Video Here, Video There

Here's a guess. This will bring a smile to the faces of a generation of former Princeton football players who played for the man ;-)

•

That Any Given Saturday message board thread purporting to be building a list of the top quarterbacks in the FCS? Dartmouth's Dalyn Williams has now gotten a few mentions. (LINK)

Of course, as is the case with most message boards, the conversation has devolved into something bearing little semblance to what it was about at the beginning.

•

OK, this is weird stuff and would get a lot of NCAA attention if it had any chance of turning into something. It's a website where "fans" can pledge graduation gifts for athletes to collect if/when they get their diplomas.

There are pages set up for a ton of schools across a variety of sports and if anyone has pledged anything, I didn't notice. (Not that I spent much time looking.) The page for Dartmouth football actually has player names on it. (LINK)

•

Speaking of graduation, the Big Ten made news in late winter when it floated a trial balloon about reinstituting freshman ineligibility. (LINK) Check out a PDF of the 12-page statement Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany issued about the current state of big-time athletics HERE.

From the statement:

If we are going to use the term “student-athlete,” we have to be committed to it in all sports. Consequently, if there is an imbalance, we must adjust to bring both sides of the phrase closer to equilibrium—the “athlete” side cannot outweigh (much less vastly outweigh) the “student” side. In football and men’s basketball, however, there is evidence that such an imbalance exists.

•

The Daily Pennsylvanian has an article assessing the state of athletics at Penn. (LINK)

•

Columbia has ratcheted up its football profile since Al Bagnoli came aboard and this video is another example:

•

And finally, watching the end of the Red Wings-Lightning playoff game last night I was reminded yet again about how special hockey's handshake lineup at center ice after a game like that is. Rather than high-fives without looking at each other – as if often the case in basketball – the players actually greet each other and seem to offer congratulations and consolation. It's good stuff and worth sticking around to watch.

•

Spring practice No. 11 of 12 today on Memorial Field. Wonder of wonders, it should be a very nice day out there! Check in with BGA Premium tonight for coverage beginning with a look at the defensive side of the incoming regular decision recruiting class.

Seniors Named To National Football Foundation Honor Society

Graduating Dartmouth seniors Steve Dazzo, Riley Lyons and Ben Spiritos have been honored for their academic performance. From a press release:

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today the members of the 2015 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college career.

Find the full list of honored players HERE.

Incoming RB Honored

Incoming running back Miles Smith of Alpharetta High School with ESPN's Lee Corso after receiving a George Morris Student/Athlete Scholarship from The Touchdown Club of Atlanta/National Football Foundation Chapter. (LINK)

Checking In With The QBs

If you've been to practice you know that Dartmouth quarterback coach Chris Rorke has a nice way with his charges. Here he is mic'd up in a football program video:

•

Speaking of quarterbacks, the Any Given Saturday message board (LINK) has a newish thread about the year of the senior quarterback in the FCS. Take any discussion of top FCS quarterbacks that doesn't include Dartmouth's Dalyn Williams with not a grain of salt but a shaker of salt.

•

A seven-round mock draft by NFL.com has Yale tailback Tyler Varga as the only Ivy Leaguer drafted. The site has him going to the Atlanta Falcons. (LINK)

•

While The Sports Network agrees Varga should be drafted, it calls Harvard defensive end-outside linebacker Zach Hodges the top Ivy prospect. (LINK)

•

The New York Times details a proposal to tear down Columbia's football stadium and replace it with a 25,000 seat facility for New York City's new major league soccer franchise. Columbia would share the facility. (LINK)

Green Alert Take: Not to be snide or anything, but that's just what Columbia needs – 8,000 more empty seats. I can't speak for the condition of a stadium opened in 1984, but it looks to be in pretty good condition to me. It would seem wasteful to put the wrecking ball to one of the nicest facilities in the Ivy League. And let's not talk about access and parking for 25,000 people.

•

Joe's Pond in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom is famous for its annual "ice out" contest that is determined each spring when melting ice unplugs an electric clock placed on a pallet out behind old Homer Fitts' deck. (LINK)

I bring that up because if you had yesterday, April 28, as "snow out" up here at our place on the shoulder of Moose Mountain, you are a winner. Sure, we've still got some snow where it slid off our roof and piled up this winter, but the last square foot of snow out in the yard disappeared yesterday, much to the chagrin of Griff, the Wonder Dog, who absolutely loved to roll in the stuff.

For what it's worth, "ice out" on lLake Winnipesaukee was Friday at 4:34 p.m. (LINK)

•

The high-tech stuff that has been going on at Dartmouth football practice will pick up speed at the next-to-last spring practice tomorrow. Be sure to visit BGA Premium for a story out of the practice and a look at the defensive players in the regular-decision recruiting class. Last night's story looked at the incoming players on offense in the regular-decision class.

Spring Game Set For 10

The Green-White scrimmage capping spring football will be this Saturday at 10 a.m. on Memorial Field.

Here And There

Among those expected at Dartmouth spring football practice today is former NFL quarterback Trent Edwards, who played for Big Green coach Buddy Teevens at Stanford. Edwards started 32 games with the Buffalo Bills and also played for Jacksonville and Philadelphia. Edwards will be in Hanover along with Derek Belch, a placekicker recruited to Stanford by Teevens, as the two bring mind-boggling, cutting-edge technology Belch developed to the Dartmouth football program.

Find the full story about what they are doing in last Saturday's BGA Premium.

•

The Sports Network offers up bios of some of the top FCS draft prospects including four Dartmouth played against last fall: Nick Easton, Harvard center, Zack Hodges, Harvard defensive end/outside linebacker, Tyler Varga, Yale running back and RJ Harris, New Hampshire wide receiver.

Find the story HERE.

•

Speaking of Hodges, the New York Times adds to the legion of outlets telling his remarkable story (LINK). A Boston Globe story about Hodges' NFL chances reminds us of one reason why Harvard has been the dominant Ivy League program – it has had more talent than anyone else. Crimson coach Tim Murphy quoted in the Globe story (LINK)

“I think Zack’s fortunate that we’ve got a number of kids playing in the NFL right now who have proven themselves, whether it’s Kyle Juszczyk with the Ravens, Cam Brate with the Bucs, Desmond Bryant with Cleveland, or Ryan Fitzpatrick now with the Jets, I think people come in here now and they realize that they don’t come in here to play in the NFL, but we’ve got some really great football players who aspire to play at the highest level."

•

The Sports Network does a terrific job providing news about the FCS but tracing Chip Kelly's interest in Tim Tebow to the success New Hampshire had with Ricky Santos as quarterback seems like a bit of a stretch. Find the story HERE. What do you think?

•

Notre Dame freshman Jerry Tillery, whose recruiting visit to Dartmouth was serious, continues to draw raves after his first spring practice as an early enrollee in South Bend. From a Scout column:

“Jerry has done amazing, he’s a freak,” said defensive end Andrew Trumbetti. “He’s gonna probably be an All-American, in my opinion.”

•

This could be one of those Signs of the Apocalypse. Nine high school football coaches in Alabama are making at least $100,000 a year, not teaching, but coaching football. (LINK)

•

Looks as if the Ivy League rule against athletes completing their eligibility as grad students is going to strike again. A story out of the Omaha World-Herald reports that graduating Brown basketball center Rafael Maia may end up at Nebraska. (LINK)

•

When That Certain Dartmouth '14 was running for student body president, a former Dartmouth football player did a YouTube video endorsement for her. I suppose she could have enlisted him to help her make a video like this, but to be completely honest, I'm glad she didn't (and I'm thinking when she sees this she'll agree).

•

And finally, a happy first birthday to a special friend who spends most mornings under my desk while – for reasons I don't completely understand – I go about digging this stuff up to keep you informed and occasionally entertained. ;-)

Griffin, who turns 1 today.

Patrick Risha's Story

The New York Times writes about the sad story of onetime Dartmouth running back Patrick Risha '05, who took his own life last fall. From the story (LINK):

Examinations of the brain of Patrick Risha, 32, at the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University revealed chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., the degenerative disease caused by repeated blows to the head that has been found in the brains of dozens of former football players. C.T.E. has been linked to depression, impulsive actions and short-term memory loss, among other symptoms.

Rita's mother, Karen, has started the Patrick Risha CTE Awareness Foundation, which its website describes as . . .

. . . "a Pennsylvania non-profit volunteer based organization. It was created in Patrick’s memory to help prevent CTE in future athletes and provide a resource for understanding the disease, how it is caused, and its relevance in youth sports." 

•

Yale has released a well-done highlight video from last fall's overtime win against Army. The best parts are the pregame pageantry and the end ;-)

Another Familiar Name

When Mike Hodgson was an assistant football coach at Dartmouth a few years back (LINK) his daughter Cassie was a fixture helping out at Big Green practices on those days when her own responsibilities as a star Hanover High School athlete allowed. Cassie even took -- and passed -- the football team's conditioning test one  year, which had to be a bit of a comeuppance for the players who failed it.

Hodgson served as sort of a hybrid trainer's assistant/team manager at Dartmouth before going on to be a scholarship softball player at the University of Maine. She interned as an athletic trainer at the Naval Academy and then earned a master of science in kinesiology and exercise science at the University of Georgia.

Cassie Hodgson is now back in the area as an athletic trainer at Colby-Sawyer College (LINK), where she works under head athletic trainer Scott Roy (LINK), another familiar name to former Dartmouth football players from his time working with the team.

As mentioned in BGA previously, Mike Hodgson co-wrote a book called, Tackling Football: A Woman's Guide to Understanding the College Game several years ago. See a story HERE.

•

Quarterback Scott Hosch passed for a touchdown and ran for a score in Harvard's spring football game yesterday. (LINK) While the graduation of Conner Hempel will give teams looking to dethrone the Ivy League champions hope, keep in mind that Hosch threw for 1,428 yards and eight touchdowns last year as a more-than-capable fill-in for Hempel, and the 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior will be back in the fall.

Find video of Harvard's spring tackle-football scrimmage HERE.

Brown supposedly had its spring game yesterday but if there's info out there I couldn't find it.

•

What I did stumble across while looking was a story about former Brown tailback John Spooney, who is completing his final year of eligibility as a successful sprinter at the University of Michigan, where he is in the School of Kinesiology. (LINK)

•

If you subscribe to BGA Premium and haven't read last night's story out of practice, by all means go do it now. Dartmouth is pioneering some serious new ground not only for the Ivy League, but for all of the FCS and much of the nation.

•

And finally, congrats to That Certain Nittany Lion junior who was the second scorer on the PSU golf club by a stroke in the first round of the Collegiate Club Golf national championships in North Carolina. He's tied for 34th in a field of 300 players from around the country. PSU is 15th of 38 teams heading into today's round.

Saturday Stuff

The central section of the Memorial Field grandstand we've been tracking is now in place. It will be topped off by the press box. Chairback seats will reach from the edge of the press box (the tower is the left side of the box) down to the bottom of the upper portal. (See the drawing below.)

Click to enlarge this picture that gives a sense of the south-to-north progress installing the grandstand.

A reminder of how the grandstand will look. (Click to enlarge.)

•

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has written a powerful piece for the team website under the headline Why Football Matters. (LINK) Here's arguably the best part:

(T)here’s practically no other place where a young man is held to a higher standard.

Football is hard. It’s tough. It demands discipline. It teaches obedience. It builds character.

Football is a metaphor for life.

This game asks a young man to push himself further than he ever thought he could go. It literally challenges his physical courage. It shows him what it means to sacrifice. It teaches him the importance of doing his job well. We learn to put others first, to be part of something bigger than ourselves. And we learn to lift our teammates – and ourselves – up together.

•

A newcomer to our planet wondering exactly what this football thing is might want to watch this 1940s era video explaining the game. It was discovered by a loyal BGA reader:

•

A member of the Columbia football team traces the Ivy League's presence in the NFL draft back to the early days of the draft in his biweekly column. Find the column HERE.

•

The third week of Dartmouth spring football wraps up today. Oops, did I say spring? Much to the relief of Griff the Wonder Pup, who enjoys playing in the snow that is still a good six inches deep on the shady side of our back yard, it was 28 degrees here on the mountain this morning. It should be in the mid-40s during drills on Memorial Field. Check in later for a practice recap on BGA Premium.

So That's How They Do It

How do you practice tackling without tackling? Here's a quick iPod video I shot yesterday showing one of the numerous drills that have helped Dartmouth increase its tackling efficiency on Saturdays without tackling during the week. Defensive coordinator Don Dobes runs the drill:

•

The Columbia Spectator section The Eye has a well-researched and written 5,000-word story that takes a look at the Lion program from the end of Norries Wilson's tenure, through Pete Mangurian's struggles and right up to the arrival of Al Bagnoli. The story is headlined, Dropping the Ball; The Story of How Pete Mangurian Lost the Football Team.

The story includes excerpts from "a 10-page written response" to Spec questions that Mangurian shared with the school paper. It ends this way:

“We didn’t fail,” Mangurian says. “We just didn’t get a chance to finish.”

Find the Spec story HERE.

There's also a Mangurian interview in the Spectator HERE.

•

Did you see the video or a still shot of 2004 Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi holding a woman runner's hand in the air as they finished the Boston Marathon? Turns out the woman was Hilary Dionne '07, one of the top woman marathoners in the country. There's a story about the Dartmouth grad's memorable finish HERE.

Speaking of the Marathon, the event includes a 5K on the weekend before Patriot's Day and the winner for the second year in a row was Ben True '08. True set an American 5K road record of 13:22.

True's win in a field of 10,000 broke the American record set in Carlsbad, Calif., in 1996 and earned the Hanover resident $12,500 for winning and a $5,000 bonus for setting the event record. (LINK)

•

The mystery of the possible mini-portal in the new grandstand at Memorial Field (see yesterday's photo) has been resolved. It's, well, a mini-portal:

Compare with yesterday's photo to see the progress in a day.

They haven't been properly installed yet but the first railings have made an appearance at Memorial Field. They mark an important upgrade in the new facility.

•

And finally, That Certain Nittany Lion junior is in a car on his way to North Carolina (as this is being written) to represent Penn State in the collegiate club golf national championships this weekend. With final exams less than two weeks away he wasn't sure he could spare the time, but how many of us have ever been to nationals in anything? Upwards of 300 players from around the nation are competing. The Penn State team earned an at-large bid with a couple of strong finishes this spring, including a win in a tournament in Canton, Ohio.

Closing In On It

Not sure what the new piece that was placed above the portal at the bottom of the Memorial Field stands Wednesday but progress has been fast enough that I expect to be able to figure it out today.

Dartmouth holds its eighth of 12 spring practices late this afternoon on Memorial Field. Be sure to check out BGA Premium tonight for full coverage.

The Green-White spring game is slated for Saturday, May 2. In addition to Princeton, which played an actual game in Japan against a Japanese all-star team, several Dartmouth opponents have already concluded their spring drills.

•

Check out a recap of the Penn spring game HERE.

A story about the Yale spring game is available HERE.

Week One opponent Central Connecticut has a spring game story HERE.

To read about Sacred Heart's spring game, click HERE.

•

SB Nation's Cincy Jungle has a story labeling Dartmouth alum Reggie Williams as the "No. 7 Bengals draft pick of all-time."

•

Multiple reports have Alex Mitola, the junior point guard for the Dartmouth basketball team who is graduating in three years, heading to George Washington University to use his final year of eligibility. (LINK) Mitola will be reunited with a high school teammate who is transferring in from Seton Hall. (LINK) They will play for former Vermont coach Mike Lonergan. GW was 22-13 and played the NIT this season.

•

And finally, it's that time of year again up here on the shoulder of Moose Mountain. Our road is not nearly as bad as it has been some years but my car is a muddy mess that isn't worth cleaning for a few more weeks. Snapped this just past our house yesterday:

Nice Video (Pun Intended)

Dartmouth football has posted a short practice video with new running back coach Chad Nice "mic'd up."

•

Speaking of videos, Penn football gets kudos from Football Scoop for using clips from a drone in its spring football highlight video in a column headlined, This is what happens when the football team and engineering department team up.

Green Alert Take: The drone thing? That's old hat at Dartmouth, which was doing it a year ago. If you really want to see what happens when a football team and engineering department team up, stay tuned. No, I'm not going to spill the beans here, dummy. Oh wait. Maybe I just did.

•

In a column about 13 FCS games he'd like to see, Craig Haley of The Sports Network pitches a Harvard-New Hampshire matchup.

Green Alert Take: I'd buy a ticket to that one.

•

The Rutgers site On The Banks is using for a 2019 Rutgers-Princeton game to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first college football game, played between the schools on Nov. 6, 1869. 

Green Alert Take: Great idea. Take the "under" on the chances of it happening and bet the house.

•

The MMQB has a very nice look at Joe Linta, the Yale grad who has earned a well-deserved reputation as the agent for the overlooked, including former Dartmouth tight end Casey Cramer and now both Yale's Tyler Varga and a player from Sacred Heart, a program Linta has fallen in love with.  Linta's son, Thomas, was a freshman quarterback at Brown last fall. (LINK)

•

Bleacher Report has a lengthy and dramatic story about Harvard defensive end Zach Hodges under the headline, Left Parentless and Homeless, Harvard Star's Amazing Journey May Lead to the NFL. Said one onlooker at practice yesterday, "That's better than Michael Oher's story (The Blind Side)."

•

The reconstruction of the grandstand at Memorial Field is moving right along. Here's a picture shot yesterday that shows more supports for the grandstand being installed near midfield.

Click photo to enlarge.

Check It Out

Scenes from the first two weeks of spring football practice, courtesy of the Dartmouth football program:

•

Dylan Mellor (right) and teammate Billy Sheehan, a Randolph Macon quarterback commit.

Incoming wide receiver Dylan Mellor was one of five recipients from the greater Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., area to be awarded the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame's National Capital Chapter's Scholar Award. Mellor was the only one of the five headed to the Ivy League.

Here's Mellor's highlight video:

•

Fighting blowing rain and headwinds, former starting quarterback Alex Jenny '10 completed the Boston Marathon  yesterday in 3 hours, 22 minutes and 43 seconds. Jenny somehow managed to train for Boston while also studying full-time for his MBA at Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School. Here he is at the finish, arms raised in celebration:

•

The Daily Princetonian writes about the disparity between male and female head coaches' salaries in the Ivy League and compares recruiting budgets between the genders. There's a chart showing the averages for each Ivy school.

•

From CBS Sports:

SEC commissioner Mike Slive looks frailer after many months fighting prostate cancer. His hair is thinner -- "I saved a heck of a lot of money by not getting any haircuts" -- and he walks more gingerly.

But if there was any doubt how Slive feels heading into his final months as commissioner, he demonstrated that Monday with some of his old feistiness when discussing a longtime rival.

Find the full story with the Dartmouth '62 HERE.

•

From a Hartford Courant story about Cornell basketball standout Shonn Miller graduating and using his last year of eligibility as a grad student at UConn:

If it were possible, Miller said, he would have stayed at Cornell.

"I don't know why that's the rule in the first place," he said. "but I had no control over that situation."

Green Alert Take: The only thing more ridiculous than allowing student-athletes to graduate from one school and then immediately compete as a grad student at another if they haven't used up their eligibility is the Ivy League's refusal to let its athletes finish their careers as grad students at their own schools.

•

The seventh of Dartmouth's 12 spring football practices is scheduled for this afternoon. The weather is pretty miserable right now so your guess is as good as mine as to whether they'll be out there this afternoon. If they are you'll want to check BGA Premium tonight for full coverage.

That Hurts

This is about the one that got away and another who might have gotten away.

The IrishNBCSports site has a STORY headlined Pregame Six Pack: Finishing spring practice strong that takes a look at a handful of intriguing stories out of Notre Dame's spring football drills.

One of the six segments is on Louisianan Jerry Tillery, who had a late flirtation with Dartmouth before graduating early and taking part in Notre Dame's spring practice. From the story:

The early-enrollee freshman has been the talk of spring, working with the first-unit defense and displaying dominant traits that have many believing the 6-foot-6 defensive tackle is a star in the making.

And this . . .

One of Notre Dame’s quirkiest and most interesting freshman—he took an official visit to Dartmouth and participates in recreational triathlons— is also one of the best.

•

The Daily Pennsylvanian has a look at three freshmen who are headed to West Philly. One is a 6-foot, 202-pound football player. From the STORY:

Incoming Engineering freshman Tristan Peyton, a football player from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had always dreamed of being recruited to an Ivy League school. He credited this goal to Dominick Pierre, a running back at Dartmouth and one of his role models, who graduated from his high school four years previously.

•

Dartmouth BASEBALL clinched its eighth consecutive Red Rolfe Division title yesterday, surrendering the tying run in the top half of the last inning of both games of a doubleheader with Brown and then coming back to score the winning run in the bottom of the same frame. The Big Green won by scores of 2-1 and 8-7.

There was less drama on the SOFTBALL field where Dartmouth pulled off a 4-0, 6-0 sweep of Brown that has the Big Green one win away from a third consecutive north division title.

Buzzfeed has Dartmouth No. 4 on its LIST of most beautiful campuses. Lists like this are incredibly silly but we all love to point to them when we like what they say.

For what it's worth, Buzzfeed has Colorado's Boulder campus listed at No. 2, and when we toured the campus last summer we all commented on how beautiful it was. It's hard to believe Buzzfeed could have found a worse picture that the one it used of a gorgeous campus. This picture would have been a much better representation of the school.

•

Dartmouth football practice resumes with practices Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It could be a tough week weatherwise:

Hot Stuff

With the first pitch coming not long before spring football practice ended, there were plenty of football players on hand yesterday to watch the Dartmouth baseball team sweep Brown Saturday and stay in the driver's seat for an eighth consecutive Red Rolfe Division championship.

Not all the football players rooting on the Big Green were in the stands. Make that, not all the ex-football players were in the stands.

From the notes at the end of a STORY about the Dartmouth sweep that appears in today's local daily:

Watching and cheering from a third-story rooftop across Park Street were Dartmouth seniors and former football players Kirby Schoenthaler, Will Guinee, Patrick Hand and Rob Lauzen. The quartet at one point had a grill cooking alongside them, but were instructed to remove the device by members of the Hanover Fire Department. “Bad timing,” Schoenthaler lamented. “The cheeseburgers were just about done.”

For the record, Dartmouth is 10-4 in the Ivy League race while Harvard is 7-7. Both teams have doubleheaders today before they face off against each other in home-and-home twinbills next week. The Big Green's magic number is four.

Across the road, by the way, the Dartmouth softball team saw its 11-game winning streak snapped in a split with Brown but still sits comfortably atop the north division race with a 12-2 record. Harvard is next at 10-4 with both teams playing doubleheaders today ,and the rivals facing off in a pair of twinbills next weekend.

•

Speaking of Harvard, the Charlotte Observer has a lengthy look at Harvard's Zach Hodges, who had to overcome a lot of hurdles before landing in Cambridge and, he hopes, in the NFL. The defensive end projected as an outside linebacker might be a late-round draft pick.

•

A few pics from a beautiful Saturday morning, starting with a couple of stadium shots. . .

Defensive back Colin Boit and tight end Stephen Johnston battle for the ball.

KJ Booze gets his feet down on a sideline catch.

Dan Gorman watches the ball into his hands as receivers coach Jerry Taylor looks on.

Latest Stadium Pics

Some stairs to the new grandstand have been installed at Memorial Field.

View through main arch 

Another look through the main archway

Back of one set of restrooms with the ground surface built up to allow the crane to move back and forth

The door to the press box stairwell

Ramp to the south end of the stands 

Interior of the north wall

Exterior of the north wall

•

Late in the week I said to someone that I'd like to put a mic on assistant coach Sammy McCorkle sometime. Little did I know the plan was already in the works. This is a nice look at how a very good coach interacts with his players:

•

And finally, could Brown end up playing home games along with the University of Rhode Island  in a to-be-constructed minor league baseball park in downtown Providence? The PawSox president and principal owner hopes so. Check out a Providence Journal STORY.

Here And There, But Mostly There

It's an off day for the Dartmouth football team, which hits the halfway point of spring practice with tomorrow morning's session on Memorial Field.

While the Big Green is catching its breath there's news elsewhere around the Ivies and the FCS . . .

•

In an interesting twist, The Sports Network offers its thoughts on how the NFL draft would go if there were no FBS players involved. TSN has Ivy players going to Cleveland, Carolina and New England and someone else Dartmouth faced going to New Orleans in the first round of its mythical draft. Curious? Check the story out HERE.

•

How in the world did retired Penn coach Al Bagnoli end up at Columbia?  The Spectator digs into the story HERE.

•

Another reason to be proud of Ivy League athletes:

Yale athletics yesterday enlisted a whopping 761 potential bone marrow donors for the national Be the Match initiative (LINK). The "Be the Match" goal is to build the donor registry and raise awareness about bone marrow donations.

The Harvard football team is holding its annual Bone Marrow Drive today. Penn held its drive at the end of March (LINK) and Brown on Tuesday (LINK). New Hampshire is still another school involved in Be the Match. (LINK)

•

The first time I was in the Carrier Dome at Syracuse it wasn't to see a football or basketball game. It was to cover the Dartmouth men's lacrosse game against Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament. The most memorable play in the Big Green's hard-fought loss to the perennial national power was a goal scored by Dartmouth netminder Andrew Goldstein.

Goldstein made headlines as the "most accomplished male team-sport athlete in North America to be openly gay while competing" according to ESPN and now The Sporting News has a touching story about how he has been helping a 12-year-old lacrosse player facing some of the same issues he faced as a young boy. Check the story out HERE.

High Noon

Multi-Sport Field

It will be a while before most Dartmouth game times are announced but thanks to a Georgetown release we know that the Big Green and Hoyas are slated for a NOON Sept. 19 kickoff at Multi-Sport Field, a converted intramural field.

The facility, listed as having 2,400 seats, had a record 3,500 for a game against Brown in 2005.

Georgetown drew 2,502 for last year's game against Harvard and 2,262 for a game against Brown. The Hoyas finished 3-8 last year, defeating Brown, 17-3, and falling to Harvard, 34-3.

Here's the "detailed" seating chart for Multi-Sport Field ;-)

•

A look at all the Ivy League and Dartmouth opponent schedules doesn't turn up any other game times but pencil in Dartmouth's home opener against Sacred Heart as a night game. That will be the first game played in front of the rebuilt home grandstand.

•

KARE television in Minnesota has a STORY about a Kickstarter campaign launched by Connor Cosgrove and his brother Clint, who spent a little time on the Dartmouth football staff. (BIO)  ComfPort is described on its Kickstarter site as, "Clothing With A Cause - Making Cancer Comfortable. Connor Cosgrove was a University of Minnesota football player when he was diagnosed with cancer.

•

The New York Times has a STORY that comments on the difference between Jeff Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, and predecessor Jack Welch. From the story:

In style and temperament, Mr. Immelt and Mr. Welch are remarkable contrasts. Mr. Immelt, a 6-foot-4 former football lineman at Dartmouth, is an informal man whose outward manner is easygoing. Mr. Welch, a 5-foot-7 dynamo, is a coiled spring given to rapid-fire speech.

Immelt '78, played on the offensive line at Dartmouth.

CNN And The Wide Receiver

Can't find 'em all so I appreciate a friend sending along a link to a quick CNN.com story from the series How I got into an Ivy League school featuring incoming wide receiver Dylan Mellor.

Mellor's installment is headlined, Football superstar with a soft spot. Find the story HERE.

The receiver from Woodgrove High School in Purcellville, Va., had 63 receptions for 1,015 yards and 17 touchdowns last fall. He also returned three punts for scores.

Over the course of his career Mellor caught 130 passes for 2,116 yards and 30 touchdowns. He finished with 2,726 all-purpose yards and 33 touchdowns.

Not all his impressive numbers came on the field. The story notes his SATs came in at 2,250 ;-)

•

A few pictures from an interesting day of construction at Memorial Field. The box atop the stands, which I was told will house the stairs down from the press box, popped up like a mushroom yesterday. The elevator to the press box, by the way, will be on the right side of the box.

Click photos to enlarge.

Work has gone on with minimal impact on Crosby Street traffic, but that was not the case yesterday.

•

And a couple of shots from practice yesterday . . .

Head coach Buddy Teevens observes a drill.

You are right on the field with freshman linebacker Ian Hanselman.

Celebration Time

Dartmouth's seniors are recognized. (Click to enlarge.)

Award winners at the annual Dartmouth football banquet Sunday morning at the Hanover Inn:

Earl Hamilton Freshman Award – Presented to the member of the freshman team who has been selected by the coaching staff as the player has made the most outstanding contribution to his team. Tight end Stephen Johnston

Dalyn Williams with quarterback coach Chris Rorke.

Jake Crouthamel Award –  Presented to the member of the varsity offense who was an 

underclassman and who, by the vote of the coaching staff, has made the most significant contribution to the success of the team. Quarterback Dalyn Williams

Kenneth T. Young Award – Presented to the member of the varsity defense who is an underclassman who, by vote of the coaching staff, has made the most significant contribution to the success of the team. Linebacker Will McNamara

Doten Award –  Presented to a member of the sophomore class who has made a significant contribution to the success of the varsity football team. Kicker Alex Gakenheimer

Earl Hamilton Award –  Presented to the senior football player who has displayed a sincere friendliness and sense of humor plus appreciation of the outdoors that were the late Mr. Hamilton's characteristics. Offensive lineman Scotty Whitmore

Offensive Scout Award – Wide receiver Charles Mack

Defensive Scout Award – Defensive back Kyran McKinney-Crudden

Special Teams Award – Safety David Caldwell

Steve Dazzo with strength coach Spencer Brown.

John M. Manley '40 Award – Presented  to the member of the varsity football team who has demonstrated the most improvement through his efforts in the weight room. Safety Steve Dazzo

12th Man Award – Presented to the member of the varsity football team who has demonstrated hard work and dedication regardless of playing time. Quarterback Alex Park

Lester R. Godwin Award – Presented to the senior football squad member who, through extraordinary perseverance, has risen above personal disadvantage to contribute measurably to the team. Through the gift of the late Lester R. Godwin '30, Winchester, Mass. Mr. Godwin was president of the Dartmouth Alumni Association of Eastern Massachusetts and active in class activities. The award is a wristwatch, suitably inscribed. Offensive Lineman Sean Ronan  

The Hewitt Award – Presented to the varsity player who best epitomizes athletic performance with academic achievement. Kicker Riley Lyons   

Gordon P.  Bennett Award – Presented  to the member of the varsity football team who has been selected by the coaching staff as the outstanding offensive or defensive lineman and who exemplified the high degree of performance, sportsmanship and character exhibited by Gordon P.  Bennett '37. Defensive lineman AJ Zuttah  

Frank Hershey Award – Presented  to the senior football player who possesses a genuine zest for life, has maintained a strong, positive attitude and has displayed a sincere desire to win, which were the qualities of the late Coach Hershey. Defensive lineman Jeff Winthrop

The Coach Bob Blackman Trophy – Presented  to the member of the varsity football team selected by the football coaching staff who has contributed most to the success of the team. Wide receiver Ryan McManus  

Stubby Pearson Award – Established  in 2007 and presented to an underclassmen on the football team whose character, leadership on campus, high academic standing and performance on the playing field most resembles that of Charles (Stubby)  Pearson '42, captain of the 1941 football team who died while serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He also was captain of basketball and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and valedictorian of his class. Gift of David Little '44 and Peter Little '81. Offensive lineman Jacob Flores   

Manners Makyth Man Award – Presented to the member of the varsity football team who, in the judgment of his teammates, has best conducted himself to the advantage of the college and displayed good manners in the sense of William Wickham's phrase, "Manners Makyth Man.” Wide receiver Charlie Storey

Reggie Williams Award – Presented to the member of the Dartmouth football program who through leadership in action and word has made Dartmouth a better place. Wide receiver Jordan Aré

•

The fourth of 12 spring practices and the first with pads is on tap for late this afternoon. Visit BGA Premium tonight for full coverage.

Naming Names

The website nfldraftscout sounds pretty official but when it comes to providing solid information on pro prospects you'll have to make the call on what the site from The Sports Xchange gets right and what it gets wrong.

Nfldraftscout lists 20 Ivy League seniors as deserving a look by the pros, including two from Dartmouth: defensive lineman Evan Chrustic (LINK) and wide receiver Ryan McManus (LINK). 

McManus, of course, will be back for a fifth year next fall and is practicing with the Big Green this spring.

Other's in the nfldraftscout database:

• Brown: LS Courtland Clavette, ILB Xavier Russo
• Columbia: QB Brett Nottingham
• Cornell: SS Rush Imhotep
• Harvard: C Nick Easton, OLB Zach Hodges, QB Conner Hempel, CB Norman Hayes, WR Ricky Zorn
• Penn: OLB Daniel Davis, TE Mitch King, WR Spencer Kulcsar
• Princeton: QB Quinn Epperly, ILB Mike Zeuli, WR Matt Costello
• Yale: FB Tyler Varga, WR Grant Wallace, SS Charles Cook

Among last fall's non-conference opponents, New Hampshire has 11 players listed, Central Connecticut four and Holy Cross one.

In addition to Central Connecticut, Dartmouth will be playing Sacred Heart and Georgetown out of conference this fall. There are nine graduating seniors listed from Sacred Heart and two from Georgetown by nfldraftscout.

•

The folks at nfldraftscout may be on to something with one player. A headline in the Providence Journal: NFL's top prospect at long snapper is Brown's Courtland Clavette. (LINK)

•

A player who might have ended up on the nfldraftscout list from the Ivy in a few years is Bryant Shirreffs, except for one thing. The transfer quarterback from North Carolina State is the frontrunner to start at UConn next fall instead of playing in the Ancient Eight.

Apparently he flirted with a couple of Ivies, including one that wears green. From the Hartford Courant (LINK):

Shirreffs is a bright guy. He thought long and hard about going to the Ivy League before deciding on N.C. State out of high school in Georgia. He seriously considered Yale, which he visited, and Dartmouth. He thought about the Ivy League again when he decided to transfer.

•

Dartmouth spring practice No. 3 is slated for this afternoon. Check BGA Premium tonight for full coverage.

•

Kudos to That Certain Nittany Lion junior, who earned all-tournament recognition yesterday while helping the Penn State competition golf club to a one-stroke victory over archival Pitt in an Atlantic Region golf tournament in Canton, Ohio. With the win the Nittany Lions earned an at-large bid to the national championships in North Carolina in two weeks.

•

Speaking of golf, Masters champion Jordan Spieth has a couple of Ivy League connections. His brother, Steven, is a 6-foot-6 guard at Brown (link) and is agent is former Dartmouth basketball player and golfer Jay Danzi '98. (LINK) Danzi is quoted talking about Spieth's marketability at the end of a Bloomberg story on yesterday's dominating win. (LINK)

Oh What A Beautiful Morning . . .

Click photo to enlarge

When I headed out with Griff the Wonder Pup this morning an absolutely beautiful view greeted us at the end of our driveway here on the shoulder of Moose Mountain eight miles from campus.

The ski areas you can see in the pic are Killington and Pico. On occasional mornings we can pick out the trails on Okemo Mountain, and this was one of those mornings. Better yet, today was the rare day when not only could we see Okemo, but Stratton Mountain was clearly visible as well. Add in the defunct Mount Ascutney and there were five ski areas visible with the naked eye today.

Old timers say there was a time when you could actually see the Adirondacks on a good day.

•

If you missed it last night, be sure to check BGA Premium for a look at yesterday's Big Green football practice. The team banquet is being held today and while I will miss it with a previous commitment, I'll try to get the award winners for later today or tomorrow.

The third practice of the spring is set for tomorrow with additional sessions on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday bringing spring football practice to the halfway point.

A New Name

With acceptances having gone out names of a few players thinking about walking on to Ivy League teams start to pop up. A story in the Cibola Beacon newspaper in New Mexico notes that 5-foot-10, 180-pound quarterback/kicker Ryan Ankie of Laguna-Acoma High School hopes to play football at Dartmouth.

A talented basketball player, Arkie was chosen as the MVP for New Mexico in the 34th annual Arizona vs. New Mexico Classic games in Gallup, N.M., and Window Rock, Ariz. A basketball story in the Beacon wrote that, starting back when he was a freshman, Arkie . . .

". . . had to play in the shadow of Anthony Carpio, Austin Jones, Josh Paytiamo and CJ Salvador, new age Hawks’ hoops royalty.

Even then, it was clear he was in a league of his own, as he had a little bit of everything – a quick-release three ball, vicious crossover dribble and devastating spin move in the paint for example – but refused to talk about his accomplishments during interviews.

Always even-keeled, Arkie barely whispered when telling the media he would be attending Dartmouth University (yes, that Dartmouth) to play football, but that quiet voice fell right in line with the demeanor that many have come to know.

“I don’t know about playing basketball there,” Arkie said, “maybe I’ll try to walk on or something.”

Something tells me that Big Green coach Paul Cormier will find a place for him."

Arkie passed for 728 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions last year and ran for 799 yards (13.1-yard per carry) with nine touchdowns according to MaxPreps. Hudl has a couple of very brief clips from games at Laguna-Acoma, which serves the Pueblo of Acoma.

•

Dartmouth-bound running back Rashaad Cooper of Tracy, Calif., has been selected to play in the 42nd Lions All-Star Football Classic in June according to a story in the Tracy Press.

•

A scheduling blurb about Georgetown (LINK) notes that, "the Hoyas' 1-5 league record included a three-point loss at 2013 champ Lafayette, a five-point loss against 2014 runner-up Bucknell and an eight-point loss versus perennial power Lehigh."

Dartmouth opens at Georgetown on Sept. 19.

•

The Charlotte Observer has a brief about former Dartmouth assistant Jarrail Jackson joining the Davidson program as quarterback coach.

•

Spring practice No. 2 is on tap this morning. Actually, it's No. 3 that is on tap but it will be just the second of the spring thanks to this week's snow. Check BGA Premium tonight for a recap.

Audible Redux

Another day, another practice postponed because of miserable weather.

With rain in the forecast, the mercury slow to recover and a freedom to rearrange the schedule that is not available in the fall, the decision has been made to call off Friday's session. That being the case, the second practice of spring will be held Saturday morning.

Check BGA Premium tomorrow for full coverage.

Making His Mark

Former tight end Damon Jones '95, now the head football coach at Riverdale HS in Fort Myers, Fla., is intent on improving the academic performance of his players. From a story in the News-Press about that effort:

“When I hear kids say, ‘I don’t have enough time, I need to work,’ I know. I did it,” Jones said. “And I understand and appreciate what athletics leveraged into me educationally. Do I get into an Ivy league school without the football support? I’m on the fence. I’m proud to admit it.

“But the skill set that athletics taught me helped me in the classroom, and it helped leverage me into a better education and a better life.”

•

The Internet is an amazing thing. Curious about Dartmouth football more than 100 years ago? CLICK HERE and you can access a scan of the book Three years of football at Dartmouth : being the story of the seasons of '01, '02 and '03 archived in the University of California San Diego library. The book was written by Louis Paul Bénézet.

•

Thursday's second football practice of the spring was rescheduled to this afternoon. It's 31 degrees with ice pellets coming down right now here on the mountain but is projected to be in the mid-to-upper 60s down in the valley by 3 p.m. We'll see ;-)

Audible

Dartmouth's second football practice of the spring originally scheduled for this afternoon (Thursday) has been postponed until Friday because of weather. BGA Premium will resume practice coverage Friday.

Snow Way

The second of Dartmouth's 12 spring football practices is slated for this afternoon, but time will tell.

Up here on the shoulder of Moose Mountain we got about 4-5 inches of snow last night and for about 10 seconds just now there was an avalanche thundering off the metal roof out my window. Impressive.

•

News that a once-homeless Baylor running back has been rule ineligible for accepting improper benefits caught my eye not just because of the headlines but because of the player's name – Silas Nacitas. That struck a bell and a little Googling confirmed what I thought. Nacitas began his collegiate career at Cornell, where he ran for 99 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman in 2012. Find his Cornell bio HERE.

After leaving Ithaca, Nacitas eventually ended up walking on at Baylor where the story of a homeless football player caught the attention of many, including Sports Illustrated (LINK). Nacitas was an Academic All-Big 12 selection last fall as a junior majoring in health, human performance & recreation.

SI wrote about his eligibility concerns HERE and finally about his being ruled permanently ineligible by the school HERE.

•

Dartmouth opens its home season Sept 26 against Sacred Heart, which will be bidding to be just the second school to win three consecutive Northeast Conference championships. Whether the Pioneers can pull that off is anybody's guess at this point, but it's a pretty safe bet they will have a winning record coming into Hanover.

Sacred Heart has announced its 2015 schedule (LINK) and prior to Dartmouth it will play Division II St. Anselm, Valparaiso (which posted two of its four wins last year against non-Division I opponents) and Marist (which was 4-7 with one of the wins over Valpo, and another over sad-sack Davidson).

Quite A Sight

The players had less trouble concentrating on the field Tuesday than onlookers who were intrigued by the delicate work of a crane operator.

The stands are taking shape.

•

Former Dartmouth and NFL quarterback Jeff Kemp '81 has written a book entitled Facing the Blitz: Three Strategies for Turning Trials into Triumphs.

Endorsements for the book on its Amazon page include this from Tony Dungy:

"This book will make a difference in your life. You'll want to read, digest, and reread it. I hope you share it with friends to help them through their own difficulties and to strengthen their important teams, from family to business to sports."

And this from William Bennett, former U.S. Secretary of Education:

"Former NFL quarterback Jeff Kemp knows well that blitzes can knock you flat on your back--but if you're prepared, you can beat the blitz for a huge play. In Facing the Blitz, Kemp transforms this on-field knowledge into real-life wisdom, teaching you how to beat the blitzes in your life and turn them into victories."

Dawn Bennett, host of the radio show Financial Myth Busting, did a Q&A with Kemp (LINK) with a debatable assertion by Bennett eliciting a funny response from Kemp:

BENNETT: Jeff, you graduated from Dartmouth, which is more of a hockey school than a football school. How did you wind up in the NFL?

KEMP: That's funny. I did an interview with one of the Wall Street banks when I was at Dartmouth my senior year and they were telling me about the commitment it takes to succeed on Wall Street, the hundred hour week and stuff. They asked, 'Mr. Kemp are you absolutely dedicated to this, is this the number one thing you'd like to do more than anything else?' I said, 'Oh, that'd be great, but actually I'd rather play pro football.' And they said, 'thank you very much, that'll end the interview.'

•

A surprising development on the Dartmouth athletic scene yesterday as junior basketball captain and leading scorer Alex Mitola revealed that he will graduate in three years and use his final season of eligibility elsewhere. Find an Asbury Park Press story HERE.

. . . Go

Click to enlarge

A loyal reader who received a mailing about Dartmouth football season tickets shared this graphic showing the seating arrangement in the new home stands (bottom of graphic). The dark green seats in front of the press box are the new chairback seats.

•

The Big Green's spring practice begins today. The 12 sessions allowed by the Ivy League are slated to run Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday for the next four weeks, although history suggests the schedule could be tweaked because of the weather.

The Tuesday-Thursday schedule has special teams going at 3:45, positional drills at 4:15 and the full team practice starting at 4:45.

On Saturdays the first players should be on the field at 8:30 with the full practice starting at 9:45.

•

The Maine Edge has a story about five top high school student-athletes receiving $5,000 scholarships, with one of them being Dartmouth-bound tight end Kevin Barrett of Thornton Academy. From the writeup (LINK):

The starting tight end and linebacker on two Class A state championship teams was named to the SMAA All-Conference Team, was a semifinalist for the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy and was a member of Maine Sunday Telegram's all-state team. In basketball, he led the Golden Trojans to three consecutive postseason appearances. The versatile inside and perimeter scorer was named an SMAA all-conference performer as a junior. As a senior, he led Thornton Academy in scoring, was a first team all-star and was selected to the league's all-academic team.

•

An East Hampton (NY) Star story on "A Century of Sport" in the town includes a brief mention of football and wrestling coach Gary Golden, who would join Bob Blackman's staff at Dartmouth and go with him to Illinois. A former player recalled that Golden was . . .

"old school . . . you were never to walk, never to take off your helmet, never to drink water during practice, and never to question his directions. However, whatever you thought of his methods, all he did was win!"

•

Wyoming has not been a Dartmouth or Ivy League feeder state but the Big Green apparently likes a running back from Jackson. The Casper Star-Tribune writes that junior Theo Dawson . . .

. . . a junior running back / linebacker at Jackson, was offered a scholarship by Wyoming last week. The Cowboys join Air Force, Montana State and Dartmouth as Dawson's current offers, all of which have come since the end of his junior season.

According to the story, over spring break . . .

. . . Dawson went on a week-long roadtrip that took him to five different states. He visited Montana State last Saturday then flew to New Hampshire and toured Dartmouth on Monday, receiving offers from both programs.

•

Congratulations to Dartmouth defensive back Josh Winslow, whose brother Justise helped Duke with the NCAA basketball championship last night.

The game gives Winslow bragging rights over former teammate Mike Runger, who was a basketball teammate and friend of Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky when the pair attended Benet Academy in Lisle, Ill.

•

A reminder that BGA Premium kicks back into gear tonight with full coverage of spring football. If you can't remember your password, click here to have it sent to you.