On a quiet but absolutely beautiful day in these parts we bring you an update on two former Dartmouth football players from Massachusetts.
The NFL Network broke the news back in February and the Arizona Cardinals made it official yesterday that Matt Burke '98, will be their new defensive line coach. (LINK)
A walk-on safety from Hudson, Mass., Burke graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in psychology and earned a masters in education from Boston College. His NFL timeline:
2004-05 – Administrative assistant, Tennessee Titans
2006-08 – Defensive quality control coach, Titans
2009-13 – Linebackers coach, Detroit Lions
2014-15 – Linebackers coach, Cincinnati Bengals
2016 – Linebackers coach, Miami Dolphins
2017-18 – Defensive coordinator, Dolphins
2019 – Defensive special assistant, Philadelphia Eagles
2020 – Defensive line coach, run game coordinator, Eagles
2021 – Director of game management, New York Jets
Burke's journey around the NFL has been extensive but it pales in comparison to his journeys around the world. They include summiting 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro, spending time around wild gorillas in Rwanda-Uganda, hiking in Nepal, sharing quality time with a tiger in Thailand, sky diving and bungee cord jumping in New Zealand and more. Find an older Palm Beach Post story about some of his adventures HERE.
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Brian Mann '02, the record-setting quarterback who arrived in Hanover from Canton, Mass., just after Burke graduated and started his career in athletic administration at Dartmouth, helped take part in the groundbreaking of the new William & Mary Athletics Complex yesterday in his role as W&M's first-year athletic director. Said Mann during the ceremonies (LINK):
"This is a moment that is going to change the future of our department and our university. And it's a moment that's going to change the experience of the 500 student athletes that walk our halls every day."
Find Brian's W&M bio HERE.
Like his fellow Bay Stater, Mann has had an interesting journey since Dartmouth that included playing for the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League, serving as Adam Sandler's double in movie The Longest Yard, taking a few hits as the quarterback in the movie Invincible and throwing a pass to Lady Gaga in Super Bowl LI. (LINK)
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EXTRA POINT
Speaking of movies, Mrs. BGA pulled up one critic's list of the Top 100 movies of all time and is checking off those we've seen since she found this particular list in January. The rule is even if we've seen the movie before we can't check it off until we see it again. Because we don't have any premium channels except Prime we just keep our eyes open for what's on our regular TV service, which is now YouTubeTV.
A few nights ago we rewatched and enjoyed Good Will Hunting, No. 87 on this list. Others we've crossed off are Schindler's List (No. 3), Raging Bull (4), Casablanca (50) and Citizen Kane (6), which surprisingly, neither of us had seen before. No. 12 Psycho, 12 Angry Men (18), The Bridge on the River Kwai (25), Doctor Zhivago (48), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (72) and Double Indemnity (92) have kept us entertained on Saturday and Sunday nights.
For the record, I was surprised and thrilled that this list does not include Chariots of Fire. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm sure it's a wonderful, inspiring movie. It's just that I have a history with that movie.
When Chariots came out in 1981 I was in San Francisco and flying up to Seattle to see a friend. My flight was canceled and I ended up spending the night on the hard floor of SFO. I was rebooked the next morning to SeaTac, and when I arrived my friend was at work. With little other option, I wandered the city until she could pick me up around 6 p.m. Instead of grabbing something to eat, she planned to cook so we stopped at a grocery before heading to her apartment. Although it would have helped to have scotch tape to keep my eyes open, I managed not to fall asleep while my friend and her significant other cracked open a bottle of wine and cooked. Dinner was served around 7:30 with another bottle of wine before we (read; they) decided we'd go see the late showing of Chariots of Fire starting at 10 p.m.
Fitful sleep in the airport, walking the streets of Seattle, a big dinner, two bottles of wine and I was complete toast. My friend never said anything about it, but I'm sure a peek over at me during the flick would have shown my head continually slumping forward and then jerking back every time I woke up.
A I said, I'm sure Chariots is a great movie but to this day, every time I hear that familiar score by Vangeleis I remember that very painful night. All of that is why, when I posted my favorite sports movies of all-time a couple of years ago, Chariots of Fire was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it will wedge its way into my Top-10 when we get there on Mrs. BGA's quest, but I have to admit I'm predisposed not to like it.
Again, in no particular order, here is my Top-10 sports movies:
Tin Cup
Hoosiers
Field of Dreams
Breaking Away
Rocky
Endless Summer
The Sandlot
Bull Durham
Free Solo
Secretariat
Speaking of Secretariat, each Kentucky Derby Saturday I've made it a habit to link to one of the best sports stories I've ever read. I forgot this year, so if you aren't familiar with it, do go back and read William Nack's masterpiece, Pure Heart about Secretariat. You'll thank me later. (LINK)
