Spring Ahead

Spring practice begins tomorrow afternoon. The forecast is for sun and 61 degrees. Thursday is supposed to be almost identical while the five-day shows Saturday as "showers and 48 degrees."

There will be same-night coverage on Big Green Alert premium following every practice except the April 22 and 24 practices when Family BGA will be making our annual trek to State College for the Penn State Blue-White game (and also revisiting a contender as The Great College Decision of 2010 winds down). If I can corral a correspondent to pull together a few observations on the two days in question, I'll post those on the site. Otherwise, I'll catch you up on everything you missed when I get back.

• Tuesday, April 13
• Thursday, April 15
• Saturday, April 17
• Tuesday, April 20
• Thursday, April 22
• Saturday, April 24
• Tuesday, April 27
• Thursday, April 29
• Saturday, May 1 (Spring game)
• Tuesday, May 4
• Thursday, May 6
• Saturday, May 8

Kudos to the Daily Dartmouth for anticipating the start of spring football with a Q&A featuring defensive lineman Eddie Smith and tailback Nick Schwieger with contributions from defensive end Matt Oh. From the Q&A:

Why is it a different story for this season?

(Schwieger): Basically we’re experienced. We’ve gotten a lot bigger, both individually and as a team. We’ve got a lot of people vying for that quarterback spot. And it’s no longer just freshmen and sophomores. We have juniors out there with two years of experience under their belts. To be honest, we have some ballers out there on the field, some really athletic kids that are going to make a lot of plays. It’s time to rise up.

The Salem News in Massachusetts has a look at the All-Decade baseball team from its coverage area and it includes a former Dartmouth two-sport athlete. From the story:

Jason Blydell, Swampscott: Perhaps the most gifted athlete on our list, Blydell had the range to run down nearly anything in the outfield and the skills to make breathtaking snares that turned extra-base hits into outs. Blydell hit .330 his senior year and helped the Big Blue win Division 3 North baseball crowns in both 2002 and 2003.

Blydell, a 2004 grad who also holds the Swampscott single season record for touchdown receptions (17), played both football and baseball at Dartmouth College. He is now serving his country as an officer in the United States Marines Corps.

Memories are pouring into the Penn website about the legendary Dan Staffieri – "Coach Lake" – who died last week. One of them is by Dan Liebsch '98. Dan wrote:

In the early 1990s I played football for the Little Quakers, and Coach Lake psyched us up before one of our home games at Franklin Field. I went on to play for Dartmouth, and after we played Penn in 1997 I went over to him on the field. Before I could introduce myself he said, "Northeast Philadelphia. Germantown Academy. Little Quakers. How are you, Dan?" Could not believe it. I was always jealous that Penn had him as part of their program. An icon that will be missed.

Another from Buddy Teevens:

As a competitor through the years, I admired Lake's love of his teams, loyalty to his players, and enthusiasm for the game. We'll miss seeing him from across the way.

Spotted at yesterday's baseball game: Middlebury hoops coach Jeff Brown, who acknowledged that he would be doing an on-campus interview today for the vacant Dartmouth head coaching position.

And finally, the spring sports season starts in Hanover today for those two Certain Hanover High student-athletes. To his credit, the soph said his sister is in her final season and he encouraged us when there is a conflict to catch her games so I'll be in nearby Lebanon this afternoon if I can get a freelance assignment done in time.