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| Click this BGA photo for a closer look at Dartmouth's indoor practice yesterday. |
The local Valley News has a story about the second day of Big Green football practice – the first with well over 100 players going through their paces at the indoor practice facility I have taken to calling The Green House. In the story defensive back Isaiah Johnson talks about the meaning of the new facility (LINK):
“It says we care about our football team. It says that our football team matters. It says that our alums are willing to put back and give back to the team, and it says that, if you win, the school notices.”
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Last night's BGA Premium practice report featured a look at tailback Zack Bair returning this fall after a serious knee injury at Penn in 2019. (LINK)
Tonight's report may be a little later than usual, but it will still be on your screen when you awaken tomorrow morning.
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Scrolling down a page on the Dartmouth ticket office website revealed the following, which may or may not have been updated (LINK):
VENUE POLICIES
Masks will be required in all of Dartmouth Athletics indoor and outdoor venues until further notice.
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The Dartmouth COVID-19 Dashboard updated yesterday listed 29 confirmed and active student cases and three among faculty and staff. (LINK)
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FootballScoop has a piece listing the COVID cancellation policies for each FBS conference (so far). In general it seems to be if you can't play you lose. (LINK)
Green Alert Take: I don't think the Ivy League has made a public statement about its policy on COVID cancellations. It wouldn't surprise me if the Ancient Eight simply rules no contest, but we'll see. Hopefully whatever decision they make won't come into play.
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The Dartmouth sports publicity office writes about the Phil Steele all-conference teams HERE.
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Writing for The Analyst, FCS guru Craig Haley offers his prediction for the Northeast Conference season and Week 2 Dartmouth opponent Sacred Heart. He has the Pioneers second in the NEC behind Central Connecticut. Haley writes (LINK):
The Pioneers’ spring championship was their fourth league title under coach Mark Nofri since 2013. Running back Julius Chestnut’s dominance shouldn’t change behind an offensive line that returns All-NEC standouts J.D. DiRenzo and Josh Sokol. Bolstered by an FCS co-high 82-yard punt, Noah Gettman’s 46.5-yard average in the spring more than six yards better than the Pioneers’ previous single-season high.
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Flo Football looks at Week 5 opponent New Hampshire writing (LINK):
There was a time when it seemed like the NCAA rubber-stamped New Hampshire a spot in the FCS playoff field each season. The Wildcats qualified for postseason play 14 years in row (2004-2017), but haven’t tasted the playoffs since that 2017 season.
And . . .
“Historically we’ve had amazing football teams,” New Hampshire quarterback Max Brosmer said. “We’ve lost that over the past (two) years. There’s something brewing in our locker room right now. We want to come out and show the country what we’ve got, because people are sleeping on us.”
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EXTRA POINT
From an Associated Press article (LINK):
Ella Bruning has become the person everyone wants to talk to in South Williamsport this week.
The starting catcher for the Wylie Little League team from Abilene, Texas, is the 20th female to play in the Little League World Series and the only girl to compete in this year’s tournament.
Reading that had me thinking about That Certain Dartmouth '14, who played baseball through Little League. When she (reluctantly) switched to softball in high school she was the starting center fielder on the Hanover varsity as a freshman before moving to catcher as a sophomore, where she played every inning through the rest of high school.
Catching that many innings for three years she got to know the umpires pretty well and they got to know her.
The statute of limitations has run out so now the story can be told. I don't remember what year it was, or where the game was played, but knowing TCD'14 had a rifle arm a home plate umpire once told her he'd give her a dollar (or was it two?) for every potential base stealer she threw out. I don't know if the fellow had tickets to a Red Sox game or a date that night and needed to get on the road quickly but I do know TCD'14 came home with several dollars in her pocket she didn't have when the day began. And that's a true story.
