Round 1 of the 2013 NHL playoffs gave fans everything they’ve come to love about hockey’s second season: unpredictability, upsets, hard hitting and spectacular plays.

Three of the series went to a Game 7 and lower seeds won five of the eight matchups (your trusty writer predicted four of those five upsets and correctly picked the winner of all but one series).

We saw the New York Islanders take a giant leap toward becoming an actual contender, beating the heavily-favored Pittsburgh Penguins twice.

We also saw Toronto’s Phil Kessel (four goals, including two game winners) on the verge of having the last laugh against his old Bruins teammates before Boston stormed back from a 4-1 deficit in Game 7 to win 5-4 in overtime, extending decades of misery for Maple Leafs fans. Incredible.

Two other Canadian teams – the Montreal Canadiens (a two-seed) and the Vancouver Canucks (a three-seed) also let down their fans yet again by being on the wrong side of butt whoopings. Ottawa spanked Montreal four games to one and Vancouver – a team in desperate need of an overhaul – got swept by the San Jose Sharks.

We haven’t even caught our breath from Round 1 and here comes Round 2. Two of the series start Tuesday night.

Here’s how I see it playing out:
(Prediction record last round: 7-1.)  

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Pittsburgh Penguins (1) vs. Ottawa Senators (7)

The Senators were impressive in their five-game ousting of the Canadiens. Forty-year-old Captain Daniel Alfredsson skated as well as the youngsters and displayed his veteran savvy, scoring two goals and adding four assists. He’s doing his part to hoist the Cup for the first time in his 17-year career. On the other end of the age spectrum, how can you not love Sens winger Cory Conacher? The 23-year-old is undersized (5-8, 180 pounds) and suffers from Type 1 Diabetes (the worst kind), but was perhaps the most energetic and tenacious player on the ice in the final games of the last series. After getting little ice time in Game 1 and being a healthy scratch in Game 2, he popped in three huge goals, including two in the deciding game. Meanwhile, Sens goalie Craig Anderson, snubbed as a Vezina Trophy candidate (league’s top goalie), was terrific with a 1.80 goals against average. But the Pens just have too much. Jerome Iginla had two goals and seven assists in nine games last series but didn’t look good. He telegraphs his shot (off the wrong foot with the other dangling in the air) more than any player in today’s game. But the Pens don’t need Iginla. They’re loaded with Sidney Crosby, (9 points), Evgeni Malkin (11 points) and company. With tons of grit, the Sens could make it a series, but the Pens and their talent will prevail.

Prediction: Penguins in 6.

Boston Bruins (4) vs. New York Rangers (6)

This is the toughest series to call. It might also be the most entertaining. The Bruins incredible Game 7 victory in Round 1 shows they can overcome anything. But it never should have come to that point against the Maple Leafs. Rangers “star” winger Rick Nash was a no show last series with just two assists and no goals and Brad Richards looked better than Nash, but was even worse statistically with just one goal and no assists. But the Rangers’ shot-blocking system and goaltending can carry them, especially if Nash and Richards wake up and contribute. So far, they've left all the heavy lifting to the grinders. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (1.65 GAA) put the team on his shoulders last round and his shutouts in Game 6 and 7 solidified him as this year’s best goalie. He’ll be the difference again.

Prediction: Rangers in 7. 

  
WESTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago Blackhawks (1) vs. Detroit Red Wings (7)

Chicago continued the dominance they showed in the regular season by defeating the Minnesota Wild in five games while Detroit surprised the Anaheim Ducks in seven. Detroit has solid vets in Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall but Chicago really shouldn’t lose this series. They have better goaltending (Corey Crawford has a 1.32 GAA so far this playoffs), a better and more durable D corp (Johnny Oduya’s bank pass off the glass that led to the Game 1 OT victory against the Wild was amazing) and more dynamic talent up front with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hosa and company.

Prediction: Blackhawks in 6.

Los Angeles Kings (5) vs. San Jose Sharks (6)

San Jose’s sweep of the Canucks in Round 1 was impressive. They can beat the Kings, but I’m rolling with the defending Stanley Cup champs. LA is built for the playoffs with their mix of grit, goaltending and occasional offensive flair. This series presents an interesting goalie matchup – the only series with two Stanley Cup winning goalies – but Jonathan Quick (1.58 GAA, one shutout) has the edge over Antti Niemi (1.86 GAA).

Prediction: Kings in 7.  

--Kevin Amerman

The 2013 Stanley Cup is Pittsburgh’s to lose.

Even with stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin – arguably the best two players in the league – out of the lineup down the stretch, the Penguins continued to win, seemingly with ease. With wingers Jarome Iginla and James Neal and defenseman Kris Letang, they have a sickening amount of star power not matched by another team since the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s – a team that won five Stanley Cups, including one in 1989-90 after trading the best hockey player of all time, Wayne Gretzky.

So, on paper, the Pens should win their fourth Cup. But that’s on paper. In hockey, more than any other sport, will beats skill.

With that said, it looks like the Pens have too much talent for anyone to beat. Even if goalie Marc-Andre Fluery implodes like he did last playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers, they now have a capable backup in Tomas Vokoun.

Let's just hope Crosby doesn't try to grow his pathetic playoff peach-fuzz beard again. Seriously, Sid, I have teenage cousins with more facial hair than you. Female cousins.

My crystal ball shows the Pens beating the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final.

But let’s not get too far ahead. Below is each first-round matchup and who I believe will win. The action starts Tuesday night.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Pittsburgh Penguins (1) vs. New York Islanders (8)

If you read the intro, I guess you see where this prediction is going, right? The Islanders have come a long way. It’s good they finally ditched the biggest bust in NHL history, goalie Rick DiPietro. And they have an exciting group of young forwards in Matt Moulson, John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. But the Pens have too much.

Prediction: Pens in 5.

Montreal Canadiens (2) vs. Ottawa Senators (7)

The return of Ottawa’s free-wheeling defenseman Erik Karlsson changes everything. I would have picked Montreal if he was still injured. But with him in the lineup, recovered from a nasty Achilles tendon tear, I’m taking Ottawa. Montreal started the season off strong, but sputtered at the end. Goalie Carey Price, who finished 30th in the NHL with a 2.59 GAA, has really struggled, while Sens’ goalie Craig Anderson, who finished first with a GAA of 1.69, has sizzled. The Sens also could rally around aging winger Daniel Alfredsson like the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens rallied around Ray Lewis. This could be Alfredsson’s last run. I think it gets extended at least into the next round.

Prediction: Sens in 7.

Washington Capitals (3) vs. New York Rangers (6)

Just one point separated these teams in the regular season, so this should be a great series.
The Caps should be proud of how they turned around this season, mainly on the back of Alex Ovechkin. The star winger was written off at the beginning of the season and bounced back to league MVP form, leading the league with 32 goals in 48 games. But the Rangers and their shot-blocking defense are built more for the playoffs and will pull this off. Rangers’ winger Rick Nash (42 points in 44 games this season) and goalie Henrik Lundqvist will be the biggest factors. 

Prediction: Rangers in 6.

Boston Bruins (4) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (5)

Boston hasn’t played up to its capabilities lately, but its size and strength will be the difference in the series. Bruins’ winger Brad Marchand is built for the playoffs and will be a major factor. Boston’s D, led by Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, will be able to handle Toronto’s crafty forwards and Boston goalie Tuuka Rask (2.00 GAA) will shine much brighter than Toronto’s  James Reimer (2.46 GAA).

Prediction: Bruins in 6.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago Blackhawks (1) vs. Minnesota Wild (8)

Chicago has too much up front with Patrick Kane (55 points in 47 games), Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, its D is better and both of their goalies, Corey Crawford and Ray Emery (both had a GAA of 1.94), have been better than Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom (2.48 GAA). I think you see where this is going.

Prediction: Blackhawks in 5.

Anaheim Ducks (2) vs. Detroit Red Wings (7)

This might end up being the best series in the playoffs. Detroit lost a lot when Nicklas Lidstrom retired in the off-season, but they still have major talent in Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall is a hip-checking force on D. But Anaheim should take this, mainly because of their talent up front with Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

Prediction: Ducks in 7.

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. San Jose Sharks (6)

This could be the closest series. Both teams have a good mix of scoring and defense in their forwards. San Jose should have held on to defenseman Douglas Murray instead of trading him to Pittsburgh if they really wanted to make a run. But I think they’ll pull this off because of the pressure Vancouver fans will put on their team, specifically the goalies. They tried to run Roberto Luongo out of town in favor of Cory Schneider, but Schneider was not able to fully snag the starting job away. Luongo lingers in the background and that will be a problem.

Prediction: San Jose in 7.

St. Louis Blues (4) vs. Los Angeles Kings (5)

It’s a shame the upstart Blues have to play the Kings in the first round. The Kings have shown they can turn it on when they want and they will – especially star goalie Jonathan Quick who was virtually unbeatable during the King’s march to the Cup last season.

Prediction: Kings in 6. 

-- Kevin Amerman

    Four schools are being added to the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, the nation’s oldest wrestling conference which include Lehigh University.

  Former Lehigh wrestling coach Greg Strobel, the executive director of the EIWA, announced

that Binghamton, Boston University, Drexel and Hofstra are being added to the conference for this coming season.

  Current members of the EIWA, a wrestling-only conference that has been in existence since 1905, include American, Army, Brown, Bucknell, Columbia, Cornell, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Lehigh, Navy, Penn, Princeton, Rutgers and Sacred Heart. Rutgers is moving to the Big Ten in other sports and may do so in wrestling.

    Boston University has announced that wrestling will be discontinued after the 2014 season, but an aggressive campaign is being waged to save the sport. For more information about Save BU Wrestling, go to Facebook.com/savebuwrestling or Twitter: #savebuwrestling.

Quarterback Club members (from left) Mark Lechmanik, Rob Stewart, Scott Sautter and Gary Uzelac (right) are all from the 1978-82 era of Lafayette football, as was the guy who took the photo, Hal Hocking. They reunited at last Saturday's Maroon and White Game. What I want to know is how an offensive lineman (Tom Feehan, second from right) worked his way in there.

The other day I mentioned a briefing between Lafayette offensive coordinator Mickey Fein and a bunch of guys who call themselves the Quarterback Club. It was kind of a reunion for some of them, particularly a group organizer Gary Uzelac referred to as "that Royal Flush from '78 to '82."

The guys actually got more than they bargained for. Not only did they get insight from Fein; they also had a celebrity run-in with Jon Gruden, who was in Easton to watch his son, Deuce, a rising sophomore who is bidding for playing time at running back, compete in the Maroon and White game.

Hal Hocking got a couple of photos on his smart phone and he emailed them to me today. I was hoping he would be able to do it immediately on Saturday so I could include them in that blog, but that didn't work out. No big deal. Here they are. Thanks, Hal.

You need to know that I covered Lafayette football from 1968 through 1977 -- the Harry Gamble and Neil Putnam days -- so I saw a couple of these guys during their heyday.

Stewart was the Leopards' passing leader in 1975 (with just 478 yards), and 1977 (1,659 yards). Uzelac would have been a backup to Stewart in '77, and Hocking was probably a freshman that year. Uzelac was the Lafayette passing leader in 1978 (930 yards), and Hocking had the same distinction in 1979 (799 yards) and 1980 (440 yards).

Jon Gruden -- not the football analyst or head coach this time, but the proud father -- saw his son, Jon, get lots of playing time in the spring game. Leopard Coach Frank Tavani said the 5-6, 182-pound Deuce, "has really improved" and called him "a rock. We didn't give him much blocking today, but when you run into him, you're going to feel it." Jon Gruden took time to chat with some former Lafayette quarterbacks, including Hal Hocking (with sunglasses at left) and Scott Sautter (left) and Rob Stewart (in photo below).

Coach Tavani sat down with us after the spring game, and he was smiling -- but maybe wishing the scrimmage had ended a couple of plays earlier so offensive lineman John Hoffman would not have suffered a shoulder injury. When I talked to Coach Tavani on Monday before the taping of The Morning Call's TV show, he said it still was not clear how serious Hoffman's injury is at this point.

If you want more on what Coach T, Keith Groller and I talked about on the TV show, you'll have to be a Service Electric or RCN customer. The show aired Monday night on SECTV and will air again at 7 o'clock Tuesday night (April 23). On RCN, it will air at 6 p.m. Tuesday and again on Thursday. I think you'll find some interesting stuff from the head coach about recruiting, the 150th Lafayette-Lehigh game and other banter. It was a pretty quick half hour. You don't get a lot of dead air when you put Tavani and Groller in the same room. Me? Well, you judge.

Coach said people haven't yet addressed the issue of how many players will be permitted to dress for the special 150th game. It's Lafayette's home game, which would mean the Leopards could take everyone; but Patriot League rules limit the travel squad for league games. A special arrangement would have to be made to allow Lehigh to take its entire squad. Coach T says he wouldn't object to that, given that it is a one-time deal.

That Yankee Stadium game will be used by both Lafayette and Lehigh throughout this recruiting season. Coach T said the reaction of potential recruits to the game is all positive -- and why not. This is, however, the only year the two schools will benefit from that attraction.

I asked Coach T what he thought the Patriot League would have to do to get more credibility on a national level, and he said, "Well, I think league expansion is going to be important. I think that's just No. 1. I know it's a priority. I know Carolyn (Schlie Femovich, the league's executive director) is working extremely hard at that, but it's hard. Right now there are a lot of restrictions -- more than the academic thing ... the no red-shirting and the fact that walk-ons with financial aid, academic or otherwise, count toward your scholarship numbers, so your squad size is going to reduce and a lot of people are not interested in that. I think it's all good moving forward and things will probably take some change as we go but I know league expansion ... we're bringing in new teams, but they're not playing football."

Groller brought up the matter of scheduling non-league games with FBS schools, and Coach T said, "Financially, they're guarantee games and we're looking at that. In 2015, I think we should be up to the minimum 57 to get to that. That's what we're working toward. Certainly you want to take advantage of some money games. I know Army's going to come back on the schedule, which is our alumni are happy about."

Groller also addressed the touchy blending issue Patriot League coaches will face now that the league has gone to scholarships. Until we go through four recruiting classes, we will see teams that have merit-based scholarship guys playing alongside guys who are on need-based packages and the possibility for animosity is a real one. Keith wanted to know if Frank thought it would be harder to keep unity in the ranks now.

"You don't think about that right away, but certainly there's that group, and jealousy and envy always happens in our lives every day. But as I've explained to our football team and the parents, these are rule changes I did not make. This is how we operated up to this point, and this is how we're operating now. Everything else remains the same. Scholarship, non-scholarship, we have kids on the team right now that are paying their full way. Everybody is treated the same and you have to compete every day for your position. I'm sure there will be some of that, but I don't anticipate it being too much of a problem. Like everything in college, everything cycles in four years. People ask the question about why you can't go retroactive, but it wouldn't make a lot of sense to do that and it's all going forward. Everybody is clear on it, but those feelings I'm sure will arise from time to time."

A promised to write about some of the other things we talked about following the spring game on Saturday, so here goes.

COMPARE THIS TEAM AT THE END OF SPRING BALL TO LAST YEAR'S TEAM AT THE SAME TIME --  – Coach figures he's ahead of the game this year "because you have guys who played now. Guys had no game experience last year, only practice-scrimmage experience. This year, we're putting oout guys who had a season under belt and took some hard knocks. Now they’re more confident. Especially the offensive line as a group. They're talking, communicating, coming off the ball. We have to get the second group to get moving a little bit, but they are still but young kids -- still freshmen. We made tremendous gains in the strength room, and that will be a huge boost for us. That was a point of emphasis during the offseason."

WAS HE HAPPY WITH THE TACKLING ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE? "A couple of times we had some good hits; I saw a lot of good things, young players making plays, and that's what you’re trying to get done in the spring." Asked about the way some defensive backs throw their bodies at offensive players rather than actually tackling, he said, "Sometimes they just don’t wrap up. We saw a good example on the sideline, where a runner got hit, bounced off and just kept going. We have a tackling circuit every day where we emphasize hands and arms and going through the ball carrier and wrapping up. We'll keep stressing it."

IS JUSTIN ADAMS RIGHT NOW THE NO. 2 GUY AT WIDE RECEIVER BEHIND MARK ROSS? -- "He had a tremendous spring," Tavani said. "We have three receivers in that rotation -- Mark Ross, Jamel Smith (who did not play Saturday) and Adams ... and then we have Mike Duncan. They are the four main guys. We use three receivers quite a bit. Then there's Darrell Crawford, who is concentrating on academics this spring. He is a tremendous talent. People haven’t seen him yet. He came with with a torn hamstring. He would have been a PIAA state champion in track. He took all year to rehab that hamstring, so he’s like a freshman. I'm excited to see him in preseason. It's a pretty talented group. Darrell is so explosive, but it has taken so long to get that back. He's down here 6 a.m. working out, he's here in the afternoon working out. And when we're practicing, he's in the team room studying."

IS A 12TH GAME STILL A POSSIBILITY? -- "We didn’t look so much at 12 games as trying to do an adjustment so we wouldn’t have been on the road as many weeks in a row," Tavani said. "Scheduling is tough in the Patriot League and will be until we add teams. If we could have two or three more it would make scheduling a lot easier, and I could name two or three I'd like to see. I'm more involved with scheduling now and will be, along with Bruce McCutchen and Kaity McKittrick. It's time consuming -- calls, e-mails back and forth, so many details." So, are you still looking? "Not really," Tavani said. "The schedule is probably the way it is unless something major would come through the door and I don’t see that."

WHAT ARE THE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR WHAT LOOK TO BE SOME PRETTY TALENTED SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS COMING IN? -- "Well, there's probably more of an opportunity to have (rookies break into the lineup) at the skill positions," Tavani said. "We've have some offensive linemen, like Luke Chiarolanzio, but I can count on one hand the number of those guys since I've been here. It's a tough adjustment. D-line is a little easier. In the secondary, you can have a pure cover corner go out and just be a great athlete. None of these guys are instant superstars by any means. They're a little better caliber athlete to a degree, but with the experience we have those positions, guys are going to be tough to beat out. I'm hoping some can be backups as they learn; there's more chance of that."

IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT AT QUARTERBACK, THOUGH, ISN'T IT BECAUSE YOU HAVE ONLY TWO OF THEM RIGHT NOW? -- "Yep, one of those two (incoming) quarterbacks is going to be no, 3. That’s going to be important, and we’ll probably travel the other guy if nothing more than keep clipboard so he keeps active because we only have four." Coach T is hoping that some of the recruits will be able to join veterans for workout during the four-week period from about July 4 until the start of preseason camp. The number of players coming back is not yet known. But the benefit of being about to begin working with strength and conditioning coach Brad Potts and also get involved with the upperclassmen and learn some of the terminology, etc., is valuable, and some of the recruits have indicated an interest in doing it.

HOW DID IT GO WITH THE TWO QBS FOR SPRING BALL? -- "It was good having just two quarterbacks because they got a ton of reps, particularly (backup) Andrew Dzurik," Tavani said. Dzurik, a rising sophomore, did not play at all last fall, while Zach Zweizig got baptism by fire. About Dzurik, a former Lancaster Catholic star, Tavani said, "He’s got an arm and knows where to go with the ball. He throws it to the right place. He has to be more accurate, but that will come. If we had two more QBs in there, his reps would have been cut in half." Come preseason camp, Zweizig's reps will increase, as expected, but Dzurik "will have to take some with first group. The other guys will get their reps in preseason scrimmage with second group. It takes time to get comfortable with the offense. But the good news for the new guys is we have to break them in quick because one of them could be No. 2 quickly."

WHAT'S UP NOW? -- Well, the coaches are dissecting the film of the spring game and then have to get ready to go on the road. There is a six-week period coming up in which coaches will be able to be on the road for four of the six. Lafayette has already extended more than half a dozen scholarship offers -- and that would have never happened before next December or January in past years. Chances are the offers that are out there are going to guys who are also being heavily courted by FBS schools. To get a verbal commit from a guy this early in the game would be an unexpected bonus for Lafayette, but you can't get one of those big ones if you don't throw them the bait.

P.S. -- DON'T FORGET THE WOUNDED GUYS

I know I'm not going to hit them all, but the list of guys who did not take part in the Maroon and White game tells me the Lafayette first teams we see on the field against Sacred Heart on Sept. 7 may be a good bit different from those that started on Saturday.

For instance, first-team wide receivers Mark Ross and Jamel Smith and tight end Brandon Hall did not play. Backups Mike Duncan and Anthony Baker were injured early in the scrimmage. Starting offensive guard Maxim Ngolla injured an ankle in an earlier scrimmage. On the defensive side, projected starters Shane Dorner (end), Jared Roberts (safety), Shane Black (safety) and Ben Aloi (linebacker) were out. So was LB Kasheem Hill, who can return to the team after the fourth game of the season. And, the list of players who have been tabbed as guys to watch but who are injured is headed by the likes of fullback Dan Dellovade and linebacker Darren Wright. Offensive tackle Andrew Anastor is still listed on the roster, even though it appears he will not play again after having recent hip surgery. But I'm not counting him out.

The photograph above shows just a portion of the special crowd that gathered in the South grandstand of Fisher Stadium about an hour before the start of Lafayette's Maroon and White football game. More people were making their way from the Bourger Varsity Football House as I took the photo.

Coach Frank Tavani had told me several days ago that about 150 prospective football recruits -- high school juniors who would undoubtedly love to be chosen to receive one of those $250,000 merit-based football scholarships Patriot League teams are now permitted to give -- and family members would be attending the final practice of the Leopards' spring camp. These are not official visits, mind you, but some of the players have been invited by Lafayette coaches and others have come strictly on their own to have a look at the place.

"It's amazing what a pocketful of scholarship money can do," Coach T said at the time.

Well, I arrived at the stadium Saturday morning and ran into running backs coach Phil Hallahan, who told me the number had risen to 163. When I saw Coach Tavani a little later, he put the number at 179. And when we talked after the scrimmage, Coach said the final number was 184.I'm sitting here on Friday morning, hoping that the expected rain and thunderstorms forecast for tonight will be gone before daybreak so that the annual Maroon and White football game at Lafayette College's Fisher Stadium will be high and dry.

"It was amazing," Coach T said. "Two sections were packed. It was a great group of people. A fair amount (of the high schoolers) were from our war board (the listing of preferred prospects) and general invites, but other people just wanted to have a closer look. I spoke to them for about 10 or 12 minutes about the process."

These were not official visits -- those will come much later to a select group -- and all expenses of the visit had to be paid by the families. The kids scattered throughout the North grandstand for the game, and let me tell you, the group included some impressive lookings specimens.

The process of putting together a 2014 recruiting class is already well under way. A number of scholarship offers have already been tendered by Lafayette, but I don't know of any acceptances and Lafayette would not be able to tell me about verbal commitments if any had been given.

If you're wondering how this second group of guests compares to last year, the first in which Lafayette gave scholarships, I can tell you 82 high school players attended the 2012 Maroon and White game. And in previous nyears, the number of youngsters making such a trip would have been more like 25 or 30.

In addition to the huge number of Lafayette wannabees, the audience at the Saturday scrimmage also included 16 of the 21 players in the latest recruiting class. Undoubtedly those guys were paying a lot closer attention because they were watching the players who will be in front of them when summer camp opens in August. The original class of recruits, announced in February, consisted of 20 players, but another player, linebacker Craig Strand of Watertown, Mass., has been added. He is a walk-on candidate.

So, who got the most out of the spring game? The kids who are considering Lafayette? The latest recruits? The current players and coaches? The curious alumni who hope this is the year things turn around?

Here's my take on the day.

IN THE HUDDLE WITH THE QBS

Gary Uzelac, an active member of the Friends of Lafayette Football and a former quarterback who graduated in 1980, came up a neat idea that, I'm sure, will catch on among other Leopard alumni by this time next year. He has started a Quarterback Club, and he invited interested guys to gather Saturday morning in Bourger Varsity Football House, where offensive coordinator Mickey Fein gave the group some of the trade secrets of the Lafayette offense.

Three of the guys -- Maroon Club Hall of Famer Ed Baker, Rob Stewart and Uzelac -- were members of teams I covered during my first go-rouond with Lafayette during the Harry Gamble and Neil Putnam days. Rob Curley, Marc Quilling and Ryan O'Neil -- have all played since I became the beat writer for The Morning Call again in 2008. Other guys at the first meeting of the new group were Gene Harrison, Scott Sautter, Hal Hocking, Mark Lechmanik and Mike DiPaola.

By next year, I'll bet Phil Noto and Jack Bourger will be getting after guys from from other position groups to do the same thing.

Still another quarterback -- Frank Baur -- showed up at the scrimmage Saturday, but too late to make the Fein talk.

I loved it. Now, if only I could tell you how the whole thing unfolds at the liine of scrimmage. I'll be paying closer attention this season, you can count on that. I may have to leave the press box if I want to hear what's happening on the field. Well, maybe I won't be paying such close attention after all.

Considering the number of outstanding players we did not see on Saturday, I thought the spring "game" was interesting. It showed us again how deep the team is at linebacker. There were some good plays from the secondary, too, and if sacking the quarterback would have been permitted, we'd have had at least three or four.

I'm not sure if that is a plus or a minus. Lafayette wants to ramp up its quarterback-pressure game, so seeing those sacks is a good thing. But the Leopards also want to protect their QBs, so sacks are an indication of weakness on the O-line. We'll have to wait until guys in other jerseys are involved.

I'm really interested now to see what happens when the new freshmen come on board. There are several areas in which first-year players can make some kind of impact. The most obvious is at quarterback, where one of the rookies is going to become the No. 3 guy. As Coach T said after the game, one of those newcomers will be only a play away from being No. 2. Both Drew Reed and Blake Searfoss have lots of tools. It's all a matter of how fast they can pick up the offense -- and whether the reps they will get during preseason camp can be enough. It's possible that one -- or both -- could come to Easton and spend part of the summer with the upperclassmen, which would help with the learning curve.

I talked with a couple of players after the scrimmage. Here's what they had to say. 

CHRIS BROCKMAN

Chris, a 5-11, 214-pound rising sophomore linebacker, played in all 11 games last year as a freshman, finishing with 21 tackles, including two sacks for a total of 23 yards, and also had one interception, had a good day Saturday. He's listed behind Colton Kirkpatrick on the depth chart, but the Leopards have so many talented LBs that he'll again get plenty of playing time. "It's awesome," he said when I mention the bevy of outstanding players at the position. "We’re all coming back and we all played a lot last year. The good thing about that is, every day we push each other because we’re all good players and competing for the job. Every day you have to bring your A game." I asked him about spring camp, and he said "I thought I progressed as a football player and at getting my assignments right and learning the actual game and how to adjust to different formations and knowing what to expect." I asked if he and Kirkpatrick were similar LBs, and he said, "In a way, yeah, we're both downhill backers." And when I said the LBs could be the catalysts for a successful season, he said, "Hopefully, that’s the plan."

JAMES COSCIA

The East Stroudsburg-South graduate had 26 tackles in nine games in 2012, missing two games because of a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. He's totally healthy this spring, and he's checking in at an all-time high of 248 pounds. When you consider he came to Lafayette at 220, that's a huge difference, and he said, "that's not bad weight, either. I'm feeling better than I've ever been. I've gotten a lot stronger." He had a "sack" in the spring game -- of course, the QBs were two-hand-touch only. Coscia is the only returning starter from the defensive line, but "the other three guys have all played before." Starting with him Saturday were Jake McTighe, Darius Glover and Alex White, with Steve Mercado coming off the bench. Shane Dorner was held out because of an injury, but will be ready for summer camp. "We have some good young kids, too, so we'll have a good rotation going."

JUSTIN ADAMS

I think this kid is going to be the X factor for the offense this season, and when I mentioned to him Saturday that he seemed to be making catches all over the place every time I've been at practice, he said, "You might be my good luck charm. You need to come all the time." In assessing the spring, he said, "Spring has been very great. I finally am healthy this year and I’ve gotten to the point where I’m comfortable with the offense. I’m just having fun. I haven’t been able to have too much fun the last couple of years." He did not play as a freshman and he had two concussions that forced him to miss four games last season. That, of course, has to be a bit of a concern for a guy who makes catches in traffic and is left open to some huge hits. He does not wear a special helmet, however. When I said that one of the goals this spring has been to find guys who will take the pressure off Mark Ross, he said, "Yes, sir, I want to be that second guy behind Mark. I want to be on the field and be the guy they can depend on. Today was a great opportunity to showcase my ability and show I can make plays when the offense is dependent on me." Adams and Jamel Smiith will likely work on the same side many times, one of them as a slot guy. "It's going to be a lot of fun," Adams said.

BRAD BORMANN

Brad carries a 4.0 grade point average, so he brings a huge amount of intelligence to the offensive line. He's 6-3, 292, and he still reminds me of Drago, the boxer from the "Rocky" movies. When I mentioned that the offe4nsive line was having a good year, he said, "Historically, we’ve had a hard time putting together a consistent first string offensive line. This has been the first spring specifically since I’ve been here where we had not only one fully healthy offensive line, but two. That's twice as much learning and growth we can get. That said we did have some injuries, which is virtually inevitable, but by and large, we came through well healthwise. In addition, depth creates competition and competition breeds excellence. No one wants to ride the bench, so if there’s a guy pursuing your coattails, you’d better be sure you’re playing at the top of your game to keep your spot. That’s one thing coach (Stan) Clayton makes clear, no starter is ever safe, you never just walk in and take your spot. You have to earn it. If there’s a second string, it pushes you." That line about depth and competition belongs on a sign in the locker room. That's profound. No big nasty, this guy.

I have a bunch of stuff from Coach Tavani, too, but I'll save that for another day. Stay tuned.

The Committee to Preserve Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) and USA Wrestling has aligned with top organizations in mixed martial arts -- including UFC and its president, Dana White.

“I’ve met with

 a lot of top guys in wrestling. I met with them last Tuesday, and the UFC’s joining the fight to help save Olympic Wrestling,” UFC President, Dana White, told MMA Weekly on Tuesday.

With one sweeping statement of support, Dana White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have endeared themselves to wrestling fans across the globe and opened the door for a historic opportunity for the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement and the 2020 Vision campaign.

“We met with Dana and were very encouraged and touched by his genuine support for our sport and our effort to remain in the Olympics,” said CPOW Chairman Bill Scherr. “Many don’t know this but he has done a great deal behind the scenes for wrestling for years and we owe him our allegiance and gratitude.”

With mainstream media and television coverage, the UFC has exploded in popularity and expanded into over 130 international markets. Wrestling has long been a significant thread of the fabric of mixed martial arts and the UFC, with fighters like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Dan Henderson and Sara McMann achieving success in MMA after beginnings in wrestling.

“We are not sure of the exact form and scope ultimately of our relationship with the UFC”, relayed CPOW member and NCAA Champion wrestler Tommy Rowlands, who had developed a spirited relationship with Dana White over Twitter. “We know that we will accept whatever assistance is offered and will work with Dana and the UFC to develop a working partnership going forward.  For now, we are thrilled that he is involved and on our side.”

On February 12, the International Olympic Committee Executive Board made a recommendation that wrestling not be a core sport at the 2020 Olympic Games. A final decision on the program of the 2020 Olympics will be made by the entire IOC in September. A worldwide effort has been launched by FILA, the international wrestling federation, and all of the 177 nations which participate in wrestling, to retain wrestling as an Olympic sport.

Another CPOW member, John Bardis, has experience with both wrestling and the UFC. He was an accomplished wrestler and also a board member of USA Wrestling and team leader of the Greco-Roman Olympic team in Beijing in 2008.  He has mentored, sponsored and coached several UFC fighters. “This budding relationship between wrestling and the UFC holds tremendous promise to assist us not only with our efforts with the IOC to remain in the Olympics, but also to increase the popularity of wrestling in the United States and around the World.  We look upon them in many ways as a ‘big brother’ to our sport and we are thrilled with potential of the partnership that might develop between our groups.”

ABOUT CPOW

The Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) was developed by USA Wrestling, whose mission is to insure that wrestling remains as a core sport of the Olympic Games. CPOW features many highly-respected leaders within the American wrestling, chaired by Bill Scherr of Glenview, Ill., a World champion and Olympic medalist in freestyle wrestling and a leader in the Olympic family.

The official website is http://www.KeepWrestlingInTheOlympics.com. You can find the official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/officialkeepwrestlingintheolympics. The official Twitter location is @wrestlingvision.

 The Valley Preferred Cycling Center on Mosser Road in Trexlertown unvieled its 2013 World Series of Bicycling schedule on Tuesday. The highlight of the 12 Friday night international professional cycling series is the 2013 USA Cycling Junior National Championships on July 26.

  The series begins on June 7 with the U.S. Grand Prix and closes Aug. 30 with the UCI Madison Cup.

Here is the complete Friday night schedule:

2013 World Series of Bicycling Schedule:

JUNE

7          US Sprint Gran Prix

14        Keirin Cup/10 Mile Championship

21        UCI Festival of Speed

28        Red Robin Bicycle Racing League

JULY

5          No Racing Scheduled

12        Keirin Revenge

19        The Golden Wheel Race

26        USAC Junior Nationals

AUGUST

2          Tandemonium/ Women’s Open

9          Rodale Corporate Challenge

16        UCI Fastest Man on Wheels

23        Air Products Developmental Program Championships

30        UCI Madison Cup

FILA, the international federation for the sport of wrestling, has announced that World Wrestling Month will be held this May.  The 177 countries that are members of the organization will feature activities which promote the sport of wrestling and its campaign to remain in the Olympic Games.

In February, the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board voted to exclude wrestling from the 25 core sports on the program of the Olympic Games.

“World Wrestling Month will feature a variety of activities for our athletes and national federations,” said FILA’s Acting President Nenad Lalovic.  He added, “The month will celebrate our

storied past as well as our strong future.  Many of the countries around the world will be announcing their celebrations and plans in the coming weeks. ”

"The Wrestling Federation of Russia and the European Committee of Associated Wrestling Styles totally support this effort by FILA to put a spotlight on the sport of Wrestling for the month of May,” said Georgy Bryusov, First Vice-President of the Wrestling Federation of Russia.  “We have an excellent chance to show our pride and passion for our sport and why we believe it belongs on the program of the Olympic Games. "

“USA Wrestling looks forward to helping promote World Wrestling Month as part of our continued support for the Keep Olympic Wrestling effort," said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director.

He added, “We have some very exciting plans for international competition in the United States in May to help celebrate this special month. USA Wrestling will also recognize World Wrestling Month at a variety of other wrestling events and activities at all levels during the month of May. Wrestling is truly a universal sport, and we take pride in doing our part to publicize the sport within our country.”

Events during the month will include international dual meets in cities around the world, sport demonstrations and youth events.  Some of the competitions will involve proposed rule changes to the sport.  Each National Federation will announce its own schedule of events in the coming weeks.

When I sat down with Lafayette football coach Frank Tavani before the start of spring camp, we spent some time in the "war room," which includes a huge personnel chart. One of the things that caught my eye was the depth at the running back spot -- seven guys, led, of course, by Ross Scheuerman.

I know that two of those seven are new recruits -- Kyle Mayfield of North Penn High and Adin Greenfield of Miller Place, N.Y. Still, that left five for the spring camp.

So, imagine how surprised I was on Saturday to see only three guys suited up at TB -- Scheuerman, Greg Kessel, who may or may not be at that position in the fall (see my story in the print edition of The Morning Call) and Deuce Gruden.

Marcellus Irving, who had a strong outing in the first intrasquad scrimmage of the spring, was in shorts after hurting his leg earlier in the week. He seemed to be about to run on the leg, so we have to assume holding him out was precautionary.

The story behind the other "missing person" is not such a happy one. Greg Rabb, who transfered to Lafayette from Army and sat out last season while trimming down from something like 240 or about 220 and who was expected to be in the mix behind Scheuerman this season, is no longer on the team. I saw Rabb at the end of the scrimmage March 21, and he wasn't looking happy. I thought perhaps it was because he had been injured during the scrum. However, he didn't show up Monday when the players returned from spring break. Then he apparently had some problems during a practice and decided he had had enough. He asked for a release, and Coach T granted it. "He's gone," Tavani said Saturday. "For good?" I asked. "Yep." I approached one player about him. "What's with Rabb?" I asked. "I'm really not sure; he had some issues I'm not familiar with," was the answer. Must be something about Florida tailbacks. Remember Pat Mputu? That whole thing was a shame; so is this.

I'm not a betting guy, but I'm pretty sure the other Sunshine State TB on the 2013 Lafayette roster will NOT present the same kind of problems. His name: Deuce Gruden. In fact, he's been having a pretty impressive camp since moving from the slot receiver spot. And with only the three guys there Saturday, he was very busy. I know Coach T has liked what he's seen, too.

Mark Ross wasn't taking part in the practice, either, but he told me his head is cleared up now after taking a big hit in the scrimmage two weeks back. He said defensive back Matt Smalley apologized to him for the hit that brought with it the concussion. I wrote that the hit seemed a bit late and that it was helmet-to-helmet. Ross told me the film of the scrimmage showed that it was NOT helmet-to-helmet and that apparently Smalley DID try to let up a bit at the end, but the whole thing took place to fast. Nice going, Matt, for the way you handled the whole thing. I'm looking forward to seeing some big things from you in the future, and I'm sure you'll not forget the lesson learned from this incident.

Another player not taking part on Saturday was safety Jared Roberts. He tweaked a hamstring earlier in the week, and, again, no sense aggravating anything at this time. Both Roberts and Ross will probably be ready for the Maroon and White game on April 20. Ross said he would begin to practice again on Thursday.

I really like some of the things I'm seeing from the offensive line, although starting guard Maxim Ngolla came up limping during a live inside-runs scrimmage. The big guys up front opened a lane for Scheuerman on one play, and he dashed 40 yards for a TD without being touched. The offense was working two huddles at one time, giving lots of guys plenty of action. During that period, and another live period later, I saw a couple of nice plays by defensive end Jake McTighe. He was a tight end when he first came to Lafayette, but he was moved over to defense last season. He's listed behind Shane Dorner on the depth chart, but McTighe was the guy getting several TFLs Saturday.

Quarterbacks Zach Zweizig and Andrew Dzurik did some nice things in the passing game again. Justin Adams, who, as we said before, has changed numbers from 13 to 4, continued to impress on the receiving end. But the guy who kind of stole the show was fullback Pat Creahan. The senior, who is being pushed pretty hard by rising sophomore Dan Dellovade had what could have been a career day. During an 11-on-11 red zone period, Creahan was on the receiving end of a pair of touchdown passes from Zweizig. Creahan's buddies swarmed him in the end zone. Linebacker Colton Kirkpatrick had the only interception of the passing portions of the day.

I couldn't help but notice that Ryan Gralish seemed to be the lonliest guy in the stadium. Last year, Lafayertte had three kickers on the roster -- Ethan Swerdlow and Case Garner was the other. Right now, Gralish is the only kicker -- he'll be joined by punter Ryan Forrester in summer camp. Gralish kicked two punts at the start of practice Saturday, then basically stood around -- usually all alone -- for about 80 minutes until the field goal period of the practice. With Adams holding, Gralish was kicking from around the 25-yard line (35-yard FGs). He had plenty of leg, and I'm sure he's only going to get better as the weather warms up and when he has a friend to share the day with.

A number of recruits were in the stadium on Saturday. I don't know them without numbers on jerseys, so I can only tell you about those who were pointed out to me. Quarterback Blake Searfoss, who had a short ride over from Flemington, N.J., was paying close attention to the offenwsive huddle. And youo couldn't miss the two big guys hanging around the offensive linemen. They were Connor Staudle from Highland Mills, N.Y., who is 6-5, 285, and Toussaint Helm from Newburgh, N.Y., who is 6-6, 265. Early in the day Saturday, Coach T was telling me how Helm's movement impressed the coaches, even though he lacks the bulk of the rest of the interior behemoths. But, if you want a bit of trivia on Helm, here it is: he wears a size 18 shoe. That may be small stuff compared to Shaquille O'Neal, who is supposedly a 22 or 23, but those are big feet on a high school senior. Lafayette's equipment people are already on the hunt.

Tyler Vickers, the tight end who has been trying it on defense this spring, is working his way out of the Coach Tavani doghouse. Vickers was tossed from the scrimmage by Tavani, but they met and smoothed things over. Vickers is a talented 6-5, 260-pound rising sophomore from Miami. He needs to get his emotions under control and understand that the antics which got him tossed from the scrimmage would, in a game, cost Lafayette a penalty and get Vickers suspended for at least the next game. It's certainly not too late to make things right.

The remainder of the spring practices look like this: April 9 and 11, 4:30 p.m.; April 13, 9 a.m.; April 16, 18 and 19, 4:30, and the Maroon and White Game at 11 a.m. April 20.

Cole Hamels appears good and ready to face the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day next week, but has the lanky lefty traded in his 'Hollywood' label for that of...'Lumberjack'? 

It's true. Hamels' beard will probably never grow long enough to have its own Twitter account, but can you imagine what he might look like come September if the above picture is his motivation for the Phillies to make a playoff push?

This photo (screengrabbed from the Phillies website) is evidence of Hamels' final spring training start on March 27 against the Detroit Tigers.  He allowed just one hit, one walk and struck out three in three innings of work.  But forget the stats (or should we?).  The first thing you notice is that bush on his face.  He told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com it's "hurting the appearance."  Says he's going to shave it soon.

But Cole should reconsider. Just look what that beard did for his spring training. 3-0. 0.95 ERA.  15 strikeouts in 19 innings of work over 5 starts. 

Need more proof that whiskers win?  Just look at the evidence. Aaron Cook also grew a beard and has just a 3.38 ERA.  But Cliff Lee trimmed back the hair and his Grapefruit League ERA is at 5.94.  Baby- faced Jonathan Papelbon is at 9.82.  And beardless John Lannan got obliterated by the Blue Jays in his last start on Monday.

Ross Scheuerman ran once to the right, then once to the left on the first two plays of Thursday's 80something-play Lafayette football intra-squad scrimmage in Fisher Stadium. He spent the rest of the day -- which felt very little like spring football weather -- as a spectator.

That was expected, because there is no question about Scheuerman's importance to the Leopards' chances for success in the fall. But with the rising junior sitting out, the battle for No. 2 was played out with passion.

Four running backs were shuffled in and out during the afternoon, and if you're wondering whether the players thought it was important for them to be seen, consider the fact that both Marcellus Irving and Greg Rabb left the scrimmage with what seemed like day-ending injuries. But, neither one was satisfied to call it a day, and both not only returned, but made some strong points for themselves later in the scrum.

To me, the most impressive of the lot was East Stroudsburg-South High product Greg Kessel, a fullback the last three season who is being given a shot this spring as a 248-pound running back.

Leopard Coach Frank Tavani had told me a while back that Kessel's speed would fool people, and I have to admit he showed a number of good bursts on Thursday. He also had one resounding collision with a linebacker that drew oohs and aahs from Lafayette players on the sideline. Kessel was smiling at the end of the day and told me he is enjoying the new position. He looked like he was enjoying it, too, and he had a couple of runs that were longer than all the yardage he accumulated as a running back the last three years.

I also liked the play of senior Marcellus Irving, who is listed on the roster at 5-10, 210 but definitely looks 10 pounds heavier -- and a bit taller -- than that. Irving has been injured during his career and never really gotten much of an opportunity. I think the coaches will like what they see on film, and he may force them to use him more.

I didn't think Army transfer Greg Rabb, who has trimmed down from 240 to 217 in the last year, was playing until I discovered that he had switched numbers from last year's 41 to 5. He seemed to take a pretty big hit at one point, clutching his ribs, but he refused to give up his chance. He came back and made several nice runs, too.

The fourth TB in the mix Thursday was rising sophomore Deuce Gruden. He started slowly as the third man in, but he did make a bit of a comeback and definitely got the best of it on a collision with defensive back Anthony Loyacona, who actually may have been KO'd for a second or two. Gruden is listed at 5-6, 182. I wonder if 5-6 is with his shoes on. Gruden is not short on heart, for sure.

Andrew Dzurik, a strong-armed 6-3, 220-pound rising sophomore who is the backup to Zach Zweizig at quarterback, did, as expected, get more snaps in the Thursday skirmish than Zweizig did, and Dzurik showed off that arm. He had one TD pass to Justin Adams, who fooled me, too, because he is now wearing No. 4 instead of the No. 13 he wore for two seasons. Dzurik also connected with Jack Poetzsch for a TD on the final play of the day -- and Poetzsch needed that one because he dropped one in the clear earlier.

Mike Duncan had four or five catches, and they included a couple of tough ones. Jamel Smith, one of the do-everything youngsters on the roster, also made some big plays. All in all, this is a talented group that did not disappoint more than a handful of times all day.

But the play that bothered me was on a pass to go-to rising senior Mark Ross, who had 75 catches last season. He is Lafayette's franchise receiver -- if there were such a thing -- and EVERYBODY on the team should understand that.

Ross caught the ball in the middle of the field and was hit by two defenders -- the second, Matt Smalley, seemed to be a bit late and caught Ross helmet-to-helmet. Ross dropped the ball on the hit, but more importantly, he left the field and did not return. He admitted to me he was a bit dizzy.

Fortunately, he won't be practicing again until April 2, and I'm sure the dizziness will be gone loong before that. But the point is, Smalley may have crossed a line that didn't need to be crossed -- especially on the fifth day of SPRING practice against your own guy.

Smalley is a 5-10, 190-pound rising sophomore, and I had already been told to keep an eye on him because he is a hitter.  That was meant in a good way, of course, and Smalley did make several plays Thursday afternoon. I hope he regrets the collision with Ross at least a little bit. I wonder if there was an apology -- or if Ross expected one. Ross is a tough kid himself.

Darius Glover, a 6-3, 287-pound rising senior defensive lineman, was the first Leopard on the practice field Thursday, and he immediately ran a lap of the field. I couldn't help but wonder if Glover is trying to step in where 2012 cocaptain Rick Lyster moved out and trying to be the take-charge guy on the defensive front. That group could use a leader because three of the starters are new. A couple of coaches assured me Glover is trying to do the right thing. "But he's a different dude, too," one said to me. That's OK; defensive linemen SHOULD be different. He has large shoes to fill.

The linebacker corps caught my eye, for sure, because I think defensive coordinator-linebackers coach John Loose is going to have lots of decisions on his hands. That group has some big hitters, too -- Mike Boles, Matt Gill, Dion King, Chris Brockman and Tyler Robinson all made plays. Bobby DiPietro, another former linebacker who is listed at the No. 2 anchor defensive end, and James Coscia, the projected starter, will make their marks, too.

Zweizig and Dzurik both had some off plays to go along with their good ones. Zweizig did a bunch of scrambling, but those runs looked more impressive because all the defensive guys have been issued hands-off warnings when it comes to the quarterbacks. But Zweizig did pull off one play  that stunned everyone. He made a perfect read-fake to Kessel and kept the ball and ran for a touchdown. I don't think anyone reallized he had kept the ball until seconds later. I wonder if he'll be able to do some of that in the fall. I know he scored at least once on a  perfect read-option play last year.

Tavani served as the referee for the scrimmage and he had to make one costly call. Tyler Vickers is a 6-5, 260-pound rising sophomore who is on the roster as a tight end but who has been getting a try on defense this spring because of his aggressiveness. Well, apparently that aggressiveness sometimes gets the best of him. He got in a scuffle with an offensive lineman, and when whistles blew to stop play, he didn't stop.

He was pulled away and then he made the mistake of making a comment to Tavani. Tavani sent Vickers to the locker room, and later, when Vickers tried to leave the stadium, Tavani motioned him back to the Bourger Varsity Football House. I'm sure there was some stern discussion after the scrimmage. You don't want to get on the bad side of the head coach.

I was amazed again by the number of offensive linemen in camp this spring. Coach Clayton had almost three complete groups of interior guys to pick from. He was easily the most vocal of the coaches -- as he usually is -- but for every "I'm gonna kill that guy" Clayton shouted toward the big buys, there was a "good job" when they came to the sidelines after making something good happen. Still too many comments about not finishing their blocks, but there's lots of time to make that right.                

When it was over, Tavani told the team he loved the whole day. He thought plays were made and lessons were learned and progress was seen. He cautioned those who will use their spring break, which begins Friday, to go to "a destination" to be careful. He said film of the scrimmage would be graded by the coaches, and there would be lots to deal with when the players return to the campus April 1 -- to some weight lifting or conditioning work from Brad Potts.

Practice resumes on Tuesday, April 2, and the Maroon and White game is set for Saturday, April 20.

Tavani told the team he saw the promise of some big things for the fall, if the progress continues. Well, I saw lots to like, too.

Ross Scheuerman ran once to the right, then once to the left on the first two plays of Thursday's 80something-play Lafayette football intra-squad scrimmage in Fisher Stadium. He spent the rest of the day -- which felt very little like spring football weather -- as a spectator.

That was expected, because there is no question about Scheuerman's importance to the Leopards' chances for success in the fall. But with the rising junior sitting out, the battle for No. 2 was played out with passion.

Four running backs were shuffled in and out during the afternoon, and if you're wondering whether the players thought it was important for them to be seen, consider the fact that both Marcellus Irving and Greg Rabb left the scrimmage with what seemed like day-ending injuries. But, neither one was satisfied to call it a day, and both not only returned, but made some strong points for themselves later in the scrum.

To me, the most impressive of the lot was East Stroudsburg-South High product Greg Kessel, a fullback the last three season who is being given a shot this spring as a 248-pound running back.

Leopard Coach Frank Tavani had told me a while back that Kessel's speed would fool people, and I have to admit he showed a number of good bursts on Thursday. He also had one resounding collision with a linebacker that drew oohs and aahs from Lafayette players on the sideline. Kessel was smiling at the end of the day and told me he is enjoying the new position. He looked like he was enjoying it, too, and he had a couple of runs that were longer than all the yardage he accumulated as a running back the last three years.

I also liked the play of senior Marcellus Irving, who is listed on the roster at 5-10, 210 but definitely looks 10 pounds heavier -- and a bit taller -- than that. Irving has been injured during his career and never really gotten much of an opportunity. I think the coaches will like what they see on film, and he may force them to use him more.

I didn't think Army transfer Greg Rabb, who has trimmed down from 240 to 217 in the last year, was playing until I discovered that he had chanced numbers from last year's 41 to 5. He seemed to take a pretty big hit, but he refused to give up his chance. He came back and made several nice runs, too.

The fourth TB in the mix Thursday was rising sophomore Deuce Gruden. He started slowly as the third man in, but he did make a bit of a comeback and did get the best of it on a collision with defensive back Anthony Loyacona, who actually may have been KO'd for a second or two. Gruden is listed at 5-6, 182. I wonder if 5-6 is with his shoes on. Gruden is not short on heart, for sure.

Andrew Dzurik, a strong-armed 6-3, 220-pound rising sophomore who is the backup to Zach Zweizig at quarterback, did, as expected, get more snaps in the Thursday skirmish than Zweizig did, and Dzurik showed off that arm. He had one TD pass to Justin Adams, who fooled me, too, because he is now wearing No. 4 instead of the No. 13 he wore for two seasons. Dzurik also connected with Jack Poetzsch for a TD on the final play of the day -- and Poetzsch needed that one because he dropped one in the clear earlier.

Mike Duncan had four or five catches, and they included a couple of tough ones. Jamel Smith, one of the do-everything youngsters on the roster, also made some big plays. All in all, this is a talented group that did not disappoint more than a handful of times all day.

But the play that bothered me was on a pass to go-to rising senior Mark Ross, who had 75 catches last season. He is Lafayette's franchise receiver -- if there were such a thing -- and EVERYBODY on the team should understand that.

Ross caught the ball in the middle of the field and was hit by two defenders -- the second, Matt Smalley, seemed to be a bit late and caught Ross helmet-to-helmet. Ross dropped the ball on the hit, but more importantly, he left the field and did not return. He admitted to me he was a bit dizzy.

Fortunately, he won't be practicing again until April 2, and I'm sure the dizziness will be gone loong before that. But the point is, Smalley may have crossed a line that didn't need to be crossed -- especially on the fifth day of SPRING practice against your own guy.

Smalley is a 5-10, 190-pound rising sophomore, and I had already been told to keep an eye on him because he is a hitter.  That was meant in a good way, of course, and Smalley did make several plays Thursday afternoon. I hope he regrets the collision with Ross at least a little bit. I wonder if there was an apology -- or if Ross expected one. Ross is a tough kid himself.

Darius Glover, a 6-3, 287-pound rising senior defensive lineman, was the first Leopard on the practice field Thursday, and he immediately ran a lap of the field. I couldn't help but wonder if Glover is trying to step in where 2012 cocaptain Rick Lyster moved out and trying to be the take-charge guy on the defensive front. That group could use a leader because three of the starters are new. A couple of coaches assured me Glover is trying to do the right thing. "But he's a different dude, too," one said to me. That's OK; defensive linemen SHOULD be different. He has large shoes to fill.

The linebacker corps caught my eye, for sure, because I think defensive coordinator-linebackers coach John Loose is going to have lots of decisions on his hands. That group has some big hitters, too -- Mike Boles, Matt Gill, Dion King, Chris Brockman and Tyler Robinson all made plays. Bobby DiPietro, another former linebacker who is listed at the No. 2 anchor defensive end, and James Coscia, the projected starter, will make their marks, too.

Zweizig and Dzurik both had some off plays to go along with their good ones. Zweizig did a bunch of scrambling, but those runs looked more impressive because all the defensive guys have been issued hands-off warnings when it comes to the quarterbacks. But Zweizig did pull off one play  that stunned everyone. He made a perfect read-fake to Kessel and kept the ball and ran for a touchdown. I don't think anyone reallized he had kept the ball until seconds later. I wonder if he'll be able to do some of that in the fall. I know he scored at least once on a  perfect read-option play last year.

Tavani served as the referee for the scrimmage and he had to make one costly call. Tyler Vickers is a 6-5, 260-pound rising sophomore who is on the roster as a tight end but who has been getting a try on defense this spring because of his aggressiveness. Well, apparently that aggressiveness sometimes gets the best of him. He got in a scuffle with an offensive lineman, and when whistles blew to stop play, he didn't stop.

He was pulled away and then he made the mistake of making a comment to Tavani. Tavani sent Vickers to the locker room, and later, when Vickers tried to leave the stadium, Tavani motioned him back to the Bourger Varsity Football House. I'm sure there was some stern discussion after the scrimmage. You don't want to get on the bad side of the head coach.

I was amazed again by the number of offensive linemen in camp this spring. Coach Clayton had almost three complete groups of interior guys to pick from. He was easily the most vocal of the coaches -- as he usually is -- but for every "I'm gonna kill that guy" Clayton shouted toward the big buys, there was a "good job" when they came to the sidelines after making something good happen. Still too many comments about not finishing their blocks, but there's lots of time to make that right.                

When it was over, Tavani told the team he loved the whole day. He thought plays were made and lessons were learned and progress was seen. He cautioned those who will use their spring break, which begins Friday, to go to "a destination" to be careful. He said film of the scrimmage would be graded by the coaches, and there would be lots to deal with when the players return to the campus April 1 -- to some weight lifting or conditioning work from Brad Potts.

Practice resumes on Tuesday, April 2, and the Maroon and White game is set for Saturday, April 20.

Tavani told the team he saw the promise of some big things for the fall, if the progress continues. Well, I saw lots to like, too.

 Well, it may not seem much like September, but on Fisher Field, a bunch of incredible hulks will be running around with helmets on this afternoon as spring “camp” begins. Coach Frank Tavani and I had a long talk recently about camp and a bunch of other things. Here are some things to get you back into the football mode.

THE SCHEDULE

Coach Tavani said the other day that the only date that matters to him right now is Sept. 7, when his Lafayette team opens the season at home against Sacred Heart.

But truth be told, he’s not entirely certain yet that Sept. 7 will be opening day at all. In fact, if he is still hoping to land another opponent for this year and next – and that extra game just might be scheduled during the final week in August.

“This year is pretty much done,” Tavani told me, but then he added, “there could still be some changes. I’m looking at possibly doing something. “

A quirk in the NCAA calendars for 2013-14 means teams are permitted a 12-game regular season. The last time Lafayette played 12 games in a regular season was 2002. Ironically, Lafayette added Monmouth to the schedule that year, and Monmouth is one of the main reasons that making a late addition to this year’s card is a possibility. Monmouth dropped out of the Northeast Conference, leaving a bunch of teams with openings, and Coach Tavani said that other FCS schools are also exploring the possibility of adding a game these two years.

Lafayette has a bye after the third game this fall, and while Tavani welcomes that, he also said that the Sept. 28 date is one that could be used for a 12^th game.

More and more teams seem to be playing games the Thursday night of the last week orf August. That is also a possibility for this year, though probably remote, but Tavani did say, “We’d like to look at that down the road; that would be an ideal time for a an FBS game – get a TV deal, then have 10 days before you have to play again.”

Lafayette’s 2014 and 2015 schedules have an open date listed for the week before the big Lafayette-Lehigh game, and Tavani said if things remain that way, it’s possible that the Leopards would look for a natural-grass facility on which to practice. Why? Well, the 2014 finale, the 150^th Lafayette-Lehigh game, is scheduled for Yankee Stadium and the 2015 game is at Lehigh’s Goodman Stadium, both natural-grass surfaces. “There’s not a lot of difference when you go from grass to FieldTurf, but going from FieldTurf to grass is a little different.

WALKING WOUNDED

As usual, a number of players will will be held out of spring practice. The biggest loss is offensive tackle Andrew Anastor, who missed last season because of a torn ACL. Well, his problem now is his labrum, and because he’s having surgery, the 320-pounder, who transferred to Lafayette after Northeastern gave up football, will not play now – and could be finished for his career. He indicated to me that there was a chance he could get back for part of the season, but no one in the program is counting on that at this point. DeOliver Davis, who is a projected starter at cornerback, has a toe issue and Coach Tavani was not sure if Davis would be in spring camp.  He also missed last season with a shoulder injury. Ben Aloi, a projected starter at linebacker, is still rehabbing a knee; defensive back Shane Brady has had work done on a knee, too, and will not practice in spring as a precaution. Darren Wright, a rising sophomore who did not play last year because of an injury, is still nursing a shoulder injury. A couple of other rising sophomores are concentrating on shoring up their academic side and will forego spring ball, but that’s not uncommon.

VIEW FROM THE BOOTH

Leopard coordinators Mickey Fein (offense) and John Loose (defense) spent their 2012 game days working from the press box, and Coach Tavani liked the way that worked out and plans to have them upstairs this season, too. “Both of them are very cerebral guys and bright coaches,” Tavani said.  “It took some adjustments for both, but it’s a much calmer atmosphere. I felt there were better adjustments and we were always lined up and ready to go, particularly defensively. The sideline is chaos. There are different schools of thought about it, and there are a lot of reasons to do it the other way, too, but I felt that we had greater improvement with communications, and I think it will get even better.”

LESS IS BETTER

“As coaches, we know a lot of football, and we can draw things up on the board and scheme things out, but it’s not what we know (that is important), it’s what the kids know,” Tavani said. The Lafayette game plan each week can get pretty complex, but in analyzing last year’s game films during the offseason, the coaches noted that “some of our breakdowns were because our technique wasn’t very good.” So, spring ball will focus on technique – “we’ll try to master a few, and get really good at them before we move on,” Tavani said. You aren’t going very far in 15 practices. If you are, it’s because you’re watering things down. We’ll try to get as sharp as we can.”

MORE IS BETTER

Because of the way Lafayette’s spring-Easter break is arranged this year, the spring “camp” will have three, not just two, extensive scrimmages, the last being the Maroon and White Game on April 20. “You’re only going to be as good as the number of repetitions you get done in practice,” Tavani said. “There are no scout teams in the spring. Everybody will get plenty of chances to show us what they can do.” The next month could be especially important for the rising sophomores on the squad. “A lot of freshmen get frustrated by midseason,” Tavani said. “They think, ‘Geez, I’m just a blocking dummy; I should be playing; I’m better than this; I was a star in high school.’  I talk to them about that ahead of time, but until they go through it, they don’t know. They’re all realizing it now. Every day, they can get reps they weren’t getting last season.”

TO HURRY OR NOT TO HURRY

Every year, it seems more teams are working the no-huddle offense into their game plans, and Coach Tavani said that while “were practice two-minute (drills) every day,” he’s not sold on going fast from beginning to end. “It’s all about trying to gain an advantage,” he said. I think it’s good in situations. If you’re going up and down the field and scoring points, it’s fine; but if you’re not, you’re turning the ball over to the other team’s offense quicker and it hurts your defense. I like it situationally. The game is about spreading people out now; the days of lining up with a basic tight end, flanker, I-back and slamming the ball 30 times (is past). People wouldn’t put eight or nine guys up to stop run; now they do. But Chip Kelly says they didn’t go to that offense (at Oregon) to throw the ball; they did it to run the ball.”

EXPLORING THE DEPTH CHART

Now here’s a look at the roster position-by-position.

OFFENSIVE LINE   -- My jaw dropped when I looked at the depth chart and saw four complete sets of o-linemen. Not all 20 of them will be in spring camp because five of them are incoming freshmen. But the crew begins with a handful that went through all of last season together – Luke Chiarolanzio, Brad Bormann, Pat Crosby, Maxim Ngolla and Zach Mazur. Chiarolanzio took awhile catching on to the move to the left side a year ago, but he is a two-year starter – and he’s only a junior. Three rising sophomores (David Miller, John Hoffman, Nick Zataveski) are on the second unit, and Tavani said, “We really like this bunch.” While the group is huge, a couple of incoming freshmen will probably challenge the returnees in the summer. Connor Staudle is a 6-5, 285-pound kid who has received some rave reviews from Coach Tavani. And, he's not the only one.

TIGHT ENDS – Brandon Hall and Morgan Donohue will be seniors already, and Coach T is really high on rising sophomores Brian Keller and Tyler Vickers, and perhaps evidence of the solidness of that group is the fact that the Leopards did not bring in a tight end on their first scholarship group.

QUARTERBACKS – Zach Zweizig really for a baptism by fire when he was called on to start against Penn when Andrew Shoop was suspended for one game. All he did was, with the help of a pick-happy defense (seven interceptions) led the Leopards to a win. Now, Tavani says, “We’re going into this season with a guy who started five games and played pretty well. And in the Lehigh game, on series he drove us down for a touchdown but the emotions of his week (brought on by the death of his father) got the best of him. But he is one tough kid, and those five games he started are valuable experience.” The defection of QBs Kyle Ohradzansky and Louie Pappas during the offseason were a setback, no question; but Zweizig and Andrew Dzurik should benefit from the extra work this spring. And when Drew Reed and Blake Searfoss come on board this summer, things will get more back to normal. Keeping Zweizig healthy is a key for now.

WIDE RECEIVERS – Mark Ross and Jamel Smith accounted for more than 1,600 yards between them last year. Ross, an all-league first teamer, is already among the upper echelon of Leopard receivers all time. Smith contributes not just as a receiver, but also returning kickoffs and punts. He was the league Rookie of the Year in 2012, “and we have to find ways to get the ball in his hands,” Tavani said. Each of those guys has four players lined up behind him on the depth chart. Mike Duncan made some spectacular catches last year, and if he is able to add any weight to his 6-3 frame, he’ll be trouble for opposing DBs. And when frosh Tim Vangelas joins the group this summer, this could get very interesting because he had over 100 catches in his high school career.

RUNNING BACKS – Make no mistake about it, things still begin with Ross Scheuerman, who has 1,200 net yards rushing and 2,558 all-purpose yards in his first two seasons. “He’s getting better and better, and the only thing that held him back at the end of last season was that hip pointer,” Tavani said. “But he’s feeling better and the inside reads, and with his speed and power, we can use him many ways.” Greg Kessel, who is now listed at 248 pounds, is listed second on the depth chart right now, even though he had only two net yards rushing in 2012. He had 11 touches – six rushes, five pass receptions – and scored three touchdowns. “He runs faster than you think and he is a brute,” said Tavani, who could also use him as a pass protector-outlet receiver. Greg Rabb came to Easton at 240 pounds; he is now down to 217, and he’ll get a chance to show if he might be the power back the Leopards have been looking for. Deuce Gruden has been moved to RB, and while he is only 182 pounds, he’s also only 5-6 (maybe); and, shame on me but I remember a Lehigh running back by the name of Ronald Jean who played way above his stature some years back. And Tavani is touting  freshman Kyle Mayfield out of North Penn as another power guy. This position looks great to me.

FULLBACKS – I would have thought this was Kessel’s domain, but if he remains at TB, and if Pat Creahan doesn’t make a better impression than last year, look for rising sophomore Dan Dellovade  to move right in. Tavani says Dellovade, who is another 240-pounder, bowls people over. That would be a big asset on some of those third- and fourth-and-ones that have often been a sore spot for the offense. Tavani said he also wants to get a look at another sophomore, Freddie Hess, too.

DEFENSIVE LINE – Because three of the starters will be new, this position looks like one where some youngsters – and I’m talking about freshmen – will have a chance to make an immediate difference. You won’t see the names Robin Cepeda, Matt Rothrock or Collin Albershardt on the two-deep chart – in fact, none of the incoming scholarship class is on the list. But Coach T’s eyes lit up when he mentioned those names. So, we’ll have to wait until this summer. In the meantime, Steve Mercado, who was the defensive scout team MVP for 2012, Darius Glover and Shane Dorner will get the first shots. Tavani really seemed to like rising sophomores Ryan Sanders and Bobby DiPietro, too. James Coscia has gotten bigger over the winter. I see big improvement coming in this area before September rolls around.

LINEBACKERS – I don’t know how John Loose is going to keep all these guys happy. In Mike Boles and Colton Kirkpatrick, the Leopards have a pair of big and physical kids who were the No. 1 and No. 3 tacklers on the team last year. Senior Dion King is listed as the third probable starter. Coach T is expecting lots from him. Tyler Robinson, Mark Dodd, Matt Gill and Chris Brockman are listed as the backups, and lots of teams would be happy with them as starters. I’m personally watching Gill, a Northern Lehigh High grad who should be fully healthy and ready to go this season. We won’t see Darren Wright this spring because of injury, but he’s listed at 6-2, 257 – yep, 257 – on the roster and coach T told me he thinks Wright “is going to be an unbelieveable outside linebacker” who can also move up on the line and cause problems. And, don't forget that Kasheem Hill will be available after the fourth game of the season. He is permitted to practice through spring and summer, so when the time comes, he should be able to step right in andn contribute for the bulk of the league run.

DEFENSIVE BACKS – Jared Roberts could easily be the best DB in the Patriot League. He had four interceptions and eight pass breakups last season to go along with 53 total tackles. When you pair him up with Shane Black, who had four picks, too, and was the second leading tackler with 73, the safety spots are well handled. Randall Logan was voted the most improved player on defense in 2012, and guys like Kyle Sakowski, who had an outstanding freshman year, DeOliver Davis, if he gets his toe issue resolved, Shane Brady, who is missing spring ball for the second straight year because of injury, and Matt Smalley, this group is deep and talented. Oh, and did I mention Draeland James? The freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., was listed at a No. 2 when I saw the board, and he’s 6-1, 190 and plenty fast. Watch out for him at corner.

KICKING GAME – Ryan Gralish is back for his sophomore season after going 6-for-8 on field goals (long of 46 yards) and 28-for-31 on PATs. “He had typical freshman inconsistency,” Tavani said, “but he does have an extremely strong leg and the maturity will help him.” He is going to be handling all the kicking chores during the spring and actually could do that in the fall, too. But Coach Tavani is counting on freshman scholarship recruit Ryan Forrester  to be the punter. “Ka-boom” is the word Tavani used to describe Forrester’s boots. He averaged 43.8 yards per kick in high school last year and also booted a 52-yard field goal.  “We’re putting a lot of pressure on him, but that’s why we got him,” Tavani said.

ODDS AND ENDS

At least half a dozen of this year’s seniors are eligible to apply for a medical redshirt season in 2014. They are linebackers Ben Aloi and Dion King, defensive back Shane Brady, running back Marcellus Irving, tight end Morgan Donohue and cornerback DeOliver Davis. If they apply for and are granted the extra season, they would have to withdraw from college for the spring semester of 2014, perhaps do an internship of some sort and come back for their final semester in the fall.

I brought up a sore subject – presnap penalties, and Coach T assured me it’s something the Leopards work on every day. “Some of (the problem) with with young kids, and then some frustration takes over,” Tavani said. “It comes along when you’re trying so hard, you want to be so good. And many times it happens at the most inopportune time. We work on changing snap counts and formations and trying to draw the other side off.”

The Leopards faded at the end of games at times last year, so Tavani will take a new approach to practices this spring to try to correct that. “We’ll be conditioning at the end of spring practice, which is something we normally don’t do,” he said. “That will all factor into our goal to finish strong. We might condition before going into the last team period, so that you’re exhausted and now you still have to play. That’s the focus.”

Back on Letter of Intent Day, Coach T indicated he might have an addition at a later time because he still had a scholarship available. When I spoke to him for this preview, he was still on the hunt. In fact, he had to return a call immediately after finishing with me. He said that if he did not use the scholarship this year, he would be able to add it to next year’s recruiting class. In fact, he said that for the first couple of years of merit-scholarship recruiting, Lafayette might actually gain spots while some other league teams will be losing them. “It’s a smoother process now, but there is more work,” Tavani said. “My personal evaluation is intense. If I’m going to hand somebody a quarter of a million dollars (the rough value of a four-year full scholarship), the kid better make me feel real good.”

The roster limit for Patriot League teams this year is 95. Next year, it drops to 92, and in 2015, it will be 90. “We will have trouble keeping 90, unless the league changes the rule concerning how financial aid is counted,” Tavani said. I was sure the explanation would be lengthy, so I didn’t ask for one. Tavani said he hoped the rule would be “strongly reconsidered.” At this point, that’s all he can do.

Tavani said that he expected that some of the incoming freshmen who live close enough to do so might just show up at some of the spring practices. The kids would be permitted to work with strength coach Brad Potts to get a head start on their conditioning program. They would have to make then trips at their own expense, however. NCAA rules do not permit the college to cover such costs.

The dates of the big scrimmages of the spring camp are March 21, April 11 and the Maroon and White Game on April 20. “We are excited to see those guys who we really don’t know about yet,” Tavani said. “They don’t have to master much to be ready to play. We slow (the pace of the scrimmage) down. We try to simulate game conditions. I don’t care how fast we go as far as the number of plays. Every time they get another live play, they get one play better. My deal is I want to get as many plays as we can. That will put us ahead for preseason camp.”

Because he missed a season because of a disciplinary problem, Leopard corner back and 2012 co-captain Darius Safford has another year of eligibility. Safford told me he will begin to take graduate courses at Georgia Southern University and will play for the FCS team in the fall. Coach T wasn’t as certain about that. Tavani said he also is trying to open some doors for another ex-defensive back, Kyni Scott, to at least get a look from some pro scouts. And quarterback Andrew Shoop is playing for the Prague Black Panthers – and, according to Rob Curley, another former Leopard who had a couple of great seasons in Europe – he’s loving every minute of it.

For the first time since dropping out of the dual meet rankings in January, Lehigh received votes and points to be included in honorable mention in the USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association/Amateur Wrestling News Division I poll.

    Dual meet champion Minnesota (16-2) finished No. 1 after winning the

watered-down dual meet championships last weekend that did not include No. 3 Penn State (13-1). Minnesota beat former No. 2 Iowa (20-3), and then former No. 1 Oklahoma State (17-1) to avenge an earlier season loss in the finals.

   EIWA competitor Cornell (14-4) finished the regular season poll tied for No. 9 with Oregon State (11-4). Other EIWA teams included in the top 25 were Penn (10-3) at No. 21 and Rutgers (16-4) at No. 25. Lehigh received 35 points in the poll.

    Other Pennsylvania teams included in the rankings are Bloomsburg (17-3) at BNo. 15, Pitt (19-6) at No.16, and Edinboro (10-6) at No. 17.

   Lehigh (10-7) beat Bloomsburg and Pitt in the regular season but lost to Penn State, Cornell, Rutgers and Oregon State. Lehigh has won at least 10 dual meets a season in each of the last 14 seasons.

    The Mountain Hawks will compete next in the 2013 EIWA Championships March 8-9 at Rutgers.

Twenty-four days ago, I was lying on a Lehigh Valley Health Network operating-room table under “deep hypothermic circulatory arrest” (clinically dead) for 90 minutes while a couple of super-talented medical “athletes,” heart surgeons Ray Singer and Gary Szydlowski, performed some major open-heart surgery.

So, when my wife, Betty, told my granddaughter-in-law Vanisia Yost on Wednesday that I was writing some kind of Lafayette football stories for The Morning Call, Vanisia said, “What? The other day he said it wiped him out to fold a couple of pieces of wash.”

She was right.

I’ll probably be wasted for most of today (Thursday), too, but before I flop, just a couple of things I found interesting with Lafayette’s National Letter of Intent Day.

First, a prediction. This will be the turnaround season for the Leopards. The schedule is loaded with problems, but a huge number of returning Leopards have been through this before. It’s their turn to growl. Having said that, if it doesn’t happen, I can always plead having been incoherent when I made the prediction on Feb. 6.

Now, here we go.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The kids of today love the Twitter thing. I find it sometimes amusing, sometimes informative, sometimes inane and sometimes just downright stupid.  But there are a couple of tweets from new Lafayette recruits.

Robin Cepeda, a 270-pound defensive linemen from Paterson, N.J.—On Tuesday, he tweeted, “I’m so eager for tomorrow. Can’t wait to sign!” And, after he did, he tweeted, “So to all the people saying I wouldn’t go D1 … Thanks for the motivation!”     

Hunter Price, wide receiver from Colorado who on film looks to be of the Mark Ross variety – “Couldn’t (be) more excited to see what God has in store for me on this journey.”

Ryan Forrester, punter from Arlington, VA – Pumped to be officially part of the Lafayette football team! Go leps!”

Ben Carroll, Cincinnati, Ohio, gets a tweet from Kyle Mayfield, North Penn – BENN????? MY MAN. My main duuuuude!! See you in the AM. And Carroll writes back, “thank you!! Maybe I’ll make a trip to philly.”

A QUARTERBACK STORY

When the 2012 season ended, Lafayette figured to have four QBs in 2013 spring camp. Then Kyle Ohradzansky decided to transfer to a school within shouting distance of his home (Baldwin-Wallace) and, less than two weeks before signing day, Floridian Louie Pappas told Coach Tavani he was going to “take a leave of absence from school and likely transfer.”

Tavani and Co. got one of those guys back by signing Drew Reed of Lakeland, Tenn., who has passed for 70 touchdowns in three years with only 11 interceptions. He also was 20-for-20 in one game as a junior. A collarbone injury his senior year may have caused his stock to drop, but not for Lafayette and its former QB offensive coordinator Mickey Fein.

Pappas’ decision “put us back in the market,” Tavani said Wednesday, adding, “which I didn’t have budgeted. We had to move some things around late to make that happen. You have to have four – most coaches most want to have five. Fortunately, we had a good group to choose from and we liked Blake Searfoss’ skills. We had a chance to see him work out in person. You have to keep going; that happened late in the game. That’s what I mean by the landscape changing sometimes daily. Both QBs have nice strong arms and can move around.”

Searfoss is an outstanding lacrosse player began thinking about football after his senior year at Hunterdon Central High. He did a post-graduate year at The Hun School, where he threw for five TDs in one game. That added year of maturity can’t hurt a bit.

RECRUITING COMPETITION

When I asked Coach T if the Ivy League and Colonial Athletic Association were his biggest rivals in the recruiting war, he said, “Pretty much those two, and a little with the academies (Army, Navy, Air Force) because they take so many in academies and then another 25-30 in their prep schools. Those (CAA) battles are tough because they sell kids on a five-year program. We lost a kid from Massachusetts and I didn’t think they’d drive by us and go to North Carolina and a school on Southern Conference. But they found nice warm weather, a redshirt season, five years, a chance to start on a graduate degree and use the redshirt years. Unlike last year, when (Patriot League schools) didn’t get an early start, we’re way ahead now in terms of spring recruiting.”

So, what about the Ivy League schools?

“We made an impact with the Ivies,” Tavani said. “Most obvious was with those families that qualify for little or no financial aid and we’re able to offer a half or full (scholarship). You don’t win all of them, either.  But we’re in the dance.”

THINKING SPRING

Because of the early date for Easter this year (March 31), Lafayette’s spring drills will be split. The team will work March 14-15-16-19-21, with the latter day being an 80- or 90-play scrimmage. The Easter break then comes in and practice resumes April 2. The final 10 sessions are April 2-4-6-9-11-13-16-18-19-20.

ODDS AND ENDS

Lafayette Sports Network analyst and former Leopard defensive back Mike Joseph likes linebacker Collin Alberschardt – a lot. How much is a lot? He says the 6-2, 245-pound Alberschardt reminds him of Georgetown’s Andrew Schaetzke and Robert McCabe, a pair of league Defensive MVPs. High praise.

Offensive coordinator Mickey Fein said of 280-pound offensive lineman Devon Leach, of Orchard Park, N.Y., “When you shake his hand he wants to rip your arm off.” Ouch.

My choice for a player to watch is running back Kyle Mayfield, who is listed at 6-1, 210. He’s one of six kids in his family; h was born just three days – well, actually three days shy of 55 years – after I was. Richmond, Villanova, William & Mary were all interested in the North Penn High standout. He gave a verbal to Lafayette back in December and never changed his mind. He’s a self-proclaimed power back, and I think that is the missing link for this team Could this be the year?

 The final word from Coach T – “I’m hoping these freshmen are a little more ready to move immediately into backup positions and can compete for them. That presses everybody. Our depth chart now looks entirely different. It’s back now. Two classes took the heart out of program. We understand that. It’s OK. What feels good now is to look at the boards and see we have talent, experience coming back and a strong group of freshmen who don’t have to impact immediately in most cases.”

First, a family court judge unloaded on Allen Iverson's fitness as a parent while finalizing his divorce.

Now, the former 76ers superstar has lost his mega-mansion in Atlanta.

TMZ.com reported on its website that Iverson's $4.5-million home has been sold back to the bank for $2.5 million in a foreclosure auction after Iverson defaulted on a $1.2 million mortgage.

http://www.tmz.com/2013/02/06/allen-iverson-loses-atlanta-mansion-sold-foreclosure/

Earlier this week, the judge finalizing Iverson's divorce from Tawanna, the mother of his five children, pretty much called Iverson the worst parent ever, according to TMZ.com.

http://www.tmz.com/2013/02/03/allen-iverson-divorce-custody-finalized/

Elizabeth "Ebee" Price may not have done enough to convince the people who selected the U.S. women's gymnastics competitors for the London Olympic Games, but people who follow the sport via the popular Gymnastike.com Internet website liked her a lot.

The website conducted a poll for 2012 Breakout Performance of the Year, and Price, the 16-year-old Parkette from Coopersburg, was the top votegetter, collecting 45.91 percent of the votes for her fourth-place all-around performance at the Olympic Trials.

Price, who was a two-time Junior Elite National Team member, was fifth all-around at the Visa Championships to qualify for the Olympic Trials, where she went one better in the meet itself. But when the competition team was picked, Price was named as an alternate. She trained in England in case one of the five American team members would be unable to compete, but that scenario never happened.

The performances of the Fierce 5 at the Olympics have been well-chronicled -- especially the team gold and Gabby Douglas' all-around gold; and after all that was in the books, Price put an exclamation point on the Americans' 2012 dominance of the sport when she won the World Cup meets in Stuttgart, Germany and Glasgow, Scotland.

Those two efforts in early December were enough to earn Price the designation as the No. 3 local sports story of the year in The Morning Call area.

Results of the Gymnastike poll were posted today on Twitter. Price beat out Aly Raisman's Olympic prelims effort, which got 26.8 percent, and Gabby Douglas' 2012 American Cup meet, which got 17.85 percent.

What a great end of the year for Price, whose primary 2013 goal is a spot on the American team competing at the World Championships in Belgium.

LEOPARDS BORMANN, ROSS HONORED

Offensive lineman Brad Bormann and wide receiver Mark Ross of Lafayette were named to the FCA Athletic Directors Association academic all-star team, which was announced today.

Ross had a great year on the field with 75 catches for 1,030 yards and 10 touchdowns. He carries a 3.58 grade point average, majoring in economics. Bormann started all 11 games this season and 17 in a row over two years. He has a 3.72 GPA and majors in biology. Both players are juniors.

Ross was also named to the College Sports Jourbnal all-academic team that was announced today, and he and Bormann were both picked on the Patriot League and District II academic lists as well.

Doug Hoffman was so good that the mere mention of his name over the loud speaker system was enough to elicit a chorus of boos from the grandstand. He wore those catcalls as a badge of honor. And then  he often went out and won the feature event to silence the scoffers.

Mario Andretti will always be the most famous race car driver the Lehigh Valley has ever produced, but Doug Hoffman won lots more races than the legendary Italian-American from Nazareth.

Doug died on Monday in his home. He was only 54. Much too young.

I had lots of opportunities to speak to Hoffman. His obit in the paper says he won 482 features in 32 years. I knew the number was huge, but I was flabbergasted when I saw it.

I can't tell you how many times I asked him if he was going to try to get a ride in NASCAR's then-Winston Cup series. I have no doubt that he would have been successful against the best of the stock-car guys, but getting the right deal never happened.

One of the first stories I wrote about him was back in 1984, a year in which he wrecked one car in a flip at East Windsor and had one burned up when his Allentown garage burned. He won three races in one JUne weekend and we featured him on our racing page the next week.

I always liked being able to call him and he was never too busy to make time for me. After I retired, he went from racer to promoter -- at Mahoning Valley first and then, just this past season, at Bridgeport.

And he still has his share of fans. Take a look at the comments on the Heintzelman Funeral Home website

Here's a piece I wrote in the Oct. 16, 1996 Morning Call after he won the 300-mile race in Syracuse. It tells a lot about his determination and his talent.

In an area that spawned more than its share of outstanding short-track racers, Doug Hoffman was arguably the best of the lot. His family members have lots of great memories to carry them through this difficult time. He will be missed.

By Paul Reinhard

Morning Call Sports Writer

Doug Hoffman might not have had a very positive feeling about his chances of winning the prestigious Fay's 300 modified stock car feature if you had asked him on Saturday night.

A broken oil cooler washed out one practice session at the New York State Fairgrounds mile at Syracuse. A second practice was shortened by an oil tank problem, and a blown motor ruined a third.

After pulling out a backup car and starting at the back of the pack in a qualifying heat race, he charged toward the front, only to be waved off the track because the car had not been put through technical inspection.

Hoffman would have had to turn around and head back to Allentown, except that he had earned a guaranteed starting spot at an earlier event on another track. That spot was far from what he might have earned himself -- 42nd, to be exact.

And if all that wasn't bad enough, it was his 13th try at the Super Bowl of modified racing.

But on Sunday morning, Hoffman , who knows all about the way things can suddenly change in his sport, strapped into a race car that turned out to be one of the best he's ever driven; and what resulted was the biggest pay day ever for the talented 37-year-old modified stock car driver.

"This is the one," said Hoffman , still riding the Syracuse high yesterday after ending his Syracuse drought, winning the Skoal Series championship and keeping himself in the thick of the Mr. DIRT chase with just four points races remaining.

"It was just unbelieveable to leave Syracuse so psyched," said Hoffman , who several years ago made racing modifieds a full-time profession. "No one can ever take this one away from me. Only a very few drivers have ever won it, and to win the 25th one -- and the first one ever shown live on national television -- made it even better."

Forty-nine cars started the event, a 188-lap grind which saw just six different leaders.

Hoffman , in a brand new Troyer chassis owned by Phil and Shirley Taylor and prepared by Billy Taylor, was in front for the final 49 circuits.

"I've been trying to do this for so long, and this race is so hard to win," Hoffman said.

He nearly was trapped in the pits on one stop; two cars tangled just in front of him another time, but he avoided the accident; and a wheel-banging incident in the heat of battle had no bad effects on his car, either.

"There are just so many ways to not win it," he added.

But this was his day. The team planned three pit stops, and each time one was scheduled, Hoffman was able to stop under caution. And in the closing laps, he was able to ease off a bit to conserve fuel, finishing with two gallons in the tank.

"Our car was as good as any I ever had up there, and it was better at the end of the race than at any other time," he said.

He called on his experience to get through the Syracuse event.

"To be able to win without any track time is really difficult," Hoffman said, "but the knowledge I've gained running there over the years came in handy."

Danny Johnson was second, 17 seconds back, which allowed Hoffman to go through the final laps without a lot of pressure. Kenny Tremont, pole winner Joe Plazek and Jack Johnson rounded out the first five.

Plazek led 70 laps, with Rick Mill, Jeff Heotzler, Bobby Varin and Donny Corellis also taking a turn before Hoffman got control. Once in front, he wasn't about to give it up.

Hoffman 's previous best finish at Syracuse was a third in 1987 after leading late in the race. In 1992, he was leading but just as he pitted, the rains came. The race never went green again and his chance was gone. He has started on the pole twice.

For the 1996 season, Hoffman got together again with Taylor. The two had been a team from 1990 to 1992 -- Hoffman won the Mr. DIRT title for Taylor in 1991 -- before Hoffman decided he'd like to try his hand at being an owner-driver.

Taylor was part of Geoff Bodine's NASCAR Winston Cup team last year, but in February of this year, Hoffman got word that Taylor might like to make a change.

"The timing was just right," Hoffman said. "I was tired of owning my own cars ... too much stress and too much work. So when I heard Billy wasn't happy, I got in touch with him."

Needless to say, the relationship has been a profitable one. Hoffman picked up a check for $108,335 and also received a Chevrolet Monte Carlo and a trailer. What will happen to the car and the trailer is still to be determined.

Right now, Hoffman is thinking only of another Mr. DIRT title. He is 22 points behind points leader Danny Johnson, with Jack Johnson between the two. Four DIRT events remain -- this weekend at Fonda (N.Y.), followed by a rescheduled race at 5-Mile Point and 200-lappers at Orange County and Bridgeport.

The schedule is fine with Hoffman . He raced regularly on Saturday nights at Bridgeport, and he's won a number of times at Orange County. Three of the tracks are 5/8-milers; 5-Mile Point is a quarter mile.

"Winning the Skoal Series was important because it means you're the best on everything from the quarter-miles to the mile at Syracuse," Hoffman said. "I think we have a good chance at Mr. DIRT, too, because I think we're out of our slump."

How busy has 2012 been for Elizabeth "Ebee" Price? Well, consider this: she turned 16 on May 28 and has not yet had a party.

"Nope," Price said when I spoke with her on Thursday. "My mom brought it up last week."

When I suggested that she might get her driver's license before she ever has a birthday party, she laughed and said, "Tell me about it."

Price, the 16-year-old Parkettes gymnast who in the past month won World Cup all-around championships in both Stuttgart, Germany and Glasgow, Scotland, was in the Parkettes National Training Center in Allentown on Thursday for a regular full day of training. While she has had a bunch of big moments to look back on -- including her selection as The Morning Call's No. 3 local sports story of the year -- it's what's ahead that is important right now.

A pair of national training camps are coming up, and at the second one, scheduled for February, the competitors will be picked for the prestigious American Cup, which will be held on March 2 in the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.

A couple of months ago, Price's chances of representing the United States in the American Cup, which is this country's event in the World Cup series, might have been not much better than 50-50 because Olympians dominate the field. However, winning those two World Cup events overseas propelled her to the front of the class going into the new year.

No one is more deserving of the chance to continue the World Cup ride that began in Germany than Price is. There will be lots of competition, with some top Junior Elite gymnasts moving up to the Senior Elite level for 2013. It appears, though, that Kyla Ross is the only member of the Fierce Five that put together those golden moments at the London Olympics last summer who is training right now with an eye toward the World Cup.

Also on the near-term agenda for Price is a college selection, and coaches from every one of the nation's top gymnastics programs have been actively recruiting the home-schooling high school junior.

Price told me she plans to begin visiting college in 2013 after discussing her thoughts with her parents, Diane and David Price, and looking at her competition schedule. While she did not mention names, Price said she has pretty much narrowed her choice down to two universities. NCAA rules permit her to make five official recruiting visits, and she said he may make three before coming to a decision.

I have no idea where she's headed, but I would be a little bit surprised if her choice didn't come from a list including Stanford, UCLA, Florida, Alabama and Georgia. I'm absolutely sure any one of those five would be thrilled to get a verbal commit from her.

Price will graduate in 2014. That year, the World Gymnastics Championships are scheduled for Oct. 3-14 in Nanning, China. She would have to delay entering college if she decided to stick around and try to qualify for a berth on the team that competes in China. If she wanted to take a shot at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she would have to make an even bigger commitment. She would be 20 at the time of the Rio Games.

"I haven't really decided anything about those years; they are so far away," Price said.

"I told her to take it one year at a time," Donna Strauss said. "Mentally, I think she still has the inner drive to do it, but she shouldn't be thinking about 2016 right now. She can make decisions year by year. Right now, the big goal for 2013 is the World Championships (In Belgium)."

Price's aunt, Cordelia Price, was in Scotland for the World Cup meet and was on the return flight with Ebee and Parkettes coach and co-founder Donna Strauss. Cordelia Price got into a conversation with one of the flight attendants and, like any proud relative might, she told the attendant about Ebee's successes.

Before long, Price was invited on a tour of the first class cabin of the plane and also stood in the doorway leading to the cockpit and spoke with the pilot. "It was a big surprise to me," Price said on Thursday. And when it came time for the in-flight meal, "They asked me if I wanted something different, one of the first-class meals, and I said, 'Sure, absolutely.'" She while her aunt and Strauss "dined" on a ham-and-cheese sandwich in a box lunch, Ebee had a chicken vegetable wrap with a fruit platter for dessert -- served on a tray with a cloth napkin. First class.

As the plane taxied to the terminal, an attendant announced that Price was on board after just winning two World Cup championships, and passengers gave her a round of applause. And to wind up the trip, Strauss was handed two bottles of champagne, wrapped in bubble wrap and napkins -- one bottle for the Strausses and the other for Price's parents. Donna Strauss said she and her husband, Bill, celebrated with the champagne at Christmas dinner. Price said her parents plan to use it a New Year's Eve.

"I never had anything like that happen before," Strauss said. And Price said, "It was really nice of them to show their appreciation for what I did."

As a kind of epilogue to the biggest year of Price's life to date, the 2013 calendar put out by USA Gymnastics arrived at the Parkettes gym this week. As you might expect, the Fierce Five are on the cover. But when you open to January, the two photos you see are both of Price.

"It was awesome," Ebee said. "My parents loved it."

Related articles

Ebee Price wins all-around at Stuttgart World Cup

2012 Glasgow World Cup: Women's pre-meet power rankings

I have not spoken with Zach Zweizig since the death of his father, but based on everything I know now, I have to say it was amazing that the emotionally drained Lafayette quarterback was able to focus long enough on the task to lead the Leopards on a 75-yard drive for their third touchdown in the first quarter against Lehigh on Saturday.

He hooked up with freshman Jamel Smith on passes of 20 and 9 yards, and finally, on a first down at the Lehigh 27, he lofted one to Lafayette’s 2012 offensive MVP, Mark Ross, who made another of those tough catches for a touchdown.

Zweizig didn’t play again until the third quarter, and he scrambled for 12 yards on one play and completed another pass that came up a yard short of a first down. Coach Frank Tavani elected to punt from the Lafayette 33. Zweizig never returned.

After the game, Tavani shared the Zweizig story with us.

Last Tuesday, Zweizig and Tavani met for 40 minutes, and “Zach was not going to play,” Tavani said. “He looked like he didn’t eat or sleep since Saturday … His family had to make an emotional decision about his dad to let things go. I can’t imagine being in that situation. He absolutely was not going to play. He told me he couldn’t handle it."

Zweizig went to the trainer for treatment on his shoulder, and the next thing Tavani knew, he saw the sophomore walking up the Fisher Stadium stairs.

“I came in (to his office) after practice and I had a text from him,” Tavani said. “He talked with his family and he said he needed to play, even if it was one play, for his dad. Then he comes in Wednesday and he’s watching film and he comes in and says ‘I want to play but you need to start Andrew.’  He said he’d be ready to play. You don’t see that kind of unselfish act from athletes. They are very competitive by nature and everybody wants to play. I have guys moaning and groaning about playing time and here was a guy saying it the other way; that’s a credit to him.”

Seems Zweizig felt that Andrew Shoop, a senior, deserved to start a game that would have been his own to start if he had said nothing. That is incredible.

Tavani said that, at the half, Zweizig  “was starting to break down emotionally and was starting to have difficulty, and at that point we knew he couldn’t go further.” However, down 10 points in the third, the Wilson West Lawn grad, whom center Pat Crosby told me “is the toughest player on the team,” went back in one more time and had that three-and-out series.

Shoop, who had his own physical problems and at one point limped off, making me wonder if he would play again, was 14-for-23 for 174 yards and two touchdowns for the game with one touchdown. He was sacked four times – twice in each half – by a Lehigh defense that leads the Patriot League in that department.  He had one pass intercepted by Sam Loughery, who had a huge day for the Brown and White – blocked a field goal and also teamed up for a big game-changing sack in the second quarter.

After the game, Shoop said Lehigh had not done anything differently from the first half to the second but that, “We had plenty of opportunities; we just didn’t get it done.” He also said his week had not been any different than any other week of preparation, even though when the week began, he had no idea he would be the starter.

Tavani said Zweizig “really inspired me. It was one of the most unselfish demonstrations I’ve ever seen.”

Just hearing that story inspires me, too. Renews my faith in a younger generation that is all too often so me-focused that nothing else matters. Thanks, Zach, and I will continue to remember you and your family in my prayers as you cope with this difficult situation.

MR. ROBERTS GOES DOWN – When we heard in the press box at halftime that safety Jared Roberts would be out the rest of the game because of a concussion, I told colleague Keith Groller that his absence would be a big problem for the Leopards. Freshman Kyle Sakowski, who I think is going to be an excellent player for the next three years, came up with a big interception to stop on Lehigh drive and was also Lafayette’s leading tackler with nine solos and four assists. But the fact that he was No. 1 and Shane Black was No. 2 with 10 tells you something. The guys who are the last line of defense should not have to be that busy. All three of them are back next year, as is Shane Brady, who suffered a season-ending injury earlier.

COACH TAVANI QUOTE --  “If somebody tells me at halftime, ‘You’re not going to score any points in the second half,’ you’re not going to beat that football team.  We had to come out (in the third quarter) and go down and minimally come away with a field goal or something.  But when you have too many third-and-long situations, you see the game turn the other way. You have to credit the other team when that happens to you.”

NO FIFTH-YEAR GUYS IN 2013 – Three of this year’s Lafayette seniors – Vaughn Hebron, Kyni Scott and Neal Zott – qualified for the opportunity to petition for a medical red-shirt season in 2013, but all have decided they will graduate with their class. “We present the option, and then the decision is up to them and their families,” Coach Tavani said. “They all have employment plans or graduate school plans.” Tavan I said, however, that the list of players who might qualify in future years is already growing because of some injuries that kept players out all of 2012. Hebron finished this season as the team’s second leading rusher with 505 yards and three touchdowns. Scott had 49 tackles, including 2.5 for losses, and had three interceptions. Zott saw action in 10 games.

FCS PLAYOFF NOTE – Coach Tavani was not happy to hear that Lehigh had not been selected for an at-large bid to the FSC postseason tournament. “That’s the lack of respect that, unfortunately, our league gets,” he said. “I think it’s awful; then I looked at some of the others who didn’t get in, too. “ He specifically mentioned Towson, which whipped New Hampshire 64-35 on Saturday and also defeated Villanova 49-35 but didn’t get picked while the other two did. Tavani then reminded me that back in 2005, Lafayette was awarded an at-large bid after finishing the season at 8-3 – the bid was based largely on a 7-0 win over Richmond early in the year. “I’ve been reading about that stuff all week, and I was surprised that you didn’t pick up on that,” he said. “I found out about that at 1 o’clock in the morning.” Colgate earned the Patriot League’s automatic berth that year by virtue of its 18-15 win over Lafayette.

The 100th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for 2015. Maybe the folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway should consider moving the greatest spectacle in racing to Pocono Raceway.

Preposterous? Absolutely.

The 150th Kentucky Derby is not until 2024. Maybe the first-weekend-May celebration, mint julips and all, should be moved to Belmont Park in New York.

Ridiculous? You bet.

Move the Rose Bowl from Pasadena? Take the Mummer's Parade out of Philadelphia? Shift the Masters from Augusta National?  Not on your life.

Now don't get me wrong. I know the Lafayette-Lehigh football game is tiny potatoes in the grand scheme of events like those mentioned above. I have not lost my mind by suggesting that the Lehigh Valley neighborhood war should be considered in the same breath with some of the world's greatest one-day events.

But in its own world, college football's most-played rivalry has its own historical niche. And after all this time, that history should be celebrated where it belongs -- in 2014, that would be Easton's College Hill ... Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium.

In a question-and-answer feature that appears in Sunday's Morning Call, Lafayette athletic director Bruce McCutcheon addresses last week's announcement that the 150th Lafayette-Lehigh game will be played in Yankee Stadium.

He says the game received "big cheers" when it was announced at an event held in conjunction with the 148th LC-LU game on Nov. 17.

I'm sure Bruce was in the stadium, too, when P.A. announcer Jim Finnen announced the 2014 plan. The windows to the press box were closed, but I could still hear the boos that mixed in with the cheers from the Lafayette folks.

Later in the day, when Lafayette coach Frank Tavani said "I fully support" the one-time move, I told him I had a different feeling. And when  I interviewed McCutcheon for the Sunday Q&A, I told him he would have to do a major selling job on me to change my mind.

I happen to think the tradition that is Lafaytte vs. Lehigh -- or, if you have the opposite rooting interest, Lehigh vs. Lafayette -- doesn't need the country's most exciting city or a sports facility that is not at all "iconic" even though it bears the name of a stadium that once was.

It doesn't need a national television contract.

It has gotten along just fine for all these years, and no one was crying for something different -- especially for an event that has the built-in significance of conjuring up again a century and a half of memories and legends.

I know people who continue to purchase season tickets for their alma mater's home games just so they have the first chance to get Lafayette-Lehigh tickets. It is the only game that sells out each year, even though a good many of the spectators are as interested in the activities surrounding the game -- the tailgating, the reunion with old buddies, etc. -- as they are in the game itself.

I'm sure my age has something to do with this opinion. I'm sure that some impressionable high school athlete who has no inkling of what Lehigh-Lafayette is all about might be hooked by the possibility of dressing in the New York Yankees' locker room, but even that is a very temporary benefit. When the coaches begin making pitches to kids for the recruiting class of 2015, it'll be business as it has been for the past century.

"I didn't buy six chair-back seats (the prime seats on the Lafayette side of Fisher Stadium) to have three straight road games," one obviously disgruntled alumnus told me when I showed him the press release about the 150th game. "I'm not going." He said more, too, but not for public consumption.

I could almost see the veins in the neck of another alum begin to bulge when he thought about the prospect of the Yankee Stadium caper. He would not comment. but I think I know where he stands -- and I think some day, he might not be able to hold it in any longer.

McCutcheon said he and Lehigh A.D. Joe Sterrett "thought long and hard" about the negative impact moving the game would have on the Easton and Lehigh Valley economy. But he did not say whether the local businessmen had any opportunity to defend their position.

Lafayette coach Frank Tavani said that when he mentioned it to a group of potential recruits and their parents who were on campus for the Lehigh game, eyes lit up. And to someone like Tavani -- or Lehigh's Andy Coen -- if he can make a kid's eyes light up, he enhances his chances of getting him on board.

It was interesting that the presidents of the two institutions made the joint announcement in the press release that was distributed shortly before the start of the game. Lafayette's Daniel Weiss talked about what an honor it would be to host this game. Thing is, he'll have nothing to do with it. His lame-duck year as the head man on the hill ends on June 30, 2013.

Weiss doesn't have a great reputation as a strong supporter of the football program at Lafayette. I thought it was somewhat telling when "Andy", a contributor to the Lafayette Sports Fan Forum whom I consider to be one of the more level-headed chaps in the chat room, sent this note on Lafayette-Lehigh game day: "Yes, Weiss found his way to the stadium.  I was within earshot.  He gazed out at the field, turned to the fellow next to him and said, 'Wait a minute, you mean the ball isn't round?'"

I hope Andy heard wrong, but my gut tells me otherwise.

I don't know if The Morning Call will want to continue using me as the freelance supplier of reports for the Lafayette football program. I wouldn't blame Tavani or McCutheon or anyone else at Lafayette for wanting my out because my record in Lafayette-Lehigh games is 0-5 since I took responsibility for the beat in 2008.

I suppose that if things continue as they have been, I'll have a chance to see the whole Yankee Stadium thing through to its conclusion, whatever that might be. But as of now, I can state unequivocally that I'd much rather drive to Easton than the Bronx on Nov. 22, 2014.

I talked with Lafayette athletic director Bruce McCutcheon recently about the 150th Lafayette-Lehigh game, which will be played in Yankee Stadium in 2014. Some of the interview appears in today's Morning Call as a Newsmaker Q&A. A longer version appears on the Call's website.

However, because a couple of questions were left out of the online version, too, I have decided to post the entire interview here.

Q: What was the genesis of the event; was it initiated by Lafayette or by Lehigh?

A: Joe Sterrett [Lehigh athletic director] and I started talking about the 150^th game a couple of years ago, thinking that because it’s a milestone event, we wanted to do something that’s pretty unique, a great opportunity to celebrate the two institutions. What can we do different to make this game stand out? We’ve been working jointly for that long.

Q: Was there someone on the Yankee Stadium end who has a tie to either Lafayette or Lehigh and carried the ball on that end?

A: There were a couple of ies. But the major contact with the Yankkes is Mark Holtzman, the executive
director of non-baseball marketing for Yankee Stadium, who is a Lafayette alum, class of 1980. He’s responsible for the Pinstripe Bowl, concerts they’re doing there now, anything in the stadium that’s not a baseball game. When we first started talking about it, he got excited about it pretty quickly. It was nice
to have someone on that side who was familiar with the schools and knew the game.

Q: Since the announcement, what has been the reaction?

A: Almost all the reaction I personally received and heard was very positive. It got big cheers at the
brunch when the two presidents announced it. I get the fact that some folks may not be completely excited about it when they first heard the news, but I think overwhelmingly, people have been very excited about this. Now that we’ve announced it, we can broaden the circle of folks who help plan the major event at both institutions.

Q: Because both schools will benefit from the neutral-site game, was there ever talk about repaying Lafayette with a home game in 2015?

A: No, Joe and I never talked about that. Lafayette is the home team [in 2014] and will be the home
team at Yankee Stadium. The home team uses the Yankee locker room, which will be neat for the kids. Our P.A. announcer, all those things. It will be a home game for Lafayette.

Q: What kind of research went into the impact of the move on the city of Easton or the Lehigh Valley, even for one year?

A: We looked long and hard at that. We thought it would have been a very successful event here, as
Saturday’s game was. But moving it to a national stage like New York City and Yankee Stadium really provides the opportunity for many more people to come to that 150^th than if it was played at Fisher or Goodman. Even bringing in temporary bleachers and seating at Fisher, we can still seat many more at
Yankee Stadium. The configuration for that is going to be approximately 36,000, and I think we’ll do a great job of getting to that capacity.

Q: What was the biggest hurdle to getting to a decision?

A: I don’t know of any big hurdle. The negotiations with the Yankee partnership were excellent. The
biggest thing was the comfort level of the two institutions that this could be financially viable, and after running the models with the two schools’ CFO’s involved, we said, yeah, we can do this. We had to make sure it all made sense, and it really does, so it’s all systems go.

Q: In a series like this, does the home team get all the revenue?

A: There is shared revenue, and that’s unique with the Lafayette-Lehigh game. I’ve been involved with
it for 22 years now and it’s always been that way, the two schools work that out.

Q: It has to be an expense to rent the stadium. What kind of crowd will you need to break even?

A: We’ve done those calculations, and I don’t think it’s going to be difficult at all to make the
break-even point, which is far below the 36,000 capacity we’ve got set for that.

Q:Have you had any immediate interest from any television networks?

A: There are discussions with a national platform to broadcast that game, and we’re hoping that will be
announced in the not too distant future.

Q: How will you entice Lafayette and Lehigh students to make the trip to New York?

A: They will be a big target of a campaign to get them to go, and I think you’ll see a vast majority of both student bodies going over. We’ll put together bus packages so they don’t have to worry about driving. And because of our two venues, there has been some limitation on the number of students that get tickets. With Yankee Stadium, we won’t have that issue.

Q: What do you mean when you talk about in-stadium tailgating, and will the stadium even allow beverages and food to be brought in from outside?

A: They won’t allow outside food and beverages to come in, but for those who choose to drive to the
game, there’s plenty of parking in garages and that nice park right outside the tadium, with grills set up there, so people could do that kind of tailgating. Inside the stadium, there are many different entertainment venues so people can have parties at those locations, where there will be food and drink. You can have as many as 500 people at a venue inside the stadium. I would imagine there
will be a number of different bus packages coming from wherever – Lehigh Valley, Connecticut, Philadelphia. It makes perfect sense if you’re riding the bus to go right into the stadium to one of those venues for tailgating. Alcohol is served inside the stadium and their people will manage that for us.

Q: You mentioned additional events and something about a weekend. What does that mean?

A: It’s our vision to make this a several-day event in New York City. Maybe that’s something around the
cultural events that are so tremendous in the city. Certainly, some athletic things, we’ll fold in. Pretty much it’s an open book right now what all those things might be, but we’re going to take advantage of that locale and that venue.

Q: This will keep you busy for the next couple of years, won’t it?

A: Yes, it will, but frankly, busy doing fun stuff. It will have a unique impact on the people who participate. It will certainly have an impact on the kids who play in the game, and for me, that’s the best part. The kind of experience those kids will have should be over the top and something they’ll talk about for the rest of their lives. They’ll come back for that 50^th reunion and talk about playing at Yankee Stadium.

    District 11 soccer teams won’t be represented in the PIAA Championship finals,  but two District 11 officiating crews have been selected to work the championship games in Hershey.

    Laura Baranko, Curtis Artz and Loftus Hengeveld have been chosen to work today’s 5 p.m. PIAA Class A girls championship contest featuring Greensburg Central (22-1) against Conwell-Egan Catholic (11-6-1).

    Mike Schroder, Dave Daza and Terry Golden have ben chosen  to work the PIAA Class 3A boys championship 6:30 p.m. on Saturday featuring Wilson West Lawn (25-2-1) against Upper St. Clair (21-2-1).

   This is the third straight season a District 11 crew is working the boys 3A finals. 

  The games will be televised on PCN television.

A clock in Lafayette’s Bourger Varsity Football House counts down to things throughout the football season – the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the next game on the schedule AND the same information to the Lehigh game. This week, of course, the two are the same.

Leopard cocaptain Darius Safford told me Tuesday that, after watching some film of the Lehigh office on Monday, he walked into the football house locker room, looked around and then noticed that the clock showed four days and counting to the 1 p.m. Saturday start of the 148^th Lafayette-Lehigh game.

“I can’t believe my four years are almost done,” the Leopard cornerback said at Tuesday’s final media luncheon of the season. “I came up here all the way from Georgia . In retrospect, I don’t regret this decision to come here. Lafayette is a great school, great facilities. They really harp on family. I made some great friends I can continue to communicate with for year. I just wanted to take it all in.”

It has not been a perfect career for the affable Safford. He earned a letter as a freshman, playing mainly on special teams. “Some off-the-field issues” that he declines to elaborate about cost him his sophomore year, but he has come back to be a productive player for the Leopards. And the fact that his teammates saw in him the right qualities to be a leader has to say something about him as well.

He was Lafayette’s most valuable defensive back in 2011 when he had four interceptions and 49 tackles. I remember how upset he was prior to this season that the Patriot League’s preseason all-league team did not include him. He goes into the Lehigh game with 49 tackles, including 4.5 for losses and 2.5 sacks and he has three interceptions.

He says it was his goal to try to play for pay after college, but he knows that is a slim possibility. And besides, he says, “Right now, I’m just trying to embrace this college moment.  There’s nothing like college football. Even if I get to the next level I’m still going to miss college football more than anything.”

 Safford had not yet seen the defensive game plan as of the time of the luncheon, but there is a good chance he’s going to see a good bit of Ryan Spadola, Lehigh’s all-America wide receiver who has had some good yardage against the Leopards then last two years but has not put a lot of points on the board – one touchdown in the 2010 game.

When I asked him if he was going to be going head-to-head with Spadola, he said, “Hearing that brings a smile to my face, but I don’t know what Coach (John) Loose has planned. I’m all in for it whether I’m guarding him or not.  I have full confidence in Kyni Scott (the other Leopard cornerback) and my other guys that we can match up well with their receiving corps.”

Later, when I asked him if he’d have to be watching out for the Lehigh home run featuring Spadola on the receiving end of a Michael Colvin bomb, Safford said, “Spadola’s a heckuva athlete, but I think we have athletes on our side of the ball who can match up with his talents, so it’s going to come down to everything. The percentages are so small; anything can happen.”

This has not been the best year to be a Lafayette captain. At least half a dozen players have been subject to Leopard Law disciplinary measures and other issues have taken an emotional toll on everyone in the locker room.

“That being said, you have to take a look at the bigger picture,” he said. “There’s life outside of football. Keep that in mind. We’re blessed to play this game. You have to take it like that.  Your career can be taken just like that.

“As far as the issues, it seems like we can’t catch a break. If it isn’t one thing it’s another, with someone else. With 90 guys on the team, if every guy messes up once, it’s going to add up. I really truly believe we had a championship team, but we couldn’t get that done. Being 5-2 going into the Georgetown game, I felt like maybe we were overlooking Georgetown. Eventually it came to bite us. We should have taken it one game at a time; we should have focused on Georgetown and then gone to Colgate and that high-powered offense. Now we’re on a three-game streak. I’m just trying to get back on track.”

Defensive players at Lafayette invariably mention doing their one-eleventh, which must be a buzz word for the Loose scheme. I asked Safford what his one-eleventh was for Saturday. He could not give me details because he had not seen the game plan, but he did say, “As a captain I have to be leader on field, control emotions, definitely the part on defense. I feel like Kyni and the safeties will do the job, whoever is on Spadola. I will be very hard on myself not to let the next guy down.”

Jonathan Zweizig, father of Lafayette College quarterback Zach Zweizig of Reading, passed away over night in Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience in Philadelphia. He was 56.

Jonathan Zweizig suffered a stroke on Thursday night.

He was self-employed as a day trader, and he formerly worked as a stock broker in the World Trade Center in New York.

The Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home of West Reading is in charge of arrangements.

Zach Zweizig, a West West Lawn graduate, is a sophomore at Lafayette. He has started four games, including the last two, for the Leopards.

Survivors include Zach and his older sister Hannah, as well as their mother, Sandra.