James Jones Returns To Staff

Remember that posting a while back about a "familiar name," joining the Dartmouth coaching staff? That name is James Jones, and he will coach the Big Green tight ends this fall. Jones, you may recall, was the Dartmouth defensive line coach under Buddy Teevens in 2005 before moving on to Kansas State. Find a release on his return here.

A writer from the Winnipeg Free Press is rooting for Anthony Gargiulo as the former Dartmouth defensive end bids to make it back into the Calgary Stampeders lineup after a horrific broken ankle last fall that required two surgeries and enough hardware to stock a Tru-Value store. ...

Speaking of Gargiulo, he authored a posting for the Stampeders' blog that can be found here. Among other things, he wrote:

The offer to return to the Stamps aligned itself perfectly with the progress of my rehabilitation for my injury. I had reached a point where I was able to run any number of drills without pain and really needed to get back on the field in order to take the next step.

To hear audio from an out-of-breath Gargiulo after his first practice a couple of days ago, click here.

The Cornell Daily Sun has a list of a couple of dozen Big Red athletes to watch next year. Mentioned from the football (and baseball) team is quarterback Nathan Ford. No question he's deserving. But I'm also gonna keep my eye on receiver/quarterback Stephen Liuzza, accurately described in his Cornell bio as "electrifying." This is the kid, remember, who threw for 292 yards and ran for 131 against Dartmouth in three quarters last year – after not having practiced at quarterback since the preseason. As a freshman the year before he had an 81-yard TD run against the Big Green.

Colgate, Dartmouth's season-opening opponent, has had no fewer than eight players earn recognition on the Patriot League preseason teams named by Phil Steele's football magazine. Not surprisingly, premier tailback Jordan Scott was named to Steele's first team. Find Colgate's release here. The Raiders, by the way, report to camp two weeks from Sunday if you can believe it. (Or even if you can't.) Dartmouth's first practice is Aug. 27.

Out of the sports realm ... Dartmouth revealed plans for a huge new "Visual Arts Center," to be constructed on Lebanon Street, roughly across from C&A Pizza. Plans for the $52 million, 99,500-square foot building are receiving a mixed reviews. Here's what one Hanover resident had to say in a story picked up by the Concord Monitor:

"I can't be very tactful about it," said Marilyn Willy Black, a former selectwoman and current town moderator who sits on the Dartmouth Liaison Committee. "I just think it's hideous."