Memorial Field In Spotlight

A look at Dartmouth's Memorial Field showcases what you can do with a GoPro enabled quadcopter ;-)

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Ho hum, Stanford has won another Learfield Sports Directors' Cup followed in the top five by Florida, Notre Dame, Virginia and Penn State. A total of 292 schools were ranked. Find the full list here.

Ivy League schools finished this way:

44 Princeton
49 Harvard
58 Dartmouth
61 Columbia
63 Cornell
67 Penn
110 Brown
182 Yale

Green Alert Take: No surprise which schools finished 1-2 in the Ivies. Nice showings by Dartmouth and Columbia but Yale should be embarrassed, particularly given where the other half of The Game rivalry finished.

In case you were wondering, Patriot League football schools the Ivy League often plays finished this way:

215 Lehigh
236 Bucknell
259 Lafayette
259 Colgate
n/a Holy Cross

By the way, equally ho-hum is the fact that Williams won the Division III Cup for the 17th time in 19 years, and that the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference, AKA the Little Ivies) had four schools in the DIII top 10 (Williams, No. 5 Amherst, No. 7 Tufts, No. 10 Middlebury).

Interestingly, Swarthmore, a school that draws from the same general  academic profile as the top NESCACs, finished tied for last.

Green Alert (Inside) Take: Perhaps athletic success is "antithetical to the academic missions of colleges" such as Swarthmore.

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It's hard for a Penn Stater to cheer for another Big Ten team, but it's hard not to when you read a story like this one about a touching gesture by the Michigan Wolverine football program. (LINK)

Inside DP2

Introduction to the following video from the Dartmouth sports website:

The Dartmouth Peak Performance staff talks about the program and how they go about helping Big Green student-athletes achieve their full potential on and off the field of competition.

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One of the key people in the DP2 effort featured in the video is Donnie Brooks, a former college football player and coach.  For a story I freelanced about Brooks, what brought him to this point in his career and what he does with DP2, CLICK HERE.

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The annual Hanover Center Old Timer's fair began Friday night and finished up yesterday afternoon. One of the highlights of the sweetest fair you can imagine – which is held in a rural area of Hanover about seven miles from campus – is the ox pull. Here's a quick look at a team of these powerful animals pulling a "sled" of cement blocks totaling 9,500 pounds. A successful pull is 72 inches. The winner yesterday pulled 10,500 pounds.

As the camera pans to the right you'll see a white house across the street. Our house is on the mountain behind that house ;-)

More On Moglia

From the 1983 Dartmouth media guide. (Click to enlarge.)

Joe Moglia's last coaching job before becoming a Wall Street titan and all these years later the successful head coach at Coastal Carolina was on the staff at Dartmouth in 1983.

For a terrific ESPN.com story about Moglia from earlier this month, CLICK HERE.

From the story:

Above his desk at Coastal are two framed pictures. One is of legendary coach Vince Lombardi; the other of Warren Buffett. The latter is personalized and signed, a souvenir from one of Moglia's many visits with the billionaire investor. Some stories touting Moglia's success have suggested he, too, is a billionaire, but he says those rumors make him uncomfortable. Still, conservative estimates put his net worth well beyond what even the most successful college football coaches could hope to earn in a lifetime.

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Speaking of former Ivy League coaches, Larry McElreavy, an Upper Valley native who went on to become head coach at Columbia, has been hired as head coach at New Hampshire's Newport High School, about a 45-minute drive from Hanover and adjacent to his hometown of Claremont. (LINK)

A Dartmouth Swimmer, A Dartmouth Fullback And The Family Farm

Matt and Anne Burkholder with their children on the family farm.

From the start of a piece on KSNB-TV in Grand Island, Nebraska:

The list of people that grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida and then moved to Cozad, Nebraska is pretty short.

But regardless, Anne Burkholder is a proud member of that elite group. She went from the city to the farm and became 'The Feedyard Foodie.' Anne was a competitive swimmer, went to college to swim and to learn. "I went to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. I also like to laugh that the best thing that I found at Dartmouth was my husband Matt."

Like Anne, Matt was a long way from home, "Matt was a farm boy from Cozad, went to Cozad High School and went to Dartmouth to play football and run track."

To read the full transcript and watch the video, CLICK HERE.

During her days in Hanover, Anne Gibson helped Dartmouth women's swimming to its most successful season it had ever enjoyed. Matt Burkholder '94, meanwhile, was a fullback who helped Dartmouth to the 1992 Ivy League football title.

Together, Matt and Anne have put their Dartmouth degrees to work developing what Bloomberg Business Week in 2012 headlined as, The 21st Century Family Farm. When you check out that story take note of the T-shirt Matt is wearing in the lead photo. (LINK)

Find Anne's blog with more background on the Burkholders' life on the farm in Nebraska by clicking here: LINK.

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In addition to winning seven national championships, being named All-America 13 times and claiming 16 Ivy League titles, Abbey D'Agostino graduated from Dartmouth earlier this month with a 3.75 grade point average in psychology. Any surprise that she was named the national 2014 Capital One Female Academic All-American of the Year? Find a story here.

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Whatever time That Certain Nittany Lion doesn't spend washing carts, "picking the range," or rangering at Hanover Country Club he seems to spend playing at Hanover Country Club. Although he's played a lot of rounds at the Dartmouth College golf course and had a lot of close calls, yesterday's round resulted in a first on a steep uphill hole that tees off near the bottom of the late and lamented Vale de Tempe ski jump:

South Florida Checks In

Another update on recent graduates continuing their education, this time from South Florida . . .

Former captain Peter Pidermann '10, a standout free safety who went on to play professionally in Europe, graduated from Florida State School of Law last month and is preparing for the bar exam. While at FSU he interned for the Seminole director of football operations.

All-American returner Shaun Abuhoff '12, who got a look in the CFL and then played both on offense and at his usual corner position in Europe, has finished two years at the University of Miami School of Law.

Also two years into law school at Miami is former safety Anthony Diblasi '12.

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Dartmouth men's lacrosse coach Andy Towers has been let go after posting a 20-47 overall record and 5-25 Ivy League mark in five years as head coach. There's a story in the local daily.

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This is a couple of weeks old but it's worth noting given that Dartmouth is renewing acquaintances with a New Hampshire program that does things the right way.

In addition to advancing to the FCS playoffs for the nation-leading 10th year in a row and then making it to the national semifinals last fall, UNH was honored for having the highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) in the Colonial Athletic Association, the powerhouse league that includes fine academic schools like Richmond, William & Mary and Villanova. (LINK)

Dartmouth visits UNH on Sept. 27.

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In case you were curious about the post a couple of days ago regarding That Certain Nittany Lion buying his football season tickets online, junior tickets went on sale at 7 a.m. and were sold out by 7:35.

Think that's fast? Just wait.

Freshman tickets went on sale at 7 a.m. yesterday. They were sold out at 7:06.

Needless to say, all 21,000 tickets in one of the largest student sections in the nation sold out this week and That Certain Nittany Lion is relieved to have his seat locked up.

Welcome Updates

Regular visitors to this electronic precinct know that the end of the printed media guide has not been celebrated here.

When a former Dartmouth coach or player is in the news it's easy to dig out an old media guide and shoot a picture of his bio to post. Time will tell if 25 years from now someone will be able to access a web page and reproduce the bio for entrepreneur Dominick Pierre, Wall Street titan Michael Runger or NFL general manager Bronson Green. Given how technology changes, the web as we know it may well have gone the way of the eight track or the CD in a quarter of a century.

Now, despite the fact that I refuse to own a cellphone, I'm not a Luddite. While I rue the end of the printed guide, I'm a huge fan of online team sites as an additional source of information, and in some ways a better source. The ability to update an online bio is huge. Printed guides aren't updated after a player's senior season, but that can be done online.

That being the case, check out last year's Dartmouth roster for updates on Pierre, Runger, Green and others.

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Speaking of updates, add to the list of recent football grads continuing their education the name of former Dartmouth single-game rushing leader Greg Patton '13, who will be in law school at George Washington in the fall.

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The local daily has an inspiring story about the courageous fight the 24-year-old son of late fullback Vic Chaltain '69 has fought against brain cancer. Grady Chaltain underwent surgery, radiation treatment and six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with medullobalastoma about three years ago. The former two-sport Hanover High School standout has since graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in kinesiology and started work as a personal trainer.

Vic Chaltain, who averaged 4.1 yards on 30 carries as a Dartmouth fullback in 1966, was a familiar figure in Hanover and a tireless volunteer for the town's rec programs before passing away in 2006. Two years later the high school dedicated the Vic Chaltain Memorial Press Box in the Bronxville, N.Y. product's honor.

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No doubt hoping to ward off sea changes in college sports in light of recent legal developments, Big Ten presidents have released a position statement that promotes four-year scholarships (including a guarantee to athletes who leave to turn pro without graduating),  improved and consistent medical insurance, and a guarantee to cover the "full" cost of a college education. (LINK)

Catching On

Four wide receivers Dartmouth will see this fall – with two from the Ivy League – have been named to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Watch List.

Chosen from the Ivy League were Cornell's Lucas Shapiro and Yale's Deon Randall.

Randall is the top returning receiver in the Ivy League after catching 85 passes for 788 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago. Shapiro had 38 grabs for 600 yards and six touchdowns.

Also named were New Hampshire's R.J. Harris and Central Connecticut's Tyrell Holmes.

UNH's Harris had 76 receptions with five touchdowns in 13 appearances. Holmes had 42 catches with seven touchdowns for CCSU in 2013.

Bo Patterson led Dartmouth last year with 25 catches, including six for touchdowns.

For what it's worth, likely Patriot League favorite Fordham had three of the 32 receivers on the list.

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Whew!

Football tickets for rising juniors at Penn State went on sale this morning at 7 and That Certain Nittany Lion locked up his seats by 7:05. This may be hard to appreciate for those who haven't been through a sale like this, but there's a tremendous sense of relief when the computer screen blinks and confirms the tickets have come through. Student tickets sell out, some years within minutes.

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And finally, nine-week-old Griff is starting to feel right at home here on the shoulder of Moose Mountain but it's always nice to have a security blanket (or in this case towel).

Click picture for a better look. Go ahead, you know you want to ;-)

A Football Is Not Round In These Parts

To: Bob Ley, ESPN
Re: Terminology when speaking to an American audience

For future reference, in the United States football looks like this:



In the United States, this is called soccer:



Thank you.

90 Days And Counting

The countdown on my Mac's dashboard says there are 90 days until the opener against Central Connecticut.

The Blue Devils struggled last year but any team with a premier running back is dangerous, and CCSU has one in senior Rob Hollomon, named to the College Football Performance Awards watch list. A 5-foot-8, 170-pound speedster who played his freshman year at Kent State, Hollomon ran for 1,452 yards and 18 touchdowns last year. Add in 595 return yards and 223 receiving and he was the national leader for all-purpose yards in the FCS last fall.

Here's a look at his 2013 campaign:

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That Certain Dartmouth Grad (sounds strange to me, too) is tossing up an occasional blog regarding her summer as an interpretive specialist at Colorado National Monument. Check out her second installment from Colorado here.

Green Alert Take: In my next life I think I'm going to be a park ranger ;-)

Check It Out

Perhaps you've heard opinions on Shonda Rhimes' graduation speech at Dartmouth. Form your own by watching the speech here:

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Click here to view a picture of a former Dartmouth offensive coordinator now coaching in the NFL. Wonder who it is? Here's a hint: His younger brother, who set Ivy League quarterbacking records, is an assistant coach in the Ivy League right now.

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Eastern Michigan University is installing a gray turf field. Now, gray and green go quite nicely together, but a gray field? Click here to read a release and view a mockup.

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If you happen to be in Hanover today stop by the beautiful rugby facility and you can catch a game featuring the All-American team against England's legendary Cambridge University side at 1 p.m. At 3 p.m. the All-American second team will square off (rectangle off?) against the Ontario Collegiate Barbarians. Find a Dartmouth press release here.

Wags Keeping At It

If you've been following along, there isn't much new in a story in The Dartmouth headlined, Athletes discuss decision to go pro post-Dartmouth. The story did mention, however, that graduated safety Garrett Waggoner has upcoming workouts slated with the San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars. (LINK) Waggoner already tried out with the Detroit Lions, but was not offered a contract. There's also a mention of graduated tailback Dominick Pierre and thoughts from Abbey D'Agostino in the story.

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This is kind of fun. Former Harvard captain Collin Zych and former Yale captain Tom McCarthy will be back at it after battling a year ago for a top-three finish in the Wall Street Decathlon. Last year Zych edged McCarthy for third in the charity event. There will be alums from every Ivy League football team -- except Dartmouth -- according to this Bloomberg story.

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Headline: Online Athletes? Robert Morris University to Offer 'eSports' Scholarships

Reading that headline, the first thing I did was check the date of the entry. It was posted two days ago, not April 1. From the story:

 Is online gaming a sport worthy of including in a college's athletic program?

Robert Morris University thinks so, announcing this month that student-athletes can compete in League of Legends online games as part of its newly launched "eSports" program, calling it an "online sport."

Citing the "large surge in popularity" of video game competitions, the university announced that the school "recognizes the value and legitimacy of eSports and is excited to add eSports to its already rich athletic curriculum," that also includes championship-winning women's lacrosse and men's basketball teams.

Find the full story here.

That sent me scurrying for more, and I found this:

The future of college sports is League of Legends. At least, according to Robert Morris University, who will be adding the game to their athletic program.

The Robert Morris University Illinois Eagles will be competing alongside 103 other schools in the Collegiate Star League this upcoming season, but they’ll be unique in that they’re offering scholarships worth up to 50 percent tuition and 50 percent room and board to “qualified” gamers. That’s as much as $19,000 per student.

The Robert Morris site is here and there is an ABC news video report here that includes comments from an associate athletic director at the school. Watch that news report if you dare.

I'm speechless . . .

Runner's World On D'Agostino Signing

Check it out here.

Conference Rating Time

The Sports Network has ranked the FCS football conferences this way:

1. Missouri Valley
2. CAA
3. Big Sky
4. Ohio Valley
5. Southland
6. Southern
7. Big South
8. Ivy
9. Patriot
10. Mid-Eastern
11. Northeast
12. Southwestern
13. Pioneer

How does that compare to recent rankings of the Ivy and its cousin?

2013 Patriot 7th, Ivy 8th
2012 Patriot 8th, Ivy 10th.
2011 Ivy 8th, Patriot 10th

Dartmouth gets a nod in the TSN Ivy League capsule, which reads this way:

Ivy League (eight programs) - Always better than advertised, the Ivy League isn't the usual Harvard-Penn logjam anymore. Princeton is sitting on a potential powerhouse after letting an outright title slip away last season. Harvard is still the Tigers' biggest threat, but Dartmouth - yes, the Big Green - is lurking. Penn doesn't want coach Al Bagnoli to retire without one more title run. 

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Dartmouth grad Abbey D'Agostino will be running professionally for New Balance. (LINK) Watch the seven-time national champion's introductory video here:



New Balance had a pretty good "in" when trying to woo D'Agostino because it already hired Mark Coogan, her former coach at Dartmouth. (LINK)

You'll Get A Kick Out Of This

The NFL.com fantasy media editor (Who even knew they had one?) has chosen Joe Montana as his fantasy quarterback for the 1980's and Walter Payton and Eric Dickerson as his running backs for the decade.

His kicker? Well, he introduces his selection this way:

Known for his mustache and single-bar helmet look, (he) was a points-scoring machine back in the 1980s.

Have a guess?

The kicker in question would be Nick Lowery, Dartmouth Class of 1978 and the leading scorer in Kansas City Chief history.

Find the Fantasy 1980s team and the Lowery capsule here.

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Congratulations to old friend Mike Maker on his new position as men's basketball coach at Marist College. (LINK) "Makes" spent 11 years as an assistant at Dartmouth and has gone 147-32 over six years as head coach at Williams College -- with three trips to the Final Four and two appearances in the national championship game.

Williams' loss is Marist's gain because for as good a coach as Mike Maker is, he's an even better person.

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Seven-time NCAA champion Abbey D'Agostino wasted no time turning professional upon completion of her Dartmouth running career, signing with Tennessee-based Total Sports Management US which uses the billing, The World's Top Track And Field Athletes on its home page.

From a Running Competitor news release:

“Abbey to me is the greatest NCAA female athlete the Ivy League has ever produced,” (former Dartmouth coach Mark) Coogan said in an interview last week. “She is going down as one of the all-time great college athletes, period.”

Also:

(Total Sports Management managing director Chris) Layne confirmed that he had already landed a commercial sponsor for D’Agostino and that an announcement would come soon. He also said that she would run in the upcoming USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., wearing her new sponsor’s colors.

Meet The Captains

Meet the Dartmouth football captains in this video from Dartmouth Sports:

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Give the College Football Performance Awards credit for enlivening silly season. CFPA's latest watch list for running backs features three Dartmouth opponents.

Named to the list are Harvard's Paul Stanton Jr, Yale's Tyler Varga and New Hampshire's Nico Steriti.

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Stanton is the top returning rusher in the Ivy League after running for 936 yards last fall. He was third overall in rushing behind the graduated John Spooney of Brown (1,170 yards) and Dartmouth grad Dominick Pierre (1,064 yards).

Stanton averaged a healthy 5.8 yards per carry last fall as a sophomore.

Hobbled by injury the 5-11, 220-pound Varga appeared in just six games in his junior season, running for 627 yards. As a sophomore, he exploded for 935 yards in just eight games.

The 5-11, 224-pound Steriti ran for 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns at UNH while averaging 5.2 yards per carry as a junior.

Another familiar name on the list is Sacred Heart tailback Keshaudas Spence.

Familiar Name

Bob Colbert, who served as offensive line coach under Buddy Teevens on the 1990 Ivy League championship Big Green, has joined the Bridgewater College staff as tight ends coach. His son Brett will coach the receivers.

The Colberts are a football family. Bob's younger brother Kevin is GM of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Colbert had been head coach at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., since the school reinstated football in 2006 (LINK), winning President's Athletic Conference Coach of the Year horns in 2011 before going winless the last two seasons.

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If there's one game to watch in the Ivy League next fall, what would it be?

The Sports Network chooses Harvard's Oct. 25 visit to Princeton. (LINK) From TSN:

Defenses, take cover. Princeton has won the last two matchups by 39-34 (2012) and 51-48 (2013, triple overtime) scores after Harvard won the 2011 matchup, 56-39. 

Fabulous

That Certain '14 at her summer office at Colorado National Monument.

The harrowing road in the background is her daily commute. She will be putting

her Earth Science major and Education minor to work as an interpretive ranger.

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Sitting here in Philadelphia, fresh off the red-eye from Denver and passing some time by tossing something up here before my connection to Manchester.

From endless scenery that felt like an IMAX  movie come to life, to the bald eagle that soared over the observation car, to several Colorado River rafters mooning us around one bend or another, the day-long ride from Grand Junction to Denver on Amtrak's California Zephyr was nothing short of fabulous.

On the other hand, it was  2-hours, 38-minutes late in departing Grand Junction because of a fire on the tracks somewhere in Utah, I believe. By the time we got to Denver some nine-or-so hours after leaving GJ, my six hours to get to the airport for a 12:43 a.m. flight had shrunk to an hour or so. But I got to the gate on time and will be in New Hampshire again in a few more hours.

Bottom line: It was a hectic trip but an absolutely wonderful week. That Certain '14 is in for a memorable summer at the most magnificent park you never heard of.

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Speaking of Philly, word has filtered down that former linebacker Luke Hussey will be attending the Wharton School of Business (but I don't expect to see him cheering on the Quakers at Franklin Field any time soon).

Also starting business school is former quarterback Alex Jenny, who can keep his green and white wardrobe while at Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School.

(Keep those updates coming!)

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Philippe Okounam, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end from St. Paul's School in New Hampshire has chosen a scholarship at UConn over Dartmouth and several other offers. Okounam has an interesting back story as a French Canadian born in Russia. Find the story here.

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A couple of notes passed along from the Friends of Dartmouth Football meeting which (along with the golf event) I missed while on the way back from Colorado:

* With three wins this fall Buddy Teevens will move into second on the all-time Dartmouth list for victories, trailing just legendary Bob Blackman.

* Teevens' fifth game of the season will move him to the top of the Dartmouth list for most games coached, again surpassing Blackman.

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June grad Abbey D'Agostino handled disappointment at the NCAA Championships in Oregon with the same grace she always showed in triumph. The seven-time NCAA Champion finished third in the 5,000 but made no excuses. D'Agostino from the postrace report:

“One thing that comes to mind is just representing the potential of an Ivy League athlete. There’s a lot asked of us and I felt I was both a student and an athlete at the same time. I learned a lot about advocating for myself and asking a lot of myself, and leaning on those around me. It sounds sort of cliché, but I really had to learn that. And so I’m excited to take that and apply it to the next stage.”

D'Agostino's next race -- and first as a professional -- is expected to be the 5,000 at the U.S. Championships in Sacramento on June 27.

A nice crowd turned out to watch the race on the big screen at Memorial Field. Find a story here.

Riding the Rails

Made it safely to Fruita, Colorado and the amazing Colorado National Monument park. I will be hopping on the Amtrak train to Denver Saturday morning and then catching the red-eye flight back to Manchester tonight. It has been an amazing trip and That Certain Dartmouth '14 is in for a memorable summer.

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Former punter Brian Scullin will be graduating next month from the London School of Economics with an Executive Masters in Global Management.

Thanks for the update and please keep them coming. It is amazing what Dartmouth football players are doing after graduation.

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A quick Dartmouth note, senior Megan Krumpoch finished fifth in the 800 meters at the NCAA Championships yesterday, setting a school record in the event. Krumpoch passed three runners in the final 100 meters to claim All-America honors in 2:03.82 Abbey D'Agostino goes for another championship in the 5000 tonight, a race also featuring soph Dana Giordano.

Closing In On It

Greetings from our campground in Central City, Colo., on the wonderfully named Lake Gulch Road. The little gold mining town-turned-gambling venue is at 8,500 feet, and we are probably at 9,000 feet up here.

Once again, we're up and at 'em early as we finish the last 230-plus miles to Fruita, over by the Utah border, where that Certain '14 will be spending the summer as a ranger at Colorado Canyon National Monument (LINK).

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Another post-Dartmouth update has former linebacker and special teams standout Brendan Murray gearing up for his second year at Ave Maria School of Law in Florida. Interestingly, his sister Ally -- a former Dartmouth rugby captain -- will be studying law at Duquesne.

Keep those updates coming!

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Thanks to another loyal reader for sharing an ESPN.com story about former Dartmouth defensive assistant Joe Moglia and his journey from "Wall Street titan" to successful head coach. Find that story here.

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Dartmouth Now has a page dedicated to Abbey D'Agostino headlined, NCAA Championship is Last College Race for Dartmouth Legend. (LINK)

Not to be overlooked is teammate Megan Krumpoch making it to the finals of the 800 meters. (LINK)
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One week from Saturday we'll add our new family member:

Kansas Awaits!

Greetings from Oak Grove, Missouri, just east of Kansas City. We'll cross Kansas today and head through Denver to a very nice campground I've stayed in before. The highlight of the day, though, will be crossing into Kansas and finally completing my collection of 50 state visits. My kids will still have plenty to tease me about but missing the state smack-dab in the middle of the country will be off the table ;-)

Speaking of Oak Grove, thanks to a loyal reader for the offer last night. Unfortunately, we got in a little too late, but gotta love those Dartmouth connections! Thanks again.

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Time is short so the blog will be short once again, but I'll start it with a mention of Saturday's Friends of Dartmouth Football golf outing. I'm disappointed that I will miss it (I'll be riding the Zephyr to Denver in advance of my red-eye home while the golf is going on) but thought I'd share with you a little more news on the auction.

Added to the list of items up for bid online are Red Sox tickets, a Rex Ryan-signed helmet, a goalie stick signed by the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist and more. The online portion of the auction closes at noon Friday. Check it out and make bids here.

C'mon people -- it's for a good cause!

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Add to the list of recent alums pursuing medical careers, Will Montgomery '11, a PhD candidate in organic synthesis chemistry doing cancer drug development research at the University of Texas in Austin. He's finished three years of study and has two remaining. Folks, I saw his senior thesis on the coffee table in Coach Teevens' office one day and I think it took me five minutes to copy the title, one letter at a time.

Impressive, Very Impressive

Greetings from the KOA campground in Homerville, Ohio ;-)

Once again, we'll be heading out as soon as we get the tent packed up.

Today's posting is courtesy of a good friend of BGA who has sent along a list of recent Dartmouth football alums who are pursuing medical degrees. This is very impressive stuff.

In alphabetical order:

* Kyle Brong has completed his first year of medical studies at Drexel.

* Nick Danford has wrapped up his first year at Columbia.

* Don Kephart is in his third year as a medical student at Emory.

* John Manning is beginning his orthopedic residency at Ohio State.

* Timmy McManus is starting medical school at Ohio State in August.

* Tyler Melancon starts med school this fall at Vanderbilt.

* Jimmy Mullen is completing his first year of orthopedic residency at Hofstra.

* Rehan Mutalib is getting started at St. George's.

* Eddie Tabasky is starting his psychiatric residency at Harvard.

Thanks so much for sharing that information, which I imagine is music to the ears of the parents of potential recruits. Anyone else I should mention?

While I'm at it, if you know of players working on their MBA, PhD or other advanced degrees, send the info along. I don't know if anyone can match the emailer who shared all of the above, but if you've got a few names, I'll toss them up here.

Williams Honored

Dartmouth junior Dalyn Williams is one of 36 quarterbacks named to the 2014 College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Watch List for the FCS.

From a Dartmouth release:

As a sophomore last year, Williams started all 10 games in a 6-4 season (5-2 in the Ivy League), completing 55.6 percent of his passes (147-of-265) for 1,773 yards and 11 touchdowns with just five interceptions. In addition, the native of Corinth, Texas, was second on the team in rushing with 563 yards on 153 carries (3.7-yard average) with five touchdowns. His 2,336 yards of total offense are the fourth most in a single season ever at Dartmouth, and Williams already ranks seventh at the school in career total yards with 3,572 with two years remaining.

Quarterbacks from the Ivy League and Dartmouth's nonconference opponents who also made the list:

• Conner Hempel, Harvard• Peter Pujals, Holy Cross• Quinn Epperly, Princeton• Sean Goodrich, UNH

Congratulations To One (And All)

Congratulations to Kelly, AKA That Certain '14

It would be hard to imagine a better graduation day for That Certain '14, her family and friends, and everyone else celebrating the day. Benefiting from a little "local knowledge," we brought our own chairs and sat them in the shade of the trees on the west side of the Green where we had a clear view of the stage and the video screen while most of the audience melted in the unyielding sun. (Families of future classes, take note ;-).

It was a hectic, if wonderful weekend for a newly minted graduate who absolutely loved her entire Dartmouth experience, and made the most of it. (She will be the first in line to tell you that while Dartmouth -- like every school -- has its challenges, the frenzy of unfortunate stories in the past few months is not representative of a school she loves. As I've said to her, no one ever writes about planes that land safely.)

So what's next? Between now and next week, this electronic precinct isn't going radio silent but it could be on the quiet side for a very good reason.

That Certain '14, who graduated with a degree in Earth Science (think Geology) and a minor in Education, will be spending the summer as a park ranger at Colorado National Monument in the western part of that beautiful state. She will be leading hikes, giving campfire talks, explaining the geology of the area and working in the information center. For someone who was a Junior Ranger at national parks across the country, it is a dream posting and I am not afraid to say she will be great at it.

Because she needs a car in Colorado, A Certain Blogger will be leaving with her Tuesday morning at (wait for it) O-Dark-30 to make the 34-hour drive west over three-plus days. You absolutely cannot imagine how excited I am for us to have that quality time together. We'll be camping three nights on the way out, listening to several Nevada Barr books on CD (from the author's national park ranger series) and simply enjoying being together.

On Saturday morning I will hop on the California Zephyr and ride the winding rails through the Rockies back to Denver before catching a red-eye flight back to Manchester. (And if the train happens to be too late to make the connection -- I've got a six-hour window -- it won't be the first time I ever slept in an airport. It's all part of the adventure ;-)

As for That Certain '14, she will return to New Hampshire in late summer, with Mrs. BGA flying out to Colorado and enjoying quality time driving back with her. She'll begin student teaching through Dartmouth's Teacher Education Program when the local schools open and do that through the fall term. Fingers crossed, she'll have a special educational experience in December (stay tuned on that one) and then move to Madison, Wis., in January to start a position as a project manager at a quickly growing national corporation.

It's all good. No, it's all great!

I'm going to try to get something posted here each day, but I can't make any promises because those are going to be some long, hard days on the road. For what it's worth, our first night will be spent near Columbus, Ohio,  the second near Kansas City and the third just west of Denver. We'll be up and on the road around sunrise each day and pitching our tent sometime before sunset. Look for the red 2005 Subaru with the "Dartmouth Alumni" decal on the back!

(As an aside, A Certain Blogger has been teased by his kids for many years about having been to 49 states and not finishing the complete "set." There are two recommended routes for our trip. I couldn't help but notice that the one going through Kansas adds just one hour. Wanna guess which state I've been missing, and which way That Certain '14 is more than happy for us to go?)

Sorry for going on for a bit but there's lots to be thankful for. Congratulations to all the graduates and their families!

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And without further ado . . . read about Dartmouth's graduation here.

Graduation Day

I've watched a lot of Dartmouth football players graduate, and we've been to our share of commencements over the years.

This one? This one is special.

The sky is a beautiful Carolina blue up here on the mountain early this morning and the forecast is perfect as we head into town to celebrate That Certain '14's graduation from a college she truly loves.

Congratulations to all the graduates – especially one who saw her first Big Green game before she was a year old.

Worthwhile Watching

Do you remember who gave the speech at your graduation? I didn't think so.

No one who graduated from Dartmouth in 2011 or was in the audience will soon forget the hilarious – but meaningful – talk Conan O'Brien gave at commencement with President George H.W. Bush on the stage laughing along with the rest of us.

It's a Saturday morning and you've got the time to watch. If you've seen it before, you'll enjoy it again. If you are seeing it for the first time, you are in for a treat.

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Incoming Dartmouth running back Ryder Stone of Phillips Andover has won the school's Raymond T. Tippet Memorial Award, "awarded annually to a senior member of the varsity football or baseball team whose loyalty, courage, and modesty exemplify the character of Ray Tippett and the best traditions of Andover athletics. Established in 1962 by members of the Class of 1945 for a prize in memory of their classmate, Raymond T. Tippett."

Stone is a 5-foot-10, 205-pound running back from Calgary.

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The Dartmouth poll for the best moment in Big Green sports in the 2013-14 school year saw the football team's win over Princeton finish at the top. The 28-24 victory on snowy Memorial Field spoiled the Tigers' undefeated Ivy League season.

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Now we're off to campus to continue the busy graduation weekend for That Certain '14. It started last night with a reception at President Hanlon's house and won't slow down until tomorrow night. Somewhere along the line we also have to find time to move her back home, although she won't be here for long. More on that in the next day or two ;-)

Silly Season II

Following up on yesterday's post about Massey Ratings predicting Dartmouth will go 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Ivy League next year, here's how Massey sees the Ivy League finishing in 2014:

1. Princeton 7-0 (10-0) 

2. Harvard 6-1 (9-1) 

3. Dartmouth 5-2 (7-3) 

4. Brown 4-3 (7-3)  

5. Yale 3-4 (5-5) 

6. Penn 2-5 (3-7) 

7. Cornell 1-6 (1-9) 

8. Columbia 0-7 (0-10)

Even Massey suggests in his "ratings description" that these numbers are only a "reasonable starting point for any predictions. From the Massey site:

Preseason ratings are typically derived as a weighted average of previous years' final ratings. As the current season progresses, their effect gets damped out completely. The only purpose preseason ratings serve is to provide a reasonable starting point for the computer. Mathematically, they guarantee a unique solution to the equations early in the season when not enough data is available yet. 

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Click to enlarge

Just a couple of minutes off campus, coach Buddy Teevens' house was the scene of the Dartmouth football seniors barbecue.

Silly Season

Be forewarned. This is the "Silly Season" for college football.

That out of the way, Massey Ratings has Dartmouth going 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Ivy League next fall. Here's how Massey sees the season playing out.  (LINK):

Sept. 20 at Dartmouth 38, Central Connecticut 19

Sept 27 at UNH 31, Dartmouth 17

Oct. 14 at Dartmouth 27, Penn 21

Oct. 11 Dartmouth 24, at Yale 21

Oct. 18 at Dartmouth 28, Holy Cross 20

Oct. 25 Dartmouth 28, at Columbia 6

Nov. 1 Harvard 28, at Dartmouth 23

Nov. 8 Dartmouth 31, at Cornell 23

Nov. 15 at Dartmouth 24, Brown 21

Nov. 22 at Princeton 34, Dartmouth 27

Ranked by best chances of Dartmouth winning:
1. Columbia 94 percent
2. Central Connecticut 89 percent
3. Cornell 74 percent
4. Holy Cross 73 percent
5. Penn 64 percent
6. Yale 59 percent
7. Brown 58 percent
8. Harvard 36 percent
9. Princeton 30 percent
10. UNH 17 percent

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Dartmouth football keeps churning out the videos. Here Katelyn Stravinsky, assistant athletic director for Peak Performance and a former college athlete, talks about her role as an academic advisor to athletes/football players:

What is . . . Ridiculous?

The Final Jeopardy answer:

You have to wonder if Jeopardy contestant Peter Dyakowski, a member of the SEC All-Academic team at LSU and currently a member of the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats, was recruited by the Ivies. His response:

What is the Orangemen?

Oops. And Dyakowski is Canada's Smartest Person (LINK).

By the way, if you haven't figured out the correct response yet methinks you are visiting the wrong Internet site.

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From a Sporting News column spun out of the New York Jets' quarterback competition:

They have a new leader in John Idzik, a smart guy who played college football at Dartmouth and understands the value of messaging and being on the same page. At least he should.

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If you couldn't get the "pump up" video on yesterday's BGA page to load, you can find it at this link.  It's pretty good stuff!

For Someone Who Has Everything?

Now, I know alums from the other Ivies like to say Dartmouth is in the hinterlands, and the football program is taking to calling Memorial Field "The Woods," but really? How many of these shirts do you think Big Green Gear, The Official Online Store for Dartmouth College Varsity Athletics, is going to sell at $29.98, $32.98 for XX large and $33.98 for XXX large.

Maybe BGA's most loyal emailer (who sent along a link) will buy one.

OK, and maybe if one of former Louisiana Tech quarterback Phil Robertson's grandchildren ends up at Dartmouth, another will leave the shelf. But it's probably a good idea they appear to slap the "D" on by demand.

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From a questionable idea to a great one.

Dartmouth will beam the live ESPNU broadcast of Abbey D'Agostino and Dana Giordano's 5000-meter race at the NCAA Championships on the video screen at Memorial Field on June 14. The college will provide ice cream and water during the local event, with the screen going live at 5:30. The 5000 slated to go off at 6:24.

D'Agostino will be bidding for her eighth individual NCAA national championship and Giordano for her first. (LINK)

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The intro in the tunnel runs a little long and my patience with the music ran out when it got a little "vuvuzela-like" at the end (you'll notice it unless you mute), but if this video doesn't make you yearn for football, nothing will. There are highlights that are jaw-dropping. (LINK)

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And finally, good things come in threes. Last week That Certain '14 – who will be graduating Sunday – capped off her first season of intramural softball by going 3-for-3 and driving in three runs to help her team to the co-rec championship. (It's not like she is a newcomer to the game, of course. She played every inning in four seasons of varsity softball in high school and made the all-state team twice.)

For his part, that Certain Nittany Lion Junior (in the fall ;-) broke in his new irons yesterday by recording three consecutive birdies for the first time at Hanover Country Club. If you are in town for the Friends of Dartmouth Football golf outing on June 14, keep an eye out for him. He's in his fourth summer working at the club.

Surprise!

Opened the local daily to find a story about former All-Ivy League offensive lineman Alex Toth '10 back in Hanover and, having shed 95 pounds, enjoying success as a competitive whitewater kayaker.

From the story (LINK):

Toth owes the discovery of what has become his life’s passion — at least in part — to Big Green football coach Buddy Teevens. Having never paddled a single stroke before coming to Hanover as a freshman in 2006, Toth received encouragement from Teevens to take advantage of the Dartmouth Outing Club’s “first-year trip” for freshmen. He joined classmates and DOC staff for a white water expedition on New Hampshire’s Androscoggin River and soon after joined the college’s Ledyard Canoe Club, to which he remains an active member.

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Missed this the first time around but Athlon Sports had a story headlined, College Football's Top 12 Coaches on the Rise for 2014 (LINK) and the main photo and headshot accompanying the story were of Ball State head coach Pete Lembo. A member of the staff that helped Dartmouth go 10-0 in 1996, Lembo has had tremendous success at each of his stops as a head coach: Lehigh, Elon and Ball State. From the story:

There’s no question Lembo is one of the rising stars in the coaching ranks and could be poised for a jump to a BCS program in the next few years.

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Dartmouth's run in the Collegiate Rugby Championships ended with a 21-12 loss yesterday to UCLA. Cal won the title with a 24-21 victory over Kutztown, which Dartmouth had tied, 14-14.

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A Penn Live story about college football hall of famed Shane Conlan sheds light on how recruiting has changed in the digital age. The story (LINK) includes this about coaches searching for talent before the Internet caught fire:

By and large, you had to go to games and watch in person. And once you had that knowledge? It was yours. No smartphones. No Internet. Not even faxes. Info simply did not move. Opinions were not dispersed.

Because college football coaches weren't often able to see kids in person on the football field, they sometimes checked them out in another sport. Conlan's only offer came from then-Penn State assistant Tom Bradley, who based much of his decision to recruit him on what he saw on the basketball court. Bradley:

"It's not about scoring points. You can watch athleticism, you can watch demeanor, you can see expressions, their aggressiveness, their competitiveness, how they accept coaching on the sideline, how they hustle. There's a million different things you can see better at a basketball game than you can at a football game.

"People would laugh and say, 'C'mon, basketball?' But I didn't miss on many kids if they were both good basketball players and good football players."

Check It Out

A recent posting on the blog, Dartmo. The Buildings of Dartmouth College (LINK), pointed to a year-old conceptual design of the proposed indoor practice facility (LINK), which the site said would, "optimize indoor turf size for all field-based teams."

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The two-time national championship Dartmouth defeated Notre Dame, 19-17, and tied Kutztown, 14-14, to make it out of pool play at the USA 7s Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia. The Big Green takes on UCLA today at 11.

Madison Hughes' difficult and dramatic conversion from the right sideline at the end saved the day against Kutztown. Hughes' late score on an offload by former wide receiver Clay Robbins provided the difference in the comeback win over Notre Dame.

Former wide receiver Robbie Anthony and onetime football recruit Zack Fowler also were in the starting lineup. Anthony chipped in his second try against Notre Dame.

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In other non-football news, the Dartmouth women's sailing team matched the Rugby 7's feat of 2011 and '12 by winning its second consecutive national title in the Sperry Top-Sider National Championships in Annapolis Friday. (LINK)

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On the track, senior Abbey D'Agostino won her heat in the 5000 meters at the NCAA East Regionals in Florida and is heading to Oregon to try to win the event for the third consecutive year . Sophomore Dana Giordano advanced in the same event while senior Megan Krumpoch qualified in the 800.

On the men's side, 5000 runners John Bleday and soph Curtis King both advanced to the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. They are the first Dartmouth men to make it to the outdoor championships since 2008.

The NCAA's are June 11-14.