After falling to Cornell University in the semifinals of the ECAC Tournament last month, the Dartmouth men's hockey team has announced its new captains for the 2011-2012 season as well as its end-of-the-season awards. Blueliner Mike Keenan '13 will lead the Big Green as team captain, with the help of assistant captains Doug Jones '12, Connor Goggin '12 and Jim Gaudet '12. Keenan played in all 34 games this season and tallied 11 points, including three goals. Scott Fleming '11 received the Friends of Men's Hockey Leading Scorer Award for the second year in a row after notching 31 points. Rob Smith '11 was honored with the Smoyer Award for being the team's "unsung hero," Joe Stejskal '11 earned the McInnis Award for camaraderie and spirit and Nick Walsh '12 and Gaudet were named Most Improved.
An episode of "HBO Real Sports" that aired last Wednesday exposed hints of a scandal involving the Auburn University football program, which was reported about in The New York Times. Four former Tigers Stanley McClover, Troy Reddick, Raven Gray and Chad Ramsey claimed they received extra money while playing under head coach Tommy Tuberville. McClover reported $7,000 and $4,000 payments from an Auburn booster in addition to regular $300 payments per sack. Reddick, who played for the Tigers from 2002 to 2005, similarly stated that he was given a series of six or seven $500 payments from an Auburn assistant coach during his senior year. Auburn University, which won the Bowl Championship Series title this January, is also still plagued by an earlier investigation of its quarterback, Cecil Newton. Rumors stating that Newton's father attempted to send his son to Mississippi State for a six-figure sum forced an ongoing NCAA investigation.
The University of Central Arkansas recently reported its plans to install a new purple turf field in its football stadium this April, according to UCAsports.com. Replacing the natural grass field and matching the school's colors, the turf will be colored in alternating five-yard streaks of purple and grey, and will be accented with black and white. Other schools that boast non-green football fields include Boise State, renowned for its blue turf field, and Eastern Washington University, which installed its unique red field in 2010.
