It's Now Officially Game Week!

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Kent Austin's learning curve has surprised me, but BEWARE



TICKET TIME


It's time, past time really, to buy your tickets NOW for the Columbia home games and BUY EXTRA! Get your friends and family to come and make it an outing.

DON'T FORGET that if you buy season tickets, you also get passes for the Athletic Director's pregame tent for ALL six home games!

AND you get a 10% discount coupon for the Lion Store which sets up shop in a great trailer right in front of the stadium each week.

I know I've been repeating this message a lot lately, but these are things you NEED TO KNOW.

... and WHO ELSE is going to tell you?


DONATE

You can do that by clicking here, and tell them Roar Lions Roar sent you!

Seriously, PLEASE do that by adding a note if you can if you send a snail mail donation or online in the comments section, (if there is one).

I don't get a commission, so this is a charitable request.



BE READY!!!

My Ivy League football predictions and preview begins tomorrow right here and the full week will also be devoted to profiling and analyzing the 2011 Lions.

Who are our stars? Who will emerge from the shadows? WHY do you HAVE to come to the games this year to find out for yourself?

You'll ONLY get those answers HERE.

(But you knew that already).

Remember, I really only spend about 10 minutes a day on this blog. (That explains my typos, etc.).

I wish I had more time so the players and the program could get more of the attention they deserve.

But thanks for bearing with me.


Good Balance

Of the 24 returning seniors on the Columbia roster, 13 are offensive players and 11 are on the defense.

That's not just good retention, but a good balance for both sides of the ball.

By contrast, Princeton's 25 returning seniors are quite uneven, with only nine of them opting to stick it out with unpopular offensive coordinator James Perry.


Cornell's Early Homecoming

In odd number years, Cornell often schedules its homecoming game against non-conference opponents on week one.

I don't know how well that works out as far as getting alumni interested enough to make the trek to Ithaca, but best of luck to them.

One thing that is alluring is the Cornell athletics website that provided and still provides lots of up-to-date info from training camp onward.

I said last year that Cornell Head Coach Kent Austin really looked like a great leader for the Big Red, and I was surprised that the team didn't do a bit better in 2010.

Austin is still someone who I think will turn the program around, but his transition to Ivy football is taking longer than I thought. He still is reportedly not handling the players' career and academic priorities properly. And anyone who saw his game and time management against Columbia last season knows he's far from perfect in those areas.

But this is a team that I wouldn't be betting against so much 2-3 more years down the road.



Top 100 Moments of 2010


#6: 4th and 1


Columbia's march to the winning TD against Cornell in week nine was no easy matter.

With just 45 seconds left, the Lions faced a 4th and 1 at the Big Red three.

Was there really any doubt what was coming next?

Despite everyone on the stadium knowing that QB Sean Brackett was going to keep the ball and run, he eeked out two yards to keep the Lion hopes alive.