He won't be the best-known pro athlete to come out of Akron's St. Vincent–St. Mary High School – that distinction belongs to a guy named Lebron something-or-other – but Dartmouth's Niko Lalos is still in the headlines of the Beacon Journal after signing with the New York Giants. Find the story HERE.
Lalos told the newspaper:
“The Giants see me outside on the edge. I talked to the defensive line coach (Sean Spencer), the outside linebacker coach (Bret Bielema) and the defensive coordinator (Patrick Graham) for the Giants, and they really liked my versatility.”Something else from the story that's kind of fun. Have you ever wondered about free agents signing right after the draft and what the process is like? This is from the story:
Lalos agreed to terms with the Giants after the draft and then received paperwork electronically.
“The Giants emailed me the contract and a FedEx label, and then I printed out the contract, signed everything and then printed out the label and (took) everything to the FedEx over in Montrose,” Lalos said.
The contract was mailed to the Giants, who named Joe Judge as their coach in January.
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While Lalos was finalizing details with the Giants, former Dartmouth teammate Isiah Swann was doing the same with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here's the text accompanying the story:
CB Isiah Swann 5-11 188 Dartmouth; Queen Creek, Ariz.Best linebacker in Bengals history is Dartmouth's Reggie Williams … Now Bengals, run by a former Dartmouth quarterback in club president Mike Brown, get best cornerback in Dartmouth history … Played big and physical while coming up with 17 career interceptions …. Named to Associated Press FCS All-America First Team in 2018 with nine interceptions … Four more last season earned Associated Press FCS All-America Second Team … Ended his career with end-zone pick at Brown to give Big Green share of Ivy League title.
Editor's Note: If there's a disconnect between the headline Bengals Bulk Up and the picture directly underneath it, blame me. As is the case frequently with screenshots from newspapers, I used a graphics program to move around the elements a little bit so as to make the presentation more appropriate for this page. In the case of the screengrab of the Akron Beacon Journal at the top of this page, all I did was eliminate some of the "white space" on the website.
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ESPN has a story under the headline LSU lands Harvard OL Liam Shanahan as grad transfer. (LINK)
Green Alert Take: True, Shanahan could not have returned to Harvard football as a grad student. But like standout receiver/return specialist Justice Shelton-Mosley and quarterback Tom Stewart before him, he may well have been able to take the spring off and return next fall as a fifth-year senior, something a good many Harvard players have done it the past. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a trend for Ivy Leaguers or if, as has been the case at Dartmouth in recent years, players elect to "stay home" instead of grad transfer for their final year of eligibility.
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The Detroit Free Press has a story under the headline, Why is Michigan football hell-bent on recruiting Massachusetts? (LINK)
I knew why as soon as I read the headline and the story takes a little longer to get to the point than it probably should have. From the story:
(Don) Brown, Michigan’s defensive coordinator, is a native of the state and his career took him through New England; he spent time at Yale, Dartmouth, Plymouth State, Northeastern, UMass, UConn and, most recently, Boston College.
His ties to the area are revealed when he opens his mouth: The R’s sort of vanish, accompanied by a vaguely nasal accent. Upon coming to Ann Arbor in 2016, Brown made his presence felt by instituting a pressure defense and redirecting Michigan’s talent search toward his native region.
His influence was immediate: Michigan’s 2017 class had three players from Connecticut and one from Rhode Island. “The increase started when Don Brown got there,” (247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian) Dohn said. “You can look at it and this is why it changed."
Brown, of course, got his start as a college coach at Dartmouth after giving up a high school coaching position at Hartford High School in nearby White River Junction, Vt.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education surveyed news out of a selection of colleges and universities to get a sense of what the chances are that in-person classes will be held this fall. Dartmouth and all of the Ivies except Princeton are included. Here's what they and a sampling of other schools have said:
Brown University — leaning toward in-person classes
Cornell University — no decision expected until June
Dartmouth College — “The probability of a full residential, business-as-usual fall term is not very high,” the provost says.
Harvard University — "Harvard will be open," the provost wrote. But "we will need to prepare for a scenario in which much or all learning will be conducted remotely."
University of Pennsylvania — “planning for a likely combination of in-class and virtual teaching.”
Yale University — decision expected by early July
Boston University — leaning toward in-person classes
University of Maryland system — planning to start in-person, but some larger classes may be online
University of Michigan — hoping to hold classes in-person
University of New Haven — intends to bring students back to campus in August, but is also “exploring academic contingencies for a variety of scenarios”
Stanford University — expects to make a decision in May, but might delay fall quarter till winter
Williams College — plans to announce by July 1
Find a full list of schools and where they stand, check out the Chronicle page HERE.
The story in The Dartmouth from which Chronicles drew Provost Joseph Helble's comment can be found HERE under the headline, College, students prepare for remote summer term, fall plans remain uncertain.
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EXTRA POINT
Working at home if I get a news alert on the computer I will occasionally head down the stairs and turn on CNN to learn a little more. In the interest of full disclosure, I've also been known to put the laptop to sleep a few minutes before noon to eat my lunch during the Showcase Showdown at the end of The Price Is Right. Sue me ;-)
Here's my question: How can anyone bear to watch daytime television given the nature of the commercials? About the only ads not trying to convince you to take their drugs for whatever life-threatening condition you have are those that want to help you "take care of your final expenses."
The commercials are almost more depressing than the headlines.
