Lehigh Football Nation

With the conclusion of the spring season tomorrow, I'm going to be heading up to Bethlehem this weekend to attend the Brown/White scrimmage on what should be a fantastic, sunny, 70 degree day. (Finally!) Starting at 1PM, it's free and open to the public, and gives fans like me a chance to get an idea of what the 2007 Mountain Hawks might look like. If you can't make it to Goodman, the next best thing is to make your way to lehighsports.com to get the audio broadcast of the game. For those who are not aware of the service, you can get audio and video of Lehigh sporting events and other goodies for $5 a month as part of the College Broadcast Pack. For me, during the football season, it's an invaluable way for me to catch up on games, watch the mid-weekly press conference, and also watch the weekly Lehigh Sports Magazine which frequently has important insights on the coming week from coach Coen. Due to new NCAA rules, the incoming freshman class will not be honored ...

You might think that the following picture of football coaches might be from a Notre Dame, Army or Navy spring practice. Think again: this photo (courtesy of the Morning Call) is actually rising sophomore QB Chris Bokosky showing his footwork at Murray Goodman this past Saturday at the coaching clinic/spring practice at Lehigh this past weekend. According to this article from the Morning Call , nearly fifty coaches came to hear coach Coen and Lehigh assistant coaches talk about coaching fundamentals, and in the words of coach Coen "[to get] better at helping their kids". Here's some love from the article: "The thing I want to get across is how important it is to create an environment where the kids enjoy playing the game. That's what I've tried to do here. At the youth level, there are kids who want to be there and others who mom and dad are making go. Those are the kids who need to be convinced that this can be fun. It doesn't always have to be war, or...

You'd think I'd have more football news when there's only eight days until the Brown/White game (which is free admission). But there you have it; I don't really have much in the way of football news, except that sophomore OL Chris Aaron is off the spring roster and is supposedly transferring to Vanderbilt as a walk-on. Nothing earth-shattering here, though it does mean that it will be interesting to see about the depth on the "O" line eight days from now. Remember tomorrow is the Youth Coaches' Clinic for youth football coaches who are interested in learning more about coaching: techniques, drills and other information. The price is $20 and includes lunch. It's 8AM-1PM tomorrow at the varisty house close to the Whitehead practice fields. Plus, you get to sit in on Lehigh's afternoon practice! Dr. Gast's inauguration is currently in progress at Stabler Arena, where she is being inaugurated as Lehigh's 13th president. (Interesting. Ou...

It's been quiet as I'm working on my "New Realities of the Patriot League" piece for College Sporting News . Similarly, it's been quiet about spring practice in the media so far. The inside word I have is that spring practice is going OK, and everyone is "working hard and competing well." The trenches are getting particular attention as coach Coen is looking for kids who will be step up and handle the large scholarship line of Villanova this September 8th (our opening day at Goodman this year). Only two weeks until the Brown/White game, where we'll be able to see the progress of both lines! That's it for this week, though in case you hadn't heard, a FCS coaching legend passed earlier this week, former Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson. The winningest head coach in Division I history, he built tiny Grambling State into a college powerhouse, giving the historically black university a formidable national presence. Starting as coach in ...

Not much news so far from Lehigh football's spring practice (maybe there will be more news next week), but I'd like to take this time to alert you about a Frontline Documentary (airing tonight on PBS, and also available soon for viewing over the internet) concerning Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS for short. I haven't pre-screened it, but judging from the press release it looks like something that deserves the attention of anyone who has been affected by the disease one way or another. It talks about new gene therapies, ways of delivering new FDA-approved drugs to patients, and talks about the ALS Therapy Development Foundation that Jamie Heywood, whose brother has ALS, founded in 2000. Why mention this documentary, or ALS in general? Because the cause of ALS research and finding a cure has been a cause near and dear to the Lehigh football family's heart ever since Brett Snyder ('00) was diagnosed with the disease several years ago. Together with ALSA and the...

I think this will have to be done as an open letter to Mr. Simmons. Basically, for those of you that follow Holy Cross' famous sportswriting alumnus Bill Simmons , yesterday he posted an attempt at humor that pretty much insulted not only his alma mater, but anyone who feels passionately about Patriot League sports. (He also mentioned Holy Cross in his basketball blog that was equally as damaging.) In a nutshell, Mr. Simmons' thesis (you know I'm worked up when I call him Mr. Simmons) is that Holy Cross basketball "has a degree of difficulty every season" that isn't necessary, and (with tongue-in-cheek) makes some "suggestions" to improve the program. Some of his suggestions include NCAA violations ( "I want to be a booster. I want to break rules. I want to make a difference." ), getting a coach which looks the other way during recruiting violations ( "Replace Willard with a disgraced coach looking for a second chance, someone who...

Oh, yeah, it's spring . No doubt about it. I know it's spring because I, like many other crazy Lehigh football fans, are pouring over the new copy of the Spring Prospectus (just released by Lehigh), drinking up on the Alumni Bulletin's cover story on senior QB Sedale Threatt, and reading up on the latest ink from the Morning Call (Keith Groller's " Lehigh Digs In During Spring Drills "). And in all this spilled ink, there's plenty of fascinating information. I'd suggest you click these three links if you love Lehigh football, since if THESE articles don't get you pumped for September, nothing will. Let's start with Mr. Groller's piece in the Morning Call, which starts with the bombshell that four seniors have gotten medical exceptions and will be able to play a 5th year due to medical exemption: LB Travis Stinson, LB Rusty Campion, DB/WR Brannan Thomas , and C John Reese . The addition of these players - three of whom were starters ...