Summer roundup: Bradley terminated; Flaherty, Maddox sign

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School is out and collegiate sports are in hiatus, but all is not quiet on the Princeton sports scene. Here are some notable stories involving former and current Tigers this summer.

Bradley ’80 terminated as U.S. National Team coach

Bob Bradley ’80 was relieved of his duties as the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team on July 28. Bradley held the position for five years and was only one-quarter of the way through a second four-year term at the position when his termination was announced.

Under Bradley, the U.S. team reached the finals in four of the six tournaments in which it competed, winning the 2007 Gold Cup. The U.S. finished first in the group stage of the 2010 World Cup but lost to Ghana in the first round of the knockout stage. The timing of the announcement caught many American soccer insiders off-guard – including Bradley, according to Grant Wahl ’96 of Sports Illustrated – though the American side suffered a disappointing 4-2 defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup final one month earlier.

Bradley coached the Princeton men’s soccer team from 1984-1995, winning two Ivy League titles and advancing to the NCAA Final Four in 1993, and took over as the head coach of the national side in the winter of 2006. He will be replaced by Jurgen Klinsmann, who had been a strong candidate for the job when Bradley was appointed.

Flaherty ’11 signs with Saints

Though the NFL lockout delayed the start of the season for players under contract, it was perhaps more stressful for rookie free agents, who were forced to wait even longer to find out whether or not a team would want to employ them in the fall. Fortunately for Harry Flaherty ’11, the New Orleans Saints came calling shortly after the lockout was lifted, and the former Tiger signed with the team on July 27.

Flaherty is no stranger to the NFL – his father, also Harry, played for the Dallas Cowboys, and his uncle Jason Garrett is currently the Cowboys’ head coach. One of 20 undrafted free agents to sign with the Saints, Flaherty has trained as a long snapper but was listed in the team release at his natural position, tight end. He caught 25 passes for 212 yards as a senior in 2010 and threw for a touchdown on a trick play against Harvard.

Flaherty becomes the first Tiger in the NFL since quarterback Jeff Terrell ’07.

(Update: Flaherty was released by the Saints in the first week of August.)

Maddox ’11 signs with Dutch team

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Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Kareem Maddox ’11 will continue his basketball career overseas. The 6’8” forward, who led the Tigers to their first Ivy League title and NCAA Tournament berth in seven years this spring, signed to play professionally with Landstede Basketball in the Netherlands.

Fellow 2011 co-captain Dan Mavraides tweeted last week that he also received an offer to play overseas, from a “top division team in Italy.”

Ivy football limits full-contact practice

The Ivy League has instituted a series of stricter guidelines to reduce the frequency of concussions in football practices. According to the new regulations, Ivy League teams will only be able to hold two full-contact practices per week, a reduction from the NCAA maximum of five. Additionally, players will be able to be dressed in full pads for only one of the two sessions during preseason two-a-day practices.

Head coach Bob Surace ’90 talked to ESPN about the changes. He said that his team’s practices have already followed most of the new guidelines, and players agreed that it would not represent a major change for the team.

"Whenever there are rule changes to benefit player safety, as coaches, you adjust and adapt," Surace told ESPN. "There will be a minimal change for us and I am kind of happy everybody is doing the same thing. It benefits player safety."