Meanwhile, Back In Italy

Keeping up on former Harvard wide receiver Corey Mazza's highly entertaining blog about his season playing pro football in Italy has been a little tricky, so here's an index for you. The entries are short and fun. Enjoy:

0-1 With Playing for Pizza author John "Big Grish" Grisham looking on and then joining in the postgame celebration at a local restaurant, Mazza's real-life team drops its first game.

1-1 After the first win Mazza writes: "The newly activated American was none other than head coach Andrew Papoccia, who hadn't put on shoulder pads since last June, and had never played quarterback in his life. But he was better than the alternative: Me."

1-2 While the Panthers lose another game, Mazza continues adjusting to life in a foreign land. He writes: "In other news, we recently found out we have been doing our laundry not with soap, but with fabric softener for the past month and a half, and I nearly suffered a season-ending injury due to a freak cheese-grating accident. ... Just when we thought we had Italy down …"

1-2 (Bye week) Mazza and some buds visited Greece and continued to adjust to life in Italy. He writes: "In other news, we welcomed a new roomie (Big Bear's brother) and found out the hard way that garlic has to be refrigerated."

2-2 A win in Spain sets up the next game against the Milan Rhinos and former Holy Cross great Steve Silva, who gave Dartmouth headaches a few years ago. The trip to Spain wasn't just about football. Mazza writes: "Instead of taking the ferry back that night with the team, the Americans decided to give Barcelona a go. But since we couldn't find a hotel room, the plan was to experience Barcelona's nightlife until the sun came up then check into our hostel the next day. We almost made it, but we found a friend who let us crash on her floor for a couple hours. We spent the next day at the beach, and later ended up taking a double-decker bus tour through the city and stopping by the famed Sagrada Family Church."

Former Dartmouth quarterback Jon Aljancic played a season in the south of France and a few other Big Green grads played in northern Europe but I wouldn't be a bit surprised, with Grisham's book and Mazza's columns, if more players don't head overseas. I know I wouldn't mind if they needed a blogger. How about the Parma Alert? Nah, Mazza's too good by himself.

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Yale has released its recruiting class. Find it here. And while Dartmouth doesn't play Georgetown, the schools recruit from a lot of the same places, so here's at look at the Hoyas' class and where it comes from. Georgetown is coached by former Dartmouth assistant Kevin Kelly.

Technology rolls on. During a dead period when head coaches can't head out, Alabama's Lou Nick Saban is video conferencing with potential recruits as this USA Today story tells us.

I can't figure out which is right. You either have to be trying awfully hard, not be trying at all to rack up 668 NCAA violations in four sports. Such is the case at Alabama State, which plays FCS (I-AA) football. The Montgomery Advertiser has the story.