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Fifth?

The summer FCS preview magazines are out - and if you're a Lehigh fan, you can't be happy about the number 5. That's where Lehigh is being picked to finish in the Patriot League this year in the Sporting News' College football preview.

They put Fordham at #1, Holy Cross at #2, Colgate at #3, Lafayette at #4, and our proud Engineers at #5. Rounding out the predictions is Bucknell at #6 at Georgetown at #7.

No, really, when was the last time Lehigh was pick to finish fifth in football in the Patriot League? I think I need to go back to 1997...

Other juicy tidbits...

  • One incoming Lehigh player - freshman LB Mike Groome - played in the NJICA North-South All-Star football classic on Monday night at Rutgers stadium and had a fantastic game, including an early interception return for a TD to give his winning North team a 14-0 lead en route to a 31-25 victory. Quote: "I dropped back in coverage but kept my eye on the quarterback," he said. "It was an unbelievable feeling to score because chances like that don't happen often in this kind of game." I like this kid already.
  • Larry O'Rourke, Morning Call reporter, has been diagnosed with ALS and in a couple of weeks is sponsoring a golf event on July 20th at Whitetail Golf Course in Bath, PA to raise money for ALS research. ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, is an affliction that is close to the Lehigh family ever since football alumnus Brett Snyder '00 was diagnosed with iy years ago, so I wanted to publicize this event and encourage folks to join and participate. (And please also visit Brett's foundations' website.)
  • The Patriot League recently announced an agreement with a sports marketing firm called Nelligan Sports. This firm looks promising in terms of their marketing reach for the conference if you consider some of their other clients: West Virginia, Rutgers, Louisville, Brown, Princeton... and the CAA. Having said that, I think any help to the Patriot League's marketing efforts can only be positive since, quite simply, it needs more of it.
  • Incidentally, back on the subject of the Sporting News College Preview, Princeton is picked to finish seventh in the Ivy League this year. Seventh? That's just crazy talk. If they finish less than sixth I'll write a love letter to the Sporting News - and I fully expect to not have to pay up.
  • Finally, in the "have you seen this?" department, Vai Sikahema and Jose Canseco are boxing for charity? Shouldn't this be fodder for every late-night comic from Jon Stewart to David Letterman? I mean, the jokes write themselves. "Which charitable foundation are they playing for - the one that is looking for Mr. Sikahema's missing sportscasting career, or the one for Jose Canseco's legal defense fund?"

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