McManus QB 6-0 183 St. Paul, Minn. (St. Thomas Academy)
67 William Montgomery LB 6-5 265 The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands)
20 Steven Morris DB 6-0 183 Hinsdale, Ill. (Hinsdale Central)
73 John O'Sullivan OL 6-5 270 Merrick, N.Y. (Calhoun)
57/117 Otega Ogban DE 6-4 210 Cincinnati, Ohio (Summit Country Day)
41 Matthew Oh LB 6-2 215 Addison, Texas (Greenhill)
77 Shane Peterlin OL 6-4 281 Phoenix, Ariz. (Brophy Prep)
18 Chance Robbins DB 6-0 205 Jenks, Okla. (Jenks)
37 Patrick Scorah DB 5-8 205 Washington, D.C. (St. John's College HS)
40 Carter Scott LB 6-0 215 Columbia, S.C. (Hammond School)
67/112 Lane Shipley DE 6-2 245 Steamboat Springs, Colo. (Stmbt Sprgs)
34/113 John Spradling WR 6-1 185 Houston, Texas (Kincaid)
42/114 Tim Vanderet WR 6-5 205 Cupertino, Calif. (Homestead)
71 Alex Wodka OL 6-3 275 Buffalo Grove, Ill. (Buffalo Grove H.S.)
88/115 Joseph Zimring RB 6-0 205 St. Louis, Mo. (Mary Institute)

The NCAA site has a story about the classic 29-29 tie between Harvard and Yale here. ... Anthony Gargiulo gets a mention on the Roar Lions Roar blog. ... Find Canadian Football League stats here. ...

I'll be busy the next three days doing media relations and a blog for the Tommy Keane Invitational golf tournament at Hanover Country Club. You can check it out here. Among those who figure to challenge for the title are Scott and Mike Peters, sons of former Dartmouth athletic director Seaver Peters. The two brothers have won the championship six times.

A Perfect Storm In The Desert

In some ways it was the Perfect Storm. A former Dartmouth football player living in Arizona founds a company that helps high school athletes win the attention of college recruiters. Living in the same area, a high school football player with excellent grades looking to find his way onto college radar screens.

The former Dartmouth football player: Zack Walz '98, who started Interactive Sports Profiles after the end of his five-year career as an outside linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals. His work for ISP became part of the foundation for Student Athlete Showcase. (Zack's bio on the SAS site is here.)

The high school player trying to find the right match for a school: offensive lineman/longsnapper Shane Peterlin.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Walz' company not only helped the 6-foot-4, 281-pound Peterlin find a school ... but that school just so happened to be Dartmouth.

SAS is the subject of a story in a recent issue of the Business Journal of Phoenix. An excerpt:

"We want to give these kids as many opportunities as possible," said Walz, who struggled to find a college to continue his own football career.

Playing for football powerhouse St. Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., Walz was a good linebacker, but wasn't recruited. So he sent out tapes to colleges on the East Coast and found a spot at Dartmouth College. Four years later, he was drafted in the sixth round by the Cardinals.

"I was going to be one of those kids who was going to be a casualty of the recruiting process," he said.

The story ends with a mention of the work SAS did for Peterlin (find his Dartmouth bio here).

The Cincinnati Post takes an interesting look at Mike Brown '57, the Bengals' "president and patriarch," and a former Dartmouth quarterback.

For a little more background on the installation of FieldTurf on Brown's practice fields (but not the game field) check out this story.

New Hampshire has been picked to finish second in its division of the CAA, behind UMass. This story notes that Ricky Santos was the preseason pick as offensive player of the year in the conference, not a surprise given that he's been picked for the same honor nationally. The full CAA preseason team, listed here, has just two UNH players selected to the first team.

Staff Additions

Photos courtesy of Dartmouth

Bios have now been posted on the Dartmouth web site for the Big Green's new tight ends coach Lance Clelland, undergraduate assistant coach Joe Scola and video coordinator Jake Kirkendall. ...

As tight ends coach, Clelland might find Jake Novak's preseason All-Ivy picks on the Roar Lions Roar blog interesting. Jake's pick at tight end: "Your Name Here."

While Jake had a hard time narrowing in on the premier tight end for 2007, the strong feeling in Hanover is the premier tight end corps will be playing for the Big Green this fall. Battle-tested veterans Brett Lowe and Mark Brogna return for their senior season this fall and will be joined by sophomore Carroll Papajohn, who put up eye-popping numbers with the junior varsity last fall when he averaged 28.6 yards per catch on 10 grabs. Mix in several interesting freshmen at the position -- Chase Jensen (video), Kevin Gallagher (video) and possibly Tim Vanderet (video), who might play defensive end -- and tight end looks deep and strong for Dartmouth in 2007.

This is a still shot taken from video highlights of the Calgary Stampeders. Click here to watch the highlights that include this Anthony Gargiulo '06 sack.

Speaking of Dartmouth pros, quarterback Jay Fiedler is unsure if he'll be able to play again according the last line in this Miami Herald story. Fiedler, who has had a number of suitors among NFL teams since he was hurt playing for the New York Jets, has struggled to recover from shoulder problems.

Gargiulo's 'Favourable' Impression

Thanks to a reader for finding this Calgary Herald story on Anthony Gargiulo headlined: Gargiulo's not playing like a rookie. The story slipped through my net this morning and a reader passed it along. From the story:

Despite missing one of Calgary's four games to date because of the bad wheel, the rookie defensive end from Dartmouth leads the Stampeders with three sacks, has forced a fumble, recovered another orphaned football and generally made a favourable impression on coaches with a relentless approach to the game. Or, as football folks like to say, his motor is always running.

Anthony told the paper:

I've still had a few welcome-to-the-CFL type moments, but I'm adapting well, I think.

Football Dreams

I was looking for a picture for another reason and found this shot of a certain Hanover kid who is away at overnight camp for two weeks and thought you'd enjoy it. The football was a gift from Buddy Teevens that meant so much to him that he had it with him in bed, along with his stuffed dog, when he fell asleep one night last fall.

Three Dartmouth opponents are in the College Sporting News Top-25 poll and another is in the "receiving votes" category. New Hampshire is No. 5, Yale No. 18 and Princeton No. 25. Harvard also got recognition in the voting.

1. Appalachian State
2. Montana
3. North Dakota State
4. Youngstown State
5. New Hampshire
6. James Madison
7. Northern Iowa
8. Massachusetts
9. Illinois State
10. McNeese State
11. Furman
12. Southern Illinois
13. Portland State
14. Cal Poly
15. Wofford
16. Tennessee-Martin
17. Sam Houston State
18. Yale
19. Hampton
20. Eastern Illinois
21. Lehigh
22. South Dakota State
23. Montana State
24. Delaware
25. Princeton

Also receiving votes (in order): Towson, Maine, South Carolina State, UC
Davis, Liberty, Lafayette, San Diego, Alabama A&M, Coastal Carolina,
Harvard, Villanova.

Green Alert Take: The scary part is that four Dartmouth opponents were recognized in the poll and that doesn't include Penn and Colgate. Since 1998 the Big Green is a combined 1-16 against the two teams. While they might not be vintage teams this fall (although they may be) those are terrific programs and figured to be very, very difficult games. Tough schedule? I'd say.

The 2007 Dartmouth ticket guide is out. Find a PDF file of it here.

For Dartmouth, the Harvard game is very special. For Harvard, to quote the eminent football fan Borat, "Not so much." Don't get me wrong. Harvard has a thing for Dartmouth. It's just that Dartmouth isn't Yale or Princeton. ... Doing what I do (and have done for a long time) I've never had a chance to see Harvard-Yale, and I'd like to. I've never seen Lafayette-Lehigh, and I'd like to. The third game that I'd love to see one day is Amherst-Williams. To get a sense of that storied Division III rivalry, check out this ESPN.com column.

Excerpts from a Dartmouth college release headlined, "Dartmouth raises $159 million as annual fund breaks all-time giving record:"

Broad participation by College and graduate school alumni and friends and strong support for the goals of the Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience accounted for the results, which kept pace with last year's record $160.3 million in gifts. ... Eighty percent of the Dartmouth Class of 2007 made donations to the College, breaking the participation record held by the Class of 2006, which stood at 73 percent. ... The Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience, the largest fund-raising effort in Dartmouth history, has raised $877.3 million as of June 30. This is 67.2 percent of the $1.3 billion goal, realized over 66.7 percent of the campaign timeline

The Daily Dartmouth has a story about next month's Fieldstock, a "three-day-long event which will include chariot races, athletic competitions and an outdoor concert." ... Fieldstock is a replacement for the late and lamented Tubestock, the Connecticut River bacchanalia that was the brainchild of a former roommate of mine.

Congratulations go out to Dartmouth men's golf coach Rich Parker, who won the New Hampshire Open yesterday. I staffed the pro event when he won it in 1986 and '87. ... I also covered Rich's appearance in the U.S. Open at Medinah, outside of Chicago. ... Whether he tries or not is yet to be determined, but I know people in the golf world who think Parker, 48, could make a splash on the Champions Tour (nee Seniors Tour) in another year or two. One thing is for certain: The eminently quotable Lebanon native would be an enormous hit with the media. I mean, enormous. ...

Finally, tragedy is not something this blog is about and I debated including this, but some of you may know Dr. William Petit '78. Today's Daily Dartmouth has a story about his family being murdered and him badly hurt in a Connecticut home invasion. His daughter, Hayley, was to have been a freshman this fall.

Who's Your Daddy('s) All-Ivy Team?

DraftDaddy.com, which does a pretty thorough job of analyzing draft prospects, writes that there is no clear choice for an Ivy League NFL draft hopeful in this year's senior class. None, at least, who is being talked about the way Cornell offensive lineman Kevin Boothe (Oakland Raiders) was two years ago, and the way Brown linebacker Zak DeOssie (New York Giants) was last year. Still, the folks at Draft Daddy have come up with their preseason All-Ivy League team. Find it here.

The only Dartmouth member of the Draft Daddy team is senior linebacker and quad-captain Justin Cottrell.

Offensive selections by school:
Yale - 3
Harvard, Columbia - 2
Brown, Cornell, Penn, Princeton - 1
Dartmouth - 0

Defensive selections by school:
Penn, Harvard - 3
Yale - 2
Dartmouth, Columbia, Cornell - 1
Brown, Princeton - 0

Total selections by school:
Harvard, Yale - 5
Penn - 4
Columbia - 3
Cornell - 2
Dartmouth, Princeton, Brown - 1

DraftDaddy calls Yale offensive lineman Jeff Monaco and Harvard cornerback Andrew Berry the top players in the league heading into this season. ... Columbia's Craig Hormann is the preseason All-Ivy quarterback despite the fact that he's battling back from knee surgery.

New Hampshire has a story up on its installation of FieldTurf. There's not much of interest to see, but kudos for UNH for putting up the Cowell Cam so visitors to the site can watch the installation of the artificial surface at Cowell Stadium. ... There was talk for a time of a similar camera to observe work at Dartmouth's Memorial Field and on Floren Varsity House, but nothing ever came of it.

If you didn't check out the Harvard strength & condition video linked to a couple of days back, by all means go visit it. I've received several emails from readers who have called it "inspiring," and "scary," and thought it a terrific recruiting tool for the Crimson clad.

Sack Attack Is Back

Another sack for Anthony Gargiulo '06 in the Calgary Stampeders' 33-10 payback win over the Toronto Argonauts last night gives the former Dartmouth standout three sacks in his first three pro games. He's tied for seventh in the CFL in the category despite missing one game. Gargiulo had two tackles, which doesn't seem like a lot until you consider that the Stamps' leader had six, one player had three, and the next had two. ... There's no mention of Derham Cato in the Argonauts' stats, which do not include participation.

Dartmouth sophomore quarterback Alex Jenny gets a brief mention in this story about his successor as the Wayland, Mass., quarterback.

Jay Fiedler might be a basketball owner these days, but he's using football to help win fans. There's a note here about him talking with a high school team and visiting a football camp in Kentucky.

It's been a few years since two-way standout Gordie Lockbaum scored six touchdowns in a Holy Cross win over Dartmouth, but that feat gets a mention in this story about Lockbaum's son, who now plays at Worcester Academy. Lockbaum, a college hall of famer, had a wonderful career at Holy Cross, but there's a standing joke about him being credited with a few tackles against Dartmouth in one particular game where no one ever noticed him lining up on the defensive side of the ball.

Dartmouth alum Tom Souza '76 -- founder of something called USA World Events -- has landed the Cape Cod League all-star baseball game on NESN (the New England Sports Network). This story notes that Souza played a little defensive back at Dartmouth. Souza's team won the Dartmouth football golf classic team title in 2006.

More on movies: A few emails have arrived in the in-box with movies that, to the surprise of readers, were not on the list I posted last week. Nominees include ...

Slap Shot
The Princess Bride
A Few Good Men
Miracle
The Godfather
Ali
My Cousin Vinny
The Karate Kid
LA Confidential
Jerry Maguire
Forrest Gump
Rudy
Saving Private Ryan
Glory

My email suggests A Christmas Story has its share of fans.

Here's one flick I should have included on my list: It's a Wonderful Life.

And finally ... We're dropping the kids off for two weeks of overnight camp this afternoon. They go to Camp Coniston, only about a 40-minute drive from here, but a wonderful (and very reasonable) YMCA camp that has the feel of one of those classic generational camps on a lake in Maine. One year while the kids were gone we went to Quebec City for a long weekend. Great time. This year? Well, this year we're going to clean out the basement and the garage and hold a yard sale. Such fun.

Check Out This Video

This is a still shot take from an inspiring Harvard strength & conditioning training video found on the Crimson football web page. A subscriber recommended the video and when you watch it, you'll know why. Anyone who questions the dedication of Ivy League football players should check this out.

Tonight is the rematch between Anthony Gargiulo's '06 Calgary Stampeders and Derham Cato's '05 Toronto Argonauts in Calgary. Cato and the Argos had the upper hand when the teams met last Thursday, 48-15.

The Brown Daily Herald has an extremely well-done (and lengthy) story about Reade Seligmann, the former Duke lacrosse player who will attend Brown this fall. Seligmann, a fine running back in high school, says he flirted with playing the sport at Brown.

One Month And Counting

Our semi-high speed Internet relay off Moose Mountain isn't playing nice so this post is via dialup. Not good.

Dartmouth players report for the preseason one month from tomorrow, with the first on-field session the next day. Meanwhile, work continues on Memorial Field, which will be the site of the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl football game between graduated seniors from Vermont and New Hampshire once again next month after a one-year hiatus during last year's construction. From a Laconia Citizen story:

Next week, 72 of the finest high school football players from New Hampshire and Vermont begin practice for the 54th annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl. A crowd of close to 8,000 is expected to fill Dartmouth College's Memorial Field for the game, which will be played on Saturday, Aug. 4.

Beginning at noon on game day there will be a parade through the streets of Hanover. The parade will feature units from Shrine Temples, from New England and Eastern Canada, among other marching groups, which includes a 100-member all-star band made up of musicians from New Hampshire and Vermont high schools.

Work on installing FieldTurf at UNH in time for the Sept. 22 home opener against Dartmouth is ahead of schedule according to this story.

Karry Smardon, the office manager for the Dartmouth football program, is running Aug. 25th in the CHaD half marathon benefiting the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth. She'd love to have your support, either rooting her on or helping as a sponsor. Karry shares this background:

The money raised will go directly to the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth.
CHaD provides a variety of services and resources that support its family centered
care mission. These programs are not covered by Medicare or private health insurance reimbursements; they are solely supported by fundraising. All of the proceeds from CHaD Fundraising Events support programs like:

• Child Life Program
• The CHaD Family Center
• The CHaD Perioperative Area
• Injury Prevention Center at CHaD

The truth is CHaD is underfunded and loses Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center almost $9 million a year. We greatly need your support.

Why does CHaD need your support?

CHaD's $9 million financial losses are due in large part to low reimbursement from Medicaid and the high costs of delivering the highest quality care to children.

Anyone who would like to donate in my name can go here and click on sponor a runner and type in my name. My goal is to raise $1,000. If anyone has any questions or would like to contact me you can email me at Karry@Dartmouth.edu.

---

As expected, my movie list brought a few suggestions. Sandlot definitely belongs on my list. Shawshank Redemption is, at the very least, knocking on the door. Caddyshack is in the neighborhood, but doesn't quite make it through my gate (although a few scenes surely do). Bull Durham is close. Some great quotes in that one ;-)

On The Road

10:45 update to movies list: The Sandlot. Thanks for a subscriber for bringing it up. I saw it for the first time with my kids a few years ago and we now own a copy. A very sweet movie.

(PS: I'm sure I'll have another few additions ...)

2007 Football Travel Accomodations

UNH Sept. 22
Holiday Inn
Portsmouth, N.H.

Yale Oct. 6
Four Points Sheraton Meriden
Meriden, Conn.

Holy Cross Oct. 13
TBA

Harvard Oct. 27
Sheraton Braintree Hotel
Braintree, Mass.

Brown Nov. 10
Marriott Providence
Providence, R.I.

It's a slow football Thursday so for a change of pace, check out the amazing halftime show at a Dartmouth basketball game this winter featuring a pair of Big Green tennis players (and do watch it to the end because they do stuff you won't believe):


For a story about twins Jennifer and Danielle Murray, click here.

Now, I warned you that it's a slow football Thursday, so here's a real change of pace. I've always wanted to compile a list of my favorite all-time movies and finally did so late in the winter. You'll quickly notice I'm not much of one for high-brow flicks. In no particular order, the current list (subject to change when I think of one I missed):

• Casablanca
• On Golden Pond
• The Graduate
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Back to the Future
• The Sting
• Wizard of Oz
• Endless Summer
• The Year of Living Dangerously
• Das Boot
• Rocky
• E.T.
• Breaking Away
  
• The Purple Rose of Cairo
• Animal House
• Hoosiers
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Field of Dreams
• The Paper Chase
• Somewhere in Time
• A Christmas Story
• The Great Santini
• Tender Mercies
• Tin Cup
• The Electric Horseman
• Toy Story
• Witness
• Apocalypse Now
• City Slickers
• Jeremiah Johnson

In The Game (World)

Note: Signup has begun for the premium Big Green Alert service. PayPal is working for some folks and not working for others. Frustrating. If you can't get it to work, please use the How to Subscribe/Pay By Check link. And remember, if you subscribed last year, you do not need to fill out the form asking for a password and username. Thanks.

So I'm cruising my favorite Internet haunts this morning to see if there's anything of interest to you lurking out there and I find this story about EA Sports' 2007 college football game. (I'm not a video gamer and neither are my kids, so you'll have to excuse me if I make a misstep here.)

Anyway, the story says: "EA enlisted a former Ivy League offensive lineman this year during development to help them adjust the play of the offensive line." Aha, I think, that must be Oge Young '96.

I did a story on Oge and his work at EA Sports a few years ago. It was a neat piece because Oge was involved, if I remember correctly, with the Madden NFL game while his brother Adam Young '99, a tight end, was on the New York Giants' practice squad. Adam, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Giants, had great hands but wasn't particularly fast. I remember asking Oge if he'd been tempted to juice up Adam's profile a little.

A little Googling later I found Oge is now a producer for Midway Austin down in Texas. As a judge for a gaming contest, he has a short bio and mug shot on this site. ... A list of the games he's worked on can be found here. ... And he's blogging about a game BlackSite here. ... So I guess there's a different offensive lineman behind the EA curtain. ...

While I was trying to locate Oge, I found former Dartmouth hockey goalie Jason Wong is/was at EA Sports as a producer for NHL 07. ... That Ivy degree can take you just about anywhere, apparently including the videosphere. (I thought I made that word up until I just Googled it to see. Nope.)

Another commentator takes a cheap shot at the Ivy League with regard to the impending text messaging ban in recruiting. From an opinion piece in The Sporting News:

The ban on text messaging was suggested by the Ivy Group, citing the invasive nature of sending messages to recruits on an unlimited basis. How could kids study if their phones were constantly buzzing or chirping with text messages?

Listening to the Ivy League schools on a matter like this is like turning the NFL into a two-hand touch league because little Jimmy got hurt playing Nerf football in the front yard.

After hibernating for most of the past six months or so, Ivy League football websites are starting to stir. Cornell has announced the hiring of two assistant coaches. ... Harvard has a blurb about cornerback Andrew Berry being named preseason All-American. ... In a brief about its schedule, Penn notes four of the Quakers' games will be televised. ... Princeton has a short story about being named No. 23 in the nation (and first in the Ivies) by the vaunted the Sports Media Entertainment poll. ... Holy Cross notes a former linebacker was a member of the world championship Team USA football squad in Kawasaki, Japan.

And finally, take a cruise over to Jake Novak's Roar Lions Roar blog and see his take on the Sports Media Entertainment poll and the Ivy League race.

Of Hanover, A Wisconsin Town And A Tight End

Casey Cramer is one lucky guy. All-American tight end. Ivy League degree. Offseason studies at Harvard. Three-year NFL player heading soon to another camp with the Tennessee Titans. Pretty nice resume.

Oh yeah. One other thing. Two actually.

He grew up in Money Magazine's No. 1* Best Place to Live in America.
And he went to college in the No. 2* place in America to live.

The No. 1 place to live in America: Cramer's hometown of Middleton, WI, which borders Madison.

The No. 2 place to live in America: Hanover. (The barn in the picture is in our part of Hanover -- Etna.)

Video: Hanover, A Mountain Paradise. (It's a great place but a mountain paradise?)

Money's Top 10:
1. Middleton, WI
2. Hanover, NH
3. Louisville, CO
4. Lake Mary, FL
5. Claremont, CA
6. Papillion, NE
7. Milton, MA
8. Chaska, MN
9. Nether Providence, PA
10. Suwanee, GA

A few years ago author Bill Bryson, who lived in Hanover at the time, wrote a book titled, "I'm A Stranger Here Myself." There was a lot about the good life in Hanover in the book. Some of us were a little concerned that he was letting the world in on our little secret and that we would soon be overrun by moving trucks from far-flung places. Didn't happen. Thankfully.

The Money Magazine piece at least throws a little cold water -- ice water is more like it -- on Hanover. It includes this warning: "If you can't stand winter, you won't like Hanover." Agreed.

For the complete breakdown of where Hanover ranked in the categories on which it was graded, click here.

(*Money: "For this year's list we focused on smaller places that offered the best combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a real sense of community.")

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If you've been reading the blog for the past few months you know a lot about The Prouty ride, for which Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens raised more than $14,000. Today's Daily Dartmouth wraps up last Saturday's event.

The University at Albany has an incoming freshman football player who is an inspiration. Here's the lead of a story in the Times Union:

He makes tackles with one hand because that's all he has, and he controls his diabetes through an insulin pump he wears in his football girdle.

The icon on my desktop reminds me there are 60 days left until Dartmouth's opener against Colgate. ... I'm off to take the 8th-grader-to-be to football camp at Hanover High School. Those of you who shook your head in disbelief at the old Hanover High field should cross the street behind the south end zone at Memorial Field this fall and look behind the school. Hanover has put a lighted, turf field in a natural bowl out back. It's a fabulous field. (Fitting, I suppose, for the No. 2 place to live in America ;-)

Taking On Top Players

Four players Dartmouth will face this fall have earned College Sporting News All-America mention, with another curiously left out.

To the surprise of no one, New Hampshire's Ricky Santos was chosen CSN's first-team quarterback. He was joined on the first team by Harvard cornerback Andrew Berry. Named to the second team was Colgate linebacker Mike Gallihugh. Holy Cross corner Casey Gough was chosen to the third team. Left off the team entirely was Yale tailback Mike McLeod, who ran for 19 touchdowns and 1,364 yards last year as a sophomore. The sixth-leading rusher in I-AA last year, McLeod is the second-leading returning rusher in the country and for some reason he never seems to get his due.

Dartmouth incoming lineman Lane Shipley of Steamboat Springs, Colo., had a terrific experience in the Colorado All-State game (story and picture) until suffering a season-ending knee injury at the end of the contest. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound Shipley -- who played the entire game on offense and more than half of the defensive snaps -- recovered a fumble to help his team's second-half comeback before taking a hit on a play in the final two minutes of the game. He limped off the field and learned later that he tore cartilage and his ACL on the play. He's having surgery this week but could be back at full strength for spring ball.

Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens, instrumental in the starting of the Manning Passing Academy, gets a mention in this Times-Picayune story about the camp.

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When football season rolls around, Green Alert will be essentially a fulltime job. From the middle of August through the end of November, I put most everything else I do aside to try to cover the Big Green the way a local newspaper would cover a Big 10 team, seven days a week.

Some of you have asked exactly what everything else I do is, so I thought I'd give you an idea. ... I write magazine stories, like this fun cover story about a local woman who is carving out a career for herself in comedy, or this one about affordable housing in the Upper Valley. ... I "string" for the Associated Press, write game stories for the hometown newspapers of teams playing at Dartmouth, and even cover Dartmouth basketball for an innovative web site. ... I freelance for several Dartmouth publications, including Dartmouth Life and the Alumni Magazine as well as Middlebury' Magazine. (I've written a few pieces for the Midd publication and particularly enjoyed doing this one.) ... I also help out with freelance writing for Dartmouth's sports information office (such as this story), relying on the institutional knowledge I gained as the beat writer covering Dartmouth for the local daily for more than 15 years. ... I do some PR, last year for a startup company involved in exchanging game films via computer and for two years now as the media coordinator for the Vermont Open golf tournament. ... Occasionally I get lucky and a real plum assignment comes my way like when I was commissioned to write the Ivy League chapter for the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ... I've written the Ivy preview for several national magazines in the past but often those assignments go to a writer who covers the team that won the league the previous year and, alas, that hasn't happened for too long. ...

I put much of the above aside and spent about six weeks in the late winter this year working on a young adult novel that I hope to finish after the 2007 football season. The story has been plotted and the first half of it (or so) is written. Think Hardy Boys meet Matt Christopher ... for girls. (It helps to have a daughter who is a big sports fan and pretty good athlete. ;-)

The crowning piece of this patchwork quilt of work is pulling together personal histories for senior citizens. I've done hardbound book, DVD slide show and oral history projects. (I'm finishing an oral history that I hope to have on disc this week.) It's rewarding to be able to use my journalism skills to help someone share a story that will be in his or her family for generations to come. I'm biased of course, but I think a personal history is one of the best gifts any of us can give a parent or children and grandchildren. To see a PDF file of the above flyer for my "Remember When?" personal history projects, click here. (Email me for more information if you or someone you know might be interested one of these projects.)

Any Given Sunday

Several times last fall and I believe at least once this spring I was walking past the football locker room in Davis Varsity House and heard an inspiring pep talk blasting through the walls and windows. It wasn't coach Buddy Teevens. It wasn't one of his assistants. It wasn't one of his captains.

It was a recording of Al Pacino in the film Any Given Sunday. No doubt, it's a pretty impressive speech. See Pacino deliver the speech and listen to it by clicking below (warning: there's a little language):



The film's web site can be found here.

It will NEVER happen in the Ivy League, but talk continues about letting college football players have five years of eligibility. Not four years and a redshirt, but five years to play the game. Check out what legendary commentator Beano Cook has to say about it here. (Scroll down the right column and click on Cookin' With Beano.) Cook, by the way, expects it to happen and that wouldn't be good news for the Ivy League.

Princeton grad Brig Walker, who is of Japanese heritage, is in Japan playing in the third annual IFAF championships. There's a story in the Japan Times. Walker helped Team USA beat Germany last Thursday, 33-7.

Grandstand Taking Shape

Workers have begun the task of adding the final rows of seats to the east stands at Memorial Field. If you remember, the stands were cut down last year, leaving a considerable gap between the top of the grandstand and Floren Varsity House. At least four rows of seats are being added along with a walkway between the final row and the building. Some chairback seats may be part of the installation.
Memorial Field as it looked on a glorious Friday afternoon. Click to enlarge and you can see the steel structure for the new seats at the top of the grandstand.
From this angle you can see the steelwork for the final rows of grandstand and walkway that will run between the last seats and Floren Varsity House.
A view of the work from the home stands.
A lone steelworker makes an adjustment.

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Don't ask me how I missed this one but NFL Europe is kaput. I feel badly for former Dartmouth coach John Lyons, who had carved a niche for himself over there. For a column about the league's demise that begins, "NFL Europa e morto," click here.

Calgary Stampeders' defensive end Anthony Gargiulo '06 gets a mention in this story for his hit that broke Toronto quarterback Michael Bishop's hand Thursday evening. The former Kansas State star might be out for as much as eight weeks.

Speaking of Gargiulo, a visit to a Stampeders discussion board uncovered the following comment from someone who seems to know his way around the CFL: "Gargiulo really reminds me of a young Joe Monford. With his build and size when he comes off the edge I see a lot of pass rush potential." I'm no CFL historian, but Monford was a five-time East Division All-Star, five-time CFL All-Star and has been called a future CFL Hall of Famer, so that's pretty nice company.

Today is the Prouty Ride for Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Between 3,000 and 4,000 people are expected to take part in the fundraiser that Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens supported in his cross country bike ride. Teevens "write-in ride," raised more than $14,000 for the Prouty, which hopes to raise $1.5 million overall.

Enjoy your Saturday. I'm off to Babe Ruth baseball with the Hanover High School soph-to-be playing playing (with and) against the boys in Sunapee and the eighth-grader to be across the river in Hartford. ;-)

Cato And Argos Top Gargiulo And Stamps

It was Dartmouth North of the Border last evening as defensive lineman Derham Cato '05 and his Toronto Argonauts took the measure of defensive end Anthony Gargiulo '06 and his Calgary Stampeders, 48-15, at the Roger's Centre. ... Cato was listed with one tackle for the Argos (2-1). Gargiulo, who missed last week's game with a nasty swollen knee, was listed with two tackles, one sack and one forced fumble while knocking Toronto QB Michael Bishop out of the game as the Stamps fell to 1-2. Find the stats here. ... There are game stories mentioning Gargiulo's goal-line tackle that sent Bishop to the sidelines here and here. ... Missed this the first time around, but there's a small photo of Gargiulo tackling the QB in the Calgary opener two weeks ago on this page. ...

(An aside: We've got end zone seats -- the only tickets available -- for the Stampeders' game at Montreal next month. Should be fun.)

Another interesting story in The D, this time about summer workouts for sophomores on campus. There's not much about football in the story, but this excerpt says it all:

While many sports scale back workouts for the summer, the football team has taken the opposite approach. Instead of taking more time off, they have increased the volume of individual and team training.

“We are lifting four days a week and running five days a week,” running back Milan Williams ‘09 said. “This is making me get in the best shape of my life. I am pretty sure no one on our team has trained like this before.”

The official 2007 Brown football outlook has been posted here. ... Phil Steele's football magazine has picked Holy Cross as No. 25 in the nation. There's a note here. ...

Former Dartmouth sports information director Jack DeGange sent along the following note in response to yesterday's posting about Mike Slive:

Yesterday, Mike Slive, commissioner of Southeastern Conference and Dartmouth '62, was announced as chair of NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Committee for 2008-09.

He will be fourth chair of this committee with Dartmouth connections:

Dave Gavitt '59 was chair in 1982-84. Gavitt played (1957-59) and coached (1967-69) basketball at Dartmouth.

Gary Walters (now Princeton AD) was chair in 2006-07. Walters was Gavitt's freshman coach at Dartmouth in 1968-69, Dartmouth's head coach from 1975-79.

Tom O'Connor (now AD at George Mason), will be chair this year (2007-08). O'Connor was assistant coach at Dartmouth (1969-72) under George Blaney (Gavitt's successor) and Blaney's successor as head coach from 1972-74.

Mike Slive was a three-year letterwinner in lacross at Dartmouth, played for Whitey Burnham. He was also assistant AD at Dartmouth in 1968-69.

Common denominator: Gavitt, Walters, O'Connor and Slive were all hired to their positions at Dartmouth by Seaver Peters, the director of athletics from 1967-83.

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The Prouty Ride is tomorrow and there's still time to toss something in the bucket in honor of Buddy Teevens' cross country bicycle ride by clicking in the right-hand column. ...

Also, if you are re-upping your subscription to Big Green Alert, there's no need to fill out the full subscription form asking for a password, username and all the rest. If you get to that page after your payment, just close it down and last year's sign-on will continue to work.

Football Staff Additions

NOTE1: Subscriptions have opened for biggreenalert.com. In 2005 and 2006 the paid site featured same-day coverage of every Dartmouth practice from the start of the preseason through the final game at Princeton. There were at least nine newspaper-length stories each week of the season (including at least one story every day) and more than 160 stories overall. To subscribe or for more information, visit biggreenalert.com.

NOTE2: The Prouty Ride is this Saturday. To make a contribution to Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center in honor of Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens' cross country ride, click on the link to the right.

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Welcome to Hanover

In addition to student-assistant coach Joe Scola '07, the Dartmouth football staff has two new additions this year.

* Lance Clelland will coach tight ends. Clelland was a tackle and guard on Northwestern’s 2000 Big Ten championship team. He spent time in a couple of NFL camps, played Arena League ball and appeared in the movie The Longest Yard along with former Dartmouth quarterback Brian Mann.

* Jake Kirkendall takes over as Director of Football Operations. He's a spring graduate of Ohio University where he did an internship as assistant director of operations and video coordinator for the football team last year.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal takes an exhaustive look at Dartmouth alum Mike Slive, the SEC commissioner. An excerpt from the informative and well-written story:

No one thought a diminutive voice-of-reason, cigar-smokin', Winston Churchill-quotin', Ivy League graduate who finally merged his two lifelong passions -- law and athletics -- would be the guy to tame the bucking Brahma known as the SEC.

After the bright lights of Miami and New York City, Jay Fiedler was in Pikeville, Kentucky yesterday addressing the Rotary. The former Dartmouth and NFL quarterback gets a brief mention in this Appalachian News-Express
story about his basketball doings.

There is a reunion set for tonight in Toronto -- or there could be. If defensive end Anthony Gargiulo '06 is playing for the Calgary Stampeders (he missed last weeks' loss with a swollen knee) he should meet up with defensive tackle Derham Cato '05. Cato was let go in the last round of cuts by the Toronto Argonauts but signed to the practice squad on June 24. He's currently listed on the active roster, although the team's transactions list doesn't show him being moved up, so his status is unclear.

A Surprise?

There's still time to contribute to this Saturday's Prouty Ride in honor of Buddy Teevens' cross country trip.

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The University of New Hampshire has a proud tradition of walk-ons who excel on the football field, with several going on to be elected captain and one -- Sean McDonnell -- eventually becoming head coach.

Dartmouth hasn't had quite that kind of success with walk-ons in recent years, although wide receiver Andrew Hall '05 (famous for The Catch against Harvard) and tailback Ikechi Ogbonna (second-leading rusher in 2005 and a terrific special teams player) had nice careers. Junior Chuck Zodda will make a run at the starting placekicker duties this fall.

In addition to the official recruits in the Class of 2011, at least seven other incoming freshmen intend to play football this fall. Could the next Hall or Ogbonna be among them?

• Kevin deRegt, DB/WR, 5-9, 170, Stamford, Conn. (King & Low-Heywood School)
• Charles Grant, LB, 6-0, 210, Byfield, Mass. (Governor Dummer Academy)
• Lucas Hussey, DB, 6-0, 176, Seattle, Wash. (Lakeside School)
• David Johnson, DB, 5-10, 185, Bronx, N.Y. (Horace Mann)
• Donald Kephart, KSp, 5-11, 200, Lafayette, Calif. (Acalanes)
• Oghenetega (Otega) Ogban, DL, 6-4, 210, Cincinnati (Summit Country Day)
• John Spradling, WR, 6-1, 185, Houston, Texas (Kinkaid)

Johnson, by the way, went to the same high school as Ikechi Ogbonna, and was coached by Ikechi's brother, Charles. ... Also, deRegt attended the same school as sophomore Marlon Alebiosu. ...

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"It started as a brain child between Archie Manning, his middle son Peyton, and then-Tulane coach Buddy Teevens. It has grown by leaps and bounds." What is it? (Hint: It's why Buddy Teevens is out of town this week.) Click here to find out. ...For a little more information, including a picture with Buddy, click here.

Missed this the first time around, but former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, made it clear in this interview that football players at his alma mater are treated a little differently in the academic realm than they are at Ivy League schools.

Prouty On Tap Saturday

Buddy Teevens near the start of his epic ride.

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I received the following email from a subscriber regarding Dartmouth football coach Buddy Teevens and the contributions his cross country bicycle ride raised for Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center through The Prouty, which takes place Saturday. This fellow wrote:

"I just put him at $14,001.00, let's see if you can drum up enough support in next few days to put him over 15K."

Teevens' ride was not planned as a fundraiser. It just grew into that, and in some ways that has made the outpouring of support it has engendered even more wonderful.

The subscriber-turned-friend (a description I'd like to think applies to many of you) had already made a contribution in Buddy's honor, but like me, when he saw the total had stalled at $13,818 he could almost smell $14,000, and so he made it happen.

While $15,000 would be another nice, round number, it's probably too much to hope for at this point. But with 26th The Prouty on tap Saturday, this is the start of a final push to try to help the event reach its $1.5 million goal. As of this morning, it had raised $1,076.509. Coach Teevens is just outside of the top five fundraisers, an astonishing feat considering he's sort of a Prouty "write-in" rider.

If you'd like to help out, take a look over on the right and click on the CONTRIBUTE link, just below the Prouty logo.

Thank you.

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I had a chance yesterday to visit with filmmaker Erik Anjou Greenberg and screen a rough cut of his upcoming Ivy League football documentary For Love & Honor. A former defensive lineman at Middlebury, Erik has a lot of time left in the trenches before the film is completed but it's clear this is going to be special. Erik is in Hanover collecting historic clips for the film, which may run two hours...I posted this link once before, but for an interesting Q&A with Erik that explains a little more about this film, click here.

The Daily Dartmouth has an interesting story about rules and regulations regarding summer employment of varsity athletes. There aren't many times when I read something and think, "I wish I'd thought about writing that story when I was still at the newspaper," but this is one of them. A couple of excerpts in case you aren't the click-a-link type:

To avoid problems with athletes receiving excess amounts of money or other compensation from employers, the NCAA requires all varsity athletes to fill out a form to identify athletes who work for alumni or boosters of athletic programs and to identify the nature of that relationship.

(T)he (student-athlete employment statement) asks the athlete to identify his projected employer, the athlete’s job title, the salary rate, the job’s connection to a work-study program, individuals who assisted the athlete in getting the projected job and those individuals’ known connection to Dartmouth athletics.

The way Calgary defensive end Anthony Gargiulo's '06 alphabetizing talent(?) is gaining attention, he could end up on Letterman. (Actually, that's a pretty good idea. Anyone have any connections?) There's a blurb at the end of this column in the San Antonio Express News...After getting run over Sunday in Saskatchewan, the Stampeders have a quick turnaround for a Thursday game against the Toronto Argonauts. With injury issues on the defensive line, the Stamps hope big 92 is able to go. From a Calgary Sun story:

(O)nly Gargiulo, who missed the game Sunday with a thigh injury, has a chance at joining the lineup and reclaiming his starting defensive end spot, but that's only if he's healthy enough.

Of Futbol Fields And Quarterbacks

The new Dartmouth soccer facility named after Whitey Burnham is proceeding nicely as these pictures shot late last week show. The sod has been put down, the lighting is in place and the footings for the grandstand have been set. The top picture shows where the grandstand will be erected. (The football practice fields run parallel to the grandstand.) The bottom picture is looking from near the entrance to the Thompson Arena parking lot.

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With the graduation of Mike Fritz, Dartmouth will have a new quarterback this fall. Tom Bennewitz will begin camp as the No. 1 signalcaller with former starter Josh Cohen and sophomores Alex Jenny and Max Heiges pushing for time. Two freshmen will join the mix.

Will Deevy (6-foot-5, 210) is from Englewood, Colo., and Kent Denver School where he threw to Dartmouth sophomore Ian Ferrell. For video of Deevy in action, click here.

Tim McManus (6-0, 183) is from St. Paul Minnesota and St. Thomas Academy. He'll remind you a little of Matt Brzica '93, another St. Thomas quarterback who was Ivy League rookie of the year in his first season. For video of McManus in action, click here.

With Anthony Gargiulo '06 sidelined by a swollen knee, the short-handed Calgary Stampeders got stampeded yesterday by Saskatchewan, 49-8. Gargiulo's loss was doubly-felt because his replacement was ejected from the game, leaving the Stamps with just four defensive linemen. Story.

Englewood, Colo., by the way, has been fertile recruiting ground for Dartmouth football over the years. The co-captains of the '95 team, Taran Lent '96 and Pete Oberle '96, were high school teammates at Cherry Creek in Englewood. Promising sophomore defensive back James O'Brien also comes from "Creek."

Speaking of Englewood, today's Rocky Mountain News reports that Dartmouth's Big Green Bus -- touting the advantages of biofuel -- broke down in the Denver suburb.

A Look At The Running Backs

A riddle: Dartmouth lost its top rusher from last year's team but the three running backs who posted the most yards on the ground last year all return. How can that be? ... Like most riddles, the answer is quite simple once you know it. The leading rusher last year was the quarterback, Mike Fritz.

Returning for 2007 will be Hudson Smythe (231 yards), Milan Williams (175 yards) and Rob Mitchelson (64 yards on a 4.6 average). Jason Bash (63 yards) graduated, but Nate Servis (45 yards on a 4.1 average) and Julian Collins (26 on 4.3) are among the returnees.

Who will join the mix and be bidding to play? Check out these incoming freshmen:

TJ Cameron, 5-11, 200, from Greenwich, Conn. Video
Joseph Zimring, 6-0, 205, from St. Louis, Mo. Video
and Steven Morris, 6-0, 183 from Hinsdale, Ill., who might be headed to defensive back but also is adept at running the ball. Video

As expected, Anthony Gargiulo is not playing for the Stampeders this week as he nurses a swollen knee/thigh. There's a quick note here.

Saturday Potpourri

Former defensive back Joe Scola '07, who will return to Dartmouth this fall as a student-assistant coach while finishing his degree, is the subject of a story in the Sun-Herald. The story quotes coach Buddy Teevens:

"Joey was a tough, physical player who had all the characteristics you look for in a coach. We put him to work last spring. He was tremendous in how he interacted with people, how comfortable he was separating being a player and a coach. I was impressed with his maturity and his work ethic. When I watched him work with our players, you could see the spark shining in his eyes."

Jake Novak's Roar Lions Roar blog uses a point system to rank Ivy League schedules this fall. It's easy to quibble with some of his findings -- that's the fun of this stuff and Jake knows that -- but it's hard to argue with his take on Dartmouth's schedule, which he ranks as the most difficult in the league:

Could anyone have a tougher slate than Dartmouth? They open the season at home against the usually strong Colgate Raiders, then have to face the U. of New Hampshire and superstar QB Ricky Santos on the road in week 2. Next up, the Penn Quakers at home followed by a trip to Ivy favorite Yale. Then they remain on the road to face Patriot League favorite Holy Cross.

For what it's worth, here are links to all of the Ivy schedules this fall:
Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Harvard
Penn
Princeton
Yale

Composite Ivy Schedule
(courtesy of the Ivy League office)
Saturday, September 15
Duquesne at Brown, 12:30 pm
Colgate at Dartmouth, 12:30 pm
Yale at Georgetown, 1 pm
Harvard at Holy Cross, 1 pm
Lafayette at Penn, 6 pm
Lehigh at Princeton, 6 pm
Columbia at Fordham, 6 pm
Bucknell at Cornell, 7 pm

Saturday, September 22
*Cornell at Yale, 12:30 pm
*Brown at Harvard, TBA
Dartmouth at New Hampshire, noon
Marist at Columbia, 12:30 pm
Princeton at Lafayette, 6 pm
Penn at Villanova, TBA

Saturday, September 29
*Penn at Dartmouth, 12:30 pm
*Columbia at Princeton, 3:30 pm
Rhode Island at Brown, 12:30 pm
Harvard at Lehigh, 12:30 pm
Yale at Holy Cross, 1 pm
Cornell at Georgetown, 2 pm

Saturday, October 6
*Dartmouth at Yale, 12:30 pm
*Harvard at Cornell, 1 pm
Holy Cross at Brown, 12:30 pm
Hampton at Princeton, 3:30 pm
Columbia at Lafayette, 6 pm
Georgetown at Penn, TBA

Saturday, October 13
*Princeton at Brown, 12:30 pm
*Penn at Columbia, 1:30 pm
Lafayette at Harvard, noon
Lehigh at Yale, 12:30 pm
Colgate at Cornell, 1 pm
Dartmouth at Holy Cross, 1 pm

Saturday, October 20
*Yale at Penn, noon
*Columbia at Dartmouth, 12:30 pm
*Princeton at Harvard, 12:30 pm
*Brown at Cornell, 1 pm

Friday, October 26
*Cornell at Princeton, 7 pm

Saturday, October 27
*Penn at Brown, 12:30 pm
*Yale at Columbia, 12:30 pm
*Dartmouth at Harvard, 12:30 pm

Saturday, November 3
*Princeton at Penn, noon
*Brown at Yale, 12:30 pm
*Harvard at Columbia, 12:30 pm
*Cornell at Dartmouth, 12:30 pm

Saturday, November 10
*Dartmouth at Brown, 12:30 pm
*Penn at Harvard, 12:30 pm
*Columbia at Cornell, 1 pm
*Yale at Princeton, 1 pm

Saturday, November 17
*Harvard at Yale, noon
*Brown at Columbia, 12:30 pm
*Princeton at Dartmouth, 12:30 pm
*Cornell at Penn, 1 pm

To download a printable PDF file of the graphic above, click here.

Click here for a David Shribman '76 review of The Real All Americans, Sally Jenkins' history of the legendary Carlisle Indians football team. (Did I ever tell you I was the sports editor at the Carlisle paper for a short time and met Jim Thorpe's son? But I digress ...) Shribman, by the way, joined with former Dartmouth Sports Information Director Jack DeGange to publish Green Fields of Autumn, a pictorial history of Dartmouth football. ...

I had a chance to listen to a Canadian radio station's interview with Anthony Gargiulo '06 and, amazingly, he wasn't asked to alphabetize a single word. He did, however, get teased into singing a chorus of As The Backs Go Tearing By. The 20-minute or so interview was interesting and entertaining. Anthony might have a future as a color commentator when his playing days are over ;-)

Inside The New Building

Thursday brought a chance to take a quick walk through Floren Field House and it's impressive. To see an aerial shot of how the building is situated behind the visiting stands, click here. The weight room seems to stretch almost the length of the building. (Click here to see the floor plans for the building.)
The enormous weight room as seen from the mezzanine at the north end.There are no "luxury boxes" in the new building, but there are areas where guests on the top floor will have a wonderful view of the game. Coach Buddy Teevens leads the way past floor-length windows overlooking the field. Last but hardly least, work progresses on the loo at the north end of the stands.
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One quick note: Anthony Gargiulo will be sitting out this weekend's Calgary Stampeder game against Saskatchewan to allow his swollen knee to recover. He reports there's no structural damage and thinks he could play on it if needed, but rest is a wise decision in the face of a schedule that stretches 18 weeks. He's got a quick note on his blog.

FieldTurf Spreading

A year ago it was Dartmouth's Memorial Field having FieldTurf installed. The ubiquitous surface (say that three times fast!) is spreading faster than kudzu along a Georgia highway. ... The Manchester Union Leader writes about the artificial surface being installed right now at New Hampshire's Cowell Stadium, where the Wildcats will christen the field against Dartmouth on Sept. 22.

I haven't seen an official release on the FieldTurf work being done at Colgate, but it's mentioned unofficially all over the place including on this YouTube video that describes the work in progress:

Brown, of course, is installing two new FieldTurf practice fields, but I haven't seen anything about a new surface on the game field, which seems a little curious. Brown and Yale remain the only two schools on Dartmouth's schedule playing on the real thing. ...

I was surfing somewhere on the 'Net and came across a link to one of my old stories about football player/rugby player/musician John Turner '04. Most of my stories have either been taken down or never went up on the web, but I thought you might enjoy this one, so here's the link.

On The Fourth: Seventh? Eighth?

The Ivy League football media day is set for Yale Golf Course on Aug. 6. Green Alert will be there to once again file a story before crossing the Connecticut state line ;-)

It's at this annual gridiron-and-golf shindig that the Ivy League preseason media poll is released. Thanks to Jake Novak (who beat me to the grocery shelves to buy the first of the preview magagines) over at Roar Lions Roar we have a sneak peek at a couple of other polls that may well reflect what the Ivy pundits will produce:

Athlons' Prediction
1-Yale
2-Penn
3-Harvard
4-Princeton
5-Cornell
6-Columbia
7-Brown
8-Dartmouth

Street & Smith's Prediction
1-Yale
2-Princeton
3-Harvard
4-Penn
5-Cornell
6-Columbia
7-Dartmouth
8-Brown

I was surprised -- but not surprised if that makes any sense -- that Dartmouth was picked so low.

I was surprised because I'm a big believer in the tremendous importance of offensive line play and the Big Green's O-line, three years in the making, should be a clear strong point this year. And because the defense returns both the entire secondary and a very fine linebacking corps.

I'm not surprised because preseason placement is usually a cocktail of recent history, returning statistics and star power, and Dartmouth is lacking in all three.

Recent history, as we all know, has been dismal.

The stats? They show Dartmouth's leading rusher has graduated, the leading passer has graduated and the leading receiver has graduated.

As for star power, the roster shows no Terrell, no Dawson, no Hartigan. There is no Fiedler or Rosier, Cramer or Gargiulo.

So what does it all mean? The predictions make sense based on the variables so often used to make them. But that doesn't mean they got it right and I don't think they did. Parochialism aside, I expect Dartmouth to be a surprise team this year. The premium Green Alert site will have detailed analysis and previews next month. ...

Former Dartmouth basketball player and Harvard coach Peter Roby is taking over as athletic director at Northeastern.

A happy and safe Fourth of July to everyone!

Knuckles Gives Thumbs Up To Game One

By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com

No complaints.

Oh sure, his knee had swelled up from a couple of direct hits by Hamilton Tiger-Cats helmets, but all in all, rookie Anthony Gargiulo '06 was feeling pretty good after his first game as a starting defensive end with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

“Everything is going well,” he said after recording his first pro sack, making another tackle for a loss and recovering a fumble to set up a touchdown in the Stamps’ season-opening win. “I spent a lot of time training and working hard for this chance, and I'm fortunate it's worked out for me so far.”

Gargiulo hadn’t played in a regular-season football game since the Big Green fell to Princeton on Nov. 19, 2005. He played rugby in the spring of 2006 and then began training in earnest for a chance at pro football in the summer of 2006. “It’s been a long time coming,” he admitted Sunday night. “It’s great to be playing again.”

Not just playing, but playing on a defensive front that he feels has great promise after limiting the Ticats to three field goals in a 37-9 victory.

“Our defensive line did very well,” he said. “We gave up a lot of yards but we bowed up when we had to. We didn’t play our best football but I think we can be very, very good. We are light but very fast and that catches people off guard. You can watch people on film but you just don't know how fast they are until you actually play them.”

Gargiulo’s speed was on public display after Hamilton quarterback Jason Maas had a bad exchange and the ball came free.

“I was straight-up rushing on that play,” Gargiulo explained. “It was a three-step drop and because of that the tackle was set very shallow on me. The ball just popped out and because of the shallow pass set I ran around him and jumped on it. Just the right place at the right time.”

Ditto for his sack.

“I got upfield, made a move and spun back out of it,” Gargiulo said. “The quarterback was trying to scramble to get away from my up-and-under move and he scrambled right back into my arms when I spun out, and I got him down.”

Gargiulo got his first look at the sack Sunday during Sunday’s film review and he felt he graded out pretty well after his first pro game. “Higher than they expected for a rookie defensive end,” he said. “All of the mistakes I made were pretty small, but they are things I have to get fixed.”

With the first game in the books, Gargiulo’s next order of business this week: settling into a new apartment with teammate Gerald Commissiong, a fullback who ironically also played for Buddy Teevens, albeit at Stanford.

“Gerald happens to know a gentleman in the area who does a lot of real estate and likes the Stampeders,” Gargiulo said. “He helped out out with the apartment. It's two blocks from the main drag and has four bedrooms, three baths and 2,400 square feet. It's beautiful. It's out of our league, but we got lucky.”

One game into the season it looks as if the Stampeders did, too.

NOTES Gargiulo’s father, stepmother and grandfather were all at the game...He didn’t spot a Dartmouth presence but did the week before when a group of ‘08’s turned out with a sign. “I didn't even know them,” he said. “It was cool to have them show up at the game and have a little Dartmouth support.”...Some teammates have taken to calling the New Jersey product Tony Soprano, or Tony, something he didn’t often hear at Dartmouth...No one is calling him by his Dartmouth nickname, Knuckles. Not yet at least...Calgary plays at Saskatchewan Sunday.

GARGIULO ON THE, UM, RABBIT THAT DELAYED THE GAME: “These are not normal rabbits. They are like small dogs. They are enormous, and they are fast. It was funny. They'd be trying to chase that rabbit off the field and every time it would run into the end zone where we were trying to score people would go crazy, like it was forshadowing that we were going to score.”

ON BEING LISTED AT 235 POUNDS when he is over 250: “If it makes people underestimate me, that’s OK. It gives me an edge.”

ON CALGARY: “It’s a fantastic sports town. I've been really surprised. The people are unbelievably friendly. It's beautiful and clean. The air is so clean you can taste it.”