A Real World Message

This is a sports blog – for the most part – but there are those few days when the real world barges in. After several emails regarding swine flu landed here in the past week I suppose today should be one of those days.

So you know, at the Ivy League Baseball Championship Series over the weekend, Dartmouth's policy on swine flu was posted on the ticket booths. Today's Daily Dartmouth has another story about the issue under the headline, "Three ‘suspected’ flu cases found negative." The story begins this way:

Three of the five Dartmouth students with 'suspected' cases of swine flu have tested negative for the virus, director of Health Services John Turco said at an information session held for members of the Dartmouth community on Monday. Test results for the other two cases are still pending, and two additional students were identified on Monday as “suspected” cases, Turco said.

There are currently five 'probable' cases and one 'confirmed' case of swine flu in New Hampshire, State Public Health director Jose Montero said in a press conference on Monday afternoon.

One local high school was closed briefly, but at this point it doesn't appear the college or any more schools will be closing. Montero offered this common-sense assessment yesterday:

"Across the nation there is no transmission that goes beyond what we expect in normal and regular flu season, and the severity of illness has been quite similar as well."

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming ...

Dartmouth gets another mention in a Dayton Daily News story about "do-it-all football player Robbie Sherk (who) had the academic credentials to get admitted to some prestigious colleges and took visits to Dartmouth and Davidson, but he found what he was looking for barely a punt, pass and kick from his front door." As mentioned in this earlier BGA blog note, Sherk was a high school teammate of Dartmouth freshman Chris Hardy.

A "long-time reader, regular-emailer," sent along a link to a SunSentinel.com page for The Miami Dolphins All-Jersey team. The Dolphins' all-time No. 9? Well, he wore No. 11 at Dartmouth. Here's what the caption to a less-than-flattering picture of the player says:

#9 -- Quarterback Jay Fiedler (2000-04). Fiedler didn't turn out to be the next Dan Marino as the team hoped, but he did start more games than fellow No. Nines John Beck and Scott Secules.

Dartmouth men's ice hockey coach Bob Gaudet coaches sons Jimmy and Joey. Doggie Julian coached son Toby on the hardwood. It's rare, but it happens.

Rarer, to be sure, would be a husband at Dartmouth, or at any school, coaching his wife. But it will be happening next year. A Daily D story about the retirement of squash coach John Power includes a note about assistant coach Hansi Wiens taking over as men's and women's coach next year. One of his players will be his wife Valaria, 22, who has been accepted into the Class of 2013.

Another regular reader sent along a note about a 5-K trail run this Sunday in memory of former rugby player Katie "Cully" Cullinan '08. If you would like to run or support the effort, which benefits the National Eating Disorders Association, click here.

And finally, the good news now that spring football is over is that I finally had a chance to watch that certain Hanover High School junior captain play in a softball game yesterday. The bad news is that even a kid who has no trouble running 5-6-7 miles during cross country and indoor track season was black-and-blue and totally spent after lunging, jumping and diving for pitches in a 19-5 loss. Playing catcher is a tiring challenge when your team surrenders 10 walks, one hit batter, two errors and 14 runs – in the first inning!