Ivy League Cancels Fall Sports

As far as individuals go, in my book the saddest result will be if Zane Dudek has played his last game in Yale Blue. I’m very much hoping this is not the case.

It would also be a shame if the next snap Gavin O’Connor takes is as a senior, rather than a junior.

Make that Dominic Zepherin with offers from Princeton and Harvard.

When I read about the Curse of Carm, I roared with laughter. I thought it was
the other way around – when Yale loses to Harvard. No one could blow an
Ivy League championship game more than Cozza. He managed to lose three
our of four when I was there (’72, ’74, ’75) games. Each one of those teams
should have been undefeated and a nationally ranged dynasty should
have been launched!
I played for him briefly during the first part of the ’71 season. Although
I only appeared to two scrimmages (Dartmouth Varsity, Brown J.V), I accomplished
about five things that were never achieved in Yale Football or matched since.
Against the Dartmouth Varsity, He finally decided to play James Archer and
me in the middle of the third quarter. The first string offense had given up
17 points.
In three plays, Archer and I knocked the Dartmouth team (which by the
way ended being the Ivy Champions for ’73) back fifteen yards and when
we took the ball away from them and set up a Yale touchdown. I told
Archer that he and I were going to shut them down. NO points, no first
downs and let’s score on them.
The Dartmouth coach must have agreed. He simply called off the
scrimmage (rather than face us again); he took his team and left the
field. It was the first and only time that a tandem had ever knocked
off an Ivy League Powerhouse in just three plays. The weird part was
that not a single Yale Football Coach including Cozza came over and
said, “Nice Job!” They simply ignored the whole thing and pretended
it never happened (it is on film).
At the start of the ’73 season, Cozza blew the season opener to UCONN.
Despite having a tandem that understood NFL blanket coverage (James
Archer and I were from the same high school – Evanston, IL), Cozza never
played us or acknowledged us. Subsequently, we won the Cogate game.
We did not play in that one either except for few kick-offs.
Coach Dave Kelly told me that I needed J.V. experience; so, he was
putting in the Brown J.V. game. If you really want to infuriate a ringer,
put him in a J.V. game. If you really want to lose him forever, don’t start
him and having sitting on the bench.
I watched the Brown J.V. march from their twenty yard line to the
Yale twenty yard line. Finally Coach Buddy Amadeo put me in. I hit
Brown’s J.V. for over one hundred negative yards. I had 20 tackles and
10 sacks. I did not give up a single first down. At the start of the third
quarter, I became the first and only Yale Football Player who got ‘frisked’
in the middle of a football game by four referees.
One checked my helmet for weapons. The second one checked my
arm pads. The third and fourth ones had my jersey up to my shoulder pads
and were patting me down like a criminal. I did want to tell them to come
back next time with candy and flowers. Anyway, Buddy Amadeo takes me
out with five minutes left. Brown marches eighty yards down the field
unstopped and scores.
This was the first and only time Yale ever had a player who delivered two consecutive games without giving up a first down. Carm and the other
Yale coaches never said a word. Buddy Amadeo did tell me that I did a
nice job. We went up against the Brown Varsity. Carm ignored Archer and
me again; Yale got creamed!
The following Monday, Defensive Coordinator Paul Amadeo ridicules
and chastises me in front of them. He called me, “an over-rated disappointment!”
He exclaimed that he did not understand why I was so highly rated!! I thought
that the Yale coaching staff should have had the decency to wait until I had at
least given up a first down.
The only reason why I did not file a complaint with the NCAA is because I
would never do anything to publicly embarrass Yale. A sanction would have
blocked the ’74 team from being championship eligible. The players were
not guilty of any infractions. Nevertheless, I knew when I left, Archer was
thinking of leaving as well. Once that happened, Yale did not have the
horses to go undefeated. Nevertheless, I wished everyone well.
I do hope that one day you will have another duo that can knock
off any Ivy League Powerhouse in three plays or can get frisked for
weapons by a single referee for hitting too hard in a football game.
As for the Carm curse, I promise you that I will stop cursing, but I
will never stop laughing.

Tomorrow will be very depressing

I’m delighted this blog exists, but I wonder whether it could be improved if it were put into the hands of someone with the time and energy to take it to the next level. We can’t continue to rely on JH and RAY for all the news

In the absence of fully-invested volunteers, how about raising the $$ necessary to have it done professionally. I gather both Columbia and Dartmouth have extremely impressive football blogs/newsletters. No reason for us to lag behind anyone.