The Richmond Times-Dispatch's 804 Varsity page writes about Collegiate School linebacker John Ballowe's commitment to Dartmouth. From the story (LINK):
(Collegiate coach Mark) Palyo said Ballowe only considered “high academic institutions” such as Dartmouth, and that the school’s academic profile was its main draw. The Big Green’s reputation for stout defense didn’t hurt either. Dartmouth in 2019 finished 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Ivy League, tied with Yale atop the conference.
Ballowe is a four-year starter for Collegiate.
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If live football from Between the Hedges or Death Valley doesn't do it for you this weekend you can stream the 2015 Dartmouth-Penn game from Philly tomorrow at 1:30 HERE. You might not enjoy it as much, but the Big Green's 2016 game at Yale will be streamed today at noon HERE.
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The Dartmouth has a Q&A with 1966 graduate Chuck Sherman, a huge advocate of choosing a moose to replace a color as the college's mascot. Sherman told the school paper (LINK):
I think it's lame to cheer for a wavelength of light. To cheer for PMS 349 (the specific color known as “Dartmouth Green”) doesn't cut it for me.
Green Alert Take: Somewhere the late Dartmouth SID Kathy Slattery (Phillips) is smiling. How many times did we all hear her bark out "PMS 349?" whenever something needed to be printed Dartmouth green? Lots and lots and lots of times.
Green Alert Take II: Sherman notes that "Moose" has not been adopted by any other major college in the country. There may be a reason for that but Dartmouth Moose certainly fits with the college given its location and the abundance of the large animals at the famed "Second College Grant," (as well as occasional visits to campus LINK). That said, my vote still goes to Dartmouth North Stars, or Dartmouth Backpackers.
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News that University of Maine athletic facilities will get a boost as the result of a $90 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation has me smiling at a funny memory. First, a little background.
Alfond, who made his fortune building the Dexter Shoe Company and died in 2007, was the namesake of Alfond Stadium and Alfond Arena at UMaine. He is well-known for the support he has given to athletic facilities around the state as well as other schools in Maine and elsewhere.
In 1998 Maine rededicated its football stadium in honor of Alfond, whose generosity allowed the school to replace its old grandstand, topped off by a new, elevator-serviced press box with a luxury level. Dartmouth played in the second game ever at the renovated facility, dropping a 14-3 decision.
I covered the game for the newspaper and clearly remember riding up to the press box in the elevator when it suddenly ground to a halt. We weren't stopped for all that long, but it was long enough that everyone in the elevator went from laughing to getting pretty nervous. I was told later that Harold Alfond was actually with us in the stalled elevator in the stadium named after him, but I can't remember if it was true. If nothing else, it made for a good story.
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The New England Small College Athletic Conference, sometimes referred to as the Little Ivy, has announced that it will not conduct NESCAC winter sports competition. (LINK)
Amherst, Williams, Middlebury and the rest may be free to schedule independently should they choose per the Boston Globe. (LINK)
Green Alert Take: While it's too early to make informed predictions at what the Ivy League will decide with regard to winter sports (the early guess here is they will go ahead on a reduced schedule basis) you can be sure the Ivy League presidents don't want to cede their hard-earned high moral ground to the NESCAC.
Green Alert Take II: The NESCAC development comes on the heels of Kansas football coach Les Miles testing positive. Baylor is pausing all football activities for the second time after its opening game against Louisiana Tech was called off because of COVID at LaTech. The Florida Atlantic-Southern Mississippi game now has been postponed because of positive tests at FAU. Stanford is starting practice at a high school in Santa Clara because San Mateo County hasn’t cleared the school to hold practices there. The NFL's Tennessee Titans-Buffalo Bills game has been moved to Tuesday and is in jeopardy of being called off. Kind of makes you shake your head, huh?
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And finally, I'm tentatively scheduled to have a phone conversation with Buddy Teevens today as I pull together a Q&A with your questions for the Dartmouth coach. If you've got a question time is running out. Email it to BGA this morning by CLICKING HERE or send me an email with the subject line QuestionsForCoach using the address most of you already have. Or you can use the contact form over there to the right. If nothing comes up and I do talk with Buddy Teevens today, the Q&A will be posted on this site Monday.
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EXTRA POINT
There's a website listing new houses for sale in the greater Upper Valley that is updated daily. Out of habit I frequently check it out. The other day the rental we spent the winter in two years ago (after selling our Moose Mountain home) showed up on the site. We called the rental the Dark Side both as a play on the street name and, well, because it fit. For some reason the living room was painted dark red and with few windows and so many trees overhanging it we needed three floor lamps just to make the room livable. The kitchen, which was painted mustard to the living room's ketchup, had just one window and looked out on a paneled "sun" porch that never saw the sun.
I found myself thinking about our rental this morning as I watched the the sky over Mount Moosilauke turn pink while checking out the 6 a.m. TV news. Mrs. BGA has joked (but it is true) that she sometimes has to wear sunglasses in the kitchen. This house has no fewer than seven large windows in the kitchen and five large windows in the living room. Did we overcompensate? Maybe, but we love it.
