The New York Post has a story about the role COVID-19 and a shot at making the New York Giants played in bringing former Dartmouth defensive end Niko Lalos and his father closer. The story also provides insight to the special relationship Lalos has had with Duane Brooks, his defensive line coach for the Big Green. (LINK)
•
Seasons canceled, postponed or limited notwithstanding, Stats Perform (nee Sports Network) conducted its preseason poll as usual and this is how the first vote came out:
|
Rank
|
School
|
Votes
|
|
1
|
North Dakota State
|
3675
|
|
2
|
James Madison
|
3411
|
|
3
|
UNI
|
3269
|
|
4
|
Weber State
|
3198
|
|
5
|
South Dakota State
|
2911
|
|
6
|
Montana State
|
2884
|
|
7
|
Montana
|
2753
|
|
8
|
Villanova
|
2499
|
|
9
|
Illinois State
|
2471
|
|
10
|
Kennesaw State
|
2178
|
|
11
|
Central Arkansas
|
2093
|
|
12
|
Sacramento State
|
2085
|
|
13
|
Austin Peay
|
2030
|
|
14
|
Nicholls
|
1392
|
|
15
|
Furman
|
1239
|
|
16
|
Wofford
|
1089
|
|
17
|
Albany
|
825
|
|
18
|
Eastern Washington
|
817
|
|
19
|
North Carolina A&T
|
809
|
|
20
|
New Hampshire
|
759
|
|
21
|
Southeastern Louisiana
|
652
|
|
22
|
Sam Houston State
|
597
|
|
23
|
Monmouth
|
577
|
|
24
|
Southern Illinois
|
568
|
|
25
|
Southeast Missouri State
|
499
|
|
Others Receiving Votes
|
Jacksonville State (357), Florida A&M (301), Citadel (283), Central Connecticut State (200), Towson (199), DARTMOUTH (195), YALE (193), Delaware (193), PRINCETON (143), San Diego (104), North Dakota (66), South Carolina State (25), Alcorn State (22), Houston Baptist (19), Richmond (18), Chattanooga (16, Holy Cross (15), Elon (15), UIW
(15), UT Martin (14), Youngstown State (12), Portland State(12), McNeese (10), UC Davis (9), Maine (7), Duquesne (5), Charleston Southern (4), Eastern Kentucky (2)
|
|
•
Mink, the famous Hanover homing-bear who made headlines around the world, has died, perhaps the result of being hit by a car. The local Valley News has the story
HERE.
In the spring of 2019 NPR had a story and a map showing her route back to the Upper Valley after being relocated near the Canadian border. She walked literally thousands of miles to find her way home. (
LINK)
•
EXTRA POINT
We caved.
Sort of.
Regular visitors to this electronic precinct know I don't have a cell phone, haven't needed one and don't want one. If I have to make a phone call away from home I find a WiFi hotspot and use Skype with my iPod Touch. (To give you an idea about how often that happens, my $10 Skype credit has lasted more than five years.)
While I won't dispute that I've greatly appreciated not having a cell bill, my main motivation has always been simply the freedom that comes from being unplugged (although I suppose by definition cell phones are unplugged ;-) Couldn't I just turn the phone off? I've had a lot of people ask me that over the years. Sure, but who ever does that?
In the interest of full disclosure, Mrs. BGA has had a prepaid phone (AKA a "burner" in mystery novels) for calling Triple-A for a tow or perhaps phoning for a pizza on the way home, but that was pretty much it. For the most part it was never turned on, sometimes lost for days at a time, and if anyone ever left a message on it, good luck. For the longest time we didn't have any idea even how to listen to messages.
Unfortunately the world is conspiring against those of us who are holdouts. When we bought tickets online to a Penn State football game last year we had to bring a full-sized iPad with us so they could scan our ticket at the gate. (My iPod was too old to download the tickets.) When Mrs. BGA is at conferences realtime feedback to the programming requires a cell phone. When I've had to activate software for BGA I've had a ridiculous run-around because they need to send a code to the phone I don't have. Same with some online banking type things. With the trip we are taking in our 36-year-old VW bus there were several travel apps I wanted to upload to my iPod Touch. Sorry, they require an operating system that the iPod can't handle.
When you add it all up we didn't have much choice. And so, with our trip looming, Mrs. BGA is now the reluctant owner of the most inexpensive iPhone available with the slimmest "plan" they offered her.
If/when the old VW breaks down miles from anywhere I'm sure we'll be glad we have the phone. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
