On hearing Howard's piece I couldn't help but remember something that happened back when we had a local NBC TV station (it has since been absorbed by a station in Burlington, Vt., that doesn't seem to realize Dartmouth football exists). Anyway, the local sports reporter, who would never have been confused with an athlete, showed up at the Dartmouth Green to film an interview with quarterback Jay Fiedler, who was playing in the NFL at the time and visiting his alma mater.
The sports reporter asked Jay if he would throw him a pass for the cameras. I distinctly remember getting a brief look from Jay that pretty much said what I was thinking, "Is this guy crazy?" Jay politely tried to say no but when the reporter pushed him, he reluctantly took the ball. Maybe I'm "misremembering" (to quote Roger Clemens) but I seem to recall a smirk working its way across Jay's face.
The reporter might have been 30 yards down the Green, running toward Baker Library, when Jay let fly.
Now, Jay wasn't known for having a shotgun arm, but it was plenty strong enough for the NFL. And it was way too strong for the reporter, who ended up tumbling over backwards like he had been shot. And no, he didn't catch the ball.
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One more quarterback story. Jimmie Lee Solomon '78, the former Dartmouth wide receiver who went on to a career as a major league baseball executive, recounts playing with Harry Wilson, father of Seattle Seahawks' QB Russell Wilson, in a story from the Fort Bend News. (LINK)From the story with Solomon, who has spoken to the Dartmouth football team several times on visits back to campus at the invitation of former teammate Buddy Teevens:
"We live vicariously through our kids and our friends' kids," said Solomon, 58, who is single and has no sons. ... Every time I see Russell Wilson I see his father, which is very poignant to me. All he talked about was Russell."And . . .
"We were best friends on the team and roommates on the road," Solomon added. "In hotel rooms, Harry and I schemed how we were going to make the pros. He almost made it. He was the last man cut by San Diego, whereas I got cut early."
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And speaking of athletes with familiar last names who you can see on TV this weekend, ESPN writes about 6-foot-6 Duke basketball player Justise Winslow, whose brother Josh is a junior defensive back at Dartmouth. Justise averages 10.7 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who play Virginia tonight in a huge game on ESPN.From the story:
Winslow's father, Rickie, was a member of Phi Slamma Jamma as a freshman on Houston's 1984 Final Four team. He started all four years at small forward for the Cougars. Although his NBA career was brief, he played professionally overseas until 2000.Josh Winslow is quoted in the story talking about his brother and their grandmother, Beverly Mosby:
"Justise's goal was to get to the NBA, and he always talked about wanting to have Miss Bev at all of his games," said his brother Josh Winslow, who is a rising senior defensive back at Dartmouth. "I think he's always had a soft spot for Miss Bev."The Winslows' sister Bianca plays basketball for the University of Houston. Here are the three siblings playing college sports right now:
