Debut in Deutschland

Former Dartmouth safety and captain Pete Pidermann '10 enjoyed a successful debut in the German Football League 2 last week, helping the Mönchengladbach Mavericks to a 47-21 win over the Düsseldorf Panthers. (Stats) Pidermann recorded a half dozen tackles and an interception. The Big Green's premier punt blocker the past few years, Pidermann had a block nullified by a false start penalty. He also returned kicks.

Pidermann is considered a European import because he is playing under his Swiss passport. The team also features three Americans (quarterback, running back and linebacker) and three Canadians playing with European passports). There are a number of NFL Europe alums on the team as well as NFL veteran Christian Mohr, a defensive end.

The first two photos of Pidermann are from this site. More photos from the game are available here.


The Warsteiner Hockeypark. (Pete Pidermann photo)German brew wasn't part of the postgame in college. (Pete Pidermann photo)The main street in Mönchengladbach, a city of about 258,000 west of Rhine and about halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. (Pete Pidermann photo)

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Speaking of football alums ... Former jayvee quarterback Sean Furey's '04 triumph in the javelin at the U.S. Outdoor Nationals is chronicled in the Daily Dartmouth. Furey won with a throw of 263 feet. The end of the story mentions that former defensive lineman Adam Nelson '97 – a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the shot put – was third in the shot, throwing 78-4 1/2.

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As long as we are on the subject of track, Olympian Andrew Wheating of nearby Norwich, Vt. isn't a Dartmouth product, but he's certainly no stranger to the Memorial Field and the Leverone tracks. All the recent Oregon graduate did a couple of days ago was run a 3:51.74 in the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic out in Oregon. Wheating was earlier named the national male track and field athlete of the year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association after winning both the 800 and the 1,500 at NCAA's.

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And finally, I'll be off to Happy Valley with Mrs. BGA tomorrow morning to pick up That Certain Hanover High Junior-to-be at Penn State golf camp. Although he doesn't finish up until Saturday morning, we are going early for a little R&R and to take in the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, aka The Arts Fest. We will be camping at our usual site and if the Internet is working I'll have a few notes for the blog. If not, catch you in a bit ;-)