Football season has begun in the Ivy League, but don’t worry—some things never change. Harvard and Penn are still looking like the top dogs and Cornell is still atrocious. Meanwhile, Princeton’s season took a turn for the worse before the first game was even finished. But for those of you who could care less about men hitting each other on a field, never fear. Hockey season’s just around the corner, so you can look forward to some more hard-hitting action—just this time, on the ice.

Penn opened its football season with a spot on College Gameday and a live broadcast on ESPN3.com. But the attention wasn’t necessarily the kind the Quakers might have hoped for. Instead, all eyes were on the squad as it took the field for the first time after Penn co-captain Owen Thomas took his own life in April. The Quakers opened the game with a 40-second moment of silence for Thomas, who wore #40 for Penn, and then proceeded to beat Lafayette, 19-14. And that vaunted defense that graduated six starters? Didn’t give up a single touchdown, as the Leopards scored off a blocked punt and an interception.

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The Harvard women’s hockey team won’t officially open its season for another month, but that hasn’t stopped its current players and alums from making headlines both on and off the ice.

As a four time Olympic medalist and a former Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Angela Ruggiero ’02-’04 is one of the most successful Crimson alums on the ice, but the defenseman has been making her most recently headlines off it. Named as an athlete representative to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the Vancouver Games, the former government concentrator will look to expand her influence beyond sports. Ruggiero will be addressing the General Assembly at this week’s United Nations Summit, which started on Monday and will finish up tomorrow.

Meanwhile, three other Harvard skaters, Julie Chu ’06- ’07, Caitlin Cahow ’07-’08 and sophomore Josephine Pucci will be training to take on Sweden, Canada and Finland at the Four Nations Cup this November. Like Ruggiero, Chu and Cahow have become national team regulars and have a combined five medals between them. Pucci, on the other hand, is new to the national team. The defenseman was promoted to the senior squad after her performance for the U-22 National Team at the National Festival.

Harvard University’s own Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 will get the nod this weekend at quarterback for the Buffalo Bills as they take on the New England Patriots. The alum played in 10 games last year for the Bills while fighting with embattled quarterback Trent Edwards for time. He completed 127 of 227 pass attempts for a completion rate of 55.9 percent while throwing for 1,422 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Fitzpatrick has wrestled the job away from long-time starter Edwards with coach Chan Galley intimating that Fitzpatrick could keep the spot if he performs well. While at Harvard, Fitzpatrick enjoyed considerably success, and ranks second on Harvard’s all-time list for touchdowns, yards passing, pass completions, and pass completion percentage. The two-time Ivy League champion earned the Ivy League MVP award during his senior season and is the only Harvard quarterback ever to rush for over 1,000 yards in a career.

Fitzpatrick takes the helm for the ailing Bills, who have failed to win either of their first two games of the 2010 campaign after another frustrating 7-9 season. One of the quarterback’s main goals will be to improve the worst-ranked passing offense in the league so far, a constraint that has certainly hurt the Bills to date.

As the men’s tennis team opens its fall tournament season this weekend, get the chance to get to know one of its top players, junior Alistair “Ali” Felton. In this exclusive interview, Felton reveals his coach’s addiction to a sandwich store, how tennis has prepared him for Quidditch, and his thoughts on the 2008 women’s French Open champion. Every week, The Full-Court Press will give you the sort of personal scoop that you’re not likely to hear at a typical press conference.

Name: Alistair Felton

Year: 2012

Stats: Last year, Felton went 6-8 in tournaments and 11-10 (6-2 Ivy) in dual play; he was positioned as high as the No. 2 court during the season. In doubles, Felton went 11-7 in fall tournaments, and 15-6 (5-1) in the spring. He will begin this season at the Northeast Invitational in Providence, R.I., this weekend.

Now, to the questions!

1. Typical pre-game meal.

For home matches, it'll be pasta and whatever HUDS cooked up. If it's an away game, we usually end up at the sandwich shop Jimmy John's, as our coach has a mild obsession with that place.

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In the modern era of sports, being a college coach carries with it the burden of constant media attention. Facing dozens of reporters at press conferences, head coaches have gotten more savvy—they say what they need to and leave the rest up for speculation. Here at The Back Page, we’re happy to decode some of these media sessions, showing the average fan what we think coaches’ answers “really” mean.

The Harvard football night game got plenty of press for the quality of play from the boys in Crimson. Senior Andrew Hatch and freshman David Mothander earned player and rookie of the week nods, respectively, and the 34-6 drubbing of Holy Cross appeared to stem from the home team’s all-around solid play. But there was one man who wasn’t ready to give Harvard all the credit. Holy Cross coach Tom Gilmore largely attributed the lopsided score to the Crusaders’ deficiencies in this edition of Sound Off.

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