By Matt Florjancic
D3sports.com
Since the start of his sophomore year, Case Western Reserve quarterback Dan Whalen has been rewriting Spartan football history.
For the second straight season, Case finds itself in the NCAA playoffs after running the table during the regular season. At 10-0, the Spartans earned the No. 3 seed and will host the Wabash Little Giants Saturday afternoon. Of the three playoff games in Case's history, two will have been played against the Little Giants.
While many articles have been written about his accolades and Case's accomplishments, Whalen spent the summer focused on writing and his future after football. Through an assistant coach, Whalen got connected with Sports Illustrated and spent the summer interning at their New York City office.
"My offensive coordinator, Coach [Dereck] Slesh, one of his best friends, Mike Jaffe, was a writer there for 15 years," Whalen said. "I got hooked up with him, we had lunch a couple times and he said, 'If you'd be interested, I know a couple people there that could probably get you an internship.' I said, 'Of course.' I sent in all my stuff, just like anybody else would. A couple months later, they told me I got it."
So off Whalen went to the Big Apple. From growing up outside of Cleveland to living in a metropolis like New York City was quite a transition for the junior signal-caller.
"It was wild," Whalen said. "Willoughby's a small, suburb town. It's nice because you know everybody. If I go out for a burger, I usually know somebody. I came to Case and its a little more urban setting. I was in no way prepared for New York City at all.
"It's just never-ending people everywhere," he added. "You could go downtown to Times Square on Tuesday afternoon at five or six o'clock and it would just be packed. There's no down time anywhere in that city. I got to meet all kinds of people and athletes. It's a different experience and I'm glad I did it."
Whalen had an interesting summer to spend in New York City. With the Beijing Olympics still on the horizon when he arrived, Whalen met members of the USA men's basketball team, nine-time gold medal swimmer Mark Spitz and even got a press pass to Yankee Stadium.
"I did get a chance to meet LeBron [James], Kobe [Bryant], Dwayne Wade and Carmelo [Anthony]," Whalen said. "One of the writers took us on our lunch break. It was neat being [at Rockefeller Center] and seeing all those high-profile guys in the same place at one time.
"One of my buddies was writing a story about Brian Roberts, the second baseman for the Orioles, while they were playing the Yankees," he continued. "I got to go in there. We got media passes to go in the locker room. I met Derek Jeter and Brian Roberts."
The summer was not all about meeting famous athletes, however. It was about getting practical experience to apply toward a future in sports writing. With many newspapers condensing or ceasing operations, Whalen hopes to land a job in the magazine industry. His experience at the Sports Illustrated copy desk gave him an education in the sports media industry.
"I was the only one in my department, so I worked directly with my manager on a one-to-one basis," said Whalen. "I reported to him with everything I did. My responsibilities were to take the articles in once the writers emailed them and put them in the system, that way everyone would have access to them.
"I'd go through and make sure all the punctuation and all the little things met the style book," he added. "After that, it would go to the editors and come back around for a second loop. I would have a chance to see it in the final layout. I'd hold a conference with me, the reporter, the fact-checker and the senior editor. We would all decide is this the way we want the article to go in. When you're reading the magazine, you don't realize how much work goes into just making sure the little things get done."
His attention to detail while working in New York City earned him the opportunity to write a weekly blog for Sports Illustrated's Web site during the football season.
"I missed a couple because I was busy with midterms and stuff like that," Whalen said. "The head editor of the magazine was the one that actually sat me down and said 'I'm thinking maybe we could put you online with these guys and I'll have you write a blog once a week.'
"It's great to see my name in print and have a byline, even if it is online on the college football page," he added. "Being out there and having clips that I can now use for future resumes is great."
When he was not working at Sports Illustrated, Whalen was fine-tuning his quarterback skills at Columbia University. He spent a lot of his down time working in the weight room with the Lions and regaining his timing with receivers.
"They haven't had a recent winning tradition there or anything, but they work hard in the weight room and on the field running and doing [plyometrics]," Whalen said. "Their strength coach is an animal. He just makes sure everyone's going 100 miles an hour the whole time. It was a great experience.
"They've got some good players on offense," he added. "I got to throw to people running routes and catching patterns. It kept me on my game for those two months. If I wouldn't have had that, I probably would have been pretty rusty coming back here in August off two months of rest."
While working out in New York City, Whalen had a potential rematch with Wabash on his mind. Now that the time is at hand, the Spartans are trusting Whalen to write a different ending to the game story this time.
News and notes
The Ohio Athletic Conference championship trophy remained in Alliance for another season, but a new challenger has emerged for the Purple Raiders in Otterbein. The Cardinals gave Mount Union its closest game of the season at 49-20, scored the most points against the Purple Raiders defense and was one of two teams in the final five games of the season not to be shut out by MUC.
Otterbein needed overtime against John Carroll to save its chance at a home playoff game and maybe the postseason itself, but the Cardinals were able to get the job done. B.J. Wanninger's field goal and a fumble recovery from Mike King gave Otterbein its first-ever playoff appearance.
Thomas More wasted little time getting ready for the postseason after a loss to Geneva in the second-to-last week of the season. The Saints, who had 18 players selected to All-Presidents' Athletic Conference teams, soundly defeated Mount St. Joseph 19-0 in Bridge Bowl XIII. The Saints outgained Mount St. Joseph 454-80 in total yards and held the ball for nearly 11 more minutes.
Though their playoff bubble burst Sunday, the Wooster Fighting Scots (8-2) will still take pride in beating archrival Wittenberg 27-6 in less than ideal conditions last Saturday. While the field at John P. Papp Stadium having little grass left by the time the game reached its conclusion, the Scots scored 21 second quarter points to seal the victory. It was the last game to be played on grass at Papp Stadium. A recent measure was approved by the Board of Trustees allows for lighting upgrades, track renovations and the natural grass to be replaced by synthetic turf.
Alma junior quarterback Mackenzie McGrady did everything in his power to preserve a winning season for the Scots (5-4) last weekend. In a 34-16 victory over Albion, McGrady broke the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association single-game mark with 576 yards of total offense. His 43 completions tied the school and league marks. McGrady's 43 completions went for 468 yards and five touchdowns.
Great Lakes Teams in the 2008 NCAA playoffs
Mount Union (OAC)-No. 1 seed in East Region at 10-0, plays host to No. 8 Randolph-Macon (6-4)
Thomas More (PAC)-No. 8 seed in North Region at 8-2, travels to No. 1 North Central (10-0)
Otterbein (OAC)-No. 4 seed in North Region at 9-1, hosts No. 5 Franklin (9-1)
Case Western Reserve (UAA)-No. 3 seed in North Region at 10-0, hosts No. 6 Wabash (9-1)
Trine (MIAA)-No. 2 seed in North Region at 10-0 hosts No. 7 Wheaton (Ill.) (8-2)
Washington and Jefferson (PAC)-No. 5 seed in South Region at 9-1, hosts No. 6 Christopher Newport (9-1)
Games of the Week
Franklin (9-1, 7-0 HCAC) at Otterbein (9-1, 6-1 OAC), Nov. 22, 12 p.m.: Otterbein has never been to the postseason, but is looking like a much more veteran group. The Cardinals lost in the second-to-last week of the season against Mount Union, but managed to right the ship in time for the playoffs.
Franklin has passed for more than 3,000 yards as a team and Otterbein has given up 1,764 yards through the air. Ball control will be key for both teams as Otterbein has forced 14 interceptions.
Wheaton (8-2, 5-2 CCIW) at Trine (10-0, 6-0 MIAA), Nov. 22, 12 p.m.: The Wheaton Thunder are more pass-friendly than Trine, who is almost to the yard, balanced in terms of rushing and passing productivity.
Wheaton brings playoff experience to the game, while Trine is the newcomer in the situation. Though they lack postseason experience, Trine has an impressive resume, beating playoff-bound Franklin 30-27 and scoring 30 or more points in all but two of its games. Trine's defense has allowed fewer points in the fourth quarter (42) than Wheaton (71).
