Big Day in the Big Apple

Decision day for the Asa Bushnell Ivy League Player of the Year award. Dartmouth tailback Nick Schwieger, Harvard tailback Gino Gordon, Penn quarterback Billy Ragone or Princeton receiver Trey Peacock are the finalists. The announcement is set for 11:30 this morning in New York City.

Bushnell Winners
1970 - Jim Chasey, QB, Dartmouth and Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1971 - Ed Marinaro, RB, Cornell
1972 - Dick Jauron, RB, Yale
1973 - Jim Stoeckel, QB, Harvard
1974 - Walt Snickenberger, RB, Princeton
1975 - Doug Jackson, RB, Columbia
1976 - John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1977 - John Pagliaro, RB, Yale
1978 - Buddy Teevens, QB, Dartmouth
1979 - Tim Tumpane, LB, Yale
1980 - Kevin Czinger, MG, Yale
1981 - Rich Diana, RB, Yale
1982 - John Witkowski, QB, Columbia
1983 - Derrick Harmon, RB, Cornell
1984 - Tim Chambers, DB, Penn
1985 - Tom Gilmore, DT, Penn
1986 - Rich Comizio, RB, Penn
1987 - Kelly Ryan, QB, Yale
1988 - Jason Garrett, QB, Princeton
1989 - Judd Garrett, RB, Princeton
1990 - Shon Page, RB, Dartmouth
1991 - Al Rosier, RB, Dartmouth
1992 - Jay Fiedler, QB, Dartmouth
1993 - Keith Elias, RB, Princeton
1994 - Pat Goodwillie, LB, Penn
1995 - Dave Patterson, LB, Princeton
1996 - Chad Levitt, RB, Cornell
1997 - Sean Morey, WR, Brown
1998 - Jim Finn, RB, Penn
1999 - James Perry, QB, Brown
2000 - Gavin Hoffman, QB, Penn
2001 - Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2002 - Carl Morris, WR, Harvard
2003 - Mike Mitchell, QB, Penn
2004 - Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Harvard
2005 - Nick Hartigan, RB, Brown
2006 - Jeff Terrell, QB, Princeton
2007 - Mike McLeod, RB, Yale
2008 - Chris Pizzotti, QB, Harvard
2009 - Buddy Farnham, WR, Brown and Jake Lewko, LB, Penn

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The Brown Daily Herald has a "sports is bad," vs. "sports is good" debate going. Unhappy with the role of athletics at Brown, Susannah Kroeber writes (link):

No other extracurricular at Brown absorbs as much money as athletics does, and no other extracurricular is allowed to be as dictatorial and disparaging of all kinds of diversity.

Brown women's lacrosse player Alexa Caldwell, whose family has a distinguished history in Ivy League athletics (including at Dartmouth) answers (link):

... (W)hat she so drastically misses is that the athletes' experience on the playing field is, in fact, the best preparation we can get in our future professional lives. What area of life rejects or does not participate in this kind of competition and intense mentality? Professional work in marketing, political campaigns and legal cases all require the skills developed in competitive sports. Attacking sports teams at Brown for engaging in "abhorrent" behavior that is common and promoted in every day life is unfair and unjust.

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Maybe it's just that time of year but the Daily Princetonian just wrapped up a four-part series on "the lives of student athletes."

Day in the life: A rough playing field
Getting in: Athletes' road to admissions
Making plays, making grades
Why Princeton?

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Think what you will of the stories out of Brown and Princeton, but to truly understand the heart of an athlete and the meaning of team, do not miss the Sports Illustrated story The Courage of Jill Costello. It's a remarkable story about a remarkable young woman.