The Middlebury Blog Network has gathered dozens of blogs from all corners of the campus in the past several years. Following these blogs can be a great way to stay connected to many parts of the community. But we feel that while some blogs, like One Dean’s View, get a lot of publicity, many other blogs don’t get read enough. So this series will periodically highlight a blog in the Middlebury Blog Network that you might not have heard about but is worth reading.
Panther Nation is a Middlebury sports blog started by students Damon Hathaway ’13.5 and Jeffrey Hetzel ’14 earlier this year. It has proven to be an invaluable resource for following Midd sports teams, especially football and men’s basketball. They regularly post in-depth game recaps, game previews, player profiles, and other Panther sports news. Recently they have been working on a comprehensive men’s basketball preview. It’s hard to get excited about a sports team if you aren’t invested in the players and the narrative of the team’s struggles and successes, and Hathaway and Hetzel do a great job of providing that. Check out their description of Panther center Peter Lynch ’13 in their men’s basketball preview after the jump:
(From left) Thompson, Hatheway, Witek, and Hetzel at AT&T Park in San Fransisco.
Four Middlebury students have taken sports fandom and college road trips to a new extreme. Damon Hathaway ’13.5, Craig Thompson ’13.5, Owen Witek ’13, and Jeff Hetzel ’14 are in the midst of a 38-day-long journey during which they will attend baseball games at all 30 Major League stadiums.
So far, they’ve traveled nearly ten thousand miles visiting 22 ballparks, but eight games and hundreds of more miles remain before class starts next week. They have been blogging along the way, not only about what happens during the games they watch, but also on stories and observations about what baseball means to people throughout the country.
The group made a name for themselves in the Panther sports community by following the Men’s basketball team as far as Virginia during their run to the NCAA Final Four in 2011, skipping class to do so.
“Traveling to Middlebury basketball games made us realize how much we loved road trips that revolve around sports, and once we realized this trip – one that we have all dreamt about for years – was possible, we did everything we could to make it a reality,” said Thompson in an email.
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In other baseball news, Middlebury student Michael Joseph ’13, a pitcher for the Panthers, has signed on with the Baltimore Orioles organization. He announced he still plans to finish his Middlebury education during the off-season while pursuing a professional baseball career.
Hey everybody! After a solid first week of Jterm: be it Death-by-Orgo, non-stop skiing, devoutly working on your “thesis” (watching all of Mad Men) or never leaving Ross (there’s gotta be someone…) I now bring you my weekly installment of news/random stories/whatever I think is interesting outside of the Middlebury world.
MUSIC: Remember “This is How We Do It” and Eiffel 65′s “Blue?” Me either. Thankfully, Thought Catalog’s Chelsea Fagan has assembled a list of the Top 10 Middle school dance jams. You’ll thank me later. Turn up those speakers.
BEAUTIFUL GEEKDOM: Several big ones this week. (1) Ever wonder what Star Wars characters would look like if they were style-saavy hipsters? Apparently so has John Woo, a Hong-Kong based designer and illustrator. You can find his paintings here. My personal favorite is “Chewbacca with Outdoor Style.” (2) Collider.com reports that the Avengers will be from Captain America’s perspective. Not all too worried about whose perspective its from, just want to see more of this.
WEDDING CRASHING: Now, there’s an app for that too. Crash Corsage (be sure to watch the video demo) deftly uses all of the happy couple’s online info they post about the wedding; the app streams it into an easy-to-navigate format and helps you party the night away. Even better, you can earn points to see where you rank among fellow wedding crashers.
Hi everyone! Sunday Reading is a Middblog series written by Olivia Noble ’13. Brittany Gendron ’12 is going to take over the series for Jterm while Olivia is abroad.
Welcome back to Sunday Reading! Whether you stayed at Middlebury, traveled round the world or to somewhere just outside of Boston, Happy 2012 and Happy Jterm! So to catch up in case you were without internet for break, or just want to procrastinate unpacking further… let’s hit the highlights. Disclosure: I am writing this on a train, so please excuse any typos.
BLUE IVY CARTER: Generally would steer away from anything people.com but this is huge. Beyonce and Jay-Z are officially the proud parents of their baby girl, Blue Ivy Carter. Welcome to being the most adored child in the world!
POLITICS: After a riveting Iowa caucus with Mitt Romney edging out Santorum for the victory by only EIGHT VOTES AND Bachmann withdrawing her candidacy after finishing sixth of six – Romney now holds a McCain endorsement. The next few weeks, especially with the NH primary Tuesday, are sure to be interesting!
TRAVEL: The New York Times’ 45 Places to go in 2012 List is not to be missed. With everywhere from Space to Tennessee, if you don’t have a bucket list or are looking to add onto yours, this is a great place to start.
DEAR BLANK PLEASE BLANK: Welcome to the grown up, worldwide Middfesh. Just in time for jterm, share those unsaid notes y’all. Started by two Seattlite’s it’s moderated by a cat, Louie. Best part? You can sort by “How dare they,” “Hilarious,” “Umm… WTF?!” and more. Bookmark it now.
SPORTS: OMG FOOTBALL/NHL. Giants. Broncos. Capitals. Rose Bowl. (If you have yet to catch on, sports is a category I’m still working on… until I learn more for next week, find real coverage here).
COLBERT: For everyone who can never get enough Colbert, but finds it mildy eerie/awesome how he saved an Olympic Team and now owns a SuperPac, this is a really interesting piece from the NY Times that asks “How Many Stephen Colberts Are There?” You’ll just have to read and find out!
THOUGHT CATALOG AND RESOLUTIONS: Hate ’em or love ‘em, it’s never to a new year without them! Thought Catalog, fortunately, has your back whether you’re pro or con. Great list of 20 New Years Resolutions for 20-somethings if you’re still looking or want to start again! Or find justification in skipping the resolution thing and as blogger Ryan suggests, “Make some bad decisions tonight and blame it all on me, honey.”
And for your video of the week, from our dear Olivia, check out some great Home Video Commentaries!
The Middlebury Women’s Basketball team (2-1) posted a win in their home opener tonight against Castleton State College, 48-35.
Seven of the fifteen women’s basketball players are Atwaterites, including team captain and former Allen FYC Steph Surette. The Commons has become the team’s unofficial cheering squad, and tonight inaugurated a new pre-game pizza tailgate tradition. Atwater Dean Scott Barnicle says he envisions a “flash mob” of fans- Atwater and otherwise- at women’s games in the future.
The women’s bball team plays its next home game against Bates on January 6th.
#midd weather forecast: AM Showers tomorrow! High temp: 83 - 19 hours ago
RT @TheMiddlebrow: “@Middlebury: Of course there's a national title for D3 Ultimate Frisbee, and Middlebury owns it!" I like to think this … - 1 day ago
