OK, here we go with a huge assist to a Certain Emailer whose information on this year's edition of the above action is unapologetically reproduced here, almost verbatim:
The Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7s tournament will be played at PPL Park in Philadelphia this weekend. Dartmouth is the two-time defending champion. Tournament information is available here.
• There are 20 teams, in pools of 4, in the Elite Division. The top eight teams advance to the quarterfinals.
• Dartmouth’s pool includes Penn, Wisconsin, and Arizona. Dartmouth beat Arizona last year in the final to win the title.
Graduating Dartmouth football players Garrett Wymore and Rob Bathe both played rugby this spring.
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More rugby news:
Dartmouth grad and architect of the team that won the past two national titles Alex Magleby is stepping down as USA Eagles Sevens coach. There's a Rugby Mag story here.
It's been a good week for former Dartmouth football players. Yesterday Adam Nelson '97 learned he will be receiving the gold medal in the shot put from the 2004 Olympics.
A former linebacker-turned-defensive lineman at Dartmouth, Nelson won the silver medal Athens Games. When gold medalist Yuriy Bilonog of the Ukraine failed a drug test for a banned substance Nelson was declared the Olympic champion and now he'll have the medal to prove it.
Nelson, who earned four letters in football at Dartmouth, told his hometown Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald:
“I’m just excited that they finally righted a wrong, or as much as they can anyway. Being cheated out of a gold medal experience at the games is frustrating. ... But I think it’s a great signal and message not just to other athletes but to the general public that these agencies and organizations are trying to protect the sport and the integrity of the sport and are doing their job right now.”
And this . . .
“From a personal standpoint, it’s kind of poetic justice. I’ve always had a very strong stance on performance-enhancing drugs and anti-doping policies and have been a very vocal advocate for fair play. So the fact of the matter is it’s kind of fitting in some way that I get awarded a gold medal for this. Better late than never, I say.”
Thanks to a friend of the Blog who shared a link to this video Nelson's 2004 Olympics as well as this info:
1 Olympic gold and 1 silver, 1 World gold and 3 silvers. That is 6 gold or silver medals at the very highest level.
Earlier this week former Dartmouth jayvee quarterback Ed Lucas was called up to the Miami Marlins after a decade in the minors. Lucas made his major league debut in the ninth inning last night as part of a double-switch. Playing shortstop he cleanly fielded his first big-league grounder and got the runner at first. Leading off the bottom of the ninth he grounded out to the pitcher.
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I was asked yesterday about Dartmouth incoming freshmen chosen for all-star football games. I don't have a full list but here's what I *think* I know. If you have additions, please send 'em along so I can post them here. There's a link to email me over there toward the top of the right-hand column.
TE Peter Eggert – Brea Lions Orange County North-South All-Star Football Game
TE Blake Orvis – Central Florida All-Star Game
DB Charlie Miller – Minnesota Football Coaches Association High School All-Star Game
OL Jack Friedman – Baltimore Touchdown Club All-Star Bowl
OL Garrett Strohmaier – Optimist All-Star Football Classic
TB Jacob Siwicki played in the Chesapeake Bowl last year
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The Harvard Crimson had a lengthy and well-researched story about Ivy League football teams not being allowed to go to the postseason.
Harvard coach Tim Murphy, always protective of the season-ending Yale-Harvard game (and yes, I wrote it that way to have a little fun with Murph), told the school paper:
“We’ve got a tremendous way to finalize our season, (and) I don’t think we can do any better than that. (But) I know my fellow coaches of the league may feel very differently..... I don’t think there’s any question—if I’m the Brown coach or I’m the Princeton coach or I’m the Penn coach, I may have a much different take on it.”
And more from the story . . .
"(Robin Harris, executive director of the Ivy League) says she does not think participation in the FCS playoffs would attract the interest of fans of the Ancient Eight.
“I think our fans care about Ivy League football,” she said. “Rivalry games are going to draw the most fans (to) a given game, and whether or not a team is going on to the FCS playoffs, I don’t think is going to (have an) impact.”
Big Green Take: In addition to an assumption about what would "attract the interest of the fans," Harris goes on to trot out "tradition" as another reason not to go to the playoffs. Few things are as annoying as making decisions based on the reasoning, "We're doing it like this because this is the way we've always done it."
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It's been quite a couple of weeks for the Cornell athletic department. First wrestler Kyle Dake was named the Sports Illustrated male College Athlete of the Year. Now Big Red lacrosse player Rob Pannell has won the Tewaaraton Award, the Heisman trophy of lacrosse.
Aw heck, while I'm at it, Emory Hunt, the fellow who does the slick Football Gameplan site, has his preseason All-America team video up and he calls Cornell's Jeff Mathews the second-best quarterback in the country. Not the second-best FCS quarterback, mind you. The second-best regardless of division.
He says the only quarterback he has rated above Mathews is Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville. That mention comes at the 8:12 mark of the video (which runs 9:25).
I doubt Hunt has ever seen Mathews play, but that's impressive nonetheless. Did I mention that Hunt has Mathews on his second FCS team? Hmm. Could it have something to do with not being able to prove himself against some of the best in the country should he lead his team to the Ivy title?
By the way, the only player Dartmouth will face who made either the first or second Gameplan team was junior safety Matt Steinbeck of Bucknell.
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Went to the Hanover High baseball team's state tournament victory yesterday and was proud to see our Green Machine alumni handling the shortstop and second base positions. The right fielder was another of our former Little Leaguers as were a pinch runner and the backup catcher. Hanover plays at the No. 1 seed Saturday and I expect the pitcher will be yesterday's shortstop, our Green Machine ace for a couple of years ;-)
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And finally, the temperature here in the Upper Valley could hit 90 degrees today, six days after we got a couple of inches of snow. Is this great country or what?
If you are a Dartmouth baseball (and football) fan, you can now exhale.
After 10 years down on the farm and more than a few knocking on the door, Dartmouth product Ed Lucas '04 was called up yesterday by the Miami Marlins from their Triple-A team in New Orleans. How Lucas will fare and how long he'll remain with the big club only time will tell, but congratulations to the former Ivy League baseball player of the year and onetime jayvee quarterback for finally getting to the big leagues.
“It was a pretty big surprise,” said Lucas, who was hitting .304 with five homers and 14 RBI for the Zephyrs. “I’d been doing OK. But it’s been 10 years, and to finally get that call … At some point, you kind of stopped expecting and kind of put it in the back of your mind, hoping it will come.”
A story in his hometown paper notes that he batted .405 as a Dartmouth senior.
There's more background on Lucas on the Marlins Maniac website from the SI system. From the story:
Lucas started his pro career in the Kansas City Royals farm system before moving onto theAtlanta Braves system for a couple seasons, and then the Los Angeles Angels last season.
The Marlins signed Lucas as a minor league free agent before the 2013 season and quickly assigned him to Triple-A New Orleans. Lucas has enjoyed one of his best seasons as a pro in 2013, with a .300/.351/.450 slash line with a .351 wOBA and 5 homers.
Lucas, a shortstop at Dartmouth but capable of playing any position in the infield, has appeared in 925 games in his minor league career, batting .278 with 66 homers and 418 RBIs.
Dartmouth major leaguers since WWII:
Art Quirk '59 LHP
Pete Broberg '72 RHP
Chuck Seelbach '70 RHP
Jim Beattie '76 RHP
Mike Remlinger '88 LHP
Mark Johnson '90 1B
Brad Ausmus '91 C (did not play at Dartmouth)
Ed Lucas '04 INF
Knocking on the door, perhaps, is Kyle Hendricks, 5-2 with a 2.47 ERA with the Tennessee Smokies, the Chicago Cubs' affiliate in the AA Southern League,
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Fore!
From the Friends of Dartmouth Football:
We have met our goal and currently have 100 golfers signed up for the 16th Annual Dartmouth Football Golf Classic! (June 15) The course can hold three more foursomes so sign up now by downloading the registration brochure.
Our special guests this year will be President-Elect Phil Hanlon '77 and his wife, Gail Gentes, who will each hit a ceremonial tee shot at 12:30pm.
All are invited to our Semi-Annual Friends of Football breakfast meeting at 9:15am in the Hanover Inn. Lunch will begin at 11:00am under the Friends of Football tent at the golf course. The golf begins with a 12:30pm shotgun start and concludes with cocktails, dinner and a raffle and auction!
We also have the following sponsorships available:
Green Sponsorship $350 (8) Available
2-star RB CJ Leggett 5-10, 207, Suwanee, Ga. (North Gwinnett)
2-star RB Semar Smith, 5-9, 213, Coconut Creek, Fla. (Taravella)
2-star DB Jordan Schlueter, 6-2, 185, Scottsdale, Calif. (Notre Dame Prep)
2-star ATH Tyler Henderson, 5-9, 178, Suwanee, Ga. (Collins Hill)
2-star ATH James Nachtigal, 6-0, 199, For Atkinson, Wis. (Fort Atkinson)
2-star OL Ben Jones, 6-6, 246, Ocala, Fla. (Belleview)
Editor's Note: Can I interest you in some land in Florida? How about a bridge in Brooklyn? Lists like this are fun stuff but there's a lot of water to go under that bridge, or settle on that swamp before you should get serious about any of them.
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In an entertaining column, a writer for The Dartmouth offers up percentage chances of prominent Big Green teams (and an individual) achieving different goals in the near future
From the story:
The football team has come a long way. There is healthy competition between quarterbacks Dalyn Williams ’16 and Alex Park ’14, who will both benefit from skilled-position weapons Ryan McManus ’15 and Dominick Pierre ’14 in the coming seasons. They fell just eight points shy of a share for first place in the Ivy standings last year, and I’m expecting a strong performance from the Big Green next season. Personal dream: win an Ivy championship in the next two years. Probability: 40 percent.
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Two Ivy Leaguers have been named to the CFPA Tight Ends Watch List. Interestingly, our Colgate friends have two tight ends on the list!
2013 College Football Peformance Awards FCS Tight End Watch List
Get to know Robin Harris, executive director of the Ivy League, through this video from August of 2011. She discusses her background, the formation of the league, the origin and execution of Ivy League concussion rules, football rivalries and more:
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The South Charlotte News has a story about 20 seniors from Charlotte Country Day School going on to play college sports next year. Listed are nine football players including two headed to Dartmouth. (Kicker Alex Gakenheimer and punter Ben Kepley). Others will play at Elon, Washington & Lee, Wake Forest, Howard, Rhodes and Kenyon.
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This morning brought a reminder that Matthan Houser '04 was chosen by his peers as Tennessee high school football's District 6AAA Coach of the Year in his first season as a head coach. The Sparta News writes about the job he did at White County High School.
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Lindy's Magazine has published its FCS preseason top 25 for this fall and it's hardly a surprise that there is no Ivy League team listed. Here's how the venerable Lindy's sees the FCS stacking up:
Before they installed home stands that stretch the length of the field it was hard to find decent photos of the Butler Bowl, where Dartmouth will open the season in September. The stands covered just one part of the home side with fans having to sit on a bank from midfield to the end zone. Here's what it looked like.
With the stands complete they are now selling photos of the facility. To see more aerial shots of the field – which still has minimal seating at best on the visiting side – check out this link.
Butler Bowl at night
Butler Bowl with legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse
It was another one of those days when I go out for the paper with Cooper the Wonder Dog and come scrambling back in for the camera. Yesterday's snow is gone (except for what came off the roof) and while Hanover was shrouded in fog everything was crystal clear up here on the shoulder of Moose Mountain. What a difference a day makes!
The view this morning from our driveway. If you click to supersize there's
a white dot just below the clouds, two-thirds of the way to the left. That's
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
The view from across the road. The "cloud" is fog on the Connecticut River separating New Hampshire and Vermont. The ski areas are Killington and Pico.
Memorial Day Weekend – the traditional opening of
the Jersey Shore. Here? Not so much ;-)
Ah lilacs. The true sign of spring? (double click for a better look)
We're chillin', not grillin'.
This morning was no picnic.
The antenna balls on our cars look jaunty with their new white caps.
The Orlando Sentinel has a story under the headline:
Eight Central Florida athletes are headed to the Ivy League
Elite colleges provide eight unique athletes with chance to keep competing
Mentioned in the story is Dartmouth-bound tight end Blake Orvis:
When mail call came at Boone High, the letters from football-traditional schools were not unusual. Then there was mail for Orvis.
"It's funny because coach would hand out the letters and the guys like Johnnie were getting the big-time schools, and A.J. too. And then he starts calling out Princeton and Dartmouth for my letters," Orvis said. "Some of the players didn't realize I was being recruited by them and one of them said, 'Wow, you're smart?' . . . I just said, 'Yeah, I guess so.' "
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Not surprisingly, Dartmouth junior Abbey D'Agostino advanced to the NCAA Championships by winning her heat of the 5,000 at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships East Preliminary Round in Greensboro, N.C. She will attempt to defend her national championship in the event Friday, June 7 at the University of Oregon at 9:15 eastern.
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Kudos to the Yale football team which joined with the school's field hockey and women's ice hockey teams to help the Bulldogs set an important record. From the Yale website:
With the final numbers now in from across the country, Yale has officially led the nation in potential life-saving marrow donors added to the Be The Match Registry® through the "Get in the Game. Save a Life." campaign. Yale's total of new registrants at its drive, named in memory of women's ice hockey player Mandi Schwartz '10 (1988-2011), was 843. The second-best total was 581 from the University of Delaware.
This was Yale's fifth year participating in "Get in the Game. Save a Life." The Bulldogs' five drives have now added nearly 4,000 people to the Be The Match Registry and identified at least 17 donor matches for patients with life-threatening illnesses.
Not a huge fan of Bleacher Report because the quality of the work posted by non-professional writers can be uneven, but this one (link) is well done and fun for a couple of reasons.
First, the list of top-25 all-time Cincinnati Bengals includes – not surprisingly – Dartmouth grad Reggie Williams '76.
Given the profile the writer paints of Williams, I might quibble about him being pegged at No. 20, but I'll venture a guess for why he's that low.
Why? Avoiding the appearance of favoritism.
The BR writer who pulled together the feature that includes Williams happens to be Kyle Battle '11. Battle, you may remember, is a former Dartmouth wide receiver who walked onto the team only to see an injury end his career just when it appeared he was headed for a breakthrough.
Among the nuggets Battle shares about Williams:
He's No. 1 in team history for fumble recoveries
He's No. 2 all-time in sacks
He's No. 2 all-time in games played
He's No. 3 all-time in consecutive games played
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Kudos to the Dartmouth women's sailing team for winning its third national championship Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Big Green also won titles in 1992 and 2000. (link)
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Speaking of national champions, Dartmouth junior Abbey D'Agostino begins the chase for another 5,000-meter title tonight at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships East Preliminary Round in Greensboro, N.C. For the list of Dartmouth women competing in Greensboro, click here. For the list of Dartmouth men competing, click here.
On Monday BGA took a look at which incoming freshmen had relatives who were pro athletes. (link) Today: A look at which players returning next fall have relatives who at some point were paid to play:
Defensive back Mike Banaciscki's dad, Joe, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles
Offensive lineman/tight end Pat Hand's father Rich played in the Oakland A's organization
Defensive back Chai Reece's cousin Marcel Reece is a fullback for the Oakland Raiders.
Linebacker Tyler Stout's cousin (Wild) Willie Trognitz played with the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association.
Wide receiver KJ Booze is a second cousin of former Chicago Bear quarterback Henry Burris.
Defensive back Paddy Clancy's great uncle, Jack Clancy, was a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers.
Tight end Sam Laptad's brother, Jake, was signed as a long snapper by the Chicago Bears.
A.J. Zuttah's brother Jeremy is an offensive lineman with the Tampa Bay Bucs.
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With the Class of '17 set, Ivy League coaches are hard at work identifying the Class of '18. One name that has draw attention – and offers – is Adarius Pickett, a corner from El Cerrito, Calif. From the Cal Golden Blogs:
Another local recruit who is starting to make big waves nationally. Great athleticism and ball skills, watch the tape and you can see why he is starting to get offers from schools across the country.
Cal is high on his list as of now, and I'm guessing the proximity factor is helping in this situation. Looks like he can also get it done in the classroom, as he has a Yale offer that he is apparently taking very seriously, same deal with Dartmouth.
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After going quiet for a couple of weeks, the Columbia football page has resumed postings with a brief note that includes this, presumably from coach Pete Mangurian:
While the issues of the last two weeks will continue to be a major focus throughout the summer and into next season, we will continue to build and prepare Team #123. We remain committed to the complete development of the men in this program.
A small number of our players fell far short of our expectations and standards. I see this as an opportunity to grow and improve as a team and as individuals. Our actions from this point determine our success in defining this team. We have a large number of players staying in New York for the summer in order to work and prepare together for next season. We have a plan. We are moving forward.
The Dartmouth takes a look at the incoming class of freshman football players under the headline, Football team announces 35 recruits in the Class of 2017.
To be accurate, there are 29 recruits and six incoming freshmen who have expressed an interest in playing football.
Editor's Note: I've compiled the first list for the last eight incoming classes and each time coach Buddy Teevens has debated whether to include high school players who may – or may not – join the team as walk-ons. Because he usually has very little information on those potential players I frequently have to dig and dig to learn something/anything about the walk-ons for the bios I write. Each year, it seems, there are at least one or two who end up not playing but because they will be given a chance if they play, Teevens does not want to leave them out.
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One incoming freshman who will be joining the team just received some great news. Mike Langman, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound offensive lineman from Naperville, Ill., and Naperville North High School, is the winner of the Rob Koranda Scholarship that honors the memory of 2002 Princeton graduate Rob Koranda, who turned to rugby after an injury ended his football career. The scholarship is "awarded to a senior girl and senior boy who best exemplify Rob's spirit full of community, athleticism, leadership, academics, friendship and family."
Rob Koranda's brother, John, came to Dartmouth as a football player and graduated in 2003.
Langman was selected for the Koranda Scholarship from a list of 150 Naperville North students nominated by teachers, coaches and administrators. The semifinalists and finalists each went through a battery of interviews before the winners were chosen.
More about the scholarship:
The purpose of this award is to perpetuate the goodness, leadership, and community spirit as exemplified daily by Rob Koranda and inspire positive social change through the attributes of the individual.
From Langman's bio:
Unanimous DuPage Valley Conference 8A selection who was honored as the conference lineman of the year… Illinois High School Football Coaches Association and News-Gazette first-team all-state…North team captain as a senior…offered a scholarship by Syracuse…offered by Yale, North Dakota and South Dakota and was courted by Vanderbilt and Cincinnati.
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Speaking of recruits, Cornell is the latest Ivy League school to post information on its incoming class. link
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The Dartmouth has a story about the dual-sport participation of wide receiver/outfielder Bo Patterson. The sophomore offers this insight:
“One sport is passive, the other I play is very aggressive, so it’s cool to get to interact with those two types of players and people."
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The Sports Network rates FCS conferences this way:
1. Missouri Valley
2. Big Sky
3. Southern
4. CAA
5. Southland
6. Ohio Valley
7. Patriot
8. Ivy
9. Mid-Eastern
10. Big South
11. Northeast
12. Southwest
13. Pioneer
Of the Ivy League it has this to say:
It's still Penn and Harvard, Harvard and Penn, with a little Brown sprinkled into some title races. Princeton hopes to finally be putting it together, and Cornell has quarterback Jeff Mathews at the controls again. What can't be overlooked is a lot of players in this non-scholarship league could be playing elsewhere on scholarship. It's a quality league.
Editor's Note: Not to be picky, but it's interesting that Princeton and Cornell get a mention and Dartmouth doesn't. Princeton has gone 0-7, 1-6 and 4-3 in the Ivies the last three years, losing to the Big Green each time. Cornell has gone 1-6, 3-4 and 2-5, losing to Dartmouth each time. Dartmouth, meanwhile has gone 3-4, 4-3 and 4-3.
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A terrific honor for an Ivy Leaguer, the conference and a beleaguered sport: Cornell wrestler Kyle Dake has been named Sports Illustrated's male College Athlete of the Year. Dake, of course, won its fourth NCAA championship – at a fourth different weight class – this winter.
The Ivies (and Cornell) could be in line for another huge award with Princeton's Tom Schreiber and Cornell's Rob Pannell among the five finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy as the outstanding player in men's college lacrosse. link
NFL Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow was on campus yesterday to talk about wellness in a college environment. Quoted in a story in The Dartmouth about Winslow's talk was Big Green freshman quarterback Ernest Evans, who had this to say:
“As I listened to him, I thought of our Peak Performance program. We have an academic advisor, a person to help out with finances and many other people that are able to hold us accountable and responsible to be as well as possible. I think we are way ahead of the curve compared to other schools and I think this pays dividends to the athletes who graduate from this school."
I was surprised that neither the story in today's Dartmouth nor the piece in our local daily had any mention of Winslow's thoughts about concussions in sports. Clearly that wasn't central to his appearance but it was a terrific opportunity for a journalist to ask someone who played the game at the highest level – and sent a son on to the NFL – about a subject he hasn't been afraid to address. From a story in the Fayetteville Observer last year:
Like many players, Winslow has concerns about the issue of concussions that is a hot topic of concern in the NFL.
He compares the concussion debate to the old legal battles over tobacco.
"There was knowledge of a defective product or effects of a certain activity that was held back from the general public so they could not make a good decision as far as health was concerned,'' he said. "Big tobacco was accused of having evidence that tobacco caused cancer back in the 1930s and 1940s but they hid that evidence.''
To be fair, Winslow said any study of concussions must include all concussions a player has suffered, dating back to the start of his career before pro football. "That's a hard nut to crack,'' he said.
Editor's Note: If that Gellin' With Kellen headline got you smiling, click here.
In a column pointing out that there are 100 days until the first college football game of the 2013 season, various notes involving the number 100 are included. One involves a Dartmouth football game against Yale that was one for the books. The history books.
Editor's Note: There are 122 days until the Ivy League season begins. Dartmouth kicks off at Butler on Sept. 21, four months from yesterday.
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Venerable Franklin Field is getting a new SPRINTTURF surface for next season as noted on the Penn football web page. Although the story isn't completely clear, it seems to suggest that the old surface was in use for 10 years.
That got me thinking about Dartmouth's FieldTurf surface on Memorial Field. A FieldTurf website says that "based on 80,000 square foot fields and average costs and usage rates across North America," a FieldTurf field should last 8-10 years.
Dartmouth installed its FieldTurf on Memorial Field in 2006 and while I'm hardly an expert, it seems to be holding up well. Proper maintenance of the field has surely helped.
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A local writer gives the "new" Hanover Inn a thumb's up on the Forbes magazine blog. He writes:
Hanover, New Hampshire is home to Dartmouth College and by far the smallest and quaintest of the college towns in the elite Ivy League, with its original white buildings dating to the mid-18th century and its prominent library tower surrounding a classic open New England town green. Its Main Street is lined with shops, Hanover sits smack on the famous Appalachian Trail footpath, and the entire place oozes atmospheric New England flavor.
But for as long as I have lived in the Hanover area, which is over two decades, the town has lacked something: good lodging. Fortunately for students, parents and visitors, that has changed.
While the writer goes on to laud the new restaurant at the Inn, reviews I've heard on the whole of the Hanover Inn renovation project have been decidedly mixed. To each his or her own ;-)
Two Dartmouth football players were presented with awards at the College's annual Celebration of Athletic Excellence at Leede Arena. Honored were junior linebacker Michael Runger and senior linebacker Garrett Wymore. Runger was presented with the Class of 1948 Scholar-Athlete Award, given "to one male and one female of the junior class, who have combined outstanding performance in athletics and significant achievement in academics." From the release:
Michael Runger
Runger earned the men’s Class of 1948 award after maintaining a 3.75 GPA as an economics major. He has been an Academic All-District selection and FCS Athletics Directors Academic All-Star. On the field, Runger led the Big Green’s defensive efforts with a league-best 98 tackles, making at least double-digit stops in six of the 10 games, helping him earn a spot on the All-Ivy First Team. And in the season finale at Princeton, he recorded 17 tackles, the most by an Ivy player all year.
Wymore was given the Timothy Ellis Award for ""extracurricular and scholastic drive, spirit, loyalty and amiability which made Tim such a well-known member of the community." From the release:
Garrett Wymore
Wymore is an exceptional student as a double major in economics and neuroscience while maintaining a 3.90 grade-point average. In 2012, he was named Academic All-District, Academic All-Ivy, an Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star and to the NFF Hampshire Honor Society. A Rhodes Scholar applicant, he started eight of the 10 games this past fall on the gridiron and was second on the squad with four tackles for a loss of a team-high 47 yards. In his career, he recorded 131 tackles, broke up six passes and forced a fumble.
The Outstanding Male Athlete was junior Nejc Zupan, the Ivy League Swimmer of the Meet who became the first Dartmouth swimmer to qualify for the NCAAs in 30 years. Hardly a surprise as the winner of the Class of 1976 Award as the outstanding female athlete was junior track All-American Abbey D'Agostino, the only American collegiate woman ever to win both the 3000 and 5000 meters in a career – something she accomplished in two days. D'Agostino has won the Class of 1976 Award two years in a row (and will win it again next year barring injury ;-).
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Finally found the CFPA Wide Receivers Watch List on the Old Dominion University football page. Go figure. Here's the list (with the Ivy League members italicized):
Greg Hardin - North Dakota
Andrew Peacock - Appalachian State
Sean Price - Appalachian State
Jordan Harris - Bryant
Willie Tucker - Cal Poly
Matt Hazel - Coastal Carolina
Grant Gellatly - Cornell
Nick Rosa - Drake
Gianni Carter - Duquesne
Erik Lora - Eastern Illinois
Ashton Clark - Eastern Washington
Kierre Brown - Elon
Brian Wetzel - Fordham
Kenny Cook - Gardner-Webb
Mark Ross - Lafayette
Tanner Bleskin - Montana State
Walter Powell - Murray State
R.J. Harris - New Hampshire
Brett LeMaster - Northern Iowa
Larry Pinkard - Old Dominion
Antonio Vaughan - Old Dominion
Roman Wilson - Princeton
Stephen Barnette - Richmond
Ben Edwards - Richmond
Reggie Bell - San Diego
Simon Heyward - Savannah State
D.J. Ward - Stephen F. Austin
Tyler McDonald - South Carolina State
Lee Doss - Southern University
Fatu Moala - Southern Utah
Ladarius Eckwood - Arkansas Pine Bluff
Jeremy Butler - Tennessee-Martin
Tre McBride - William and Mary
Cornell's Gellatly caught 61 passes for 940 yards (15.4 ypc) with 5 TDs. He averaged 94.0 yards per game.
Princeton's Wilson caught 37 balls for 649 yards (17.5 ypc) with 5 TDs. He averaged 64.9 yards per game.
Perhaps just as deserving of a place on the list:
Brown's Tellef Lundevall is a senior who was expected to petition for a fifth year. He caught 72 passes for 718 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 71.8 yards per game.
Penn's Conner Scott caught 52 passes for 691 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 69.1 yards per game.
Dartmouth's Ryan McManus caught 42 balls for 664 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 66.4 yards per game.
Digging through information on incoming freshmen revealed that a lot of the recruits have relatives who played college sports. Some have relatives who went pro. Among the latter:
• Safety Lucas Bavaro's father Mark was a tight end with the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles.
• Wide receiver Jon Marc Carrier's father Mark was a receiver with the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Defensive end Brandon Cooper's cousin Barron Tanner was a defensive lineman with the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins and Arizona Cardinals.
• Running back Abrm McQuarters is a second cousin of R.W. McQuarters, a defensive back who played for the New York Giants, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.
• Offensive lineman David Morrison's cousin, Mike Morrison, played in the NHL for the Phoenix Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators.
• Linebacker Alex McCrory's grandfather, El Collins, teed it up on the Senior PGA Tour.
• Offensive lineman Jack Friedman's uncle, Stuart Friedman, played in the Minnesota Twins' minor league system.
• Tight end Peter Eggert's uncle Tom Tipton signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 1977.
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The Patriot-Ledger in Massachusetts has a story about a bench at a Braintree, Mass., recreation facility being dedicated to the memory of Ron Smith, a former Dartmouth football player. Described as a "longtime youth sports coach and official," Smith died of pneumonia on Dec. 28, 2012. LINK
The story notes that . . .
The bench was donated by the Friends of Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital and Dartmouth College.
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Saw that several schools have notes that they have players on the College Football Performance Awards Wide Receiver Watch List. I didn't expect to find a Dartmouth player on the list but with Jeff Mathews back slinging it for another year at Cornell I expected to find at least one Big Red receiver on the list.
Here's the problem. Try as I might, I've never been able to find a link to the CFPA watch lists. I've posted them in the past (Dominick Pierre) but only after finding the lists on the websites of schools that have players listed on the watch lists such as this one.
If the information is out there it's tricky finding it, and that is too bad. Hopefully I can pull up the names tomorrow.
With apologies to former NFL veteran Casey Cramer '04, the best tight end to ever set foot on the Dartmouth campus will be in town Tuesday. That's a safe bet because Kellen Winslow has to be in any conversation about the best tight end in NFL history.
Selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995 and the College Football Hall in 2002, Winslow starred for the San Diego Chargers from 1979-87. He had been an All-America selection at Missouri and went on to earn his JD at the University of San Diego School of Law.
From the announcement of his visit:
Winslow frequently speaks with college students about how lifestyle choices they make in college impact their personal health and their ability to get succeed after college.
Winslow has served as director of athletics and wellness at Central State University in Ohio where, the Dartmouth release notes, he "created health intervention programs designed to foster academic success and a more active and healthy lifestyle for all students."
He recently stepped down as vice president for athletics and wellness at Lakeland College in Wisconsin.
Artist and popular former Dartmouth quarterback Max Heiges '10 is the subject of this story about a 26-foot tall, 750-pound art installation he is responsible for in Geyserville, Calif.
Max Heiges (Courtesy Dartmouth)
Heiges, well known for making terrific Etch-A-Sketch art and funny drawings on the white board in quarterback meetings when he was in college, was also a serious studio art major at Dartmouth.
From the story:
During high school at the Marin School of the Arts, his obsession was creating realistic paintings, taking pages from National Geographic and copying them in oils. Yet high school football was what got him to Dartmouth College in Hanover, N. H.
At Novato High, he also served as football captain and lettered in track, lacrosse and baseball.
“To me, college was all about football, the coach and the team,” he said. “I was not intending on majoring in studio art, but that is where I found a place for myself.”
And . . .
He now spends part of most days in New York cleaning up for that artist and others. He pays the rent on his one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with an evening job with a catering company, and has turned the living room into an art studio.
“Now I am trying not to say yes to all the lucrative catering jobs so I will have more time for my own art,” he said.
The video begins with a look at several of Dartmouth's standout recruits from this season and then shows quick snippets of video from the incoming class, which has been officially announced here.
Brandon Cooper, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive end from Grand Prairie, Texas who will be a freshman at Dartmouth in the fall, received the Coach Randolph Reed Scholar-Athlete Award at the Grand Prairie Independent School District Dr. David Daniels Scholar Awards Ceremony.
Cooper, one of the keynote speakers, stressed the importance of education in his comments at the event, which celebrates the top African-American seniors in the district.
Cooper is a Rivals two-star pick from South Grand Prairie HS who was chosen unanimously to the 5A District 7 first-team.
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Dartmouth Now has a story and photo about a volunteer effort featuring a handful of Big Green football players. From the story:
Nearly every week since October, a group of Dartmouth football players and graduate student military veterans have made the 40-minute drive south to Orion House in Newport, N.H. Orion House takes in underprivileged adolescent males who suffer from substance abuse, have family problems, and/or are dealing with emotional and behavioral issues.
Pictured with the story are Will Guinee, Ed von Kuhn, Rob Lauzen and Ryan McManus.
The story quotes von Kuhn:
“We make sure we go every week because if we don’t show up for two weeks, they’d say, ‘Oh those Dartmouth kids are just like everyone else—they show up and then they’re gone. They don’t actually care about us.’ ”
Green Alert Take: This is the first I've heard of this effort but that I hadn't heard of it previously shouldn't surprise me. Dartmouth football players – and athletes from all Big Green teams – do a tremendous amount of volunteering out of the spotlight.
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Yesterday's Dartmouth had a Q&A with Athletic Director Harry Sheehy. Of particular interest was this back-and-forth:
Last year, Dartmouth won one Ivy League title. This year, it’s still looking for the first title. Are these an accurate way to measure success?
HS: There’s actually stages. Getting our teams into the top three is the first stage, and then the next stage is to actually win those championships.
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The Columbia football captains have responded to the headlines swirling around the school's football program with a letter to the Columbia community reproduced by the Spectator here.
Dartmouth tailback Dominick Pierre is one of 33 players in the country named to the 2013 College Football Performance Awards FCS Running Back Watch List. Dartmouth will face two other running backs on the list: Yale's Tyler Varga and Butler's Trae Heeter.
Although he was hurt against Yale and slowed much of the season by lingering injuries, Pierre ran for 830 yards in nine games last fall, averaging 92.2 yards per contest and 5.0 yards per carry. He ran for nine touchdowns and added 18 receptions. Despite playing two years behind all-time leading Dartmouth rusher Nick Schwieger, Pierre has 1,574 career rushing yards with 17 touchdowns on the ground. He is 12th all-time in rushing by a Big Green player and should he average the same yardage over 10 games this year that he did over nine last fall he would finish with 2,496 yards, second in Dartmouth annals only to Schwieger's 3,150. He needs to average 158 yards per game to surpass Schwieger.
2013 College Football Performance Awards FCS Running Back Watch List
Isaiah Crowell, Alabama State
Isidore Jackson, Bethune-Cookman
Trae Heeter, Butler
Kristaan Ivory, Cal Poly
Rob Hollomon, Central Connecticut State
Darien Robinson, The Citadel
Dominick Pierre, Dartmouth
Carlton Koonce, Fordham
Dominique Swope, Georgia Southern
*Shakir Bell, Indiana State
DeMarcus James, Jacksonville State
Dae’Quan Scott, JMU
Aldreakis Allen, Liberty
Marcus Wiltz, McNeese State
Julian Hayes, Monmouth
Cody Kirk, Montana State
Jaamal Berry, Murray State
Zach Bauman, NAU
Nico Steriti, New Hampshire
Sam Ojuri, North Dakota State
David Johnson, Northern Iowa
Tyree Lee, Old Dominion
DJ Adams, Portland State
Timothy Flanders, Sam Houston State
*Fabian Truss, Samford
Zach Zenner, South Dakota State
Kyle Harbridge, St. Francis (PA)
Gus Johnson, Stephen F. Austin
Marcus Coker, Stony Brook
*Terrance West, Towson
Kevin Monangai, Villanova
Dominique Williams, Wagner
*Tyler Varga, Yale
*--Returning CFPA Recipient
Dartmouth Career Rushing Leaders (Years) Yards-Average-TD 1. Nick Schwieger ’12 (2008-11) 3,150-4.85-26 2. Al Rosier ’91 (1989-91) 2,252-5.03-17 3. David Clark ’90 (1987-89) 1,812-4.96-13 4. Rick Klupchak ’74 (1971-73) 1,788-6.06-10 5. Jake Crouthamel ’60 (1957-59) 1,763-4.56-12 5. Pete Oberle ’96 (1993-96) 1,763-4.04-11 7. Greg Smith ’97 (1995-96) 1,711-4.26-13 8. Curt Oberg ’78 (1975-77) 1,693-4.33-11 9. Shon Page ’90 (1987, 89-90) 1,677-4.53-12 10. Jeff Dufresne ’81 (1978-80) 1,667-3.70-14 11. John Short ’71 (1968-70) 1,589-5.37-15 12. Dominick Pierre ’14 (2010-) 1,574-5.00-17 13. Tom Spangenberg ’65 (1961-63) 1,531-4.64-8 14. Michael Gratch ’02 (1998-01) 1,478-4.45-9 15. Sam Coffey ’78 (1975-77) 1,437-4.77-6 16. Reggie Belhomme ’00 (1997-00) 1,392-3.21-8 17. Pete Walton ’67 (1964-66) 1,343-5.37-17 18. Richard Weissman ’85 (1982-84) 1,336-4.01-20 19. Milan Williams ’09 (2005-08) 1,320-4.14-9 20. Sean Maher ’83 (1980-82) 1,313-4.62-17 21. Ernie Torain ’87 (1984-86) 1,269-3.63-9 22. Bill Roberts ’51 (1948-50) 1,237-5.13-6 23. Gene Ryzewicz ’68 (1965-67) 1,156-5.33-14 24. Al Rozycki ’61 (1958-60) 1,149-4.10-5 25. Jon Aljancic ’97 (1994-96) 1,015-3.32-21
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In the spirit of the horse racing season, Jake Novak over at the Roar Lions Columbia football blog has begun to handicap the 2013 Ivy League race with his "post spring pole position." He has Dartmouth behind Penn and Harvard and writes this about the Big Green:
For the first time since Buddy Teevens came back to Hanover, I think he has a winning proposition at the crucial QB position. He has talent and depth there and a star RB too. I also like the Green linebackers and secondary, but I’m not so sure about the D-line. A lot of stars are starting to align at Memorial Field.
Tacked onto the end of a story in this morning's local daily under the headline Hanover Approves Tax Rise:
The amendments that passed included one proposed by Dartmouth College to allow animation on athletic scoreboard. The college is hoping to build a new scoreboard on the football field that will allow an animatronic screen to show playbacks and game highlights.
In other words, the video scoreboard for Memorial Field appears to have gotten the go-ahead.
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From a story in The Dartmouth under the headline Athletes experience different sides of Dartmouth in off-season:
Soccer player Paige Dekker ’13 and football player Rob Bathe ’13 finished their athletic careers in the fall. In their last two terms, both found valuable ways to spend their time. . . .
Bathe opted to join the rugby team after he finished his career as an offensive lineman for the Big Green.
“Whether it was the human dogsled race during the winter games, or barbecuing at Lake Mascoma, or getting to the Ledges more, I’ve been trying to use my time to do all these things that are completely unique to Dartmouth and New Hampshire,” he said.
Bathe was joined on the rugby team this spring by graduating linebacker Garrett Wymore.
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A story about the incoming freshman class at Penn (with bios) notes that 18 of the last 20 recruiting classes brought in by coach Al Bagnoli have graduated with an Ivy League championship ring. Also notable in the story, 15 of the 34 incoming freshmen are enrolled at Wharton. Oh yeah. And one of the incoming players is a heavily bearded Austrian named Felix Simon Bernhard Herman Schildorfer from Lake Forest Academy. From the Lake Forester:
“When I went to English class (this year), the teacher told me that the other teachers had already told her that she was going to have a guy with a huge beard,” Schildorfer said. “So at this school, I’m more famous for the beard than anything else.”
When you’re 6-foot-4, weigh 250 pounds and field recruiting calls from the SEC, ACC and Big Ten, that’s saying something.
“I don’t know if he even shampoos it,” teammate Mark-Eric Rosenquist said of Schildorfer’s unruly facial hair. “Everyone refers to him as the guy with the beard.”
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The Kansas City Star is the latest and surely not the last to do a story built around a smart Ivy League gentleman trying to prove he can play football with the big boys. From the piece about Chiefs' seventh-round draft pick Mike Catapano of Princeton:
“Everybody always says, ‘Hey, at least you’re bringing up the team GPA,’ ” Catapano said. “but I came here to play. I’m proud to represent the Ivy League. The Ivy League is smart guys that like to play football, and that’s what I’m here to show — that we can play the game just as (well) as everybody else.”
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From an Express-Times story down in the Lehigh Valley:
Most Patriot League teams play two or three games against Ivy League teams, a relationship (Patriot League commissioner Carolyn) Schlie Femovich said she expects to continue despite the Patriot League adding scholarships.
And speaking of scholarships, the commissioner expects more teams to schedule FBS teams in the future, lucrative if not, generally, competitive games. And she said league members Army and Navy, who play FBS football but are not as physically overwhelming as, say, Alabama, will be popping up on Patriot League schedules soon.
Translation: Patriot League teams don't plan on leaving Ivy League teams behind . . . while they are leaving them behind ;-)
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Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens' push to limit tackling in practice comes under continued scrutiny including on occasion right here. But he's hardly alone. Penn State coach Bill O'Brien quoted on the Coaching Search site:
"We're looking at different situational type of practices during training camp. Less hitting in training camp, more walk-throughs and more conditioning. We want to be a very well-conditioned team. We want to try to play fast and really there's nothing more important than the health of our team."
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The saying in these parts is that black flies arrive on Mother's Day and depart on Father's Day. Turns out they are pretty good at reading the calendar because they are here in force. Mother Nature herself, on the other hand, seems to be having a little trouble with the calendar this, ahem, spring. Temperatures dipped into the 20s overnight and there were predictions of snow flurries in some higher locales. Fortunately this wasn't one of them ;-)
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And finally, congrats to The Certain BGA Sister who was one of five finalists for the Teacher of the Year in the Dallas public school system. Although she didn't win the title at last night's awards dinner, she did come away with a very nice, well-deserved consolation prize!
Incoming Dartmouth defensive back Danny McManus was already named the St. Paul Pioneer-Press football player of the year. Now the two-time All-Pioneer Press football team member is one of a dozen finalists for the prestigious St. Paul Downtown Lions Club Award. Find a story here.
Previous winners on the honor include major leaguers Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer.
From the BGA Premium look at Dartmouth's full recruiting class:
Corner Danny McManus, 5-9, 175, St. Thomas Academy, Minn.
The last of three brothers to play at Dartmouth following All-Ivy League receivers Timmy ’11 and Ryan ’15. Like Timmy and Ryan, he is a shifty jack-of-all trades on offense although he will begin his collegiate career on the other side of the ball. Finished his senior year with 97 tackles (16 for loss), four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Also had 373 yards and four touchdowns rushing along with 131 yards and two touchdowns receiving. He was chosen the Pioneer Press high school player of the year.
(Coach Buddy) Teevens: “That’s an award neither Tim nor Ryan won. He’s into the weights much the same as Ryan. ... He’s the most developed of the McManus brothers coming in. He’s growing and physically developing but he’s a typical McManus. He’s very, very athletic, was successful as a quarterback and even punted a little bit so he can play a variety of positions. We see him as a cover guy but he also has punt return and kickoff return capabilities.”
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The New Haven Register takes a look at the official Yale recruiting class. Notable in the class are a couple of players on either side of the line. From the Register:
This year’s class is highlighted by 6-foot-3, 235-pound outside linebacker Victor Egu. He is a huge land for the Bulldogs. Egu comes from a strong program in De La Salle (Calif.) and had offers from major programs like Notre Dame, Oregon and California. Egu originally committed to California, but changed his mind and chose Yale.
“He’s the most decorated coming in as far as offers,” (Yale coach Tony) Reno said. “He could be a real good player. He brings the size and speed to our edge, an outside linebacker that we were looking for.”
And . . .
. . . Morgan Roberts will likely come in and compete with Eric Williams and Henry Furman for the Bulldogs starting quarterback spot. Roberts (6-3, 210 pounds) was a red-shirt freshman last season at Clemson. He played in two games and completed 2-of-3 passes for 20 yards. Reno recruited Roberts while coaching at Harvard. Roberts will be a sophomore.
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Princeton Football offers an overview of the Tigers' incoming "speed and kicking" recruits starting with a look at quarterback Chad Kanoff, who backed off a commitment to go to Vanderbilt in favor of attending Princeton. Apparently Ivy League's policy of not recognizing (or using) the National Letter of Intent made his switch possible. From the LA Times:
Kanoff had been committed to Vanderbilt since last May and he signed with Vanderbilt in February.
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Click to enlarge
Dick Maloney, Dartmouth's offensive line coach from 1982-85 and the successful head coach at the University of Chicago since 1994, has decided to step down after 19 years at the helm of the Maroons. One of the good guys in the game, Maloney finishes with a 94-82 record and a .534 winning percentage that is second only to Amos Alonzo Stagg in school history according to The Chicago Maroon.
How much has the game changed since Maloney worked at Dartmouth? Consider this line from his bio in the 1985 Dartmouth media guide:
"He also has been instrumental in developing a program utilizing video tape (sic) replays for coaches and athletes."
Here are Dartmouth's all-time record against its 2013 opponents and the scores against those opponents over the past 10 years:
Sept. 21 at Butler All-Time: 1-0 Last 10: n/a
2013 W 35-7 H
Sept. 28 Holy Cross All-Time: 36-36-4 Last 10: 3-7
2003 W 24-20 A
2004 L 24-0 H
2005 L 28-16 A
2006 L 24-21 H
2007 L 41-15 A
2008 L 44-26 H
2009 L 34-14 A
2010 W 27-19 H
2011 L 25-17 A
2012 W 13-10 A
Oct. 5 at Penn All-Time 32-46-2 Last 10: 1-9
2003 L 33-20 H
2004 L 35-0 A
2005 L 26-9 H
2006 L 17-10 A
2007 W 21-13 H
2008 L 23-10 A
2009 L 30-24 H
2010 L 35-28 A
2011 L 22-20 H
2012 L 28-21 H
Oct. 12 Yale All-Time: 37-53-6 Last 10: 1-9
2003 L 40-17 A
2004 L 24-14 H
2005 L 13-0 A
2006 L 26-14 H
2007 L 50-10 A
2008 L 34-7 H
2009 L 38-7 A
2010 L 23-20 H
2011 L 30-0 A
2012 W 34-14 A
Oct. 19 Bucknell All-Time: 5-1 Last 10 n/a
2010 W 43-20 A
Oct. 26 Columbia All-Time: 65-17-1 Last 10: 8-2
2003 W 26-21 H
2004 L 9-6 A
2005 W 17-6 H
2006 W 20-7 A
2007 W 37-28 H
2008 L 21-13 A
2009 W 28-6 H
2010 W 24-21 A
2011 W 37-0 H
2012 W 21-16 A
Nov. 2 at Harvard All-Time: 45-65-5 Last 10: 1-9
2003 W 30-16 A
2004 L 13-12 H
2005 L 42-14 A
2006 L 28-0 H
2007 L 28-21 A
2008 L 35-7 H
2009 L 42-21 A
2010 L 30-14 H
2011 L 41-10 A
2012 L 31-14 H
Nov. 9 Cornell All-Time: 55-40-1 Last 10: 6-4
2003 W 26-17 H
2004 L 14-7 A
2005 L 21-10 H
2006 L 28-25 A
2007 W 59-31 H
2008 L 37-14 A
2009 W 20-17 H
2010 W 28-10 A
2011 W 33-24 H
2012 W 44-28 A
Nov. 16 at Brown All-Time: 55-31-4 Last 10: 3-7
2003 L 26-21 A
2004 W 20-7 H
2005 L 24-14 A
2006 W 19-13 H
2007 L 56-35 A
2008 L 45-16 H
2009 L 14-7 A
2010 L 35-28 H
2011 W 21-16 A
2012 L 28-24 H
Nov. 23 Princeton All-Time: 45-43-4 Last 10: 4-6
2003 W 21-15 H
2004 L 17-10 A
2005 L 30-0 H
2006 L 27-17 A
2007 L 17-14 H
2008 L 28-10 A
2009 L 23-11 H
2010 W 31-0 A
2011 W 24-17 H
2012 W 35-21 A
FOXSports writes about a wide receiver from California who holds "offers" from Dartmouth and Penn before his junior year of high school is over. Find the story here.
Speaking of recruiting, the incoming freshmen for five of the eight Ivy League schools are now public. Find them here:
Congratulations to That Certain BGA Sister, who has been selected as one of five finalists for the Dallas Independent School District 2013 Teacher of the Year. Simply being a finalist in public school system the size of the one serving Dallas is a Texas-sized honor. The winner will be announced Tuesday.
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We're headed down to Amherst, Mass., shortly for That Certain Cousin's college graduation from UMass. It would appear to be a good thing the ceremony is indoors.
After 24 knee operations, the National Football League’s former Man of the Year leans heavily on a crutch. When Reggie Williams pulls up his pants leg, what’s underneath looks like the trimmings from a butcher shop. His right leg is so ravaged that it’s three inches shorter than his left. Worse, it’s uninsured.
So begins a lengthy Washington Post story under the headline, Do no harm: Who should bear the costs of retired NFL players’ medical bills? Williams, of course, is a former Dartmouth and Cincinnati Bengals star.
(Thanks to all those who shared the link ;-)
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Brown has posted its list of recruits with short bios of each. Find the list here.
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Columbia football coach Pete Mangurian has addressed the issues swirling around football players on his team in this well-reasoned blog post. Among other things, he writes:
Right now I’m concerned with who is just saying incredibly inappropriate things and who has a real social problem. The outcome is the same, the perception is the same, but my concern is the cure may not be the same.
Former Columbia football player Anthony Villamagna has penned a very thoughtful column of his own in the Columbia Spectator.
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A true friend of Dartmouth football has been lost with the passing of Ann DeWolfe McLaughry at age 91. The McLaughry family, who founded a well-known real estate firm in the Upper Valley, came to Hanover when Tuss McLaughry took over as Dartmouth football coach in 1941 after a distinguished tenure at Brown. From the newspaper:
Known for supporting Dartmouth football, home tailgate parties were attended by many fans and friends.
Zach Sudfeld is a 6-foot-7, 225-pound tight end who the Providence Journal reports is headed to the New England Patriots as a free agent. Nothing unusual there but read on…
From the story about Sudfeld:
He was recruited by Brown and Dartmouth and wanted to go to one of those.
But he was not admitted.
"I don't think I had the brains coming out of high school to make it in the Ivy League," he said. "I spoke with those coaches. They ended up taking my brother."
The brother "they" took would be Matt Sudfeld, a wide receiver who ended up at Brown. Matt, incidentally, is seven inches shorter than his twin.
Zach wound up at Nevada where he caught 45 passes last fall.
By the way, the story says that Matt, "had a solid career as a slot receiver for the Chicago Bears, with 47 receptions and four touchdowns over his last two years." Bears? Yes. Chicago? No.
There was a story earlier this year on the two brothers on the Nevada Wolfpack website. From that story:
Matt and Zach were both being recruited heavily by Dartmouth and Brown. This would be the preverbal win-win for the boys. They could continue their academic careers in some of the best schools in the nation, while also continuing to play their favorite sport at the next level. Dartmouth was the early favorite, with Brown not far behind. The head coach of the Dartmouth Big Green, which had an undergraduate student body of 4,428 students, was looking at both Matt and Zach. It wouldn't be the warm California weather they were used to, but playing football together would be all they needed.
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Speaking of guys getting NFL shots, I missed one yesterday.
Add Princeton's Andrew Starks to the list of Ivy League players getting a taste of the NFL. The Tiger linebacker was offered a free agent contract by the Chicago Bears. Here's the updated list of Ivy products giving pro football a shot:
• Cornell offensive lineman JC Tretter was drafted by the Packers (25th pick of the fourth round),
• Harvard Kyle Juszczyk by the Ravens (33rd pick of the fourth round, 130th overall)
• Princeton defensive end Mike Catapano by the Chiefs (1st pick of the seventh round, 207th overall).
• Cornell wide receiver Luke Tasker signed a free agent deal with the Chargers.
• Penn linebacker Brandon Copeland signed FA with the Ravens
• Columbia defensive end Josh Martin signed with the Chiefs.
• • Princeton linebacker Andrew Starks signed with the Bears.
• Penn offensive lineman Joe Bonadies to minicamp with Vikings
• Penn punter Scott Lopano to Buccaneer minicamp.
• Yale linebacker Will McHale to Saints minicamp
• Harvard tailback Treavor Scales trying out for the Falcons
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Given the news out of Columbia, Ivy League athletes (and high schoolers with Ivy dreams) might want to think hard, and then think again, before they post anything to Twitter. Better yet, they might consider making their Tweets private. Or they might want to consider not Tweeting at all.
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Congrats to That Certain Nittany Lion for wrapping up his freshman year with an appearance on the Dean's List.
As part of the Ivy Football Association Dinner at the New York Marriott Marquis in early February the honored guests were recognized with short video presentations. Here's what the assembly saw about Dartmouth's Willie Bogan:
MARCELLUS WILEY Columbia '97
Former NFL Pro-Bowler, ESPN Personality
Community Activist
TIM RING Cornell '79
Chairman and CEO, C.R. Bard, Inc.
Civic and Philanthropic Leader
WILLIE BOGAN Dartmouth '71
Senior Executive, McKesson Corporation
Community Leader
JERRY JORDAN Harvard '61
Co-Founder and Chairman, Hellman Jordan Management Company
Leading Philanthropist
ROBERT WOLF Penn '84
Founder & CEO, 32 Advisors
Former CEO, UBS Americas
Member, President's Council on Jobs & Competitiveness
ROBERT H.B. BALDWIN Princeton '42
Former Chairman of the Board, Morgan Stanley
Former Under Secretary, U.S. Navy
CALVIN HILL Yale '69
All-Pro, NFL Rookie of the Year
Dallas Cowboys Professional Sports Executive and Advisor
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Still one more Ivy League senior is headed to an NFL tryout as Harvard tailback Treavor Scales will be getting a look from his hometown Atlanta Falcons. (link)
Barring a BGA brain cramp (always a possibility), here's the list of Ivies who have earned a shot at the NFL this year:
• Cornell offensive lineman JC Tretter was drafted by the Packers (25th pick of the fourth round),
• Harvard's Kyle Juszczyk by the Ravens (33rd pick of the fourth round, 130th overall)
• Princeton defensive end Mike Catapano by the Chiefs (1st pick of the seventh round, 207th overall).
• Cornell wide receiver Luke Tasker signed a free agent deal with the Chargers
• Penn linebacker Brandon Copeland signed FA with the Ravens
• Columbia defensive end Josh Martin signed with Chiefs.
• Penn offensive lineman Joe Bonadies to minicamp with Vikings
• Penn punter Scott Lopano to Buccaneer minicamp.
• Yale linebacker Will McHale to Saints minicamp
• Harvard tailback Treavor Scales trying out for the Falcons.
