I'd heard whispers about this a while back and my guess is that the Japan Times jumped the gun with this announcement of the Japan-U.S. Dream Bowl. From the story (LINK):
Japanese football will ring in 2023 by renewing its connection with the Ivy League.
A Japanese All-Star team will face a collection of Ivy League players in the Japan-U.S. Dream Bowl on Jan. 22 at National Stadium, the National Football Association announced on Wednesday.
A few more details . . .
Players from the Ivy League who have completed their four years of NCAA eligibility will make up the U.S. College All-Star roster. The 2022 Ivy League season is scheduled to end on Nov. 19, and the team will be named in the middle of December.
The U.S. coaching staff will also be revealed at a later date.
And .. .
Ivy League All-Star teams (and two teams from the College of William and Mary) traveled to Japan to face Japanese collegiate All-Star teams in eight editions of the Ivy Bowl from 1989 to 1996. The U.S. side won all eight games.
Dartmouth quarterback Jay Fielder was the MVP of the sixth Ivy Bowl at Tokyo Dome on Jan. 8, 1994, before going on to play eight years in the NFL.
And one more bit from the story:
The contest will be a de facto bowl game for the Ivy League players, as the eight schools in that league do not participate in college football’s postseason.
Green Alert Take: I sure hope the Ivy League doesn't try to trot out a line like that suggesting this is a suitable alternative to an NCAA postseason berth. It's not. It's an exhibition.
#
The Ivy League sent all-star teams to Japan seven times between 1989 and 1996 for what was then called the Epsom Ivy Bowl. Find a listing of the (lopsided) results HERE. (The guess is that former Dartmouth receiver Matt Brzica would be disappointed to see the name of the 1993 MVP ;-)
#
The Daily Progress has a look at the University of Virginia offensive line that includes this regarding former Dartmouth lineman John Paul Flores (LINK):
Flores is becoming increasingly likely to play somewhere on the O-Line when the season opens Sept. 3 because of his versatility. He's practiced regularly like Furnish, and Flores has repped at four of the five positions on the front to this point. During Tuesday's practice, he lined up at left guard.
“Wherever the coaches need me to play or whatever helps the team best,” Flores said, “I’ll fit in and plug and play.
“Coach Tujague does a great job preparing us scheme wise,” Flores continued, “and knowing the overall scheme no matter what position you’re playing.”
JP also gets a mention in a CBS story HERE.
#
The Cornell preview went up on BGA Premium last night and there will be a look at Harvard tonight. As of today only new subscribers or those who have renewed their accounts should be able to access the site. If you can still get in and haven't "re-upped," please do so and help me keep this thing going. If you have renewed or joined up and can't get in, let me know and I'll get you going the next time I'm online.
A reminder that after Harvard tonight, the preview series continues with Penn, Princeton and finally Yale on Sunday when the first practice posting of the 2022 preseason will hit the site. ;-)
Thanks to all who have joined up and allow me to continue to provide this service!
#
Haven't been to Hanover in a few years? Here's a two minute, 45 second walking tour (beginning with the drive into town) that will show you some familiar landmarks and some new developments:
#
EXTRA POINT
Our neighbor up the hill was mowing the adjacent field last week and when our tractors crossed paths (his is a noisy John Deere monster and mind is a little electric Ryobi) we stopped to chat for a bit. He was lamenting a small yield from his apple trees this year. Glancing over at the nearest of our apple trees, which is overflowing with fruit, he asked, "What do you spray with?"
The answer is, well, nothing. I'm sure the year will come when it would help to apply something to the tree but this isn't one of those years.
