Listen Up

Niko Lalos '20 is one of the guests on the New York Post podcast Blue Rush. The New York Giants rookie is introduced as "Just a kid from Akron." (Click on the waveform to advance to the 24:08 mark, then click the arrow.)

Listen above (or if that doesn't work CLICK HERE).

During the interview . . . 

• Lalos tells of his mother signing him up for martial arts as a three-year-old to tire him out.

• He admits he's ribbed by teammates about being an Ivy Leaguer and speaks to their disbelief when he can't answer all their questions.

• He shares the moment during camp when he first felt he belonged.

• He describes life as a member of the practice squad. (He compared it to being a freshman in college and not making the travel team.)

• He says he saw the Tweet from LeBron James and why it wasn't until after his first game.

• He explains his membership in the "early risers" crew.

• He fails miserably at naming the four Dartmouth players who had lengthy NFL careers and mentions former teammate Matt Kaskey, now a practice squad offensive lineman for the Panthers.

• He credits head coach Joe Judge's hard-nose attitude.

• He talks about the Hula Bowl experience and what it might or might not have done for him with the scouts.

• He says the Giants are seriously pumped up after their recent successes.

•

Following up on the earlier post listing the most tackles in a game by a Big Green player (LINK), here is what the Dartmouth records show for Most Tackles in a Season.

Rank	Name	Year	UT	AT	Total
1	Dave Neslund ‘83	1982	37	157	194
2	Jerry Pierce ‘81	1979	115	69	184
3	Tom Kuchar ‘79	1978	102	58	160
4	Len Fontes ‘86	1985	47	100	147
5	Jerry Pierce ‘81	1980	58	88	146
6	Mark Abel ‘97	1995	73	63	136
7	Reggie Williams ‘76	1974	92	43	135
7	Joe Fernandez ‘82	1979	72	61	133
9	Josh Bloom ‘95	1994	73	57	130
10	Steve Karol ‘84	1983	45	83	128
11	Josh Bloom ‘95	1993	50	76	126
11	Zack Walz ‘98	1997	70	56	126
13	Steve Varney ‘00	1999	80	42	122

•

Her local paper has a story about former Dartmouth quality control assistant Callie Brownson – now the Cleveland Browns chief of staff – with a photo from her days working high school football. (LINK)

•

The 6-5 Boston College Eagles have become the first Power 5 football team to "opt out" of a potential bowl game. From the story (LINK):

“What we did with COVID was bigger in my opinion than any game we could have won,” said coach Jeff Hafley, who was in his first year at BC. “I wish we could play every Saturday. But I don’t have to sit in a dorm room by myself.”

But Hafley said he could sense the strain of the unusual season on his players and called together his “leadership council” -- one representative from every position group -- to get a sense of how the team felt.

Together, they decided to pull the plug.

“When (linebacker Max Richardson) told the team that they’re going home to see their families, it was an uproar,” Hafley said. “At that moment I knew 100% it was the right decision.” 

•

EXTRA POINT 
When we lived on a dirt road on the shoulder of Hanover's Moose Mountain I pulled together a large star with Christmas lights on it that I put at the end of our driveway. It provided the only light you would see for a mile and a half down the heavily wooded road and neighbors would tell us it literally brightened their nights driving by, and that they looked forward to seeing it go up each December.

Because the star was about 8-feet high and our garage was crowded I would store it for the rest of the year leaning against a couple of trees in our woods. The last year we were there I went to check on it and EVERY light bulb had been removed by critters who chewed the wires on either side of the bulbs to free them up. I suspect raccoons. With no bulbs and because it was starting to fall apart, we junked the star when we moved.

Last week I built a new one, almost as big but much sturdier, here on our Vermont hillside. This time I've placed it well out in our field, where it stands by itself against the silhouette of New Hampshire's White Mountains.