Lehigh Football Nation

A new year, and a new feature to get everyone to "Signing Day" 2010.  I'll cherry-pick five recruits that have listed Lehigh as "schools of interest" and recount what I've been able to find out about them.  I can think of no better place to start than in Lehigh's backyard. (more)

I haven't led with wrestling yet this year, but with the Virginia Duals starting tomorrow morning at 11 AM, I figured it was time to highlight the No. 11-ranked wrestling team in the nation, who will be grappling tomorrow at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA. Lehigh currently has six wrestlers ranked in Intermat's Top 20, among them senior 133 lb Matt Fisk (13th), senior 141 lb Seth Ciasulli (18th), senior 165 lb Matt Galante (18th), freshman 174 lb Robert Hamlin (18th), and senior 184 lb David Craig (15th).  But it's the big guy - sophomore heavyweight Zach Rey (6th) - who really has people talking.  His only official loss came to the 5th rated heavyweight in the country, Iowa State's David Zabriskie . (more)

(Photo courtesy Athlon Sports) I don't pretend to be an expert on recruiting, but with "signing day" only a month away I do turn my attention to football recruiting and Lehigh's needs on the recruiting front.  I'll break this into two parts: one, my analysis on what Lehigh's needs are in the recruiting offseason, and two, what I can scrape up about some of the prospective incoming athletes for the class of 2015.  Today, I'll be analyzing what I feel Lehigh's recruiting needs are. So for me, it is sort of a recruiting "blitz" in the sense that I haven't prepared all season for this, and (much like my undergraduate years, I might add) I crammed the night before this blog posting to scrape something presentable together.  (more)

Taking advantage of a holiday weekend - and a 5:00PM start for the women's game - I hustled my family into the car on a frigid Saturday afternoon to make my pilgrimage to Stabler to take in a women's/men's basketball doubleheader featuring my Mountain Hawks. After pulling into the parking lot, we walked into Stabler as a physical, emotional Akron team started to really take it to the flat Lady Hawks, who was playing their third basketball game in five days. The 6-6 Zips, who just fell to Temple 55-43 a few days ago, surged to a 23-14 lead after Akron senior G Ayla Guzzardo stole the ball from junior G Erica Prosser to convert an easy transition basket. (more)

What better way to close out the 2009 season than with my annual "Hawks of the Year" awards? Every year my "Hawks of the Year" are tallied based on my "Hawks of the Week" during the season. While there's no pretty trophies or luncheons available for the winner of my LFN awards (yet), it's still an honor that is not easily earned and should be a recognition from the fans for outstanding achievement during the football season. This years "Hawk of the Year" nomination may not come as too much of a surprise - but, perhaps, some of the other nominees may be - including many players who will be returning next year. (More)

Being a rabid Lehigh sports fan during the holidays can be challenging, especially if you want to have any semblance of a normal home life. With time off my day job to celebrate Christmas - and dealing with the inevitable down-time that is necessary after a grueling four months of football coverage - covering all the goings-on foe Lehigh's winter sports, the final awards for Lehigh's football team and commentary on the wider football world is surprisingly tough, sometimes, to cover. (Add to that the the success this year of the NFL's Eagles and Saints, the Red Sox getting John Lackey and probably losing Jason Bay, and there's more opinions I have than time to post.) Add to that the fact that it's a different world from last with Facebook and Twitter entering the mainstream and the increasing expectation that they are a robust, often-updated tools for fans to use. For the football fan, tomorrow will probably provide a Lehigh mention on ESPN during their broadcast of...

First of all, merry Christmas, dear Readers. Like every one of you, I have wishes for Christmas as well, and I'd like to share them with you. * As a Lehigh fan, I'd like a better offense for the 2010 season. Sure, there were flashes of what was possible in 2009, but I really don't want to sit through another home shutout anytime soon if that's OK with everybody. * Maybe part of that wish above might involve Lehigh hiring a quarterbacks coach, Santa, to help the quarterbacks with mechanics and the like. I know university athletic departments aren't exactly teeming with money right now, but what about inviting a local guy that cares about the program, like former QB Phil Stambaugh , to work with them sometime? This isn't just for next year, either: this would pay off for the next generation of Lehigh quarterback, too. * While I'm wishing, Santa, I could use some Saints playoff tickets. And some round-trip tickets and accomodations to New Orleans for me and my ...