Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Catching Up With Nick

All-time Dartmouth rushing leader Nick Schwieger signed last month with the Beantown Sports Group, a division of DW Sports Management. Among others, Beantown represents Harvard alums Desmond Bryant of the Oakland Raiders and Brent Osborne (Seattle Seahawks practice squad) as well as former Crimson standout Collin Zych, who signed last year with the Dallas Cowboys.

After training for several weeks during the winter break in West Palm Beach, Fla., with DW's trainers, Schwieger is back in Hanover working alongside Shawn Abuhoff under the watchful eyes of Dartmouth strength coach Dave Jenkerson. Next on tap is the New York NFL Regional Combine one month from today at the New York Jets' facility, with the goal of an invitation to the NFL Super Regional Combine at Ford Field in Detroit March 30-31. That event is hosted by the NFL and will be covered by the NFL Network and NFL.com.

Depending on how the combines play out, Schwieger may attend the Boston College pro day in March.

Among teams that have shown early interest in the three-time member of the All-Ivy League first team, 2010 Ivy League co-player of the year and third-team All-American this fall are the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and Seattle Seahawks.

The late Joe Paterno was a stranger neither to the Ivy League (he was a quarterback and defensive back at Brown before graduating in 1950) nor to Dartmouth.

From legendary Dartmouth coach Bob Blackman's obit in the March 20, 2000 New York Times:
Blackman's 1970 Dartmouth team, which held six of its nine opponents scoreless, concluded with a rare-for-the-Ivies top-20 ranking (14th) in the two national polls and won the Lambert Trophy as the best team in the East.

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, partly in jest, challenged this award and suggested a postseason game between his team -- a perennial national power -- and Dartmouth. ''If we were allowed to play a postseason game, I'd prefer to play a team with a better record,'' Blackman replied. Penn State's was 7-3.
Paterno actually flew into the Upper Valley in 1985 to support Joe Yukica's bid to coach the final year of his Dartmouth contract after Athletic Director Ted Leland tried to fire him. From a Dec. 11, 1985 New York Times story in advance of a hearing on the Yukica matter:
Joe Paterno, the Penn State coach and an outspoken commentator on college football matters, will testify Friday at Haverhill that Dartmouth's actions in attempting to discharge Yukica have damaged the coach professionally. Paterno, a young assistant coach at Penn State when Yukica played there in the early 1950's, said, ''I just feel we've got to take a stand.''
The Times' story ended this way:
Paterno, who is a Brown graduate, summed up his feelings this way: ''In the Ivy League, would they fire a professor like that?''
Yukica, in case you were wondering, was allowed to coach out his contract. After his final season he was replaced by one Buddy Teevens.


WFMZ TV out of the Lehigh Valley has a brief video update on the improving condition of Princeton tailback Chuck Dibilio.

There could be a fun rivalry brewing in the Ivy League over the next four years with Dartmouth quarterback recruit Thomas Militello being joined in the Ancient Eight by fellow member of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Super 30 Trevor McDonagh, a quarterback headed to Columbia. Militello played at Mary Institute Country Day and McDonagh at St. Louis University High School.

Have you seen this Admissions Consultants video look at the Ivy League?

When I was in grad school I went to see The Wizard of Oz on the big screen with my roommate from Germany and a good friend from Iran. Seeing the film in a theater setting and with people who had never seen it before really opened my eyes to the movie. I bring that up because tonight Family BGA (sans one) will be going to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at Dartmouth's Hopkins Center. It will be fun to see the classic film on the huge screen and to watch one of my all-time favorite flicks through That Certain Hanover High Senior's eyes. Alas, his sister had hoped to be there but she has a midterm tomorrow.

Butch Cassidy: "If he'd just pay me what he's spending to make me stop robbing him, I'd stop robbing him."

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