Better Late Than Never

Whoa! The FCS Nation site doesn't pull its punches in its Dartmouth preview ahead of Merrimack (LINK):

The Big Green looked terrible last week and there is no way to sugar coat it. They were dominated by a team with a flat out bad defense in Yale and couldn't get anything going offensively at all. They also quickly brought to light even more questions about their defense, which was supposed to be the backbone of this team. The Green have now scored just 21 points the past two weeks and have allowed at least 4 TDs in two of their last three games. 

The piece ends like this: 

The good news is that they face a Merrimack team that should let them fix some of their problems.

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Dartmouth sports information has posted its Merrimack game preview HERE. 

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I was pleasantly surprised at Yale last week to see they still publish a game program. There isn't much fresh information in it, but kudos to the folks in New Haven for hanging in there.

If you've been to a game at Memorial Field and haven't gone online to check out the virtual Dartmouth program, here is Saturday's program:

Click HERE to check out the contents.

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Merrimack's notes aren't up yet and stats aren't included in the virtual program but you can find them HERE.

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For what it is worth, Dartmouth is currently at 12½-point favorite over Merrimack. Elsewhere:

Penn is favored by 6½ points over Columbia.
Yale is favored by 11½ points over URI.
Harvard is favored by 14½ points over Holy Cross.
Lehigh is favored by 12½ points over Cornell.

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I've been known to put YouTube on the TV in our bedroom to play ocean sounds, woodland sounds, heavy rain sounds and even distant train sounds with a dark screen as sleep aids. I put the timer on for a half hour, close my eyes and I'm out in five minutes.

I'm not sure this is what I would toss up on the screen, but it will keep going for 10 hours if you want. ;-)

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EXTRA POINT
After my dentist appointment in Hanover this morning, I headed to the town library to pull together today's post rather than drive 35 minutes home and once again I was struck by how the world has changed.

When I was a kid, the library was sacred. You never, ever, ever heard anyone talk above a whisper. Sitting here now I can hear a couple of Hanover High School boys who must have a free period laughing and joking one floor below the balcony area where I sit. The last time I was here I heard someone having a serious business conversation for a good 15-20 minutes from one of the desks near where I was sitting and everyone could hear every word he said. I can hear little ones in the children's section signing, and even librarians sharing a conversation.

I get that with so much online these days libraries have a lot of competition and need to be welcoming places. But I can't help but think something special has been lost.