Lehigh Football Nation

We interrupt the countdown for a quick story. As some of you may know, I'm a big New Orleans Saints fan, adopting the jazzy, loveable loser team-on-the-rise when I lived overseas.  When I attended Lehigh, one of my most prized possessions was a No. 56 jersey of LB Pat Swilling , member of the Saints' "Dome Patrol". I wore my 56 jersey to a Giants/Sants game after graduation, and several Giants fans heckled me by saying, "What's the matter?  Couldn't afford a LB Lawrence Taylor jersey?" Wearing Swilling's jersey at 56, we find  junior LB John Gonos  as our highlighted Lehigh football athlete in today's countdown.

"With a newly-revamped Arute Field,", I wrote last season , "which will be able to hold upwards of 6,500 fans, Central Connecticut State will be looking to one message on their home opener against the Mountain Hawks September 8th: that they have arrived." This year, the Blue Devils repay Lehigh the favor, serving as the Mountain Hawks' home opener in the first weekend of their football season on September 7th. So what can we expect from the Blue Devils this season?

We now find ourselves at 57 days until the start of football season! At no. 57, we find  junior NT Arturo Gyles  as our highlighted Lehigh football athlete in today's countdown.

As Casey Kasem always said, "And now... on with the countdown." At no. 58, we find  sophomore LB Donnyell Bourgeois, Jr.  (center) as our highlighted Lehigh football athlete in today's countdown.

We now find ourselves under 60 days until the start of football season! At no. 59, we find  junior LB Tashan Mitchell  as our highlighted Lehigh football athlete in today's countdown.

(Photo Credit: The Football Foundation) Monday is here, and it's back to work for most of us.  Here at LFN, though, we continue our march towards the start of the Lehigh football season At no. 60, we find  sophomore OL Ryan James  as our highlighted Lehigh football athlete in today's countdown.

Exactly when is a media entity not entitled to report on itself? This is the question I frequently pose to myself when ESPN, Fox and CBS report on anything about college realignment issues in general. It's especially true about this report made by Jeremy Fowler of CBS Sports.Com, which purports to be an inside look at who has the "most say" in realignment - TV networks or the conferences themselves. The good news is that there are a lot of revealing insights into the top men running the show in collegiate athletics, including media people and conference commissioners.  The bad news is that it reads like the writer is trying to snooker the reader into thinking that TV has no influence over realignment - when a keener, more independent look at the quotes reveals anything but.

(Photo Credit: The News-Eagle) We inch closer to the start of the 2013 season, as the 4th of July weekend comes to a close. At no. 61, we find  sophomore OL Steven Camasta  as our highlighted Lehigh football athlete in today's countdown.