Lehigh Football Nation

(Photo courtesy Fordham Athletics) Once again I made the trek up to Patriot League media day to scare the living bejeezus out of the football players of all seven Patriot League teams. You can almost see the thought bubbles of the players here, looking at me as if I was twirling nunchucks or something while talking to them. But the questions I asked weren't too bad - or at least I thought so until seeing this picture from the proceedings. (Just kidding, by the way, Fordham senior OL Robby Reis and Fordham senior DL Darzell Wright , who don't need to email and remind me they could very easily crush my head like an olive. Just a joke, Darzell and Robby. Right? ... Right? ... Guys?) You can read my full conference report at College Sporting News , which includes exclusive quotes from the executive director of the Patriot League. In addition to the report I filed there (and the upcoming blog exclusives with junior QB J.B. Clark , senior DT B.J. Benning , and coach Coen) , I ...

For those folks that don't know, every Sunday during the football regular season I write an opinion piece called "Sunday's Word" - the word that best sums up the past week. I decided to kick off my Sunday pieces tonight with the one word that has dominated the Patriot League offseason, and it should come as no surprise to anybody. Patriot League Media day is coming up on Tuesday of this week. In years past, media day has been a way to get excited about the season - to think of what records Holy Cross senior QB Dominic Randolph might be able to shatter, say, or if senior QB John Skelton can bring Fordham back to the top of the League this year, or if senior DT B.J. Benning and the rest of the Mountain Hawks can make a run at this thing this year. But that's not the big topic of conversation this offseason. Instead, it's focused on - you guessed it - "Rams". The 2007 champions that struggled to a 5-6 season in 2008 have made all the headlines wit...

(Photo courtesy AP/Easton Express-Times) My family and I went early to Eagles Training Camp at the Whitehead practice fields, along with what had to be 2,500 (at least) of our closest friends. As the afternoon wore on, it got very hot on the Mountain but it was plain to see why Eagles fans are looking forward to the NFL regular season already. Even on a hot day these birds seemed like they had a spring in their steps. Routes were crisp as DeSean Jackson, Hank Baskett, Michael Avant and the other wideouts made a dazzling array of deep outs. This was a decided difference from last year, where the offensive mood was more workmanlike and many of the questions involved the receiving corps. Last year, the Eagles seemed to have more questions than answers. This year - as long as RB Brian Westbrook does indeed come back from his surgery on time for the upcoming season - there seem to be more answers than questions. Last year, fans were wondering if it would be McNabb's last year; this...

(Photo courtesy CK0712 Blog ) For those of you in the Bethlehem/Philadelphia area that might have recently emerged from a cryogenic sleep pod, the Eagles have officially returned to Lehigh for their annual preseason training camp . Sunday marked the first day for rookies and selected veterans to report to Lehigh's campus, while it's today when training camp begins in earnest for the rest of the team. Eagle head coach Andy Reid was seen the other day ready to go - or at least, ready to hit the links on the John C. Whitehead practice fields. (Nice shorts.) (And are those really flip-flops, Andy? I've got to believe that Roger Goodell has some sort of rule against an NFL head coach being caught on film in non-regulation footwear. They are Nikes, right? Shouldn't they be taped?) Lehigh has hosted Eagles training camp since 1995, and it's a ten year relationship that has been greatly beneficial to both the Eagles and Lehigh over the years. Both Nick Fierro of the E...

There's a lot going on in the news these days: the Sotomayor confirmation hearings, the potential bankruptcy of CIT, the accidental hazardous chemical spill at Lehigh (with no casualties, thankfully), and - most importantly to a lot of people - Hermione Granger (I mean, actress Emma Watson's) choice to attend Brown University . (One can only hope she follows in fellow Ivy Leaguer Brooke Shields' (Princeton) footsteps.) With all this going on, it would have been real easy to miss two very interesting NCAA news releases released in the dead of summer regarding potentially momentous changes into the way financial aid is accounted, especially in regards to the Patriot League and athletic aid. The first involves an article from the NCAA News regarding Fordham's move to scholarships featuring quotes from the executive director of the Patriot League, Ms. Carolyn Femovich. While official statements have been made before, this interview goes more into detail on what is ha...

Yes, Virginia, Patriot League football is just around the corner. Not only that, Patriot League Media Day is three weeks away -- where we'll learn about the preseason poll, the preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, and more. Through the long summer, we learn about organizations like The Sports Network , Phil Steele's 2009 College Preview and others announcing their national preseason all-American teams. Some FCS conferences (like the Colonial Athletic Association, or CAA) do individual preseason honorees, too, for just their league. But what about the Patriot League? The league itself does not release a preseason all-Patriot League team during Media day, so today I decided: why not stir up the pot a little bit and announce my own preseason all-Patriot League team? Unsurprisingly, leading my list as offensive Preseason Player of the Year would have to be 5th year Holy Cross senior QB Dominic Randolph , who either holds (821 completions, 83 passing touchdowns...

Can it be that Patriot League media day is just around the corner, with Lehigh's season opener just a little over a month and a half away? Just to whet your appetite about the upcoming Lehigh football season comes the announcement that senior LB Matt Cohen was listed as a Phil Steele preseason first team All-American and was the only Patriot Leaguer on the first team (something that will most likely be noticed by Holy Cross senior QB Dominic Randolph , who could have made a great case for inclusion). This goes with his earlier inclusion in the Consensus Draft Services' All-American list as an honorable mention . ( Junior DB Jarard Cribbs also was a CDS preseason all-American, as well as Randolph, Bucknell senior S Akhiel White , Holy Cross senior CB Michael Wright , and senior LB Mark Leggerio from 'that school in Easton'.) Also releasing their preseason all-American team was The Sports Network , where junior OL Will Rackley got third-team honors. (Randolph got ...