FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[westcoastDad]

Hang in the there Island Time!  I need a wingman.  Tell your son to ask lots of questions about the squats and knee Jerks with the dead weight.  My bias says....heck no...don't do it.  Bad on the knees.  Find better ways to improve leg strength. 

The coach that recruited my son on the left coast.....left before freshman season began.  Bummer indeed. 

But, so many great things to say about the program and the school.

Amherst Rebel out

[westcoastDad]

Did anyone happen to see the Undisputed telecast this morning?  Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe debate every day on FS1.  I tape it.  You won't believe what the topic whittled down to....after theit recap of the Seahawks v Cardinals game that ended in a 6-6 tie in OT. 

It was as if they had been on this board.  The words "specialist" and "baseball has them too" were mentioned.  Skip went so far as to say they should get rid of extra points and field goals. 
But, of course, he's a huge Tom Brady fan.  And without Adam Vinatieri....Tom might not have 2 or 3 rings.   

Can't make this stuff up!  Vintage stuff.

Amherst rebel out

[jumpshot]

Lots of good choices for the former lord jeffs:

hamster, the plague, defectors, biddies, elites ....

A committee after all this time following promises of quick resolution?  Are you kidding me? What next, a "branding" marketing study followed by focus group research, pilot projects, test advertising, feedback, and repeating the process?

Little chance of a smart decision that will placate alumni and students at this point....It's all rigged in any case ....

[JEFFFAN]

If the Board wants to offer suggestions for the new Amherst mascot, I would be glad to pass them on to the committee !

[polbear73]

There has been a lot of discussion on this board about coaches and turning noncompetitive programs around.  When James Franklin arrived at Vanderbilt in 2011 the Commodores had gone a typical 2-10 the previous season and were often referred to by their fan base as the Commodes.  Franklin was in Nashville for three seasons before taking the job at Penn St.   His COMMODORES went 6-7, 9-4 and 9-4 playing in three bowl games and winning two of them.  That's the equivalent of a coach taking over at Hamilton and going 4-4, 6-2 and 6-2 in his first three seasons.  I used to enjoy watching his post game press conferences.  Following last Saturday's PSU upset of The Ohio State I decided to watch one again.  Penn State has always been my favorite DI team.  When you are a Vandy alum you need a football safety school. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvT4tIRBN_0   

www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/football/mc-penn-state-football-ohio-state-follow-20161023-story.html

As for the new Amherst mascot I've always liked the anagram idea but not as the Hamsters.  À la Stanford, The Hamster.

Vandy:  Your alma mater's turnaround is much more impressive when one considers that it's the SEC where other members are hardly academic peers and whose enrollments are multiples of Vanderbilt.  That's certainly not the case in NESCAC with its very restrictive rules on tips, recruiting, practice time, 8 game schedules and the mission statement that all student athletes reflect the general student body.  With Tufts (and perhaps Wesleyan) as an outlier on the enrollment issue, NESCAC schools are all of similar size and academic character.  The Maine schools plus Hamilton are not trying to play out of class and that is what is especially frustrating to fans supporting those schools; they should be competing better with their peers. 

Hats off to Vanderbilt.

[PolarCat]

If the Board wants to offer suggestions for the new Amherst mascot, I would be glad to pass them on to the committee !

Given how Liberal the Administration and local community has become, how about "The Bernies?"  That choice would also allow for recycling of all those Feel The Bern buttons still floating around on college campuses, looking for a new purpose in life.

Or in symbolic repentance for Lord Jeffery Amherst's alleged atrocities against Indigenous Peoples, maybe naming the team in honor of the greatest living Native American?  "The Elizabeth Warrens" does have a certain ring to it.  http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbzGyG_ppak/T8BH3LVvJwI/AAAAAAAABmI/gAmFVEufKAw/s1600/Princess+Moonbat+Feathers.png

[nescac1]

Rigged?  The Bernies?  Elizabeth Warren?  Elites?  Is this a D3football site or a Trump subreddit? 

And yes, Nescacman, I am well aware of the situation Kelton left for his successor.  Enough with the beating of a dead horse -- it's not like I (or anyone else here) ever sung the guy's praises, either for his coaching acumen or his recruiting ability.  Like everyone else I do think he was a great guy, however, so no need to keep stating the obvious given that he has moved on.  I'm looking to the future, and despite this year's W-L record, I see reason for optimism ahead.  Give Raymond and the very strong staff he has assembled two years to recruit and develop the young guys on the roster and look out for the Ephs in 2018. 

[amh63]

This board is really getting a bit crazy as the mid season point is history.  Join the fray a little here.
First....Nescac1, your Mascot suggestion is most telling.  Discuss it with your cousin and if he agrees, have him submit it to the committee.
IslandTime....Your suggestion has some merit in its strong rebellious form.  Though the Williams defectors led to the founding of Amherst....wise men...and the formation of the FIRST Alumni society at Williams, the name is too narrow in scope and is contrary to the suggested goal of bring the community to get ter.  I would suggest Tipper as in COW tipping if it was only between Amherst vs Williams .
Vandy74, nice deflection my friend.  I always enjoyed my visits to Happy Valley and PSU on business trips.  Even stroked the Mascot near the Inn...Nitty Lion or otherwise known as the mountain lion or Panthers as in Midd's Mascot.  Do not like the placement of its Huge 100,000 plus football stadium though...should have been a bowl design.
I actually had a suggestion...other than JEFFs...and discussed it with a staff member over breakfast earlier in the year.  Keep in mind that the staff member works in the admission office, is a friend and a former football player at Williams.  In addition he has a son that was a star athlete at a D1 school.  Back to Mascot suggestion.  Considering the school's emblem...with the sun/ star and the motto in Latin of shining light worldwide..paraphrase of motto and Latin ignorant...I proposed the term.." Missionaries".  Like Harvard and other religious based colleges, Amherst was founded to produce ministers that served the agrarian based society in America.  They dealt with family concerns outside the church too in wills, deeds, etc.  My friend liked it and maybe he will sugget it to the standing committee.
If I do make a direct suggestion to the committee, it would be Jeffs.
Now to football....shake hands all and come out fighting!

[nescac1]

Amh63, considering my cousin never attended a single sporting event in his four years at Amherst, I seriously doubt he cares about the mascot debate ... not sure how we share the same blood ! 

[Nescacman]

Rigged?  The Bernies?  Elizabeth Warren?  Elites?  Is this a D3football site or a Trump subreddit? 

And yes, Nescacman, I am well aware of the situation Kelton left for his successor.  Enough with the beating of a dead horse -- it's not like I (or anyone else here) ever sung the guy's praises, either for his coaching acumen or his recruiting ability.  Like everyone else I do think he was a great guy, however, so no need to keep stating the obvious given that he has moved on.  I'm looking to the future, and despite this year's W-L record, I see reason for optimism ahead.  Give Raymond and the very strong staff he has assembled two years to recruit and develop the young guys on the roster and look out for the Ephs in 2018.

We agree with everything you said except for "Like everyone else I do think he was a great guy".

How great of a guy can the HCOF be for taking full credit for the 2010 Ephs 8-0 championship season, the year after Whales and DiCenzo left the Team fully loaded? It has been said by many Williams alum that even Ray Handley could have gone 8-0 with that Team. 

We do not think he was or is a great guy.

[PolarCat]

FWIW the Shorter fans may agree with you, as his team is now 0-8.  Though they may be getting better.  Last Saturday they were only blown out 36-0, vs the 66-0 drubbing they took the first week of the season.

[Nescacman]

FWIW the Shorter fans may agree with you, as his team is now 0-8.  Though they may be getting better.  Last Saturday they were only blown out 36-0, vs the 66-0 drubbing they took the first week of the season.

Polar, glad to see someone else is following Shorter too!!! We love the Shorter Hawks!!! Seems like what the HCOF inherited at Shorter is pretty much what he left behind in Williamstown....nothing. We guess there is some justice in the world for current Eph fans. We could see a big 0'fer between the Ephs/Hawks....the big week 6 match-up between the Ephs and the Conts is all that stands between them and zero win season. 

Although we have not been following it closely, hopefully Raymond's former colleagues at undefeated St. Lawrence are being a bit more complimentary towards him than the HCOF was towards his predecessors. 

[PolarCat]

Can anyone post analysis and opinions on what to expect in the Bates Colby matchup this Saturday? My gut tells me this will be a hard fought game because of the rivalry. But Bates should enjoy a real home field advantage. Any and all thoughts would be appreciated.

Bates has an outstanding defense.  Their major problem this year has been spending too much time on the field.  Hurdle Price is a great back, but Bates' Mark Upton is an even better defender.  Many other good defensive players for Bates, like Joe Frake, Brandon Williams, Tyler Harrington and Trevor Lyons.

The Bobcats O is schizophrenic: at times they show a creative passing attack (like they did beating Williams) and at times they just plug away with the triple option, and go three and out.  I have no clue which offense will show up Saturday.  QB Sandy Plaskes has a great arm, but he and the WR's don't always appear to be on the same page.  RB Frank Williams is consistently excellent, and my hunch is his backfield partner, Mikoy Nichol is going to have a breakout game.

I haven't seen Colby play this year, but Bates does a good job on Special Teams, particularly the punter, Justin Foley, who pinned the Panthers on the one yard line twice this past Saturday.  Both schools have talented PK's, so I'd say the punting game favors Bates, while the kicking game is a push.

The only thing I know for certain is the tailgating will be epic.   

[PolarCat]

Just don't confuse "detailed" for "accurate".  I may be dead wrong on all counts, except for the tailgate.

[lumbercat]

ColbyFootball-

Polarcat is on the money. Hope you can enjoy the tailgate on the Bates campus on Saturday- and if you have a chance catch the Bobcat Brunch in Bates Commons. Wish I could nail you a reservation for you at DaVincis in Lewiston Saturday night but we cant get one this late for our old  Bobcats Gridiron group either.

Bates strength is on D while Colby seems to have better players in the skill positions so it will be an interesting matchup.
At the end of the day it's the CBB and the rivalry is as good as it gets....it will be a very good football game.
Make any comment you want about the CBB but the passion surrounding the Bates, Bowdoin and Colby rivalries and the atmosphere on the 3 CBB campuses is always at the top of the NESCAC. Everybody gets up for the CBB. Go ahead and say that's all they have right now but the passion is unsurpassed and never waivers, no question.

You will enjoy the Football experience at CBB games- guaranteed.

The CBB environment on Saturdays is  great and surpasses other overrated NESCAC venues. This becomes evident especially if you have done the tour a few times.

Williams- employs the gestapo brigade in the tailgate to so you feel guilty having a couple a couple of beers even if you sneak them trough customs.....

Tufts- the tailgate take place in a area that is about 500 sq feet in total area with cars going by- just no space there.

Trinity- If you are at a game at Trinity don't even bother going to the tailgate at halftime, its so far away when you finally get back there its time to turn around and make the cross country journey back to Jesse field. I suggest that visiting families and alums takes pledges from donors for the journey...it could be a great fundraiser.

Wesleyan- as good as the CBB- maybe better.

Amherst- great new stadium but no parking near the field which is in a residential area on the far edge of campus. Pack those coolers light for a long Trinity like trek.

Middlebury- rumored to be gestapo like but heresay only- the board can clarify.

Hamilton- haven't been there recently so no clue. The best representation I ever heard about Hamilton was many years ago when I was a high school senior and was recruited by the Continentals. I asked an old coach who had coached in that area where Hamilton was......He said it was "centrally isolated" so as a Boston area kid I never made the trek.