Lehigh Football Nation

Eight friggin' days away, and I very nearly can't stand it. We are currently in that uncomfortable time when the team is just about to be unveiled, yet there's just so much that we don't... know. Will senior DT Royce Morgan work through his "personal and academic" issues? Who's going to step up on the "O" line? Who's returning kicks? So many questions, and I just don't have the answers just yet. As we hit the last preseason two-a-days, we get this intriguing final report from Lehighsports.com showing some new faces to watch. Beleive you me when I say that my eyebrows were raised after reading the names. One of those wide receivers Coen was speaking of is sophomore Mike Fitzgerald, who caught three touchdown passes in the scrimmage. “Mike is really ready to take off. He had been out a few days with an injury (prior) to the scrimmage, but he came back in a big way. He’s very shifty with his moves and we’re looking forward to what he can do...

As we Lehigh fans get more clues on what our football team may be like in 2006, this picture to my left seems to show something: #11, senior ILB Travis Stinson, isn't fighting for a job - he's pencilled in. After the first scrimmage of 2006 this past weekend, some more answers... and more questions. Announcing media day this year were three online articles, one from LehighSports.com , one from the Morning Call and one from the Express-Times . (There's a nice photo gallery as well from Media Day on the school website - but you may want to ask coach Coen why Kevin Ackler, Brannan Thomas, Greg Fay and Lee Thomas are *gasp* sitting down in their respective shots... a little winded, are we, from the picture-taking?) Nothing really new enough to warrant a press mash-up, but there are some interesting developments to take note: * The big bombshell from the Morning Call is that senior DT Royce Morgan is going through "personal and academic issues", and his status is unc...

As we approach "the most wonderful time of the year" (football season), our beloved Mountain Hawks are now entering their second week of practice. Lehigh's official website has announced on LehighSports.Com that Lehigh Media Day will be held at 10:00AM at Goodman this Saturday. Team pictures will be taken, and coaches will grant interviews with the local media until around 11:00AM. After lunch, the Mountain Hawks will scrimmage at Murray Goodman at 2:30PM for their regular summer practice. I'll be unable to go (due to other commitments), but I'll be eager to hear the report from not only the local media but any fans who wish to give reports on what they see. Now's a good a time as any to report what I've noticed so far in practice, from folks I've talked to and what I've researched so far. Our "Class of 2010" got a little smaller as one OL (I can't remember his name) was removed from the list. It shouldn't be a huge issue for ...

You may have heard some of my audio interviews on Patriot League Media Day on I-AA Waves the past two weeks, including the opening statements by executive director Carolyn Femovich, some Patriot League players, and some truncated interviews. I had many more but the quality of the audio was not good enough for broadcast. (Colgate QB Mike Saraceno's and DB Geoff Bean's interviews, for example, were unsalvageable.) I'm going through them again and will be posting transcripted highlights here. Even though this *is* Lehigh Football Nation, I figure that Lehigh fans would be quite happy to read about the goings-on with other teams in our league. The first transcript will be Dick Biddle, Colgate's head coach from the past eleven years. I thought this peek into his views on his team, his coaching style and Colgate were a nice peek into a program that maybe doesn't get the proper respect from the traditional media - but should. Tonight I'll be talking about Patriot Leagu...

The time for waiting is through. Oh, you thought I meant that I was announcing that Lehigh preseason practice has finally, finally started ? I meant that I'm finally, finally back from my tradeshow trip to Las Vegas for my day job. A long trip punctuated by a terrorist threat and (more importantly) a 3-hour blog posting getting eaten by the blogging gods, I never felt more homesick than when I read that spring practice had started and I was clear across the country. Whole articles had appeared, I-AA Radio shows went on the air, and I-AA and Lehigh fans were buzzing, and I was nowhere to be found. It was upsetting in a way that may not be evident to someone who hasn't blogged on a certain subject before. You feel like it's you're responsibility to break the stories, and instead you're attending technical conferences, or playing blackjack somewhere. You nfeel like you're shirking your responsibilities. Even so, I did spend a lot of time on a posting about Hunter T...

It's hard to know where to begin when it comes to talking about Patriot League Media Day. How to sum up the whirlwind of activity, addresses, and interviews? And, to top it off, a round of golf in egg-frying temperatures? Maybe this mash-up will give a different perspective on the event for Lehigh fans. I got my invite for Media Day by agreeing to interview as many coaches and players that I could for I-AA Waves, the only internet radio show devoted exclusively to national I-AA coverage. As I came into the reception area, I also recorded the opening comments from Patriot League Commissioner Carolyn Femovich for yesterday's I-AA Waves broadcast. The big news for Lehigh was that the Mountain hawks were picked to finish third in the Patriot League preseason poll, finishing behind Lafayette and Colgate. Once the press was allowed to ask questions, a rush of reporters flocked to the Lehigh table. With several TV crews there as well, it was a challenge to talk to coach Coen, junior Q...

Ever wanted to ask Lehigh's starting QB a question? Now you can. All you need to do is get your digital butt to a computer from 12:45PM to 1:05PM, where Sedale will be answering questions live at Patriot League Media Day. I'll be sitting down with Sedale during Media Day as well, where I'll be covering the event for I-AA.org and asking him burning questions that Lehigh Nation is dying to know, like: Which Dixie Chick is his favorite; or What does he think of Jay-Z coming out of retirement? Along the way I might ask him a few questions about football and his Lehigh experience as well. Write your own questions to Sedale, and he'll answer them Tuesday. Expect a special blog posting after Tuesday's Media Day as well detailing my experience.