Army West Point Athletics
Black Knight Blog - October
October 01, 2008 | General
The Black Knight Blog is a new initiative provided by the Office of Athletic Communications to offer Army fans an even more in-depth look into the everyday happenings here at West Point. The intent of this blog is to keep readers informed with a light, personal touch that will further enhance the fan experience. Please enjoy and send any comments, questions or concerns to tracy.nelson@usma.edu. We welcome as much feedback as possible!
Click below to ready blogs from past months:
August
September
FRIDAY, OCT 31
Beat. . .Everyone!
Happy Halloween Army fans! Mark Brumbaugh here handing out today's blog entry. I hope you will all be able to put a better scare in this evening’s trick-or-treaters than Air Force has with their noon flyovers. Jet airplanes may be loud, but I imagine the Michie Stadium crowd will be much louder tomorrow.
The football game vs. Air Force alone makes this one of the biggest weekends of the year in Army sports, but there are also plenty of other service academy and conference matchups this weekend.
The other academy matchups include swimming and diving vs. Air Force at 4:30 p.m. in Crandall Pool, sprint football at Navy at 7 p.m. and rifle is taking on Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard at Air Force for the Presidents’ Trophy on Saturday morning.
Tonight, the 7 p.m. hour offers Army fans two games at West Point. One option is women’s soccer, who will take on Lehigh in a crucial game at Clinton Field to determine the final Patriot League standings and who hosts the conference tournament. I really hope that the right scenarios play out to make Army the ague host team because Mady Salvani has been going through the tiebreakers for the past couple weeks.
The other option is hockey taking on Atlantic Hockey foe Sacred Heart in search of their first win of the year. Don’t forget to pick out a good costume for the hockey game because you will get in for free!
The Patriot League Championships have already arrived for cross country, so I will be eagerly awaiting calls from head coaches Laura Kirchgraber and Troy Engle on Saturday in the cozy confines of the Hoffman Press Box. I will have to be careful though because I will be serving in my usual role as the backup statistics writer during the football game. If Shak and the Gun Boat need to enlist my services, that means there is a big problem. I’d hate to compound it by looking at my notes and seeing I have Ashley Morgan rushing for 100 yards instead of Collin Mooney.
Actually, Morgan and the rest of the women’s cross country team will “rush” for 6,562 yards (six kilometers), while the men’s team will go 8,748 yards (eight kilometers).
I am not too big in the prediction business, but I will just say that I am expecting good things. The women’s team has been without some of their best performers this season, so it has been a challenging year, but runners such as Morgan have stepped up to lead the way along with freshman Chelsea Prahl. They have a very young team (one senior and five freshmen will run on Saturday) but it looks like everything is coming together for them.
On the men’s side, no Patriot League team has finished ahead of Army this year, nor has an individual Patriot League runner finished ahead of Jonathan Anderson this year. Anderson finished eighth in the 2007 championships, and the seven runners that finished ahead of him have all graduated. I’ll let you do the figuring on that one.
Play-by-Play
The things we do to get volleyball stats! I talked a little bit about how we do volleyball stats before where I created a hypothetical example. On Wednesday night when Army took on Sacred Heart, I think we had the longest single rally of the year.
It went: Army serve from 2, dig 13, set 8, attack 6, continue, set 6, attack 8, dig 9, set 2, attack 11, dig 13, set 4, over, set 9, attack 11, dig 4, set 8, attack 5, dig 2, set 9, over, set 8, attack 3, dig 20, set 2, attack 4, dig 5, over, set 2, attack 18, dig 5, attack 8, dig 4, attack 11, dig 4, set 8, attack 6, continue, attack 5, dig 2, set 9, over, set 8, attack 3, dig 9, set 2, attack 18, dig 4, set 8, attack 4, dig 20, set 2, attack 11, KILL!
Luckily it ended before Tracy lost fingers trying to type. The “continue” was not in my first example, so I will tell you that means a team blocked the previous, opposing attack, and the ball ended up on the attacking team’s side again and they kept it alive. With that, I’ll let you figure out who got the point.
Enjoy the Weekend!
All of us here in the Army Athletic Association hope you have a fun and safe Halloween, and of course, GO ARMY!
THURSDAY, OCT. 30
We near the end of the alphabet again as I, Ryan Yanoshak, take the keys to the Black Knights Blog.
Was out of the office yesterday dealing with a family emergency so I don’t have any good inside information to pass along, just that the staff in Athletic Communications is a great, great group of people and I am proud to be associated with Bob, Mady, Gun Boat, Annie, T-Nel, TV and Mark.
While disappointed that the Rays couldn’t pull it off in the World Series, it is good to see another championship for Philadelphia. Will be quite a scene in the spring when the Flyers win Lord Stanley’s Cup and the city celebrates two world championships in the same year.
Speaking of hockey, the Army hockey team has a big weekend coming up. Sitting at 0-3-0 with a young team, head coach Brian Riley will look for the first win of the season with a home and home series against Sacred Heart. Friday’s game is right here at Tate Rink and how is this for a deal -- come dressed up in a Halloween costume, get in free. That’s it. Show off your costume at the ticket counter and get your seat to cheer on the Black Knights. With the money you saved, you can go sit in the new Hockey Hospitality area and for just $15, eat until you are stuffed to the gills. Now properly nourished, you can get to your seat and cheer on the Black Knights. Haven’t heard the details but no doubt Marketing Jeff has some great stuff planned for the holiday contest.
I hope you bought your Air Force tickets already since there are only a few hundred left and they are all in the lower bowl where you look at the players’ backs. Should be an incredible atmosphere in Army’s quest for the Commander-In-Chiefs Trophy. Start your day early at Black Knights Alley which will open at 9 a.m. See the team during the Black Knights Walk at around 10 a.m. and grab a bite and beverage and then watch the Parachute Team drop in with the game ball. Kickoff is set for noon.
As you would imagine, a busy weekend here at West Point. In addition to hockey at home on Friday, the women’s soccer team will close out the regular season against Lehigh at Clinton Field at 7 p.m. and the swimming and diving team is home with Air Force beginning at 4 p.m. at Crandall Pool. The men’s tennis team is at the Cornell Invitational and the spring football team is at Navy.
Go Army! Livestrong!
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29
Happy Wednesday everyone. Tim Volkmann bringing you today’s glimpse into the goings-on in the world of Army Athletic Communications and Black Knight athletics.
Just a couple quick notes regarding my blog from last week about the Buffalo Bills. It looks like there might be a Black Knight Blog jinx going on as the Miami Dolphins (who’s first-year outside linebackers coach Jim Reid is the father of Army baseball assistant coach Matt Reid) sent the Bills home with their second loss of the season on Sunday.
I forgot to mention two other members of the Army Athletic Department family with ties to the Bills. Kevin Shearer, one of the football staff’s ace videographers, was the Bills’ assistant video director from 2005-07, while Black Knight head athletic trainer Tim Kelly interned with the Bills before joining the Army staff in 1987.
In other happenings, the Army wrestling team held its annual Black & Gold scrimmage last night in anticipation of its season opening competition this Saturday at the Fighting Scot Duals, hosted by Edinboro University. The Black Knights will jump into the thick of the national scene right off the bat, taking on the host Fighting Scots, which are ranked 15th in the preseason national poll, and Maryland, which stands 17th. Findlay also awaits this weekend as Army is coming off a third-place effort at last year’s EIWA Championships that saw six Black Knights earn trips to the NCAA Championships.
While four of those NCAA qualifiers departed the squad after graduation, two are back looking for a return trip to St. Louis to cap their junior years. Matt Kyler will be moving up a weight class to 149 after earning All-America honors and winning the EIWA Championship last year at 141. Richard Starks is also back after qualifying at 197 pounds. It should be another strong year for the Black Knights. Be sure and check out the full season preview that will be posted this Friday.
One other quick note I walked up the Trophy Point a little before lunch today to check out an annual tradition during the days leading up the Army-Air Force football game. Unique to the rivalry between these two service academy rivals, at the stroke of noon every day this week, the Air Force has scheduled an aircraft to “buzz” West Point to try and intimidate the whole Corps of Cadets when they gather outside Washington Hall for lunch formation.
When I think of intimidating air craft, I think of fighter jets screaming through the air on the edge of out of control. (I guess I watch too many movies). Not in this case. Not at all. Today, I watched a bulking KC-10 fueling plane slowly crawl its way south down the Hudson River and gun its engines when it got overhead. The only thing scary or intimidating about that plane to me was hoping that it stayed in the air. Hopefully they can scare up a fighter jet or two later this week to at least make it worth our while.
TUESDAY, OCT. 28
Hi, this is Mady Salvani doing today’s blog and do I have some stories for you.First of all let me apologize as I was supposed to do Friday’s blog for Annie Holliday who had left to attend a wedding in the state of Washington. But I was never able to find the time with so much going on that day.
The biggest event on my plate was getting ready for the Army-Navy women’s soccer game Friday evening with Navy. Army came into the match in first place with a 3-0-0 mark and Navy had just tied with American to slip out of first into second (3-0-1). In addition to getting ready for that, I was helping Tim Volkmann finish up the story for this week’s football program on the 1988 Sun Bowl Team that will be honored at halftime of Saturday’s Air Force game.
A Friday before a home football game is usually hectic because you have TV in, you are busy showing them around and sometimes a crew comes to shoot B-roll or what I call scenic shots around campus which right now is enjoying the bulk of the fall colors.
Programs for the game and programs for other competition that we are hosting have to be picked up. Everyone is going in different directions so it is rare there are more than two people in the office during the daytime.
Ryan Yanoshak went with the hockey team, sprint football was celebrating its 50th anniversary with an afternoon game against Cornell, men’s soccer played Lehigh in the first game of the soccer doubleheader with volleyball taking on American on the road.
My women’s soccer game with Navy was one of the finest games I have seen as the two best teams in the Patriot League battled to a scoreless draw after 110 minutes.
It wasn’t the best of days in Army’s sports as the men’s soccer team was scored upon with 58 seconds left, sprint football suffered a 12-10 loss, volleyball suffered its first league loss, and hockey lost by a goal (4-3) at Connecticut so I was a bit down.
The next day was game day and that meant you hit the floor running. Bob Beretta was in the office late Friday night but was at the Stadium by 6:30 to get ready for Black Knights Alley.
As you probably know that Black Knights Alley is one of my favorite places, and I have raved about it to everyone. I didn’t think it could get better until I arrived there Saturday morning when they added a section on military uniforms fatigues backpacks, heavy socks, knives along with different kinds of guns. Kids loved it and so did their fathers. Cadets were also among the ones inspecting the military gear.
There were two little boys trying out the various items and being explained how the guns work, and when I bumped into their father I saw the name tag Rob Healy (USMA ’86). I recognized the name immediately as he played in the 80s and led Army to a 31-29 win over Illinois at the 1985 Peach Bowl his senior year.
The only problem I had was when the football team came in. I wanted to get them walking up the hill to Michie they instead were bused in and I didn’t have time to react quickly enough to catch that route.
As you know Pete Dawkins’ jersey was retired and he was very accommodating as fans lined up for the autograph and a few photo session during the Black Knights Alley. He spoke to each one personally and took time with the little kids.
As I raced back up the hill to get ready for game time, I was excited because I felt this would be an Army win. However, I have to give the fans credit for their endurance for shortly after the game began it started to rain, not soft, but hard and in sheets. I was just grateful I was warm as a bug in the press box.
The game ended with an Army win which made mine and everyone else’s day. I went back to the office later to work on my women’s soccer program for American and finish up the final details about the Sun Bowl but the computers were down and I couldn’t get anything done. It was frustrating because that meant I had to get up to go to church early in order to get into the office to take care of both before heading out to the soccer field and I was one week shy of Daylights Saving Time.
In helping do the research abut the 1988 Sun Bowl team, I had a chance to talk with former Army football coach Jim Young, and he told me an interesting tidbit. The Cadets had just finished their exams that year prior to the Christmas break, and the staff wanted to give them a chance to get home for a few days, so they had an early morning Sunday practice and they had to put the lights on. Can you imagine how cold it must have been that December morning? Coach said that when the sun came up they shut the lights off, but it was the first time he ever had to shut the lights off as he was used to putting them on. Coach also reminded me that Army played Boston College in Ireland.
I had forgotten that because I quickly looked at the record before calling him and just read the score. Then I remembered that was also part of the 1988 season. I was fortunate that I was able to make the trip to Ireland. The only reason was because back in that time play-by-play was typed on a typewriter (for your young folks, look it up in the Smithsonian) as they didn’t have today’s computers. I was the typist and nowadays everyone in the office can type, but back then guys could hunt and peck but not many were proficient on the keyboard I wasn’t either but I made it look good.
Army was the home team and we were responsible for taking care of everything, so that was how my ticket was punched to go. I didn’t see much of Ireland, only what I could glean on the bust ride from the airport to the hotel, then to practice.
However, my friend Carol Bush, Army’s ticket manager, was on the trip, and she was able to get around more so I gave her my list of what my family and friends wanted. The money exchange was not very good. When I handed over $200 I think I got three different sized coins and a few bills that looked more like monopoly money. I had no idea how much money I had, but CB had figured everything out and knew what the currency could buy.
I did make one trip to the store in the evening with Carol and Marion Humphrey, the Athletic Director’s secretary, and I was trying on an Irish sweater for Clare Gulino, but the sleeves were too long (I didn’t realize you just rolled them up). All the sweaters had the names of the women who knitted them, so I asked the salesgirl if Mrs. O’Leary had one with shorter sleeves.
Another evening we went out to an Irish bar. I didn’t realize that the Irish have bars that go all night long. When this one closed down at 2 or 3 a.m., there were after hour places. It was entertaining as we met many of the locals, some liked Americans and some different but they seemed to be excited about the upcoming match as they called it. People kept saying are you going “to the match?” I first said no (because I thought they meant rugby), that I was going to the Army-BC football game.
You can imagine going to a football game in Ireland with Boston College playing as to what team the fans would be favoring the most.
When game day came and we arrived at the stadium, we found ourselves confined to a small press box and when I saw the conditions, I wished the game was being played back home at Michie Stadium.
Bob Kinney (SIO for Army) told TV seconds before game time that No we were not going to move our operation. The head person was upset, but that meant we had to go outside in the packed stands.
When the game started, Kinney called the plays while my spotters for tackles were a husband and wife team from Boston College. I don’t know why the wife was calling the tackles to the husband who was writing them down and I was including them on the play-by-play. She didn’t know how to spot and I can still hear her say, “OOH ooh I think it was 50 because he is the player on top of the pile. I threw the return on my typewriter and tried to pay attention myself but I didn’t have binoculars. Kinney asked me why I was missing the tackles on so many plays, and once I explained it, he understood.
The game continued and the BC couple cheered, which you are not allowed to do in the press box, and I kept my mouth shot but was hoping so bad we could have turned them back.
The end of the game was like a Chinese fire-drill as we had to run the play-by-play, put together statics along with filling out the NCAA form while Kinney was conducting interviews with the media. The busses were getting ready to pull out for the trip to the airport and we were still trying to finish the stats and run copies, pack up the typewriters (not computers) and they were heavier and bulkier to carry with the rest of our stuff, then jump onto the bus.
But all-in-all it was a great time and I want to give thanks to Coach Young for reminding about my trip to Ireland in 1988.
MONDAY, OCT. 27
Random Thoughts
Good afternoon! Tracy Nelson coming to you from Blg. 639 here at West Point. It seems like its been too long since I've posted something on this blog, and now my day in the rotation pops up and I can't pin down onw single subject to talk about. Those of you that know me and my tendency to be a bit scatter-brained sometimes can understand that this is nothing new. After taking most of Sunday off and returning to work on Monday, my head ready to explode with about 1,001 different thoughts. That being said, here are some of my random thoughts from the morning thus far ...
It's so nice to come into work on a Monday after a fooball win. This place just seems to be a little bit happier and everyone, including the cadets, walk with their chin a little bit high. Kudos to Stan Brock and the football team for a 14-7 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday ... they weren't the only winners this weekend. My favorite fall team happens to be volleyball not just because I am the contact here in our office, but because I genuinely do love the sport. I wish I had been a better player back in the day! Anyway, don't let me get sidetracked. The girls picked up a huge win over Navy, 3-1, on Saturday in Annapolis, making it their sixth in a row against the Mids! ... I also had the pleasure of watching both home women's soccer games this weekend. The Black Knights remain in 1st place and are now tied with Navy in the league standings after playing to a pair of 0-0 double-OT ties against the Mids on Friday and American on Sunday. Not that my opinion matters in the least, but who the heck wants to end up in a tie after running up and down a field for 110 minutes? Games are meant to have a winner and a loser, bottom line ...
In keeping with sports, I'm sure that most of you reading this have been staying tuned-in to the World Series. I really have no preference in which team wins, but have enjoyed watching the series so far. It's just nice to see two different teams playing for the title instead of the same old like it seems to have been recently. I have no ties to the Rays, but Joe Maddon did play three years of baseball at Lafayette, a school that was nice enough to offer me my first job out of college. I stayed for two years and never met Maddon, so again, no ties. I've often thought about living in Philly. Does that count? I also have a lot of friends in Philly, and I'm sick and tired of hearing them whine about their city in need of a championship. Talk to the people of Chicago and then feel sorry for yourselves. Sheesh ...
I hope that Brian Gunning is feeling better. The Gun Boat is home sick today, but I have no doubt that he's typing away on the old laptop cranking out this week's football notes. The work never ends sometimes...
Thank goodness that my boss, Bob Beretta, reminded us all about Daylight Savings Time coming up on Saturday/Sunday. I always let that stuff slip and then spend all day the following day trying to figure out what time it is. This year, I'll be prepared! Don't forget to "fall back" ...
I can't believe that it's already fall and the leaves are changing like crazy. If you've never been to West Point and are looking to make a trip, fall is the best time to do it. This place is gorgeous with all of the red, orange and yellow-shaded hills enveloping the Hudson. There's really no better place to see a football game either ...
Speaking of which, Army starts its quest for the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy on Saturday when the team hosts Air Force. Only a few tickets still remain, so click here if you haven't already gotten yours! It should be a great atmosphere and (hopefully) an even better game! Plus, if you buy a ticket to the Air Force game, you'll get a free voucher to a New Jersey Nets game this year. What more can you ask for?!
I think that pretty much does it for my thoughts on the day. Check back tomorrow for what is sure to be a much better blog entry than this one.
THURSDAY, OCT. 23
It's That Time of Year
Hello from a road-weary traveler on this Thursday afternoon. Brian Gunning coming at you live today from the ESPNZone in Baltimore where Patriot League Men's Basketball Media Day just wrapped up. It was a good day, except for having to get up and depart West Point by 6:30 a.m. With all the modern technology, I think Coach Crews and I could have worked some sort of satellite uplink from the ESPNZone in Times Square. The Gun Boat is a much a happier ship when it gets its rest.
It's a pretty fast-paced day. The morning starts with the coaches and athletic directors in meetings, while the communications folks start to gather and distribute some of their preseason material. I always enjoy that time before everything starts. It gives us all a chance to catch up and talk about what is going on at our respective schools. The most uttered phrase may be, "Just trying to survive this time of year." We all have fall sports in full swing, including football and winter sports starting to kick up. At West Point for example, our in-season teams include football, volleyball, cross country, hockey, rifle, women's soccer, men's soccer and swimming & diving. Wrestling is right around the corner, and both basketball teams have already opened practice. What was that I said about rest? I think our whole office will be a touch cranky until May.
Anyway, enough of our troubles. Once the program starts, Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich gives a "State of the League" address. The conference is coming off a great season. We were 16th in the league RPI rankings and set a conference record for Division I non-conference wins with a 62-56 record. She also introduced Reggie Greenwood, who is the new coordinator of officials. Reggie will work with long-time staffer Mickey Crowley this season during the transition as Mickey gets ready to retire at the end of the season. Reggie is a quality Division I ref who has worked the Final Four and numerous other big games. He was a regular visitor to the Carrier Dome during my stint at Syracuse.
Following the remarks, the preseason poll along with the preseason player of the year and all-league team are announced. No surprise at the top as the American Eagles were picked to defend their title. American returns most of their key players from last season, including preseason player of the year Garrison Carr who set a conference record with 138 three-pointers last season. American got 14 of 16 first-place votes. The rest of the poll went Lehigh, Holy Cross, who got two first-place votes, Colgate, Bucknell, Navy, Army and Lafayette. Coach Crews made an election joke at the end of his remarks about the boys thinking that getting picked seventh will be voter fraud. The voters definitely weighed the loss of all-league performer Jarell Brown pretty heavily on their ballots.
In addition to Carr, the rest of the preseason all-league squad is Andrew Brown (Lafayette), Marquis Hall (Lehigh), Chris Harris (Navy) and Derrick Mercer (American). One interesting side note- Harris is the tallest player on the squad, standing only 6-2.
After that, it is each Coach's turn to speak. I won't go into too much detail because, quite honestly, most of the coaches remarks are pretty much the same. American coach Jeff Jones actually joked about the main points every coach makes every year - everyone is working hard, everyone is excited for the season to start, everyone has a great schedule and everyone thinks the league is going to be tough again this year.
There was some noteworthy items that came from the talks, however, especially on the injury front. Starting with American, Bryce Simon may be out for an extended period of time. Bryce injured his ACL against the Black Knights in last season's conference semifnals and had a setback last month. At Bucknell, the injury bug has bitten hard. 2008 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Stephen Tyree is out for the year with a knee injury and both G.W. Boon and Jason Vegotsky will miss at least a portion of the non-conference season. New head coach Dave Paulsen said his squad finished practice yesterday with eight players. At Colgate, the Raiders will have to play without second-team all-league pick Kyle Roemer who will miss the year with an ACL injury. No injury news to report on the Black Knights through the first few days of practice (knock on wood).
After the coaches speak, the media in attendance get their opportunites for one-one-one interviews. Coach Crews knocked out a few requests before heading for the exits. In the meantime, I've fired up the laptop to make sure all the BK Blog fans are up to date.
Where do I go from here? Those who know me will not be surprised to hear I'm headed for the buffet line. I drove four hours, I'm going to eat some free lunch. I may even take a doggy bag for the ride home.
Other Happenings: In case you haven't seen the main page yet (good for you coming here first), CBS announced today that the Army-Navy Classic will air on the network for an additional 10 years. The big change is that the game will now be the final regular-season game played annually on the second Saturday in December ... Speaking of Navy, it's a big weekend in the rivalry. The women's soccer team hosts the Mids at 7 p.m. on Friday in a match that will help determine the Patriot League regular-season championship. The volleyball squad is in Annapolis on Saturday ... For those anxiously awaiting the men's basketball media guide, it should be out very soon. I approved the proof yesterday ... Don't forget to check out "This Week in Army Football" with Stan Brock and Rich DeMarco tonight. RD and the Coach will be live from the Thayer Hotel starting at 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22
Beat Navy...With Style
Greetings Army fans, Mark Brumbaugh typing here. Since today isn’t a holiday, I will spare our dear readers from a bad opening pun. Take a guess when my next blog entry is though. . .
Getting on topic, I thoroughly enjoyed writing my first “Army beats Navy” recap this weekend after the men’s cross country team claimed a one-point victory (27-28) over the Mids on Saturday morning.
How close was the victory? First, if you are unfamiliar with how you end up with a “score” in cross country to begin with, only the top-five finishers on each team count. Each individual finishing position is added to the team’s point total, thus making points as undesirable as strokes in golf.
In this race, the sixth, seventh and eighth positions ended up being the closest. With three Army runners and two Navy runners already across the line, a Navy runner beat Andrew Catalano out by a mere half-second for sixth to keep the hopes of a Navy victory alive.
For those scoring at home, we’ll hit the pause button before Catalano crosses the line. At that instant, Army had a one point lead with the first, fourth and fifth finishers (1+4+5=10 points) while Navy had the second, third and sixth finishers (2+3+6=11).
Hitting play again, Catalano was able to beat another Navy runner for seventh by 2.5 seconds. Had Catalano done something as insignificant as stopping to pick up a quarter on the course, Navy would have ended up winning by a point because the ninth place finisher was also from Navy (2+3+6+8+9=28). Greg Griffith then finished 10th for Army to secure the win (1+4+5+7+10=27). The only “complication” with the scoring deals with the sixth and seventh runners on each team. Had Navy’s sixth runner finished ahead Griffith, the race would have been a tie, and if their seventh runner finished ahead of Griffith, Navy would have won. While the sixth and seventh runners don’t “score” they can push the opponent back. In this race they did not come into play.
As with all sports, when the competition is close, the smallest factors can make a difference. While running 80 miles a week will certainly help you perform better, a little creativity can help too. Women’s cross country head coach Laura Kirchgraber sent me some pictures (taken by generous Navy grad, Tom Connelly) from the Navy race on Monday, in which I was surprised to see the men’s Black Knights dressed in white with the classic A’ on the front (pictured above on the right).
Yes, folks. Believe it. The Army men’s cross country team has throwback uniforms.
Kirchgraber explained to me that the senior men (the same group that came up with some poetic thoughts on West Point earlier this year) came up with the idea to don retro duds for this year’s Navy race. Anderson said that the design was inspired from a 1920’s uniform on the wall in the Firstie Club. The team then kept them secret and under wraps until the last possible moment before the race, adding a little drama to it all.
Every edge helps.
Beat Navy... And Make Memories
Last week’s Black Knight Spotlight on senior captain Andrew Catalano was rendered a little obsolete with the win. Before the race, he had told me that his favorite memory in cross country was watching the men’s team beat Navy in 2005. Needless to say it needed an update.
Be sure to catch this week’s Black Knight Spotlight on sprint football senior captain C.J. Reid.
Beat Navy...On Friday
You only have two more days to plan your Army, Friday afternoon-evening viewing schedule. At 4 p.m. you have your choice between men’s soccer vs. Lehigh at Clinton Field and sprint football vs. Cornell at Michie Stadium.
At 7 p.m., you will want to be at Clinton Field as the women’s soccer team will battle Navy. Army is first in the Patriot League at 4-0 while Navy is second at 3-0-1. Overall, Army is currently 1-3 against the Midshipmen this year, so this will be a big game in the season series as the Black Knights look to get back to .500.
Beat Navy...On Saturday
Volleyball, at 7-0 in the Patriot League, will be on the road this weekend in the D.C. area. They will be playing American, who is also 7-0 in the Patriot League, on Friday night and then Navy (2-5 Patriot League) on Saturday night.
Go Army!
Fall Classic
From February to September of 2007, I was an intern with the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, so I am thrilled that the Rays are now in the World Series. Of the guys on the playoff roster, J.P. Howell, Andy Sonnanstine, Michel Hernandez, Evan Longoria, Rocco Baldelli (rehab), B.J. Upton (rehab) and Ben Zobrist all spent some time in Durham last year, and then Jason Bartlett and Grant Balfour were in Rochester when I was a batboy, so it is cool to see them going for a World Series now.
The athletic communications office seemed to be pretty well behind the Rays during the ALCS. Ryan Yanoshak lived in Tampa and had the Rays gear prior to this season to demonstrate his loyalty to the team. Bob Beretta and Tim Volkmann are Yankees fans, so no explanation is needed.
Win or lose, the Rays are a great story. Their turnaround has been incredible. I don’t know if they could have done it though without their new uniforms.
TUESDAY, OCT. 21
Shak behind the keyboard on this chilly Tuesday morning.
Before we get into it, a special thanks to June Jones. Most of you should remember Ms. Jones from the hockey blogs last year. She is kind enough to bring cookies when she comes to Tate Rink and has been a real supporter of our blogs. I was sitting outside the press box at Tate Rink on Saturday before the game with Merrimack, debating about dinner when Ms. Jones shows up, Tupperware container in hand. Pretty sure she brought them for Bob Beretta but since he was in Buffalo, I was the lucky winner and actually shared the cookies with the rest of the folks in the press box. Thanks for thinking of us June and for your support of our cadet-athletes.
A few honors for our cadet athletes came in yesterday in women’s soccer, volleyball and men’s cross country.
The men’s golf team is the only action on the docket today. Competing near San Diego, Calif., at the Sycuan Collegiate Invitational, the Black Knights are scheduled to play 18 holes today before taking a red-eye back to West Point. Army is 19th in the 20-team field after two rounds. Check back to the site later this afternoon for a full recap.
Busy times around the Athletic Communications Office Suites with winter sports beginning their seasons. Gunboat will be at ESPN Zone on Thursday in Baltimore for Patriot League Media Day while TV has his hands full with soccer, wrestling and swimming and diving. Tracy Nelson is juggling volleyball and women’s basketball while the Coach plugs away at rifle and gymnastics in between getting her soccer players league honors. Mark has only been here for a few months but has showcased his work ethic with the cross country, sprint football, men’s tennis and track and field teams. And Annie keeps the office from the imploding.
With hockey season now upon us, I have tried to find a few hockey reads and have uncovered two excellent books. “Saved” by the late Jack Falla is one the best fiction books I have ever read. Even if you are not a hockey fan, you can enjoy this book. I bought the book a few months ago, loved it and have read it three times since. Mr. Falla used to work for Sports Illustrated and was actually at West Point doing a story on legendary hockey coach Jack Riley back in the day. I reached out to Mr. Falla and was trying to get him back to West Point for a game before his untimely death.
Associate head hockey coach Rob Haberbusch put me on the “Boys of Winter” by Wayne Coffey, a New York Daily News sports writer. We all know the real “Miracle” was the 1960 Olympic team coached by Jack Riley that beat the Russians and the Canadians but Coffey’s book about the 1980 squad is excellent nonetheless. He uses an interesting style to tell not only the story of the gold medal winning team but also of the players, their families and what they have done since Al Michaels’ chill-inducing call. Turns out that Mr. Coffey lives in the Hudson Valley and is one of the premier “breakout” sports writers in the country who has done quite few stories on Army athletes.
BK Blog Notes: The hockey team is at Connecticut this weekend for a two-game set against the Huskies ... Stan Brock’s weekly press conference is today at noon for you Knight Vision subscribers and his radio show returns on Thursday this week at the Thayer Hotel beginning at 7 p.m. ... The hospitality area at Tate Rink had a nice crowd for the first game and provides a great way to enjoy the games ... With the exception of the golf team in San Diego, no teams are in action until a busy Friday ... Football game on Saturday against Louisiana Tech is a 1 p.m. start. Black Knights Alley opens at 10 a.m. and you are running out of chances to see one of the great pregame festivities around the country.
MONDAY, OCT. 20
Hello everybody. Tim Volkmann drawing blog duty on a busy Monday.
After some server issues earlier this morning that got me a little behind, I was able to get the football game program off to the printer in time so it will be ready for this Saturday’s game with Louisiana Tech (kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. on ESPN360.com if you can’t make it to Michie Stadium).
The printer that produces our football game programs, Dual Printing, is located in Cheektowaga, N.Y., just outside Buffalo, home of the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills -- which improved to 5-1 yesterday with a big win over the San Diego Chargers.
I have been a Bills fan for as long as I can remember. I grew up in Fairport, N.Y., located just outside of Rochester which is a hop skip and a jump down the New York State Thruway from Buffalo. My mother was born and raised in Cheektowaga, and I can remember taking many family trips to see my grandparents when I was younger. My grandmother always saved all the Buffalo Bills trading cards for me that they would give away at “Bells” supermarket, along with all the player posters they used to print in the Buffalo News. I can remember running around in my seven-year-old sized Joe Ferguson jersey pretending I was throwing passes to Frank Lewis and handing off to Joe Cribbs, and also doing my best Fred Smerlas sack impressions on my dad. Jim Haslett was an early favorite of mine too and it is no coincidence that the St. Louis Rams are 2-0 (including Sunday’s pasting of the Dallas Cowboys) since he recently took over as head coach.
In editing one of this week’s game program features written by our own Tracy Nelson (who FYI is also a transplanted Bills fan from Salamanca, N.Y., located an hour south of Buffalo), I learned that women’s basketball senior captain Alex McGuire is also big Bills fan, following in her dad’s footsteps who grew up in Olean, N.Y., just down the road from Salamanca.
Other Bills fans that I know at West Point include Eric Bartelt, a Buffalo native that works in the Public Affairs Office (who was at the game this weekend) and assistant men’s lacrosse coach Anthony “Mac” Diange. I told our newest Athletic Communications assistant Mark Brumbaugh, who also hales from the Rochester area, the only reason we hired him was because he was a Bills fan.
It is nice to know there other people around here who can appreciate the Bills’ success mostly because of all the pain we have had to endure for such a long time. So what if our all-time best player is better know for “not” killing his wife and beating up some guys who wanted his autograph. I have also grown pretty tired of trying to convince people that going to four Super Bowls in a row is a feat that will never be seen again and that Scott Norwood’s missed field goal in 1990 wasn’t exactly a chip shot. Who knows what the rest of this season will bring. If nothing else, it is good to have something to root about again.
If there are any other Bills fans out there that want to check in with a comment or good (or not so good) memory, feel free to drop me an email at timothy.volkmann@usma.edu. Go Bills. Beat Miami.
FRIDAY, OCT. 17
This is Mady Salvani taking care of today’s blog ...
Everyone in the office seems to be talking about the fall foliage. Right now it is beautiful out, and since I take photos for the web site, I have been out trying to get some shots like you see on calendars. The only problem is that I am not a professional and my photos can’t compare. One place that caught my eye the other day was the Reservoir, which is across from Michie Stadium, so I put a photo up to give you an idea of what I see every morning coming to work.
As you know football is on the road this weekend with a game Saturday in Buffalo, which is home turf for Tracy Nelson. I have been teasing Brian Gunning and Bob Beretta to bring heavy clothes as they could run into snow this weekend, but I have been told it is suppose to be in the 50s but I can still hold out hope for them.
I just came back from the rifle range where several folks are gathered to watch West Point take on Ole Miss in a Great America Rifle Conference match in Army’s home debut at Tronsrue Marksmanship Center. Ole Miss is made up entirely of women and my co-workers are amazed when I tell them that Nebraska and TCU’s rifle teams are also made up of women. Sometimes it is hard to think of women firing rifles, but they have been shooting alongside men for a long time. I know there are wild stories about Annie Oakley, but she helped pave the way for women and I bet she didn’t even realize it.
I have been covering rifle for a long time, and also had pistol back in the days when it was part of Army’s varsity teams. Women have won their fair share of All-America honors and a name that comes to mind to me as one of Army’s finest shooters is Rhonda Barush, who competed between 1983-87 and earned five all-America certificates, including first team honors in smallbore in 1985.
The rifle team is caught in a rebuilding year, but have two stalwarts in captain Wesley Hess and sophomore Olympian Stephen Scherer to set the pace and provide leadership to the group. The Black Knights’ true test will come Saturday when they host West Virginia, picked ahead of defending champion Army in the preseason GARC poll. The Mountaineers are looking to return to the success the enjoyed in the mid-80s to the 90s when they captured 13 NCAA titles along with six runner-up finishes. West Virginia makes its GARC debut against Army Saturday while the Black Knights' lone conference loss was a 19-point edging at the hands of Nebraska last weekend.
Most of our teams are on the road this weekend with Saturday competition having cross country at Navy and men’s soccer at Lafayette, while women’s soccer takes on Holy Cross tonight as Army looks to extend its win streak to six straight and league wins to four. All three women’s soccer league wins have been blankings, a first for Army since shutting out its first four opponents in 1993 when it put together its best mark (20-1-1). Volleyball, which is enjoying a great stretch, hosts Lehigh this evening and Lafayette Saturday.
On the homefront Saturday we have rifle hosting West Virginia at 9 a.m., along with men’s and women’s swimming and diving taking on Syracuse and Marist at Crandall Pool at 10 a.m. for you early birds. Later in the afternoon you have volleyball hosting Lafayette at 4 p.m. At 7 p.m. in the evening, hockey fans will get a chance to see Army unfurl its 2007-08 Atlantic Hockey Association banner in its debut against Merrimack. The first 1,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive a print of the squad following that win against Sacred Heart.
I am suppose to take a photo of the banner because our real photographer, John Pellino, is in Buffalo shooting the football game, so Ryan Yanoshak got stuck with me. Unfortunately, I don’t like walking on ice because a. I am afraid of falling and will probably look like a jerk as I am trying to keep my balance; and b. I am carrying camera equipment which I have to protect. Shak told me I should wear boots with tread. I can imagine myself walking onto the ice with boots on to take photos, but if it keeps me from falling, I’m there.
THURSDAY, OCT. 16
Good morning to everyone out there in cyberspace! I’m Tracy Nelson and I thought I would start my day off with a blog rather than wait until I’m exhausted and at my whit’s end at the end of today...so here goes nothing ...
Buffalo Bound ... I Wish!
The Army football team heads to Western New York in search of its third-straight win on Saturday when the team takes on the University at Buffalo Bulls at UB Stadium. For those of you in the Hudson Valley, you can watch all the action on Time Warner Cable 6, which I plan on doing myself since I cannot be there in person ... what can say? Other work beckons!
If there was one destination on the schedule, I would love to have gone to Buffalo it’s about an hour north from where I grew up in tiny Salamanca, N.Y., and I’m sure it would have included a visit with family and friends. Although I did not attend UB, I did my fair share of weekend events there when I was in college visiting a handful of friends that went there. In fact, one of my best friends from high school was a tight end on the football team there back in 2001 Kyle Scott. He didn't start, but he did play in the couple of games that I went to watch. He was one of the funniest, genuine, most vibrant people that I had ever met. He was killed in a car accident the next year and I will never forget the unbelievable outpouring of support that the Scott family received from the UB football program quite a class act. Sorry to start on such a somber note, but I will certainly be thinking about Kyle when the BKs and Bulls lineup on Saturday. For anyone reading this back home, be sure to cheer for me ... Go Army!
For those in my office that will be traveling, you better not disappoint me with your consumption of Buffalo wings! The Anchor Bar's are outstanding, so I would suggest a Friday night trip there perhaps ...
Volleyball Still Rolling
I do have a good reason for not heading out of town this weekend, however, as I will be working volleyball matches Friday night and Saturday afternoon. This is my second season as the volleyball contact in our office, and I can’t complain a single bit. It’s been two phenomenal years of nothing but winning for the most part! Head coach Alma Kovaci and I have become great friends and it’s so exciting to see what she has molded this team into. They enter the weekend with a 17-2 mark and are 5-0 in the Patriot League, which ties Army with American atop the league standings.
The Black Knights host Lehigh on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then Lafayette on Saturday at 4 p.m. Army beat both teams during the first round of Patriot League action, while looking to stay perfect (6-0) at Gillis Field House. They have a great group of seniors Elizabeth Lazzari, Briana Stremick, Rachael Breinling and Jamie Clark that motor the team along each match. If you can’t make it out to Gillis this weekend, catch all the action for both matches on Knight Vision.
With the team doing so well, it’s hard to not to get caught up in it all! Of course I have my hopes and I’m sure that I’m not alone to host this year’s Patriot League Tournament. The top seed at the end of the regular season hosts the four-team event. For the past eight years, American has hosted and won the tournament. Army is actually the only Patriot League team to beat the Eagles, which they have done twice since AU joined the league in 2001. The interesting twist comes when you look at the schedule ... American travels to Army for the final regular season match on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. I have a sneaking suspicion that it could all come down to that match ... stay tuned. Until then, Go Army! Beat Lehigh! Beat Lafayette!
Hoops on the Horizon
In case you are all wrapped up in fall sport mania, don’t forget that both basketball teams officially start practice this Friday, Oct. 17. I can’t believe that hoops season is already here, but I’m psyched to see what men’s coach Jim Crews and women’s coach Dave Magarity’s teams bring this season. Friday will be the first indication ...
I'm just about finished with the women's basketball media guide, so stay tuned to see when that becomes available online. Brian Gunny, or better known as Gunny/Gun Boat, is wrapping up the men's guide as well. I know you're all dying to see both books so that you can learn even more about your favorite Army teams!
TUESDAY, OCT. 14
Shufflin' Off to Buffalo
No bad puns in today's introduction. No offense to my guy Mark, but that was pretty bad yesterday. Besides, if anyone should have been at the helm of the Columbus Day edition, it should have been me. After all, one of my nicknames is Gun Boat. Anyway, Brian Gunning running the blog show today on this sunny Tuesday at West Point.
As we draw another day closer to the Black Knights' football game at Buffalo on Saturday, it dawned on me that this weekend will mark my fourth trip to UB Stadium. In a crazy coincidence, every school I have ever worked at has played at Buffalo during my tenure. The good news is, I'm 3-0 in my trips to Western New York. No credit whatsoever to those players either. Those victories were all because I was in the press box.
It all started in 1999 when I was working at Marshall University. It was the Bulls' first season in the MAC and we were on our way to a 13-0 season, a win in the Motor City Bowl over BYU and a No. 10 national ranking. The one big memory from that game is Chad Pennington threw his 100th touchdown pass in a Herd uniform. I was very fortunate to be in Huntington during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. I never saw Randy Moss play in person, but in my two years on the banks of the Ohio (just doesn't have the same ring to it), we went 25-1. It's a shame that the current system wasn't in place because if it were, that '99 team with Pennington and about five or six other future NFL players would have gotten a crack in a BCS bowl.
Next it was off to Syracuse where the Orange (or Orangemen at the time) ventured the 100-or-so miles west on the Thruway for a game in 2004. I actually missed the opening kickoff because I drove myself to the game after hosting a men's soccer game earlier in the day. Since it was a local game, there was a great crowd. UB actually brought in a portable video board for that one. The crowd of 29,013 is still the second-largest attendance in the stadium's history. I hear there is supposed to be a great crowd for this weekend's game, but no word on a video board. In my five years at SU, and my 3 1/2 years of traveling with the football team there, that was the only game I remember driving to. We always joked that we wished we could get frequent flyer miles for charter trips.
My last trip to Buffalo came in 2005 when I was with the Ohio Bobcats. Believe it or not, we bused to that game from Athens - by far our longest bus trip of the season. My lasting memory from that game is our All-American cornerback, Dion Byrum, catching a touchdown pass. I almost missed it because Dion wore the same number as one of our receivers. The only way I knew it was him was because he told me before the game they were going to try it. Some of you bigger football fans may remember Dion as the man who almost single-handedly beat Pittsburgh in 2005. My first home game at Ohio happened to be the first nationally-televised game from Athens. A huge crowd and plenty of viewers on ESPN2 watched Dion intercept Tyler Palko twice and return both for touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime.
Believe it or not, I'm not the only one in the office with some history at UB Stadium. Our very own Touchdown Timmy V will forever live in the facility's lore. As a up-and-coming track star at Fairport High School, Tim participated in the first ever event, the Legend Relays, held at the newly-built facility in 1992.
One other note about this weekend's trip. With all the stock market volatility over the last couple of weeks, let me give you one sure thing -- buy bleu cheese! I can guarantee you if I'm in Buffalo, there will be plenty of people ducking for cover to avoid getting hit by flying chicken wing bones as I jackhammer through a dozen or six.
Basketball Getting Closer!
Believe it or not, we're almost one month to the day out from the 2008-09 men's basketball season opener against Dartmouth. The Black Knights begin practice this week, and as promised in an earlier blog, I'll give you a quick sneak peek at my talk with head coach Jim Crews as he starts his seventh season on the Army sideline.
“We have a lot of guys back from last year. We obviously miss Jarell (Brown). We have to continually get better at getting better shots. At times last year we got tunnel vision on Jarell, and we need more guys to score. I think we have guys who are capable of that from inside, outside and in between. Hopefully, because we are a little bit older and have a little bit more depth, we’ll be able to get that. We have to be able to find different ways to score.”
“I think we have guys that are excited. I think they’re excited because they enjoy playing college basketball and they enjoy being part of our program. There has been progress, and we’ve gotten a little bit better, but the one thing we have to understand is that you start over every year. We don’t get to start the year with the number of wins we had last year. Sometimes individuals and teams get confused with that. Each season has a life of its own. We’re excited about it. We have kids that are being good leaders, working and competing.”
“I think last year, defensively, we were pretty consistent. Offensively, we weren’t consistent. Again, the more guys you can have chip and score in different ways, the better. Obviously, the more guys you have that make other guys better players, in terms of helping guys be better scorers, helps too. If you had five really good passers it would be a lot easier. If you have guys that can really pass. That helps the situation too.”
I'll be headed to Patriot League media day in Baltimore next Thursday where they'll announce the preseason poll and all-league players.
Other happenings: Volleyball puts its unbeaten Patriot League record on the line tonight against Holy Cross at 7 p.m. at Gillis Field House ... If you missed either the Temple or Eastern Michigan football games at Michie Stadium, head over to the West Point Gift Shop. The lunch boxes and mini-replicas of the stadium that were handed out to fans are now on sale ... Only two more games left at Michie Stadium this season. If you don't have your tickets yet, there's still time to get in on the great special going on - $49 for a seat to both the Louisiana Tech and Air Force games. That's a $16 saving off face value ... Don't forget that "This Week in Army Football," will air on Wednesday night this week instead of its usual Thursday night time slot. Rich DeMarco and Stan Brock will be live at the Thayer Hotel beginning at 7 p.m. tomorrow night.
MONDAY, OCT. 13
The Weekend That Was
I can’t help myself, so I am going to say it: Mark Brumbaugh here sailing the ship for the Columbus Day edition of the Black Knights Blog!
It was an enjoyable weekend here at West Point, starting Friday with press box setup at Michie Stadium. After burning a few calories hauling game notes and soda in the morning, half of the office, including yours truly, went to the Grayline Eatery for lunch (most likely restoring or surpassing previous calorie levels.)
My co-workers were able to get a good laugh on the way out when I got a surprise in the parking lot. I was right next to the passenger window of an SUV when the German Sheppard residing in it, who we’ll call Cujo, announced his presence. Cujo clearly had a good sense of humor. He could have started barking when I was five feet away from the vehicle, but no, he waited until I was right next to the window to begin his ferocious barking and accompanying display of sharp teeth. Needless to say, finding oneself the width of car window glass away from the jaws of a German Sheppard immediately after consuming a bacon cheeseburger and fries is a recipe for disaster, but luckily I kept everything down. To say I jumped though would be an understatement.
Cujo’s teeth were not the last sharp objects we encountered during the day. On the way back from lunch, Brian Gunning retrieved Mike Wright’s Black Death Award so we could photograph it and then show it off for ESPN’s cameras on Saturday. The award is essentially a wooden plaque with an authentic Army Ranger combat knife attached, engraved with the players name.
Personally, I am not too comfortable around the knife without safety glasses because it looks sharp enough to cut your eye by just looking at it. If either of the recipients decides to use the award to carve their Halloween pumpkins this year, they will probably end up cutting through the table. I feel legally obligated to suggest that you use a plastic knife in lieu of the combat knife if you choose to start a Black Death Award at your workplace.
Saturday was awesome. I hate to mention the weather again in one of my blog posts, but it happened to be perfect. Black Knights Alley was fun and festive with the smell of grilled food in the air, good tunes from the live band Hudson Blue and the men’s and women’s basketball, cross country and track & field teams keeping the kids entertained with games and face painting. The game itself was fantastic. It was fun watching the offense run and pitch their way down the field and the defense coming up with some big stops.
In other action, women’s soccer picked up a couple of Patriot
