Verry Interesting

The Ivy League held its online media day yesterday and, unfortunately, apart from Dartmouth's Buddy Teevens the coaches didn't really name names or much go into personnel. It occurred over the 2 hours, 45 minutes I was stuck watching to try to glean nuggets to help with my BGA Premium previews that the media day would have made a pretty good drinking game if you had to take a swig each time a coach or player used the words excited, or finish, or consistency, or depth, or communication.

Here is the Dartmouth segment featuring comments from Teevens, quarterback Nick Howard and defensive lineman Shane Cokes. Broadcaster and former Yale football standout Jack Ford is the moderator:

  

The local Valley News has a story about Dartmouth based largely on these sound bits but does add a few other details. Find it HERE.

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The absolute highlight of the online media day was ignored by the participants, but it was a well-aimed barb seemingly tossed at the Ivy League mucky mucks by Harvard coach Tim Murphy.

Coming off an 8-2 season that featured a 20-17 loss to Dartmouth and a highly controversial, five-overtime 18-16 defeat at Princeton that cost Harvard a share of the Ivy League title, the veteran Crimson coach could have been excused for misspeaking once. But when he repeated himself it was clear he was sending a message to any Ivy League administrator who might be listening.

Asked by Ford where Harvard needs to improve this year, Murphy said this (italic are mine):

Everywhere I’ve ever been, it all starts with defense. Yes, for many years I called the plays and I still coach a position. But the reality is, I think at any level it all starts with defense and if you can play great defense you are going to be in every game. And that certainly was just one of the things that allowed us to only get beat once last year.

Later on, Murphy was asked about the preseason poll and here was his response, again with my italics:

If I’m not mistaken last year I think we were picked fourth or fifth and we only got beat one time. So it’s not something personally I lose a lot of sleep over.

Green Alert Take: Murphy might not lose sleep over the preseason poll but it would seem the Princeton game might have kept him up a few nights.

Green Alert Take II: To understand why, read this STORY about the Harvard-Princeton mess.

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One more note out of media day. Ford lost a little creditability with some of us while crowing about the Ivy League's nonconference record when he said:

Since 2020 Ivy League schools have posted a winning percentage just under 60 percent our of conference. And you must remember that they play a very strong out-of-conference schedule here. 

Green Alert Take: Uh, a very strong out-of-conference schedule? Check out the preseason top-25 below and tell me how many of those teams show up on Ivy League schedules this year, or any year.

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Today at NOON:

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The Brown preview went up on BGA Premium last night. Check in tonight for a look at a Columbia team that is poised to surprise this fall.

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Dartmouth football graphic 

To find a brief note about the New Orleans Saints signing edge rusher Niko Lalos '20, who was released by the New York Giants after two years under contract, CLICK HERE. He's already on their roster page, albeit in a Big Blue shirt, HERE.

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The first FCS Coaches Poll has been released. No big surprise that three Ivies are in the others-receiving-votes category:

	FCS Coaches Poll	Rec	Pts	2021
1	North Dakota St. (24)	14-1	624	1
2	Montana	10-3	567	6
3	South Dakota St. (1)	11-4	566	5
4	Montana St.	12-3	560	2
5	Villanova	10-3	493	8
6	Kennesaw St.	11-2	453	10
7	Sacramento St.	9-3	452	11
8	Missouri St.	8-4	405	14
9	Southern Illinois	8-5	379	17
10	Stephen F. Austin	8-4	362	18
11	East Tennessee St.	11-2	352	7
12	Eastern Washington	10-3	337	9
13	Chattanooga	6-5	294	NR
14	UIW	10-3	277	13
15	UT Martin	10-3	257	12
16	Southeastern Louisiana	9-4	254	15
17	Jackson St.	11-2	245	19
18	Holy Cross	10-3	184	22
19	Delaware	5-6	172	NR
20	Weber St.	6-5	141	NR
21	Northern Iowa	6-6	119	25
22	UC Davis	8-4	101	16
23	Mercer	7-3	78	NR
24t.	Rhode Island	7-4	66	NR
24t.	Richmond	6-5	66	NR
	Others Receiving Votes South Dakota, 49; Florida A&M, 44; HARVARD, 38; South Carolina St., 38; PRINCETON, 29; Central Arkansas, 23; Eastern Kentucky, 18; DARTMOUTH, 17; Nicholls, 8; Furman, 6; North Carolina A&T, 6; William & Mary, 6; Murray St., 5; Davidson, 3; Fordham, 3; Southeast Missouri St., 3; North Dakota, 2; Utah Tech, 2; Austin Peay, 1; Elon, 1.

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Legendary Princeton basketball coach Pete Carril has passed away at age 92. TigerBlog, as I knew he would, wrote the heck out of his tribute to a man I know he loved. Be sure to read his piece HERE.

Green Alert Take: I've written about this before but I always regretted when I was in grad school at Penn State that I didn't stand up and applaud after the final class with the best professor I ever had in any subject. That was on my mind after the final Dartmouth-Princeton game I covered at Jadwin Gymnasium in Carril's final year. I wasn't about to stand up and applaud at the end of a press conference but I made sure to walk up to Carril after the presser was over to quietly thank him for teaching me so much about the game of basketball. It was fitting because the man who began his professional career as a teacher was exactly that as a coach – a teacher. He will be missed.

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EXTRA POINT
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

This is not to say Griff the Wonder Dog is old at age eight, but he's getting up there. Nor is it to say I/we taught him a new trick.

I should start at the beginning (always a pretty good idea ;-). Over the years Griff has been pretty good about chasing after thrown balls and toys, picking them up in his mouth and bringing them part way back to us. Not surprising, when you think about it. He is, after all, a golden retriever.

Yesterday Mrs. BGA,  the visiting Dartmouth '14 and Griff were out on our little porch reading. (OK, Griff was sleeping but you get the idea). When I finished my Brown preview I popped out to show TCD'14 how Griff, who has always been the best-behaved pup inside the house but tended to ignore calls to come inside when he wandered our property, now comes running when we make the sound, "SShhhh." Where that came from we haven't a clue.

After he did that a few times I had an idea. I went in the house, grabbed a tennis ball and fired it out into our field. Griff vaulted off the porch like he was shot out of a cannon, grabbed the ball and sprinted back to the porch even before I tried "SShhh." Another toss, another perfect return. Then another.

Back into the house I went to get a solid green, plastic donut the size of a CD. I rolled it down the hill and away Griff went in hot pursuit. Back he came with the donut in his mouth – albeit the wide way. Again I rolled it down the hill and again he brought it all the way back, this time biting into it the way we'd bite into a bagel.

It was only when he'd become tired and chose not to leave the porch at all that Griff didn't bring the ball or the toy right back to us.

Not only had he taught himself the trick, he'd taught me one as well as he watched me run down the hill to retrieve the toys while he rested his tired leg and lungs.