Jay, We Hardly Knew Ye

A Miami Herald story about Chad Pennington offers the latest chapter in the revisionist history of Jay Fiedler's days as starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. From the story:

''Leadership'' tops the short list of the few NFL assets not quantified by any clock, tape or Byzantine formula.

But it's the quality -- above a rocket arm, pinpoint accuracy or Second City improvisational ability -- that coaches and scouts consider a requisite in quarterbacks. It's why Bobby Layne is in the Hall of Fame and Jeff George, whose passing talent still gets scouts misty-eyed, couldn't keep a starting job.

It's what the Dolphins instantly knew they had with Pennington.

LIFE AFTER MARINO
From 1983-99, the Dolphins had Dan Marino, one of the few quarterbacks with George's talent and Layne's leadership skills. Since Marino's retirement, it has been Jay Fiedler, who bore many similarities to Pennington but was unappreciated by fans because he bore few physical similarities to Marino; A.J. Feeley, a backup miscast as a starter when team veterans preferred Fiedler; and Gus Frerotte, a nomadic fill-in throughout his career.

Yale's apparent lack of success (so far) in the search for a new head coach has drawn the attention of Sports Illustrated On Campus. Under a headline, "Will Pay Handsomely For Football Coach," and a photo of the Yale football mascot, there is this:

Yale attracts lots of students. But attracting a football coach is proving to be a significant challenge. Last week new Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio became the third candidate to remove his name from consideration for the Yale head coaching job. I've got two words for Yale. Romeo Crennel.

Letters to the Yale Daily in response to the search have included these pointed thoughts:

Rule One. If your (sic) going to fire someone, especially if that person has been successful, One should have a replacement ready to go.

and ...

(T)his process reflects poorly on Yale's athletic director but is consistent with his record over 15 years of being long on talk and short on championships.

Ouch.

Speaking of ouch, while the Dartmouth men's ice hockey team just won the Ledyard Bank Classic (once known by the wonderful name the Auld Lang Syne) to improve to 8-4, the struggles continue for the Big Green in the two sports to which the rest of the country pays the most attention. After an 0-10 football season, the men's basketball team is now 2-9, with one of the wins over Division III Plymouth State. The dismal record notwithstanding, Dartmouth is in good company. Perennial powers Princeton (2-8) and Penn (2-7) are also struggling badly in the early going.

Like the football team, Dartmouth men's basketball is playing a lot of young kids. The Big Green fell to UC Davis last night, 72-41.

I should have mentioned the hockey team won its tournament with a 4-2 victory over Bemidji State.

And finally, be safe tonight and best wishes for the New Year.