Gareth Bale Akan Pindah Real Madrid?

Sudah bukan rahasia lagi bila Gareth Bale merupakan aset yang sangat berharga bagi Tottenham Hotspur, perannya dalam tim sangat kentara, bisa jadi dia merupakan salah satu kunci permaian Spurs. Pemain asal Wales tersebut mempunyai kecepatan dan teknik yang mumpuni, sehingga klub-klub besar Eropa pun banyak yang mengincarnya beberapa musim terakhir.

Yang masih terdengar gencar "merayu" Bale adalah raksasa Spanyol, Real Madrid. Setelah sebelumnya berhasil mendatangkan Luka Modric dari Spurs, kini giliran Gareth Bale yang menjadi incaran. Tak ayal kabar tersebut membuat pemilik Spurs, Daniel Levy segera mengambil langkah untuk berusaha memagari Bale agar tidak pergi.

Di lansir dari goal.com (31/12/12), Tottenham Hotspur dikabarkan sudah membanderol winger Gareth Bale seharga  €70 juta dengan tujuan agar membuat Real Madrid tidak lagi mendekati pemain asal Wales tersebut. Tapi Madrid bukanlah klub yang mudah menyerah, apalagi Madrid merupakan klub yang terkenal jor-joran soal belanja pemain. Layak dinantikan bagaimana kelanjutan kabar ini, bisa jadi segala cara akan dilakukan Madrid untuk mendapatkan pemain incarannya. Jadi, Spurs harus tetap waspada dalam "menjaga" pemain yang sangat berharga ini.

Special Day

Dartmouth's Hanover Country Club was the place to be on a glorious Sunday afternoon of sledding. We have 14 inches at the snow stick here on Moose Mountain. (Kelly Wood photo)

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There's big and then there's huge. Whatever comes after huge best describes what happened at Thompson Arena last night.

With a sellout crowd of more than 4,500 looking on, the Dartmouth men's ice hockey team drilled

Sergio Van Dijk Ke Persib Bandung?

Lama sudah berita mengenai ketertarikan Persib Bandung kepada Sergio Van Dijk, penyerang klub Adelaide United, Australia. Dilansir dari goal.com, Sergio van Dijk membenarkan kabar yang menyebutkan dirinya akan segera bergabung dengan klub Superliga Indonesia, Persib Bandung. Dirinya berharap dapat datang tepat waktu agar dapat memperkuat tim Maung Bandung menjalani laga perdana mereka di ISL menghadapi Persipura Jayapura.

Manajer Persib, Umuh Muchtar, sebelumnya pada saat acara nonton bareng final Liga Indonesia I di Bandung juga sudah mengungkapkan bahwa kesepakatan dengan Van Dijk akan segera dirampungkan oleh manajemen dalam waktu dekat.

Jadi, layak dinantikan kebenaran berita ini. Jika memang Van Dijk benar-benar bergabung bersama Persib, tentunya akan semakin mempertajam lini depan dari Persib.

Know Your Foe - South Carolina

The Wolverines close their 133^rd season on New Year’s Day when they take on South Carolina in the Hall Of Fame corporate-steakhouse-chain bowl. This will be only the third meeting between the schools - each team has beaten the other on their opponent’s turf so it’s only appropriate that this rubber match is on neutral grounds. Michigan hasn’t played the Gamecocks since 1985 which was before the MZone, before many MZone readers were fans, hell, before many MZone readers were born. So you may be wondering, who are these South Carolinians and what should we know about them? To answer these and many other questions, the MZone is proud to present this year's special bowl edition of KNOW YOUR FOE.

History – The University of South Carolina (also known as USC or SC - no not that USC or SC – or Carolina – no, not that Carolina), was founded in late 1801 as South Carolina College to “promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Backcountry.” For those not familiar, the lowcountry is the southeastern part of the state, along the Atlantic while the backcountry is the northwest portion, now known as Upstate. The first classes were held in 1805 with an enrollment of nine students.

But like every other school in the South, USC’s history was abruptly altered by the Civil War. Enrollment had grown to 72 in 1862, but all of those students volunteered for the Confederate army in March. The college temporarily closed and then opened to those under 18 which brought the enrollment to, again, nine. At that point the college was closed down and converted into a hospital. The campus was likely spared destruction because of its status as a hospital, preserving the historic Horseshoe which serves as the center of campus.

The college re-opened in 1866 and was converted to the University of South Carolina in 1865. Unlike so many schools in the South, USC had a measure of racial equity as racial discrimination was prevented in admissions, and two black trustees were part of the governing board in 1869. The first black student was admitted in 1873, decades ahead of most other Southern schools.

Location – Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia is the state capital and with a population around 130,000, the largest city in South Carolina. Located smack dab in the middle of the Palmetto State, Columbia enjoys a diversified economy highlighted by the state government, healthcare, and the university. It also hosts a diversified list of famous natives, from actors Aziz Ansari and Kristin Davis to musical acts Hootie and the Blowfish, and Toro Y Moi, to NBAers Tyrone Corbin and Alex English.

Amazingly, this isn’t the only Columbia to host a major university, and it’s not even unique in the conference. The most amazing feature of Columbia, however, is how freaking hot and humid it gets in the summer. KYF found ourselves in Columbia a few Junes ago when the mercury topped out near 110 and the humidity was almost as high. Wearing the dark colors of the university is a death wish under those conditions.

Nickname – Gamecocks. One of the most unique nicknames, not just in college athletics but all of sports, its origins for USC are somewhat obscure. Some sources claim it was borne as an honor to Thomas Sumter, a South Carolina native and Revolutionary War hero. A British general commented that Sumter “fought like a gamecock.” Whether that’s the case, the university’s teams had several nicknames until 100 years ago. In 1902, USC upset rival Clemson and students and fans paraded through the streets of Columbia holding a transparency drawn by a math professor by the name of – we kid you not – Horton Colcock. Two weeks later, newspaper reports began referring to the team as the “Game Cocks”. The two words were joined a couple of years later and the nickname has stuck since. KYF longs for the day when a man named Horton Colcock would be considered a hero and a man of letters, rather than the subject of relentless and horrendous ridicule.

A gamecock, of course, is a type of rooster that was often used for cockfighting in which the roosters fought to the death. Though cockfighting is legal throughout many regions of the world, it’s been illegal in the United States since Louisiana became the last state to outlaw it in 2008. Cockfighting was a central plot point of The Little Jerry episode of Seinfeld as well as the Chicken George character in Roots. The South Carolina Gamecocks have entered pop culture most predominantly on baseball caps worn by many a frat boy with the shortened ‘Cocks adorning the front.

Mascot – Cocky. The costumed version of a cartoon gamecock made his official debut for the university in 1980. For the previous two years USC had a costumed mascot named Big Spur, but it was considered too big and unwieldy so Cocky was created as Big Spur’s son. Cocky was met with immediate derision and not considered dignified enough for the university. Look at him – I guess the measure of dignified has changed over time. Cocky started small after the ridicule, becoming the mascot for the women’s teams and the baseball team and slowly took over for Big Spur. Hear that Dave Brandon? Just introduce some abomination of a mascot and plow through. Eventually everyone will accept and even love it, no matter how undignified.

He’s won a mascot “National Championship” four times and has had two of his portrayers move on to professional sports – one as Billy the (Florida) Marlin and one as Sir Purr, the Carolina Panthers' mascot. So South Carolina could be considered “Mascot U.” Cocky has become such a strong representative of the university that one of the most active on-line message boards is Cockytalk.com. Just be careful that you type that into your browser correctly.

Colors – Garnet and Black. KYF has gone over the whole red/scarlet/cardinal/crimson thing many times before. But South Carolina doesn’t really fall into that group of red teams. Garnet is clearly a much darker shade of red and is more maroon than red. Only one other team uses garnet as an official color (Florida State) and so South Carolina’s colors, though a little dark together, are quite unique. And when combined with the bright white of the helmets, this is an excellent combination. The combo of Garnet and Black is used by the school and its fans as a rallying cry, much the same way Maize and Blue is used for Michigan.

The school’s teams have always used the color combination as they date back to 1895 when a banner was presented to the football team that contained the colors.

Logo/Helmet – The South Carolina helmet has seen many changes over the years, but it’s had a gamecock on the side since 1969 and that’s been paired with a block C since 1975. The colors have changed since then, including an unfortunate use of camouflage in 2011, but the current crisp, white helmet with the unique logo is the best in the school’s history, and among the best in college football.

Those helmets are so great because they use the great Carolina logo. The unique nickname leads to the use of the ornithological-correct gamecock. There’s no goofy cartoon here, and not some generic logo that could have been designed by some 15 year old on his MacBook Pro. Add in the use of the collegiate block C and it’s a classic logo that should never be altered. Besides, the logo was a centerpiece of an MZone classic from the deep past.

Fight song – TheFighting Gamecocks Lead The Way. This is one of the fastest tempos for a fight song that KYF has heard and it sounds like a fight song that would be written for a Broadway musical. And for good reason – the original tune, Step to the Rear, was written for the musical How Now, Dow Jones. The song was adapted as the new SC fight song in the late 1960s by former football coach and athletic director Paul Dietzel. He wrote the lyrics to the new song, no doubt cashing in on royalties every time the song is played. The lyrics are generic at best and lame at worst.

Hey, Let's give a cheer, Carolina is here,

The Fighting Gamecocks lead the way.

Who gives a care, If the going gets tough,

And when it is rough, that's when the 'Cocks get going.

Hail to our colors of garnet and Black,

In Carolina pride have we.

So, Go Gamecocks Go - FIGHT!

Drive for the goal - FIGHT!

USC will win today - GO COCKS!

So, let's give a cheer, Carolina is here.

The Fighting Gamecocks All The Way!

It’s unclear why the original fight song, Carolina Let Your Voices Ring was changed by Dietzel. The song, though unspectacular, is clearly better than The Fighting Gamecocks Lead The Way. The natural inclination for an ol’ Yankee like KYF was to assume there were some politically incorrect lyrics in Carolina Let Your Voices Ring, but that’s not the case, and the song is still played as part of the band’s football pre-game show.

Carolina, Let your voices ring, to you we sing our praises high

Ring out! Sing out! On to victory! Forever fight we'll do or die

Carolina, Fight with all your might, let all unite in proud acclaim

Then battle on together, one and all forever

Fight, we've got to win the game, Rah! Rah! Rah!

Garnet & Black we raise, Gamecocks forever praise

So fight for Carolina, Cheer for Carolina, Hail to our U.S.C.

We cheer forever U.S.C.!

So here’s a song with a better tune and better lyrics and you change it for something from Broadway with lyrics written by your football coach? It doesn’t make sense. Besides, how successful can you expect your teams to be when your fight song is a Broadway tune? KYF has to wonder if some marketing guys thought it would create great synergy. We wouldn’t be surprised if Dave Brandon is in touch with Andrew Lloyd Weber right now about changing The Victors.

Academics – According to the most recent U. S. News rankingof America's Best Colleges, South Carolina languishes at 115th, which ties them with four schools, including Oregon. This ranking would put them at the bottom of the Big Ten well behind current cellar-dweller Nebraska (#101), and marks South Carolina as – by far – the worst academic institution to play Michigan this season. But the Gamecocks don’t care about that - they’re ranked 9th in the 14-team Southeast Conference, and well behind in-state rival Clemson (#68).

Athletics – South Carolina has been a bit of a nomad regarding conference affiliation. The football and basketball teams were part of the Southern Conference from 1922 until 1953 when the Gamecocks became a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. But too many recruiting disputes led USC to leave the conference and play as an independent starting in 1971. Football remained independent while the rest of the teams joined the Metro Conference in 1983. Finally, in 1991 Carolina joined the Southeast Conference when it expanded to 12 schools.

No matter which conference they’re competing in, South Carolina has had surprisingly little success. The school offers 19 varsity sports (Michigan has 27), but the Gamecocks can only claim three national championships in any sport. The 2002 women’s track and field team was the first Gamecock championship team, followed by back to back national titles for the baseball team in 2010 and 2011. And, no, KYF doesn’t count national titles in women’s equestrian. Even conference titles are scarce. The football team has never won the SEC and has won just one conference title in its history (1969, ACC) though its years as an independent may have limited this number. The men’s basketball team has one SEC championship (1997) and has only made eight NCAA tournaments. The two NIT titles are no longer impressive to Michigan fans. Baseball is, by far, the most successful team at South Carolina, having won those national titles, along with three SEC titles in the past 12 years, to go along with 11 College World Series appearances which include four runner-up finishes.

The football team was under .500 for their history until a couple of years ago, and has only won as many as nine games five times (including the past three seasons). The Gamecocks play in 80,250 seat Williams-Brice stadium, which resembles one of those baseball cookie-cutter stadiums built in the early ‘70s, but displays one of the loudest crowds on Saturdays.

Despite all of the baseball success, there haven’t been that many major leaguers who wore the Garnet and Black. The most well-known is former Met Mookie Wilson. The basketball team has sent only 22 players to the NBA, with former Nugget Alex English being the most successful. The football team has had 11 first round picks, including the #1 overall, Heisman winner George Rogers in 1981. Sterling Sharpe is probably the most successful Gamecock in the NFL, along with current Falcon defensive end John Abraham.

Famous alums – For a school with such a long history, South Carolina’s list of famous alumni is disappointing. They did corner the market on blond newsreaders in the ‘90s, with Rita Cosby, Leeza Gibbons, and Van Earl Wright all being Gamecocks. All four members of the band Hootie and the Blowfish attended the university which might have been cool in 1994 but not so much today. Not only was that Hootie not the only Hootie to have attended SC, but he’s not even the only famous Hootie. William “Hootie” Johnson, the former chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club is an SC alum, as is Robert McNair, owner of the NFL’s Houston Texans.

The list also includes plenty of local politicians, including plenty of congressmen, senators, and governors, but, alas, no U.S.Presidents.

The Game – The end to this uneventful season takes place in a generic bowl against a solid, but bland team. No wonder there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm for this bowl game compared to last year. This year’s Michigan team is still hard to read, even after 12 games. They have little difficulty with teams that aren’t as good as they are. But they haven’t beaten a good team all year, and have shown a propensity to cough up the football – and the game – against those better teams. The poor coaching performance against Ohio still resonates, and is a concern going up against a much better squad.

SOUTH CAROLINA 16

MICHIGAN 9

Fourth Circuit on Duke Lacrosse

A couple of weeks late on this. The Fourth Circuit held that all the Fourth Amendment claims by the Duke lacrosse players against the investigating police officers should have been dismissed on qualified immunity grounds.The court did allow state law malicious prosecution claims by the three indicted players, but not by the 30+ players who never were indicted, to proceed. Some thoughts follow.

1) The claim by the three indicted players for a Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution violation failed because the independent decision of the prosecutor to seek and indictment (and the independent decision of the grand jury to indict) broke the causal chain between the officers' conduct and the unconstitutional prosecution. Absent allegations that the officers affirmatively misled or unduly pressured the prosecutor to seek that indictment, his acts insulate the officers from liability. The court further rejected the argument that the police and Nifong conspired to seek an unconstitutional indictment and prosecution, emphasizing the duty of police and prosecutors to work together in seeking to establish probable cause and to seek indictments; a "conspiracy" thus could be alleged in every case. On a related point, the court in a footnote rejected an overlapping Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process claim against the officers for fabricating evidence. Substantive due process is not available when there is an "explicit textual source" for a constitutional claim; because the claim could be brought under the Fourth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment could not provide the basis for a claim.

This result seems correct, although it illustrates well the difficulty (if not impossibility) of using § 1983 to challenge misconduct in the criminal justice system. A prosecutor enjoys absolute immunity in seeking and obtaining an indictment, while his conduct insulates police officers from liability, at least absent affirmative lies or concealment of evidence. The court was a bit too dismissive of the possibility of a conspiracy to indict, although that may have been because the complaint itself showed Nifong as the bad actor, taking weak evidence, which the officers themselves insisted was weak, and moving forward with an indictment. On the other hand, because police never themselves initiate a prosecution, perhaps the Fourth Amendment is the wrong source; perhaps cases of fabricated evidence should be handled under substantive due process--after all, it is hard to imagine what misconduct could be more "outrageous" than fabricating evidence.

2) The claims against the City of Durham had to be dismissed once the court held that there was no underlying violation. The same for the "stigma-plus" S/D/P claims against police officers who made public statements suggesting the players' guilt. The DA's independent decision to seek the indictment broke any causal connection between the statements and the indictment, eliminating any "plus" necessary to state a claim. The latter was an unfortunate way to resolve it--I would have liked to hear the court take on whether "stigma-plus" was a valid theory of liability.

3) Judge Wilkinson wrote a strongly worded concurrence, criticizing the e plaintiffs' lawyers for overreaching, both in the dramatic numbers of claims asserted (23, 32, and 40, among the three complaints--and the unindicted players, who never got dragged into the system, actually brought more claims than the indicted players), the "sweeping scope" of the litigation, and the "overwrought" nature of the claims and the allegations. Wilkinson had a stronger position against "stigma-plus" claims as inconsistent with SCOTUS precedent; he also read Iqbal to require particular allegations of precisely what each supervisor did to cause the violations alleged; simply naming names, without identifying their conduct, is insufficient.

4) The state-law malicious prosecution claims remain alive against the officers, as do the claims against Duke University (who could not appeal at this non-final stage) and Nifong (who did not appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss. And despite Wilkinson's point that this case continues more than six years after the criminal charges against the three players were dismissed and coming up on seven years since the infamous party, the case goes on.

Charges filed in Stringfellow case

Fairfax County Police have charged Johnny E. Bonilla 22, of Gainsville Va. with murder in the death of Ferrum football player Zavier Stringfellow. Stringfellow 19, was found in a crashed mini van deceased, but apparently his injuries were not a result of the crash. FCPD indicate on their website, that Stringfellow was stabbed.

Don Brown To BC

Missed this one last week . . .

Don Brown, who got his start as a college coach at Dartmouth and returned to Hanover to serve as defensive coordinator under Joe Yukica, is on the move again. The highly regarded Brown, whose name seems to come up every time there is a head coach opening in the Ivy League, has been named defensive coordinator at Boston College. At UConn last fall his defense

Ferrum Linebacker Dies in Northern Virginia

It is being reported tonight by d3football.com that Ferrum linebacker Zavier Stringfellow was found deceased in a mini van that appeared to have been in an accident. Stringfellow, a sophomore from Manassas Virginia, attended Battlefield High School. The Ferrum athletics website has Stringfellow listed as a Defensive End. Stringfellow's death is being investigated as an apparent homicide  The d3football.com article is below:

Ferrum Player dies in Northern Virginia

Hooping It Up

A couple more links recommended by email . . .

The first is a new review of Dartmouth's Leede Arena posted on a site called Stadium Journey. I will leave it to those of you who have seen a basketball game in the Berry Center to decide whether or not you agree with the reviewer (who happens to be a Dartmouth athlete in another sport).

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Have you seen the trick-kicking video of the Norwegian

Manchester United Kandidat Juara Liga Inggris 2012/13

Liga Primer Inggris (EPL) musim 2012/13 sudah melakoni separuh jalan, sudah 19 pekan berlangsung, Manchester United masih bercokol pada posisi teratas, unggul 7 poin dari Manchester City. Selisih poin yang kian lebar terkait pada pertandingan terakhir di 'boxing day' dimana United secara dramatis mampu menundukkan tamunya Newcastle United setelah tiga kali tertinggal. Sedangkan City harus takluk oleh tuan rumah Sunderland.

Meski masih menyisakan banyak pertandingan, tapi melihat peta persaingan yang ada saat ini rasa-rasanya pendukung MU layak berharap banyak, pasalnya penampilan City sedang naik turun, sedangkan Chelsea yang berada di posisi ketiga juga masih mencari bentuk permainan terbaiknya.

Yang patut menjadi catatan bagi pasukan Sir Alex Ferguson adalah keroposnya lini pertahanan mereka, sehingga sangat rawan kemasukan gol dan perlu pembenahan. Trasfer window di bulan Januari bakal dimanfaatkan oleh tim-tim di liga eropa untuk berbenah, dan barangkali juga akan dilakukan oleh tim-tim di liga inggris.

Patut ditunggu langkah tim-tim kontestan liga inggris untuk dapat menggoyang keperkasaan United di puncak klasemen, dan seandainya MU konsisten dengan gaya permainan serta bisa memperbaiki kelemahan mereka di lini pertahanan, peluang juara bagi United sangat terbuka lebar. Tanpa mengecilkan tim peserta EPL lainnya, tak ada salahnya kalau saya menjagokan Manchester United, bukan?. :)

Another Familiar Name

Thanks to a regular emailer for a reminder that last night's Military Bowl game featured Dartmouth grad Adam Scheier '95 coaching special teams and tight ends for Bowling Green. The Falcons dropped a 29-20 decision to San Jose State.

From Scheier's BGSU bio:

He began his coaching career at Dartmouth, assisting with the secondary in 1996 after earning four varsity letters as a free safety for

Richard Sherman successfully appeals drug test result: Did NFL avoid StarCaps II?

Seattle Seahawks corner back Richard Sherman, who threatened to sue the NFL if they suspended him for a positive drug test result, successfully appealed the result on grounds the test was corrupted. Had Sherman been suspended and sued, he likely would have relied on the StarCaps litigation - where Minnesota state law was viewed as protecting NFL players in spite of conflicting CBA provisions (the players ultimately lost the case but succeeded in showing state law applied).

I discuss the legal impact of Sherman's appeal with Seattle's NBC TV Affiliate, King TV:

Considering Hanover

A column in the Trenton Times lists four high school seniors from that area of New Jersey who have Dartmouth on their radar:

Jeff Mattonelli, RB-DB, Steinert
Chris Cardinali, DB, Hun
Shurman Riggins, LB, Lawrence
Anthony Tucker-Bartley, RB-LB, Ewing

Mattonelli, who lists only Dartmouth, has been doing a regular Q&A on something called Fish4Scores that, is  "designed to give folks a look into

4-2-5 vs the Flexbone - Secondary Play

This is my first post on the 4-2-5.  I'm no expert on the defense, but I am smart enough to know that I better have a plan to defend the Option.  I will not do an entire series breaking down each position like my guest writers and I did with the 4-3.  The front 4 are still obeying BDSD (Block-Down-Step-Down) rules like with the 4-3 and the two Inside LBs will be very similar to the 4-3 Mike LB in terms of Open and Closed Window reads.  I will instead focus solely on the Secondary Play, specifically how the Safeties adjust vs. the motion of the Flexbone offense.  Duece also has a great post here on the 4-2-5 vs the Flexbone both from a 2 Hi look and a 1 Hi look that you need to read.

The motion of the Flexbone Offense makes it difficult to defend, however, the 4-2-5 has three Safeties that will adjust vs. the motion of the two Slot Backs.  Before I go any further, it is important to make sure you are allotting sufficient Group Time in practice for your Safeties vs. all of the possible motions, especially Counter motion.  And of course, you cannot expect your players to be able to defend the Flexbone the week of the game, but Spring practice is where this teaching process of defending the Option needs to begin, and these skills need to be refreshed periodically throughout the season.

The $ and WS will key and mirror the Slot Back to their side, and there are 5 different looks that they will see.

1.  No Motion

2.  Motion Away

3.  Motion to You - Slot Arcs                               

4.  Motion to You - Slot Releases Vertical

5.  Motion to You - Slot Folds

1.  No Motion

The base call is Cover Brown, which is a Man-Free coverage with the FS as the Deep Middle player—pretty basic stuff.  Whether they line up in Double Slot, Slot Trips, or whatever, the $ and WS will cover their Slot man-to-man and the two CBs are man vs. the two WRs.  This can be vs. a Drop-Back Pass or a Sprint-Out Pass.

2.  Motion Away

If the $ / WS sees his Slot motion away, he will run to the MOF (Middle of the Field).  He will help erase any mistakes by the FS and provide help defending the Post route to the opposite side of the field as you will see in the cut-ups. He will key the opposite Slot as he is runs back to the MOF for any type of Counter coming back to his side.  Note: you can also have the $ / WS stay home on the backside of the motion instead of running to the MOF and the frontside reads would still stay the same.

3.  Motion to You - Slot Arcs

Slot Arcs - Run

Vs. Slot motion to you, if the Slot Arc blocks, the $ / WS will want to push the Slot back vertical as he is running sideways.  The $ / WS is the Force / Pitch player.  This will often be vs. Rocket, which can get to the perimeter quickly.  The 4-2-5 allows for great leverage by the $ and WS to surround the run game and Force the ball back inside.  The other play that Flexbone teams like to run with the Slot Arc blocking is the Counter Option.  The $ / WS will see their Slot motion away and then return back and Arc block to their side.  The $ / WS needs to make sure he does not run too far to the MOF, or he will be out of position to defend the Pitch. 

Slot Arcs - Play-Action Pass

The $ / WS will be man vs. the Slot if he should Arc and then run the Wheel route.

4.  Motion to You - Slot Vertical

Slot Vertical - Run - Block Inside or Load FS

If the Slot releases vertical, he can blocks a DE or LB inside, or he can Load Block the FS.  The $ / WS then becomes the outside 1/2 of QB to Pitch player.  The cut-ups show the $ / WS slow-playing the QB to give the FS time to get to the Pitch.  Your FS has to be a very good tackler who can run in order to adequately defend the Flexbone. 

Some people have the $ / WS always stay outside and be the Pitch player, but having them read it this way allows you to better defend the QB run and causes him to have to pitch the ball to the third option, which is to the defense's advantage.

Slot Vertical - Play-Action Pass

Vs. motion, Cover Brown (Man-Free) becomes Robber (TCU Cover 2), and the FS will obey his Robber rules.  If #2 comes vertical, he has him.  If #2 is not vertical, he will rob Curl to Post of #1.  The $ is a Flat player if his Slot releases vertical with motion to him. 

5.  Slot Folds

If the Slot Folds inside of the OT, the play will be Midline Lead.  The Flexbone offense is able to insert both Slot Backs on this play to create two additional run gaps that the defense must be able to account for.  The $ / WS and FS will account for those two additional gaps in the 4-2-5 defense.  Rutgers got gashed by this play a couple of times at first vs. Army in 2009 before they started fitting it up correctly.

Corner Play

It is important that the Corners understand that although they are Man vs. their WR, they will need to Crack Replace and help defend the run vs. a good Flexbone team.  The cut-ups show some good examples of how Corners are to Crack Replace and how to shed the block of their WR and make a tackle when the ball crosses the LOS on a run to them.

Here are the cut-ups:

4-2-5 vs the Flexbone - Safety Play from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas and a blessed 2013 to everyone!

Looking Good

We could be receiving 12-16 inches of snow overnight. If you'd like to watch the storm progress, click here to watch the live webcam from Baker Tower looking over the Green.

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We'll be out of town visiting relatives for several days and Internet accessibility may be dicey so only time will tell if the blog will be updated.

Enjoy

Click on the song and then learn about Dartmouth and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by reading this story while the music is playing.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.

Happy Christmas & Merry Holidays from the MZone!

Even if you're dreaming of a white Christmas, we'd like to add some Maize and Blue to that.

Merry Christmas.

Happy Holidays.

Go Blue!

(pic via U-M's Facebook page, video courtesy of the U-M Alumni Association)

NCAA Investigators: are they like prosecutors or cops?

Geoff Rapp has some thoughtful comments on this question in a story in today's Los Angeles Times.  Here's an excerpt:

"The NCAA does not operate like a prosecutor's office or a police department where there are clearly understood constitutional limits," said Geoffrey C. Rapp, a University of Toledo law professor and editor of the Sports Law blog. "They don't have a structure in place to ensure consistency."

For more, click here.

BMOC

A 6-foot-8, 305-pound offensive tackle from Metairie, La., has been receiving recruiting interest from Ole Miss and Dartmouth. Not surprisingly, given that coach Pete Mangurian is a former defensive tackle at LSU, he's also hearing from Columbia. Scan down this story to find a recruiting mention about Rummel High's Patrick Kliebert. Find his bio here.

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Watching the magical Russell Wilson with

Hasil Undian Babak 16 Besar Liga Champions Eropa 2012/13

Undian babak 16 besar Liga Champions Eropa musim 2012/13 sudah selesai dilakukan, ada kejutan dari hasil undian tersebut dimana pada babak ini sudah harus bertemu klub raksasa Spanyol, Real Madrid, melawan raksasa Inggris, Manchester United. Meski dibilang terlalalu dini, namun inilah kenyataannya, kedua klub harus saling menyingkirkan dibabak 16 besar ini.

Selain pertemuan antara Real Madrid vs Manchester United, ada juga pertandingan yang layak di nantikan antara Barcelona vs AC Milan. Meski tertatih di liga domestik, namun Milan bukanlah lawan remeh, layak dinantikan apakah superioritas Barcelona di liga domestik mampu mereka buktikan di babak 16 besar ini. Masih ada Arsenal vs Bayern Munchen, Galatasaray vs Schalke, Celtic vs Juventus, Porto vs Malaga, Valencia vs PSG, Shakhtar Donetsk vs Dortmund.

Berikut hasil lengkap undian babak 16 besar liga champions eropa musim 2012/13:

LIGA CHAMPIONS EROPA MUSIM 2012/13 HASIL UNDIAN BABAK 16 BESAR

	GALATASARAY	VS	SCHALKE
	CELTIC	VS	JUVENTUS
	REAL MADRID	VS	MANCHESTER UNITED
	AC MILAN	VS	BARCELONA
	PORTO	VS	MALAGA
	VALENCIA	VS	PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
	SHAKHTAR DONETSK	VS	BORUSSIA DORTMUND
	ARSENAL	VS	BAYERN MUNICH

Lance Armstrong and what constitutes fraud

ESPN reports that Britain's Sunday Times has sued Lance Armstrong, seeking to recover more than 1 million pounds (more than $ 1.6 million) that the paper paid to Armstrong to settle a prior defamation action that Armstrong brought against the paper for repeating allegations that Armstrong doped. The theory is that Armstrong initiated "baseless and fraudulent" proceedings by alleging that doping allegations were false and insisting in settlement negotiations that he had never doped.

UK law is obviously quite different than US law. Still, I cannot imagine this suit can work. By bringing the suit, Armstrong simply put the paper to its burden of proving its allegations were true (a key difference between UK and US defamation law, where the plaintiff must prove falsehood). He was free to deny the truth of those allegations, both in bringing the suit and engaging in settlement negotiations.

Given my First Amendment views, I am no fan of British defamation law or of worthless defamation suits that are designed to intimidate the press. But the notion that such suits, and their settlement, constitute actionable fraud seems equally wrong.

Peaceful

The Christmas tree on the Dartmouth Green looked peaceful last night with a light snow falling in this photo shot with an iPod.

Transfer QB For Columbia?

He hasn't confirmed it 100 percent, but Jake Novak of the blog Roar Lions Roar is reporting that Columbia has landed a major transfer in former Stanford quarterback Brett Nottingham. From Nottingham's Stanford bio:

. . . four-star recruit ranks as one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation...ranked as the fourth-best pro-style quarterback by Rivals.com, 12th by ESPNU.com and 14th by

QB With Dartmouth Interest Chooses . . .

Brown grad-turned-Penn State coach Bill O'Brien is calling walk-on players at Penn State "run-ons" because, in their desire to impress, it would seem they don't walk anywhere. Among the "run ons" O'Brien will welcome next year will be two quarterbacks who might be of interest to Ivy League followers.

One is DJ Crook, a product of Barnstable HS on Cape Cod who played last fall at Worcester

Mutual Options in MLB Player Contracts

Wendy Thurm over at FanGraphs has written an interesting story looking at the use of mutual options in MLB player contracts.  As she notes, the mutual option only vests if both the player and the team agree to extend the contract for another season.  Not surprisingly, Wendy finds that these clauses have rarely been exercised by both parties, as usually one of the two sides determines it would be more advantageous to walk away from the agreement.  Nevertheless, she identifies several reasons why it may make sense for such a provision to be included in a player's contract.

Check out the full piece here.

The List

The Dartmouth Early Decision class was posted on Green Alert last night and includes two names not mentioned earlier.

Add to the list of previously identified recruits 6-foot-3, 270-pound offensive lineman David Morrison of Shaker High School in Latham, N.Y. And 6-4, 240 defensive end Zach Shank of Liberty High School in Olentangy, Ohio.

Morrison was an Albany Times Union All-Area Large School

Asisten Hebat Dibalik Arsitek Hebat

Ada pernyataan bijak mengenai kehebatan seorang pria yang berhasil meraih kesuksesan dalam hidupnya.
"dibalik seorang pria sukses terdapat seorang wanita yang hebat"
Hal serupa tampaknya akhir-akhir ini makin sering terjadi di dunia sepakbola.
Bukan soal sosok wanita dibalik keberhasilan pesepakbola tetapi ini menyangkut sosok Asisten dibalik seorang Manager atau Pelatih hebat.

Yang paling hot tentu saat kita mengupas sepak terjang Barcelona dibawah kepelatihan Tito Villanova.
Sempat diragukan bisa mengimbangi Real Madrid setelah ditinggal Pep Guardiola, pelatih tersukses sepanjang sejarah Barcelona, Tito membuktikan bahwa kehebatan Barcelona selama empat tahun kepelatihan Pep tidak lepas dari perannya.
Dan hal itu dibuktikan dengan superioritas Barcelona yang meninggalkan Real Madrid 13 poin dibelakang sampai 17 Desember 2012 La Liga bergulir.
Klaim bahwa Barcelona akan lemah saat ditinggal Pep sempat menyeruak saat Barcelona takluk dari Real Madrid dalam perebutan Piala Super Spanyol.
Namun pelan tapi pasti "magic" Tito mulai berbicara dengan terus menerus meraih hasil positif di La Liga dan sama sekali belum menerima kekalahan.
Fantastis dan semakin manis dengan catatan tajamnya Lionel Messi yang terus menerus mencetak gol sampai menciptakan rekor gol terbanyak dalam setahun.

Dari ranah Inggris, yang paling fenomenal tentu bila melihat pencapaian Roberto Di Matteo mengantarkan Chelsea meraih gelar Liga Champion pertama dalam sejarah.
Sempat berada di ujung tanduk saat kalah 3-1 di Perdelapan Final dari Napoli sekaligus menjadi alasan kuat pemecatan Andre Villas Boaz, Chelsea secara ajaib bangkit dan melaju terus sampai menundukkan hadangan "tuan rumah" Bayern Muenchen di partai final.
Meski banyak yang mengkritik pendekatan defensif Di Matteo saat berhadapan dengan Barcelona, kenyataannya Di Matteo berhasil menghadirkan trofi yang tidak mampu dihadirkan oleh pelatih sekelas Mourinho dan Ancelotti saat menukangi Chelsea.

Mundur ke tahun 2006, saat Piala Dunia digelar di Jerman, Juergen Klinsmann menghadirkan "The New German" lewat permainan sepakbola yang tidak text book lagi. Permainan Jerman begitu atraktif dan menghibur.
Saking bagusnya, publik Jerman pun tidak terlalu kecewa saat teamnya hanya sanggup meraih peringkat ketiga.
Lalu saat tongkat kepelatihan berlanjut ke Asisten Klinsmann, tidak ada yang menduga bahwa Joachim Loew mampu membawa Jerman tetap atraktif bahkan konon banyak yang mengatakan bahwa Loew lah kunci permainan atraktif Jerman saat masih diasuh Klinsmann.
Loew mampu membawa Jerman ke final Euro 2008 dan menapaki Semifinal Piala Dunia 2010.
Bukan pencapaian biasa dari sosok yang sebelumnya hanya menjadi asisten pelatih.

Jadi, jangan sepelekan kemampuan para Asisten Pelatih/Manager.
Perhatikan Steve Mc Claren, Asisten Sir Alex Ferguson saat meraih treble winners ini adalah kunci dibalik keberhasilan Middlesbrough meraih juara Piala Liga 2004 dan Runner Up UEFA Cup 2006 sebelum dipercaya menjadi Pelatih Timnas Inggris.
Gagal dalam mengantarkan Inggris ke Euro 2008, Mc Claren bangkit di Liga Belanda dengan mengantarkan Twente FC meraih gelar Eredivisie 2009-2010.

Lihat pula sepak terjang West Brom Albion musim ini di Liga Inggris.
Dari team yang terbiasa menghuni zona Degradasi, team ini sekarang menjelma menjadi penghuni tetap 10 besar, bahkan sempat masuk 4 besar klasemen liga.
Tahukah siapa aktor dibelakang layarnya? dialah Steve Clarke, mantan Asisten Mourinho di Chelsea dan Asisten Kenny Dagglish di Liverpool.

Bahkan pelatih sekelas Mourinho pun adalah seorang Asisten Bobby Robson dan Louis Van Gaal saat di Barcelona.
Andrea Villas Boaz adalah asistem Mourinho saat di Chelsea dan Inter Milan.
Pelatih Liverpool saat ini Brendan Rodgers? dia adalah Asisten Mourinho di Chelsea yang menangani team junior.

So, Watch out who is the assistant.

A Good Week for Sports Law

First, a new law employment report finds: "Legal jobs in the sports industry are red-hot right now". Any good news on legal employment is good news, but it's particularly encouraging to see it concern our area of law -- especially for those of us who teach students hands-on job skills in preparation for entering this awesome field.

Second, Aaron Zelinsky, author of two excellent sports law-related Yale Law Journal articles -- The Supreme Court (of Baseball) and The Justice as Commissioner: Benching the Judge Umpire Analogy -- has been chosen to become a United States Supreme Court clerk.  Aaron is also a contributor to Sports Law Blog, having authored Three Strikes for the National Labor Relations Act, among other contributions.

For those of you who don't know, it's almost impossible to become a Supreme Court clerk.  I don't know the exact percentage of applicants who get a slot, but it's probably less than 1%.  Just as revealing: many of whom that are not picked are themselves outstanding candidates.  To have a sports law author in this truly distinguished group is a positive sign for the scholarship we produce.  Aaron is possibly/probably the first sports law author to become a U.S. Supreme Court clerk.  It was only a matter of time and it's great that Aaron is the one to do it.

And of course, this good week of sports law news follows The Summer of Sports Law, as penned by the estimable Warren Zola.

And if by chance the Mayans prove right on Friday, at least sports law is going out with a bang!

Not just balls and strikes (redux)

I have returned to writing about the infield fly rule, an expansion of the short defense I wrote in October. Thinking about particular examples of infield fly situations (or non-examples) in the context of the full baseball rulebook brought me back to the judge/umpire/calling balls-and-strikes analogy. In particular, I come back to the argument (which I have made before) that one problem with the analogy is that it understates the complexity of the decisions that umpires have to make. And I keep returning to one historic play that demonstrates this complexity.

The Situation: (sorry not to have video to embed--it's really hard to find baseball footage online): Game 4 of the 1978 World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees; Dodgers leading 2 games to 1 and 3-1 with the Yankees batting in the bottom of the sixth. Reggie Jackson on first, Thurman Munson on second, one out; Lou Piniella batting. Piniella hits a low (ankle-high) line drive up the middle, to the left of Dodgers shortstop Bill Russell. Russell moves to his left, catches the ball at his shoe tops, drops it, picks it up as his body is continuing to move left, steps on second for the force out, then throws to first. Jackson had stopped running when he saw Russell initially catch the line drive and he is standing between first and second. As Russell's relay is coming, Jackson (imperceptibly) sticks out his right hip; the ball hits his hip and caroms into right field. Munson scores, Piniella is safe at first.

Several separate columns labeled this one of the five worst (or at least most controversial) calls in World Series or postseason history. Maybe. But look at the rules and facts the umpires had to determine on the fly:

1) Infield Fly: This is a potential infield fly situation (runners on first and second, less than two out). So the second-base umpire first had to determine that the ball hit was a line drive, to which the IFR does not apply, rather than a fly ball. Easy enough decision to make here--the ball clearly is a line drive and not easily playable--but the umpire at least must consider the rule in passing.

2) Intentionally Dropped Ball: Rule 6.05(l) provides that a batter is out and the ball is dead if an infielder intentionally drops a fair fly ball, including a line drive, where any force out is in effect. So the second base umpire had to determine whether Russell had intentionally dropped the ball to get a double play. He concluded it was not deliberate, presumably by reading where the ball was hit, how quickly and far Russell had to move to his left, and Russell's body language suggesting he was scrambling to pick the ball back up rather than being in control.

3) Interference: This is the one for which this play is remembered. Rule 7.09(f) provides that both the base runner and the batter are out and the ball is dead if a base runner "willfully and deliberately interferes" with a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball with the "obvious intent to break up a double play." So the question is whether Jackson "willfully and deliberately" interfered with Russell's relay throw. The first base umpire decided he was not, presumably because Jackson was genuinely hung-up on the play. The runner need not move all the way out of the baseline as the throw is coming (they usually do as a matter of self-preservation).  It appears on slow-motion that Jackson did stick his right hip out as the ball approached, but the umpires did not have that luxury of breaking the play down that much.

Whether you think the call was right or wrong probably depends on your rooting interests--I was 10 years old and living in northern New Jersey at the time. My point is that the umpires actually had a huge amount to watch, process, and interpret. And it is far from a simple or robotic task.

Update: Someone found the play on YouTube for me. Here it is:

Mal Content?

Former Dartmouth defensive end Malcolm Freberg '09 gave it the old college try on the TV reality show Survivor but came up short of the pot of gold. Freberg told Entertainment Weekly:

You lose a football game, you don’t hate the other quarterback that beat you, but you hate that you lost. So I’m cool with the people, but the situation is rough, I’m not Jeff Kent with a World Series to play for.

More on the NHL Lockout

Over the last few weeks, I've been corresponding with James Mirtle, one of the NHL reporter for the Canadian national newspaper the Globe and Mail, regarding the legal issues surrounding the NHL lockout.  Mirtle recently compiled this on-going discussion into a column analyzing the current legal status of the NHL labor dispute.  Here's an excerpt from the piece:

No. 2: Why would dissolving the union give the NHLPA any negotiating leverage if it’s widely held that the litigation they’re about to embark down is unlikely to ever reach its conclusion? Isn't this just another stalemate on top of an existing one?

Grow: “It's a really interesting question (and merits a longer answer than I originally anticipated). Disclaiming interest almost certainly would have given the players significantly more leverage had it been done back in October. If they had dissolved the union at that time, there would still have been plenty of time for a court to issue a preliminary ruling on the legality of the lockout before the entire season was endangered. And had the court actually gone so far as to enjoin the lockout, it obviously would have been a huge win for the players. 

“Now, though, there most likely isn't enough time left to get a preliminary ruling before the league cancels the season (although it would be interesting to see what the league would do if a court enjoined the continuation of the lockout in, say, late-February). 

You can read the entire piece here.  Meanwhile, for more regarding the NHL lockout, check out Sports Law Blog's prior commentary on the dispute.

Five-Year Ivy Records

A look at some football numbers . . .
Five-Year Ivy League Records
1. Harvard 29-6
1. Penn 29-6
3. Brown 23-12
4. Yale 16-19
5. Dartmouth 13-22
6. Princeton 11-24
7. Columbia 10-25
8. Cornell 9-26

Year-by-Year (beginning in 2008)
Harvard 6-1, 6-1, 5-2, 7-0, 5-2
Penn 5-2, 7-0, 7-0, 4-3, 6-1
Brown 6-1, 4-3, 5-2, 4-3, 4-3
Yale4-3, 2-5, 5-2, 4-3, 1-6
Dartmouth 0-7, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 4-3
Princeton 3-4,

The art and theatre of arguing with umpires

One thing that makes baseball unique is that managers and coaches are allowed to come onto the field for some purposes, including arguing with the umpires (I've always believed this is one reason why baseball coaches, alone among all other coaches, where the same clothes as the players). Here is a fun piece from MLB.com (H/T: Deadspin) detailing what managers actually are saying during those seemingly heated nose-to-nose shouting matches. Some of it is pretty funny.

NHLPA Begins Process to Disband

Building off Nathaniel Grow's excellent post from yesterday, various sources report that the NHL players have indeed begun voting to allow their union's executive board to file a formal "disclaimer of interest." This disclaimer of interest would end the union's collective bargaining relationship with the NHL -- making it easier for the players to bring an antitrust claim against the league.

If the NHL players vote favorably, it would mark the fourth time in sports-labor history that a players union has gone this route. The first was on November 3, 1989, when the NFLPA voted to renounce collective bargaining and then filed a labor organization termination notice with the U.S. Department of Labor -- leading to the Powell III, McNeil and White lawsuits. The second and third involved the NFLPA and NBPA -- both in 2011.

For more on past use of this strategy and its outcomes, see my article from this morning on Forbes SportsMoney.

Five-Year Records

A look at some football numbers . . .

Five-Year Overall Records
1. Harvard 40-10
2. Penn 34-16
3. Brown 33-17
4. Yale 24-26
5. Dartmouth 19-31
6. Cornell 17-33
7. Princeton 15-35
8. Columbia 14-36

Year-by-Year (beginning in 2008)
Harvard 9-1, 7-3, 7-3, 9-1, 8-2
Penn 6-4, 8-2, 9-1, 5-5, 6-4
Brown 7-3, 6-4, 6-4, 7-3, 7-3
Yale 6-4, 4-6, 7-3, 5-5, 2-8
Dartmouth 0-10, 2-8, 6-4, 5-5, 6-4
Cornell 4-6,

Barcelona Juara La Liga Spanyol Musim 2012/13?

La Liga Spanyol musim kompetisi 2012/13 baru memasuki pekan ke-16, belum genap separuh perjalanan, namun aroma juara sudah mulai terendus di kubu Barcelona. Tak berlebihan jika Barcelona di jagokan untuk menjadi juara di musim ini, mengingat catatan mengagumkan dari tim asal Catalan ini. Dari 16 laga, Barca mengumpulkan 46 poin, hasil dari 15 kali menang dan 1 kali seri.

Pada pertandingan pekan ke-16 melawan Atletico Madrid, Barcelona mampu mengalahkan pesaing terdekat mereka tersebut dengan skor mencolok, 4-1!. Padahal Atletico merupakan tim peringkat ke-2, sebelum pertandingan ini selisih poin dengan Barcelona hanya 6 poin, dengan kekalahan ini maka selisih poin saat ini menjadi 9 poin.

Real Madrid yang merupakan juara bertahan bernasib lebih buruk lagi, dari 16 pertandingan, Madrid baru mengumpulkan 33 poin, selisih 13 poin dari pemuncak klasemen, Barcelona. Padahal, sejak awal Madrid merupakan kandidat kuat untuk mempertahankan gelar, apalagi Barcelona sedangan mengalami transisi dari pelatih terdahulu, Pep Guardiola, ke mantan asistennya, Tito Vilanova.

Namun perjalanan Barcelona di musim 2012/13 sungguh luar biasa, minimal sampai pekan ke-16 ini mereka sudah membuktikan diri sebagai kandidat kuat peraih gelar juara La Liga Spanyol. Torehan rekor belum lepas dari striker mereka, Lionel Messi yang memecahkan rekor gol terbanyak selama setahun dari Muller. Raihan poin Barca pun juga memecahkan rekor. Jadi, apa yang perlu di ragukan lagi?.

Memang kompetisi masih panjang, namun jika Barcelona mampu mempertahankan performa mereka sampai akhir kompetisi, maka gelar juara sudah menanti. Tanpa mengecilkan persaingan, Real madrid, Atletico Madrid, Malaga, dan tim-tim lain di La Liga masih punya peluang yang sama, namun Barcelona masihlah yang terdepan sebagai kandidat kuat peraih gelar juara La Liga Spanyol musim 2012/13. Bagaimana menurut Anda?.

Hasil Pertandingan Liga Italia Serie A 2012/13 Pekan 17

Liga Italia Serie A musim 2012/13 telah menyelesaikan pekan ke-17, ada beberapa hasil yang diluar prediksi. Pada pertandingan antara Lazio vs Inter Milan yang berlangsung di Olimpico, Lazio berhasil menundukkan Inter dengan skor tipis 1-0. Chievo berhasil menundukkan AS Roma dengan skor 1-0, Napoli harus kalah dikandang sendiri ketika ditundukkan oleh Bologna dengan skor 2-3.

Juventus masih menduduki pemuncak klasemen sementara setelah menundukkan tamunya, Atalanta, dengan skor 3-0. Berikut hasil-hasil pertandingan di pekan ke-17 selengkapnya:

Udinese 1 - 1 Palermo
Lazio 1 - 0 FC Internazionale
Fiorentina 4 - 1 Siena
Catania 3 - 1 Sampdoria
Chievo 1 - 0 AS Roma
Genoa 1 - 1 Torino
Juventus 3 - 0 Atalanta
AC Milan 4 - 1 Pescara
Parma 4 - 1 Cagliari
Napoli 2 - 3 Bologna

A Modest Proposal

Let Congress solve the NHL labor dispute and let the NHLers solve the impasse on the fiscal cliff and gun control, since neither seems capable of solving their own problems.

Just My Opinion:5 things that will make Ferrum Better

Coach Harper has completed his second season, and if he can keep this pace up (14-6 after two years) he will break Hank Norton's wins record of 244 in his 35th season....2046. ( Coach Norton, I think you are safe.) On a more serious note, Coach Harper is doing a phenomenal job, and to be at the brink of making the playoffs in both of his first two seasons shows that things are going fairly well at Ferrum.
Some would ask, and in fact some have, what has to happen to get Ferrum in the post season?

I watched the Maryville game on the Internet, and while Ferrum only lost by 7, it really did not seem that close. The emotion of the day, coupled with the necessity to win, placed a huge burden on the Panthers. Do not discount Maryville. They were a well prepared, and very solid team. They seemed to out play Ferrum for most of the day. So how does Ferrum get over the chalk line that takes them to the post season? I think there are 5 areas that Ferrum has to focus on:

Recruiting
Strength, Speed and Conditioning
Player Retention
Continuing Upgrades to the Adams Field Facility
A Full Time Assistant Sports Information Director





As a team, I do not think Ferrum is that far from a conference championship. The progress they have made in the first two seasons under Harper is a strong indication that Ferrum is becoming a more well rounded football team. The areas listed below are just my opinion.

Recruiting- This is an area that Ferrum is making great strides in. It seems recruits are coming from farther away, and to me that is a good thing. There is a lot of competition in Virginia for DIII level talent. Ferrum is not the only show in town. Competition comes from every school in the USA South, as well as the ODAC. Even Mt. Union has 4 players from Virginia.
Ferrum needs to expand their reach, and cast a wider net. This will make the Panthers a stronger team.

Strength, Speed and Conditioning- Ferrum needs to make this a priority, and not by adding this as a responsibility of an assistant coach. Ferrum needs to create a department of  Strength Speed and Conditioning. This would dedicate that department staff to the sole purpose of developing the athlete. More importantly, it would provide a structured, tailored workout that would not involve the coaches. Coach involvement with the athlete in the off season could be a NCAA rules violation. This department would benefit and be used by all sports.

Player Retention-Developing the athlete is one thing, but retaining the athlete is an entirely different need. Over the years, Ferrum has been, like many schools in the conference, the victim of players leaving, only to enroll in a less expensive school, or a school that was more advantageous academically. Ferrum is working diligently to improve its academic offerings, and while this will take time, I think there is a major need to find a way to make the Ferrum experience more affordable.I do not have answers to this. Obviously, the tuition has increased, but I visited this topic in a much earlier post, and remember a response that peaked my curiosity. I cannot take credit for this idea, but it at least was an idea on a possible approach to make Ferrum more affordable.The idea involved a sliding tuition scale. This idea was simple, indicating that the base tuition be decreased each year that the student returned. This would be available to all students, not just athletes and would be presented as a policy, and could not be interpreted as a scholarship.
How would this affect Ferrum's operating revenues? Not good I am sure, but I just wonder if this is not an idea that could be reviewed. It seems to me that this reduction in tuition could be based on the college's fundraising efforts, and depending on the amount of monies coming into Ferrum in the form of donations, there would be an opportunity to apply this to the expected tuition revenue, and offer a percentage of discount to the student....Just a thought.

Continuing the upgrades to the Adams Field facility- The addition of the Hank Norton Center has made a huge impact on the field sports at Ferrum. This first rate facility is a major first step in the direction that the Adams Field facility is headed. After an exchange of emails with Kim Blair-Vice President for Institutional Advancement, it appears that the much needed replacement of the Press Box at Adams Field is going to come to fruition.
 I expect a new one to be in place before the start of the 2013 season. While this is welcomed news, I am hopeful for a few more enhancements. They are:

Lights for night games
Artificial Turf
State of the art restrooms

These, while not inexpensive, will round out a very modern facility.


Hiring a full time Assistant Sports Information Director- In my opinion, Gary Holden is one of the most important people on the Ferrum campus. His abilities in the office of Sports Information, are very valuable, and he does a first rate job. Ferrum is extremely lucky to have him. I do see however an athletic program growing by leaps and bounds. Men's swimming is the most recent addition to the athletic offerings at Ferrum. This being said, this new sport joins Women's Swimming, Men's Lacrosse, and Men's Wrestling as part of what is now a 19 sport offering at Ferrum.
Gary not only works as the only full time employee in his department, he also serves as the Assistant Athletic Director. While I know that there are others on campus that have duties of assistant to the SID, these responsibilities are secondary to their primary job.
A full time assistant is imperative to maintain the work load that an increased sports offering demands. This too needs to be a priority.

With this post, I advocate for more facilities, more staff, and less revenue...I guess I will never be on the Board of Visitors, but I think all of the above suggestions are valid, no matter the apparent conflict. Ferrum is riding a wave of expansion, and over the last ten years, the upgrades on campus are phenomenal. I am hopeful these upgrades to Ferrum will continue. Just my Opinion