FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Caz Bombers]

AUPepBand....nice post.  I too am a fan of the Hamilton Coach....the former AU coach.  Aware that is youngest daughter is a student at Cornell.
One thing for sure, the latest posts all indicate to me that it is a tough job...to be a HFC in a conference that has player limits, until now an unbalanced schedule, tough academic  restrictions, etc., etc..
For me...The game in Clinton with Hamilton is a challenge.  First, one has to avoid a wrong turn going the " back roads"...going to let my daughter drive.  Must remember NOT to head for the town of Hamilton before looking for the town/village of Clinton.  Colgate Un. is in Hamilton and just a  short distance away.  First time back since the removal of the visitor stand...singular.  Rest rooms further away.   Hamilton's team is a big unknown challenge playing at HOME.  Know their HC is a winner.  Have to find a place in town to eat that meets the needs of my family...picky eaters.   No Asian place with sushi, etc. 
PolarCat....you can get sushi at Cumberland farms?  Hope the Village of Clinton has such a establishment. .

Thanks, amh63...+K Pep is well familiar with the oddities of Central New York geography. Pep is an alum of Morrisville State, located in....how about this one?....MORRISVILLE! Familiar with Hamilton being over the hill, home of Colgate. Also familiar with Clinton, where Hamilton College in on the hill. Also familiar with the fact that Hobart is in Geneva, NY (there is a Hobart, NY, too!) and Geneva College is in Beaver Falls, PA. And do you know that East Aurora, New York is a three-hour drive WEST of Aurora, New York?

As for eating in Hamilton, Pep isn't there often enough to suggest a winner but Utica's not too far and you could always try Pho Mekong House of Noodles in Utica. Pep wouldn't care for it, but if the venture included a stop at Holland Farms, a half moon cookie will please the most finicky of palates. Pep made a stop there after the AU-Utica game last November.

On Saxon Warriors!

There is also a Hartwick, NY where Hartwick College is definitely not located. Although it was founded originally at nearby Hartwick Seminary, which is technically located in Milford, NY.

And of course as noted Hamilton is in Clinton and Colgate is in Hamilton. Neither Clinton nor Hamilton are located in either Clinton County or Hamilton County. Colgate Lake, on the other hand, is in Greene County. Greene, NY on the other other hand, is not.

[hamgrand]

Amh63 - PolarCat is spot on with the Italian cuisine in Utica, but a couple other eateries to add to your list: Black Stallion is popular and close by in Vernon. I would also recommend Piggy Pats in Washington Mills for barbecue.

PolarCat:  Buddy Garrity is the man!

Looking forward to heading up to Bowdoin this week And seeing the new field.  I bet it will be a great facility.  Only challenge I see is that visitor tailgate area is now by field house which is a little bit from the stadium.  Nice picturesque walk, but I prefer being a little closer to the field.

Speaking of tailgates and field, here my opinions on each of the NESCAC venues:
Middlebury: great stadium and of course the setting and views are second to none.  Tailgating is close and easy access to field.  Great place to watch game!  Only con-  Sometimes I feel a little far from the action.

Hamilton:  I actually like Steuben Field as a great game watching experience. The campus is beautiful and the tailgating area at the end of field is one of the better located areas in the league.  And although the stands are smaller and only on one side, from my spot near the 50yd line and 3 rows from the top - one has a great view of all the action and you feel real close to the field.  Even my buddy DC53 can occasionaly yell at the refs and they can actually hear him loud and clear.

Bowdoin - really enjoyed my experience at the old field when tailgate area was at one end zone.  Looking forward to new venue.

Wesleyan - great game day atmosphere and tailgating very close.  Like how the teams walk right by tailgate area before game and at halftime.

Williams - beautiful new facilities!  Visiting Tailgate area is nice and close by.  Cool that they sell beer in end zone, but I prefer to sneak mine in past the can police.  You can't bring any cans in - beer, soda, anything - that's assuming you admit you have cans in your cooler.  Safety railings on the visitor stands do obstruct view of field unless you stand on top row of bleachers.  But all the other positives of this facility make it a nice experience.

Amherst - the new turf field and stadium is first class.  Another pretty campus and game day experience.  Visiting tailgate area is not ideal as it is too far from the stadium for any halftime grilling activity.

Trinity - always fun to go to the coop, and game usually draws biggest crowds which adds to the atmosphere.  Visiting and home tailgate areas are too far from the field.  But fraternities in far end zone gives it an old time college game day feel!

Tufts - I like going to Tufts.  Visiting tailgate area is close enough to watch warmups and they usually draw a nice crowd. 

Colby  - also like going on the Maine trips.  Usually go part way Thursday and visit customers in NE/ME on Friday.  Makes for a nice end of week and build up to games, not to mention I can even write off hotel costs if I play it right.  Another beautiful campus and nice field. Nice view of clock tower from visitor stands. Tailgate area in parking lot on visitor side of field is much better location than being behind Colby stands like in the past.

Bates - great field and location on campus.  Unfortunately the visitor tailgate area is in the worst location compared to all the other schools.  The home tailgate area seems to rock pretty hard when we walk by on way to game.  Wish I could hang out there! Swear I was following behind Steven King (or a look alike) driving a beat up station wagon last time I was in the area.

Back to Bowdoin, anyone have a good restaurant suggestion for Friday night?  Hoping for lobster, but would settle for a good meal and local craft brew.

[PolarCat]

Back to Bowdoin, anyone have a good restaurant suggestion for Friday night?  Hoping for lobster, but would settle for a good meal and local craft brew. 

If you want lobster, head over to Bailey Island and visit either Morse's or Cooks.  Cooks is a little more touristy.  Morse's is more authentic.   At either place, make sure you get there in time for the sunset. 

If you miss sunset and want someplace decent in Brunswick, Frontier is always a safe bet.  Good food, a reasonable selection of craft beers, fun ambiance.  If you want to put more emphasis on the beer and less on the food, head across the river to Seadog Brewery.

Avoid Tao.  Not sure who writes the glowing reviews, but they are obviously getting paid off.  Real foodies make the trip to Portland; Tao is just a pretentious,oh-so-precious local place.

If you filled up at the tailgate and want something later in the evening (instead of a full meal), the pizza at Portland Pie is amazing.

Wherever you eat, save room for Gelato Fiasco on Maine Street.  If you want a libation afterwards, either the Coast Bar in the Daniel Hotel or the Tavern in the Brunswick Hotel is the spot to go.  (We normally stay at the Brunswick Hotel, so we hang at the Tavern since we can just stumble upstairs when we've sampled enough bourbon).

When you wake up Sunday morning, head over to Little Dog for coffee, then walk across the street to Frosty's Donuts for, you guessed it, little oval pieces of heaven.  Get there early for the best selection.  You've been a good boy, so go ahead and indulge yourself.

And no visit to Brunswick is complete without sampling the best lobstah roll anywhere in the universe, at Libby's Market.  They cook the lobster fresh for each roll; no scooping out a roll-full that was made an hour ago, a day ago or a week ago.  Bring a cooler and grab a couple for the car ride home.

PS: If Mrs. Hamgrand wants to stop in Freeport to exercise her (your?) credit cards, there's a Frosty's there as well.  Because if you're letting her shop, you deserve some more Donuts.

[P'bearfan]

Is it better to begin with those four, or end with those four?  Who knows.  You have to play 'em all eventually ... also, until three years ago, Tufts was the worst team in the league.  Until five years ago, Wesleyan was also really bad.  Williams was once great, now is not remotely good, as for the future, who knows?  The point is that for nearly every NESCAC team, fortunes ebb and flow over time.  But if in any given year, two teams fighting for the NESCAC championship play markedly different groups of opponents, where one, e.g., doesn't get to play an 0-8 team while the other doesn't play a 7-1 team, that is egregiously unfair. 

Edited in light of last comment, which I just saw: is there a greater chance of players getting injured in a blow-out loss or in a closely-competitive game?  I have no idea, but I think it's odd to suggest that playing better teams earlier in the season increased chances of serious injuries.  I guess that is possible, but I know of no evidence to support that claim.  In some ways, I would think the opposite to be true -- if you're down 35-0, you can play a lot deeper into your bench, reducing the chances of an injury to a starter.

A little too much ebb in Brunswick; we're ready for some flow.

[P'bearfan]

Back to Bowdoin, anyone have a good restaurant suggestion for Friday night?  Hoping for lobster, but would settle for a good meal and local craft brew. 

If you want lobster, head over to Bailey Island and visit either Morse's or Cooks.  Cooks is a little more touristy.  Morse's is more authentic.   At either place, make sure you get there in time for the sunset. 

If you miss sunset and want someplace decent in Brunswick, Frontier is always a safe bet.  Good food, a reasonable selection of craft beers, fun ambiance.  If you want to put more emphasis on the beer and less on the food, head across the river to Seadog Brewery.

Avoid Tao.  Not sure who writes the glowing reviews, but they are obviously getting paid off.  Real foodies make the trip to Portland; Tao is just a pretentious,oh-so-precious local place.

If you filled up at the tailgate and want something later in the evening (instead of a full meal), the pizza at Portland Pie is amazing.

Wherever you eat, save room for Gelato Fiasco on Maine Street.  If you want a libation afterwards, either the Coast Bar in the Daniel Hotel or the Tavern in the Brunswick Hotel is the spot to go.  (We normally stay at the Brunswick Hotel, so we hang at the Tavern since we can just stumble upstairs when we've sampled enough bourbon).

When you wake up Sunday morning, head over to Little Dog for coffee, then walk across the street to Frosty's Donuts for, you guessed it, little oval pieces of heaven.  Get there early for the best selection.  You've been a good boy, so go ahead and indulge yourself.

And no visit to Brunswick is complete without sampling the best lobstah roll anywhere in the universe, at Libby's Market.  They cook the lobster fresh for each roll; no scooping out a roll-full that was made an hour ago, a day ago or a week ago.  Bring a cooler and grab a couple for the car ride home.

PS: If Mrs. Hamgrand wants to stop in Freeport to exercise her (your?) credit cards, there's a Frosty's there as well.  Because if you're letting her shop, you deserve some more Donuts.

Overall agree with your restaurant suggestions - except for Tao Yuan.  Only ate there once but the meal was first rate.

In addition to the places you mentioned above I would add:

-Wild Oats - great sandwiches, soups and salads

-Shere Punjab - good Indian restaurant

For breakfast there are two additional options:

-Blueberries: a small place next to the Sea Dog;

-the Brunswick Diner: an even smaller place on the way into town.  Good, inexpensive food but they are cash only.

In short there a number of great places to eat in Brunswick.  Enjoy!!

[polbear73]

A little too much ebb in Brunswick; we're ready for some flow.

Amen.

[PolarCat]

Here ya go.

[FourMoreYears]

Al Davis extremely happy to be checking in after 3 1/2 years. I could not figure how to log into my old account or retrieve my password if admin can help me with that. I was arrested in April 2014 and was never able to bail out with over zealous charges for sports gambling. Due to my very unfortunate demise caused great strain on my wife , son and daughter. Not to make any excuses but I believe to cause my son to make some very poor decisions which have cost him dearly and so very sorry for the causes and effects to Wesleyan as I was in such despair more than any other issue I faced in prison that my son would have caused any problems and such an enormous opportunity earned and allocated from all the great people at Wesleyan. The fall of 2013 was the best days of my life being part of Wesleyan and all the great people I met. For all my hardships and losses against me in my Racketeering case my son making an uncharacteristically poor decision causing embarrassment to the team and school. He is paying dearly and I still love Wesleyan and Nescac football and will proceed to catch up with 3 1/2 years of posts.

Not on these boards much anymore as my son has graduated ... but he noticed you were back and sent me a screen shot of this post.  Welcome back.  Always enjoyed your posts, and spending a beautiful fall morning talking with you at Whittier in what I believe was your son's freshman year was enjoyable.  May you be well, may your son be well, and your family.

[nescac1]

A few highlights from Williams-Bowdoin, of particular note are the three big-play Williams TDs (starting at the 6:50 mark). 

http://www.willinet.org/content/williams-college-football-show-91817-0

On all three plays, there is picture-perfect blocking from the OL, really blowing the (smallish-looking) Bowdoin defenders off the ball.  Great to see that sort of early cohesion from a unit that has only one returning starter and has only two upperclassmen in the top six guys.  Of course, it will get much tougher as Colby returns most of its defense from last year and then Trinity looms, which is an entirely different situation to face.  But again, for Williams it's all about progress week-to-week. 

The first two TD plays are both beautiful on-the-money passes from Maimaron to Stola, who is clearly going to be his favorite target; from the first play of the game, Maimaron was looking to him early and often.  Stola won't surprise anyone after the week he put up, and will surely get loads more attention, so other guys will need to step up for sure.  I wonder if Tyler Patterson is hurt, as he was last year's big-play guy.  Regensburg also had a very quiet day after being the leading receiver last season. 

The first play was just a simple fly route where Stola showcased his straight-ahead speed; Maimaron hit him right in stride.  Not very good defense by Bowdoin on that one, as you obviously can't let a WR just run free past everyone in the secondary, and Maimaron had forever to throw.  The second was a gorgeous, much tougher play for the offense -- Maimaron dropped the ball perfectly between about five guys in zone coverage, and Stola made an excellent catch. 

Again, the defensive competition will only grow tougher this season, but it will be interesting to watch that duo grow together over the next four years ...

It is doubtful that the Ephs can get as many big plays in future games as they did in week 1, so they will need to work hard on sustaining more consistent drives. 

[amh63]

Thanks all for the eatery suggestions! Makes me hungry!
Italian Food is a favorite.  When visiting my daughter and granddaughter in NY, we always check in on an Italian place....son-in-law favorite cuisine though he is mostly Irish.  Have hit every good Italian eatery in Tompkins County and the Syracuse area.  My son-in-law always orders the same thing!
When my sons were attending Amherst...overlapped one year, I often treated them and their roommates to a fine Italian eatery in Hadley or Northampton.  The place in Hadley was the favorite of the present Basketball coach at Kentucky...when he was at UMass.  It turned out the owner of the restaurant....at the time...had two favorite customers...my older son and Calipari.  We were treated well there...my oldest son is a foodie and a craft beer searcher.  Takes after his mother, I'm afraid .
Hamgrad and others.....my family have eaten well in the village of Clinton.  Hope the rain holds off and I can control my daughter and her family...they are big fans of the Jeffs...yes, the LJs.  Will have on lots of purple and avoid being too loud.  Son in law will be our guard.  He always sits on the visitor side at Homecoming...more room...at the 50 yd line.  No body bothers him...built like a linebacker/fullback.

[nescac1]

Is Amherst using the Mammoth mascot yet?  If not, when will they release the design? 

[ColbyFootball]

I think Colby will best Willuams this week. I'm curious what others think.

[nescac1]

ColbyFootball, so hard to predict -- I think the two teams are probably fairly even this year.  On the one hand, the Ephs' green QB and receiving core may struggle a bit with a really veteran Colby secondary.  I worry about turnovers giving Colby the ball in good position in this one.  On the other hand, Colby's offense didn't exactly light it up against last year's weak Williams defense, and the Ephs have added talent and experience since then, while Colby's only two really explosive skill players from last year, Hurdle-Price and Farrell, are no longer with the team.  I have a feeling that the Mules may struggle to score a bit this season vs. most teams.  I think this will be another low-scoring, defensive struggle.  Colby's at home, and has the elite kicker, which definitely helps if it comes down to the wire.   I'll say Colby 16, Williams 14 seems about right ...

[lumbercat]

The mules have a good chance this week.

Ephs FY QB looked great, very poised last week but Bowdoin pass rush was anemic and they didn't bring any real pressure on the young QB.

I don't know much about new Colby DC with the NFL background but I think they will bring heavy QB pressure--- blitzes, stunts etc in trying to rattle the kid on the road. The strength of the Colby roster is their secondary which puts them in position to gamble a bit at the line of scrimmage.

On the other side give Williams OL credit for a great job in protecting their young QB but believe Ephs brain trust will come to Waterville expecting a lot of QB pressure. They will have their screen/draw game tuned up along with a quick release short passing game.

Shapes up as an interesting game- I give the Mules a very narrow edge at home based on the range of their Kicker.

[lumbercat]

Nescac 1
I had not read your post when I was typing mine but we obviously see this game the same way.
A case of great minds thinking alike or will we both both completely wrong.