Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Ivy League FB Documentary To Debut

Here's the press release:

NESN TO PREMIERE DOCUMENTARY ON IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL
Eight: Ivy League Football and America is Scheduled for Saturday, November 1st at 4:00 PM


BOSTON – NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, will air the television premiere of Eight: Ivy League Football and America on Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 4:00 PM, immediately following the network’s live coverage of the Harvard at Dartmouth football game, which begins at 12:30 PM. The 90-minute documentary explores the unique role that Ivy League schools played in developing American football and looks at the many ways that football’s development in the Ivy League mirrored American culture.

“We are happy that we can expand our coverage of New England college football to include this impressive documentary about Ivy League Football on NESN,” said Joel Feld, NESN’s executive vice president of programming and executive producer. “The Ivy League has so much history both in this region and on NESN and we believe our fans will enjoy hearing this story.”

Eight is narrated by two-time Tony Award winning actor Brian Dennehy (Columbia ’60) and features interviews with Academy Award-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones (Harvard ’69), Penn State Coach Joe Paterno (Brown ’50), ESPN anchor Chris Berman (Brown ’77), General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt (Dartmouth ’78), former Secretary of State George Shultz (Princeton ’42), College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik (Penn ‘49), four-time Pro Bowl running back Calvin Hill (Yale ’69), Chicago Bears standout lineman Dan Jiggetts (Harvard ’76), Heisman Trophy winner Dick Kazmaier (Princeton ’52), actor and Heisman Trophy runner-up Ed Marinaro (Cornell ’72), Intuit Chairman Bill Campbell (Columbia ‘62), and many others.

The film is directed by Erik Greenberg Anjou (A Cantor’s Tale: Ergo Media and the cool surface: Columbia TriStar) and produced by Mr. Anjou and Mark F. Bernstein (author of Football: The Ivy League Origins of an American Obsession: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001). It was edited by Karlyn Michelson (Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence and A Cantor’s Tale) and features an original score by Grammy-nominated guitarist Gary Lucas (Gods and Monsters).

About NESN
NESN is owned by the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins and delivered to over 4 million homes throughout the six-state New England region and nationally via DirecTV and Dish Network. The definitive source for New England sports programming, NESN is the top rated regional sports network in the country delivering award winning Red Sox and Bruins coverage, a popular sports news and highlights program NESN SportsDesk and a unique sports debate and discussion show The Globe 10.0. NESN is also the first regional sports network in the country to originate every game and studio show in high definition.


A few more links on the Dartmouth-Columbia game ...

The Columbia Spectator rightfully credits the Lion defense for a strong showing. ... Jake Novak at Roar Lions Roar brings up the quarterback question at Columbia after the strong play of M.A. Olawale off the bench against the Big Green. He also shines a light on some of the team's unsung heroes in the game. ... In its Ivy roundup, the Daily Pennsylvanian mentions something many of us hustling to get to the postgame press conference missed: a Gatorade bath for Columbia coach Norries Wilson after the win. ...

Olawale, by the way, was named the Ivy League offensive player of the week for his running and passing in Columbia's first win. (link) ... With Olawale being honored, Dartmouth is now the only school in the Ivy League not to have a player honored yet this year as Ivy League offensive, defensive or special teams player of the week. ... Freshman placekicker Foley Schmidt did win the Rookie of the Week honor after the opener at Colgate. ...

The weekly polls are out and they suggest Dartmouth will be playing its second-toughest opponent of the season this week. We all know better than to put too much credence in these things, but for what they are worth, here are Big Green opponents in the polls:

The Sports Network Poll
9. UNH
23. Harvard
35. Colgate
39. Penn
44. Holy Cross

The FCS Coaches Poll
8. UNH
T-24. Harvard
33.Colgate
38. Brown
40. Holy Cross

(I've been told by several coaches in the Ivies and out of the conference that Ivy teams often don't get a fair shake in the polls because it's considered "wasting" a vote to cast it for a team that won't be going to the playoffs.)

Talk about cheap shots. When Washington and Ty Willingham agreed he won't be returning next year, a Seattle Times columnist wrote this:
Willingham wasn't working at Washington. His 11-32 record wouldn't be acceptable at Dartmouth, let alone Washington.
Ouch.

And finally, that certain Hanover High School freshman fullback's team has its final regular season game this weekend and it's a head-to-head showdown for the state's final playoff berth. Barring a blowout one way or the other, he won't get on the field without a water bottle in his hand, but there should be plenty of excitement. His sister, meanwhile, will be running with her team in the New Hampshire Meet of Champions, pitting the top six teams from last Saturday's cross country state championships in one meet. Although Hanover won last week's state championship in the middle division, it will be bidding for a fifth consecutive overall championship. You may find this funny: One parent rewarded the team members with small bottles of bubbly after winning the state championship Saturday. Bubbly hand sanitizer, that is, to prevent any spread of germs, because barring sickness or injury the team will be a heavy favorite to win this weekend and go on to New Englands.

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