Dartmouth And Michigan Go Bowling

Thanks to a subscriber for sending along a link to the pregame show for a 2010 bowl game pitting No. 2 Dartmouth (11-0) against No. 1 Michigan (11-0). Commentator Kirk Herbstreit thinks J. Barton, standout Dartmouth receiver (59 catches for 1,078 yards and 11 touchdowns) will make a difference in the game. Interestingly, Dartmouth has opted to go back to its black pants against the Wolverines. No word on how the game turned out. We may have to wait until a year from January to learn the result.

There are no mentions of the mysterious J. Barton (although to go by just his first initial he must be something special), but Internet recruiting buzz on others continues. This link on Scout.com says California linebacker Brent Seals visited Dartmouth on Dec. 5 and Harvard on Friday and another link says he's already had "offers" from the Big Green, the Crimson and Columbia. Seals is 6-1, 184.

Perhaps J. Barton has a Facebook page. If he does, he may want to read a story in the New Haven Register that reminds us:

Post a photo of yourself on your own or someone else’s Facebook page holding a beer at a party or engaging in some other objectionable behavior and you could find yourself a star on badjocks.com — not to mention suspended or kicked off your team, even expelled from school.

There's some interesting stuff in the story including a look at just how fast the phenomenon has grown:

When Ed Peters, a senior offensive lineman on the Southern Connecticut State football team, arrived on campus four years ago, Facebook wasn’t even available at the school.

Today?

“I’d say everybody on our football team has Facebook,” Peters said.

Did you ever see the inflatable moose mascot that used to show up at Dartmouth football, basketball and hockey games? It had a Dr. Seuss hat on its head and was popular with kids, even if some of them made fun of it. Before the moose there was a short-lived "tree" costume that a student used to wear. I don't recall ever seeing it in use but for a long time it was mothballed in a closet in the sports information office.

A mascot – not a nickname, but a mascot – can be a good thing if it's done right. The New York Times has a detailed story about where mascots are born and what they can do for a school or a team. The story focuses on the East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University Warriors mascot "Burgy." From the story:

Burgy has a decaled Honda CR-V, donated by a local dealer. A second costume is on the way, and a third performer is being hired to meet demand. Community appearances have been scheduled into April.

The money and time “were so worth it,” said Brenda Friday, the associate director for university relations, who oversaw the mascot effort.

“And we’ve only just begun to see the benefit of this,” she added.

Of note: that's at a school playing Division II sports. ... For those who worry whether a mascot would play nice with those who are protective of team nicknames – current and past – at Division I Dartmouth, Dave Raymond would argue they are different beasts. Raymond, the original Philly Phanatic and owner of a company that creates mascots, "said that many of the best mascots — the Phanatic, the San Diego Chicken, the Phoenix Suns Gorilla — have nothing to do with the team nickname."