Lots of Laughs and a Good Message

Conan O'Brien suggestions for an upgraded Dartmouth nickname offered during yesterday's commencement speech:

The Jade Blade
Seafoam Avenger
Lime-Zilla

Conan's speech was hilarious and his message about failure was spot-on. That message in a nutshell:

It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.

Find a transcription of the address here, but do yourself a favor and watch the video first.

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If you were watching on the jumbotron yesterday you might have caught it, but I had the binoculars zoomed in on the action when graduating defensive lineman Lane Shipley was on the stage and about to shake hands with President Jim Kim. A number of football players and other athletes had given and received a "double-back tap hug," and I had a suspicion that Lane wouldn't be upstaged. He wasn't. Shipley, listed at 6-foot-2, 280 when he played, topped the "double-back tap" maneuver by lifting the considerably smaller Dartmouth president clear off his feet.

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The Dartmouth football roster, by the way, has been updated to weed out the graduating seniors and add the incoming freshmen. The newcomers don't have numbers yet.

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College Sporting News has fired up its "consolidated preseason ranking" for the FCS, giving schools in the various polls points for where they are projected in the Top 25. So far, the polls that are included are Lindy's, Sporting News and Athlon. Here's where Dartmouth opponents (and one past/future opponent) show up:

9. New Hampshire
30. Penn
T-34. Colgate