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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.
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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)
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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.
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The Daily Pennsylvanian has an article assessing the state of athletics at Penn. (LINK)
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Columbia has ratcheted up its football profile since Al Bagnoli came aboard and this video is another example:
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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.
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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.