Eine Pipeline?

Spotted this Tweet regarding incoming linebacker Nico Schwikal, Dartmouth's second German recruit  in as many years (offensive lineman Konstantin Spörk came to Dartmouth from Cologne last fall.):

We are very excited to congratulate Nico Schwikal on committing to Ivy League Powerhouse, Dartmouth College. From Germany to Texas to Connecticut to New Hampshire, Nico is a great example of when belief, talent, work ethic, and character come together in the best possible way. pic.twitter.com/wJ9k7GPDFf

— Gridiron Imports Foundation (@GridironImports) February 5, 2022

That sent me Googling up Gridiron Imports Foundation and I found this mission statement (LINK):

The Gridiron Imports Foundation is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization that supports the international growth of football and changes lives by helping football players from around the world attain opportunities to play football and pursue their education at the high school and college level in the United States.

I think I already knew this but the co-founder of Gridiron Imports is Chris Adamson '97, a second-team All-Ivy League offensive lineman on the undefeated 1996 Big Green. (He also was an honorable-mention selection to the 50th Anniversary of Ivy League Football team selected in 2006 and posted exclusively on BGA Daily HERE.)

Adamson, who helped out John Lyons' coaching staff in 1998, eventually landed at Connecticut's Salisbury School as head football coach from 2004-2010. He went on to serve in several other capacities in the game of football before starting Gridiron Imports. From bio page (LINK):

Over the years, I have coached players from Germany, Canada, and the UK and I have run camps and clinics for players and coaches in Costa Rica. Most recently, I worked with a high school team from Japan for two weeks here in the United States. In March, I will be leading a team of American High School All-Stars to China for a game in Shanghai.

Here's his senior bio in the 1996 Dartmouth media guide;

Interestingly, at 282 pounds Adamson was listed as the heaviest player on the 10-0 team's roster. Last year Dartmouth had 14 players who weighed more than that!

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This is apropos of nothing but is kind of fun.

You know those goofy guys who used to do those silly Sonic drive-in TV commercials while sitting in a car? One of them is a fellow named Peter Grosz and yesterday he was on the NPR/WBEZ radio quiz show Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me. During the show this is something he said:

This week, we learned the biggest news to come out of New Jersey since Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in Weehawken. Bruce Springsteen isn't from there. The Boss gave a candid interview with the Newark Star-Ledger this week in which he admitted he was actually born Bryce Springsworth in Darien, Conn., where he attended the prestigious Choate Rosemary Hall Private School and later Dartmouth College on a polo scholarship.

In case you didn't know, the show's concept involves trying to figure out what is real and what is made up. The Springsteen thing? Here's a hint: Dartmouth offers neither polo nor athletic scholarships ;-)

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It's the time of year when parents and families of players announcing their intention to come to Dartmouth might start thinking about coming to Hanover for games next fall so it's a good time for one of BGA Daily's periodic warnings about saving a little (or a lot ;-) of money.

This is from a ticket reseller:

That may be a little hard to read but it's offering general admission tickets to Dartmouth's opening against Valparaiso for $56 apiece and suggesting they are in short supply.

Here's the absolute truth. They aren't in short supply, won't be in short supply, will be available at face value on game day and if you happen to hang around the gate long enough there's a very good chance someone will come by and not only not scalp  you, but give you their extra ticket for free. Happens all the time.

Heck, even the Harvard game will have tickets on sale at the ticket booth right up until game time unless Tom Brady gets clearance from the NCAA and returns to play for the Crimson ;-)

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EXTRA POINT

I will be listening to the final entry in the eight-part podcast The Trojan Horse Affair in a few hours when I head out on my daily hike. In this space on Thursday I wrote about how the podcast about an anonymous letter triggering all kinds of mayhem in England brought back memories of something that happened when I was the Dartmouth football beat writer, if you can believe it. (LINK)

In yesterday's segment of the podcast there was mention of information the investigative journalists obtained through back channels that made the authorities unhappy and the importance of protecting their sources. That brought back more memories.

It wasn't a parking garage, but working on a story one time I was asked to meet someone very late at night in front of Hanover's C&A Pizza where information integral to the piece I was working on would be handed over to me . . . although not by the person who was supplying the information. This person had someone else give it to me in order to have plausible deniability about personally giving it to me.

It wasn't exactly Watergate but makes me smile every time I think about parking my VW bus on the dark and quiet street waiting for my source to show. I suppose if I wanted to be a little more anonymous I probably should have been driving something less memorable than a 1984 Westfalia poptop camper ;-)