Perfect Weather

Spring Camp or is this Paradise?

So much for a  "Junction Boys"-like atmosphere atmosphere as Columbia begins spring practice this week.

The weather is more than gorgeous here in New York City with temps in the 60's predicted for this entire week. No one is going to drop off the roster because of the elements, that's for sure.

But there will be roster changes in the coming days and not ALL the deletions from the roster will be the result of players quitting. I am getting reports of some serious injuries that took longer to diagnose, and that will be the cause of attrition for 2-3 names of some promising non-starters from last year.

QB Crop

Bruce Wood's Big Green Alert Blog makes the point that Columbia's Sean Brackett is the most experienced QB returning for the 2012 season. Of course, since Sean began starting for the Lions in week 7 of his freshman year and he's now a senior, he'd probably be the most experienced QB coming back in any year. 

It's quite a contrast from the 2011 season when all eight Ivy teams had at least one experienced starter returning. But injuries and other circumstances got in the way and there was plenty of upheaval at that crucial position as the season wore on.

And remember that even though his injuries only sidelined him for one game, Brackett was never really 100% all season. Any scrutiny of his diminished numbers for 2011 need to be considered in that light. 

But getting back to 2012, this fall promises to be exciting as several Ivy schools work to get their signal-caller situations worked out. A lot of the planning and practicing for that will take place this week during spring practices... and then have to be totally changed six months from now when the realities of the actual games kick in. 

Invisible Men?

An editorial in Monday's Columbia Spectator urges students to do more community service. It briefly mentions "outreach" to the football team, but seems entirely ignorant of the fact that the football players already do a significant amount of community service, mostly under the guidance of Father Valenti. 

It's yet another example of how our athletes remain invisible men on campus, and the connotations are troubling for a lot more than just attendance at the games.

The more our non-athlete students remain ignorant of their athlete peers, the more Ivy athletics and the entire undergraduate experience are diminished. 

I know I've written about this before, but the communal aspect of going to college is disappearing on campuses across the country. Going to sporting events to support the team in unison is one of the few things most college students still do together in large numbers. But at Ivy schools, that's not the case.

Creating winning programs is the best way to improve visibility for our teams. Beyond that, I think just about everything has at least been tried. 

It may be time to try harder. 

Adams on the Clock

I took this picture early Monday morning outside the temporary NFL store across from Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan. This is the countdown clock to the beginning of the NFL draft. 

Columbia's Jeff Adams is fighting for a chance to get drafted and right now, he's rated in that limbo area of either a last round choice or a priority free agent.

But Columbia's PR efforts would really get a boost if Adams can squeeze his way into the draft somehow. 

And with the NFL draft becoming a New York City "event," getting an actual New York City college football player drafted would be doubly noteworthy.