Thursday, August 27, 2009

8/27/09- Harvard Headlines, Football Edition


1. Harvard football was picked to finish first in the Ivy League this season, receiving 10 of 17 first place votes for 129 points. The number two spot went to Penn and the third spot to Brown. Both teams travel to historic Harvard stadium this year. Arch-rival Yale was predicted to come in fourth.[Versus Ivy Notebook]

2. National champion Andrew Hatch has returned to Harvard after two injuries at LSU saw his time at quarterback end. Hatch had originally left Harvard to go on his Mormon mission, but after being injured, the mission ended early, and he then headed to LSU, where he was a redshirted player on the 2007 National Championship team. While Harvard considers him a sophomore returning from a leave of absence (both due to his having left for his mission and because his LSU credits will not count toward his Harvard degree), the NCAA considers him a transfer, and because of the NCAA two-time transfer rules, he must sit out a year. He will be eligible to play in 2010. [NY Times]

3. Hatch also ended up in the daily headlines of Doc Saturday over on the Yahoo sports blogs, where he was called “everyone’s favorite Ivy League-turned-SEC starter”. [Doc Saturday]

4. Former Harvard wide receiver Edward “Ted” Kennedy ’54 (’56), known for his long career in the U.S. Senate, passed away late Tuesday night. As a senior, Kennedy caught six passes for 80 yards, two of which were touchdowns, including the sole Harvard touchdown in the 1955 edition of “The Game.” Harvard honored the late Senator by flying the flag at half mast at Harvard Stadium, while a jersey bearing Kennedy’s number 88 hung by itself in the Crimson locker room. Coach Tim Murphy also gathered the players to speak about Kennedy before observing a moment of silence. [Go Crimson]

5. Chris Pizzotti ‘09 has returned to the Jets after being resigned by them earlier in the week. Pizzotti was cut after the first preseason loss which saw Eric Ainge get the majority of the snaps, but Coach Rex Ryan felt bad about not giving Pizzotti a shot. Not having played in the game against Baltimore, one would expect him to get his chance at Giants Stadium this weekend, when the Jets take on crosstown rivals, the New York Giants. [NJ Star Ledger]

6.
Harvard graduate Matt Birk ’98 has signed a three year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, in the hopes of getting a Super Bowl ring. The Ravens Ben Grub said “When I heard we were getting him, I knew he’d fill Jason’s shoes… He’s the leader of our line, whether he thinks it or not.” There’s also some discussion of Harvard smarts versus football smarts from Baltimore coach John Harbaugh. [Baltimore Sun]

Around the Ivy League
Yale has partnered with the YES network to televise three football games this year, while Penn has partnered with Comcast Sportsnet, RCN, and MASN to televise four games. The Yale Bowl got revamped and turned into the world's largest tennis court, and Columbia's team served as extras in a GQ photoshoot with Erin Andrews.




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