A&I

There haven't been as many laughs as usual these past few weeks (apart from Frasier bits like THIS), but this cracked me up. I laughed so loud that Griff the Wonder Dog almost hit his head popping out from under my desk to find out what the deal was.

Understand, I've thought for several years that Jared Gerbino was a legitimate NFL prospect as an H-back or tight end and still do, so that's not the funny part.

It's the headline:

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens say "adjust and improvise," or "A&I." Clearly the concept got through.

From the story:

Luckily for Gerbino, he’d come from a Dartmouth football program that frequently embraced a three-word message from Teevens: “Adjust and improvise.” It meant that when Gerbino’s planned process was getting shut down, he and those around him felt comfortable taking a step back and formulating a new strategy. . .

Check out the full story about former Big Green quarterback Jared Gerbino chasing his NFL dream HERE.

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Headline in The Dartmouth: Student athletes grapple with loss of spring season. (LINK)

There's also a story in The D about how Hanover businesses and residents are coping. (LINK)

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Ivy League seniors who missed their final spring seasons will not be allowed to return next year. Wait. Ivy League seniors who missed their final spring seasons may be allowed to return next year.

Who's right? Depends on who you ask. This is from d1.ticker:

I’m a bit confused with the Ivy League's spring sport seniors decisions. Soon after The Athletic's O'Neil reported there will be no flexibility, Yale AD Chun tweeted, "The information from @danaoneilwriter regarding @ivyleague 5th year student-athletes is inaccurate. We are still exploring options for undergraduate eligibility." O'Neil then responded, "Since I’m playing semantics with Ivy League, here’s the upshot: seniors who graduate cannot receive extra year of eligibility. You can, as Michael Sowers did, withdrawal and repeat senior year. It’s not the same as other D1 athletes per NCAA recent legislation." Further, Penn AD Calhoun says in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Penn was in the camp in believing that in times like this, having local decision-making and some more local flexibility to help with these issues for our student-athletes — that was our thinking. We had hoped that that mindset would prevail. [...] As good members of the league, we accept the decision." Guessing we'll get some clarification in the near future.

Green Alert Take: Clarification in the near future? Granted, everything changes, almost by the hour, but let's hope there's at least some kind of official statement out of the Ivy League soon. Even if it just says that no decisions have been made and they are trying to put a policy in place ASAP. All I've seen so far is THIS from March 19 and, frankly, the world has changed since then.

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Regarding college football in 2020, this comes from the York Daily Record:

(Penn State AD Sandy Barbour) said a 60-day on-campus preparation period seemed the mostly likely length for football players and staff before a season could begin. With the first game scheduled for Sept. 5 in Beaver Stadium, that would mean students would have to be allowed to return to Penn State by early July for a season to be played on time and uninterrupted.

And:

Possibilities include starting the football season in October (eliminating non-conference games)

And:

Barbour would not rule out pushing back the start of games, even to the beginning of 2021. 

Meanwhile, Pitt AD Heather Lyke Tweeted about the possibility of playing football in front of fans this season:

"If we’re playing the game, we’ll be playing it in front of fans. If there is a concern about human contact, we wouldn’t be playing the game."

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EXTRA POINT
When I began the first of two cross-country bicycle rides I was a naïve 20-something from the Northeast who thought he was bulletproof. Running out of water in the desert just a couple of days after setting off from the West Coast was a frightening eye opener that got me thinking otherwise. I can still remember the incredible relief I felt coming over a rise and seeing the emerald green lawns of a small town in the distance. As I pedaled against the wind for hours each day through vast expanses of the Great Plains I gradually came to appreciate what was really important. Water. Something to eat. A safe and quiet place to lay my head at night. Companionship. The occasional collect call home from a pay phone. (Look it up, kids.)

I find myself thinking the same kind of thoughts these days when I turn on the TV and see commercials for anti-aging skincare products, tactical flashlights, smart speakers, pillows, pimple cream, officially licensed sportswear and all manner of waterproof cell phones with the latest and greatest cameras. I can only shake my head.

All that matters is our families, our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, our classmates and those who are helping us get through this. All that other stuff? It's just stuff. If we didn't know before we should be starting to understand, like that bulletproof 20-something all those years ago, there isn't anything that matters beyond what really matters.