Army West Point Athletics
Black Knight Blog - December
November 03, 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
October
November
Thursday, Jan. 1
WELCOME 2009!
This is Mady Salvani taking care of New Year’s Day blog. There is a lot for me to look back on with fond memories. For me, being present when Army won the 2008 Patriot League women’s soccer tournament and earning the trip to the NCAA Tournament was very special. I have been at Army a long time and my “dream” is going to the NCAA Tournament.
I have been very lucky. I have worked various NCAA Lacrosse Tournaments over the years along with the NCAA Gymnastics Tournament in 2005 and will host again in 2010. Last winter the Black Knights hosted the NCAA Rifle Championships; I went with softball to the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and witnessed an Army win. I traveled with women’s basketball to the NCAA Division II Tournament in1984 when the “Lady Knights” reached the Sweet 16 and in 1988 at the Division II East-Regional Tournament.
I guess I am greedy because I want to attend as many NCAA Tournaments as I can in the few years I have left working in Athletic Communications. I have been to every bowl game the football team has taken and I am very excited about the future with our new coach Rich Ellerson.
I never met Coach Ellerson before Army’s press conference Tuesday afternoon at Randall Hall, but knew from a distance his older brother John Ellerson, captain of the 1962 football team. No, I was not working at West Pont when John Ellerson played football, but I was on board in the Gifts Program Office in Headquarters Building (600) when he was a young captain working in the Superintendent’s Office as his Aide.
My friend Maureen Tohill was his secretary and she had a terrible crush on him. So I knew everything about him because she would constantly talk about him how handsome he is, how tall he is, what a great athlete he is, how he smiled at her when she typed a memo for him, and oh yes, I was constantly told how he was captain of the football team.
Pat Riedel was the Supt’s secretary for several generals before retiring and I called her after realizing the connection with our new coach. She couldn’t believe that the former aide, who sat next to her office, went on to become a Major General.
I have not made any New Year’s Resolutions I never keep them and there is no point to pretend to do so. New Year’s Eve I went with my office maters to Burger King for lunch, then we scattered later in the afternoon to head to parties or home. With the wind howling and the cold front coming in, I headed for home and my pets. I put the heat up high and proceeded to read a book Brian Gunning lent me on the Army-Carlisle football game of 1912. It’s a great book and has a lot of history in it.
Gunning and Tim (Volkmann) went with their “significant others” to a house party hosted by Brian’s girlfriend across the river in Westchester, N.Y., while Tracy (Nelson) stayed local and went to a party in beautiful downtown Highland Falls. Shak (Ryan Yanoshak) was with the hockey team on a road trip, Mark (Brumbaugh) is at home in Rochester, N.Y., while Bob Beretta spent a peaceful night and well deserved rest with his family after working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the previous week on the release for our new football coach.
For now I wish everyone a Happy 2009!
Wednesday, Dec. 31
Looking Back At 2008 ...
Good afternoon Army fans! I hope to find all of you well on this blustery New Year's Eve (at least that's what it's like outside here at West Point at the moment). Tracy Nelson here pinch-hitting for Ryan Yanoshak, who is currently on what probably seems like an 18-hour bus ride out to Ohio State with the hockey team. Shak, I don't envy you a bit! However, with this being the last blog entry of 2008, it carries a lot of pressure. Usually New Year's Eve is spent looking back at highlights from the past year in between a few sips of champagne ... so, I figured I would do the same (minus the champagne!). Hey, just because bossman Bob is not in the office today doesn't mean that we can totally let loose! I will tell you, however, that we did have a good game of in-the-office football going on a little bit ago! With that, here's a look back at some of my favorite highlights from the past year at Army, some in athletics, some totally unrelated ... I must warn you that my brain is all over the place, so I'm just going to type as I sift through things here ...
Last year, I rang in New Year's with some very good friends over a heated game of Cranium here at West Point ... we played girls vs. boys ... I will not elaborate on the defeated boys team members, but the girls (myself, assistant women's basketball coach Maureen Magarity and athletic trainer Jen Murphy) kicked some boy behind! I hope they are ready for a rematch tonight!
I remember getting socked with winter storms last year, but that didn't stop the hockey team from kicking off the New Year with a flurry of wins on their way to the Atlantic Hockey regular season title ... Shak will not hesitate to show off his ring, so please don't be shy if you see him around! What a season for the hockey team last year. Much like this year, it was a bit of a slow start, but they really turned things up when it counted. Let's hope history repeats itself!
Another team that enjoyed a fantastic 2008 season came as no surprise ... women's tennis captured its fourth-straight Patriot League title and got a bid to the NCAA Tournament as well. I cover women's tennis here, so I might be a bit biased, but their championship match vs. Bucknell was one of the most exciting events in Army athletics last year. You probably had to be there to fully appreciate the drama, but I just could not turn away from then-junior Sarah Giles-Madden's match, which eventually clinched the Army win! She was absolutely amazing under pressure, as Army beat Bucknell, 4-3. The good news for Army fans is that the team only lost two seniors to graduation, so more highlights are definitely on the way this year.
Later in the spring, the men's lacrosse team also had a strong year on their way to the 2008 Patriot League regular-season title. I will never forget the trip out to Long Island to work the Army-Duke lacrosse game in April. Growing up a huge Duke fan, it made it even more special! Don't worry, I didn't forget who signs my paycheck and rooted Army all the way! They put up a great fight, losing 10-6, in front of a fabulous crowd of over 5,000 as a part of the “Lead The Way Foundation Day Of Champions” in honor of former Duke Lacrosse player and Army Ranger Jimmy Regan who was killed in Iraq last year. That was the highlight of lax season for me last year, hands down!
Let's not forget about the 2008 NCAA Rifle Championships that were held here at West Point. I somehow got roped into being our very own rifle-guru, Mady Salvani's, little assistant for that adventure ... it actually was a really fun and interesting event for those of you that might not know that much about the sport. A portion of the event was held up at Christl Arena, which made for a nice venue for fans and teams alike. Army ended up finishing second, but did have an NCAA Champion in Chris Abalo, who has since graduated. Speaking of rifle, I can't forget to mention Stephen Scherer's remarkable run to making the U.S. Olympic team last summer. He was one of three West Pointers to compete in Beijing, as swimmer Stewart Glenister and head coach Mickie Wender teamed-up to represent American-Samoa at the Games. I can't imagine what the would have been like, but I'm sure that the Olympic experience ranks pretty high up there in lifetime highlights for all three individuals. Back in the day, I always wanted to be an Olympic figure skater, but I'll leave that alone ... it's for another blog entirely.
Gosh, it's hard to remember much more from the spring and I spent most of my summer designing media guides, making trips to the beach or attending a couple friends' weddings! Looking back at the fall, we had a couple of teams do extremely well in the fall.
I'll start of with volleyball. I'm a little bit partial towards them since I cover them all year and have become very good friends with head coach Alma Kovaci and her assistant Jeremy Sands. They are wonderful to work with and put together one of the best seasons in Academy history in 2008. Thanks in large part to a phenomonal group of seniors that included Liz Lazzari, Jamie Clark, Briana Stremick and Rachael Breinling, the team went 26-4 on the year. Without a doubt, one of the highlights for myself to witness came during the final match of the regular season vs. powerhouse American. Although Army had beaten them twice before, I had never seen it happen with my own two eyes. I wasn't here when it happened in 2006 and in 2007, they beat the Eagles on the road. This year proved to be the most exciting match I had ever seen live. Army was clicking on all cylinders and you could could feel the excitement throughout Gillis Field House all afternoon. They wanted this one bad and it would mean sharing the regular season championship with American. The match went to four sets, but in the end, the Black Knights pulled it off, 3-1! I will admitt that I was secretly clapping under the table while doing the stats! Kudos to Alma and the girls for a great year!
It was a year of transition for the football team, as the Black Knights embarked on a triple-option offense that hadn't been implemented at West Point for some time. They showed some signs of real progress, beating teams like Louisiana Tech and Rice throughout the year. The departure of Stan Brock at the end of the season left an opening that just last week was filled by new head coach Rich Ellerson. He was officially welcomed to West Point in a formal press conference yesterday and you can already feel the buzz of excitement and urgency around here. I have not had the pleasure of meeting him yet, but from what everyone else is saying, he's the right man for the job and 2009 should be off to a great start.
Well, look at the time ... and the legnth of this blog! Perhaps I should pinch hit more often. I hope you all enjoyed just a little trip down memory lane. Of course I'm sure that I left out some other events, but what can I say, it's New Year's Eve and I'm finding it hard to focus! I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year and I look forward to checking in come 2009!
Tuesday, Dec. 30
Short and sweet
Good evening Black Knight blog readers. Annie here. My apologies for the late entry (and yes, I owe the office a buck or something for it). As you probably already well know, today was a big day, because Rich Ellerson was announced as the 36th head coach of the Army Football program. Hopefully you surfed on over to goarmysports.com around 2:00 p.m. today and caught the free ITT Knightvision broadcast of the press conference. In case you didn't, that video stream should be archived (which is also free for viewing). It was a great introduction to this latest leader of the storied Army football team. I actually missed part of it as I was setting up for the reception immediately following, but I know that my coworkers have been hard at work transcribing quotes, which are posted to the main site, along with the official releases and other information about Coach Ellerson, and I look forward to reviewing that later. If you're also interested to hear what was said in the introductions and in answer to the press' questions, you too can read up on all of that here.
I have been busy trying to square away everything in anticipation of a few days off. I will not be traveling "home" this year, as airfare is a little bit much, and getting into and out of the Seattle area has been anything but easy the last week or two. But sticking around West Point will offer a great chance to catch up on many of the things that need to be done around our current home here. So until next time, I wish you all a very Happy New Year! Be safe, and have lots of fun!
GO ARMY!
Monday, Dec. 29
Back in the Groove
Welcome back to the regularly-scheduled blog rotation. Brian Gunning at the keyboard on this Monday afternoon. Please forgive Bob for his late blog entry. If you could see what he's had to pull off in the last couple of weeks, you would be amazed at his unbelievable work ethic and dedication to West Point. I should actually re-phrase that. Anyone who knows Bob wouldn't be surprised. He exhibits that type of thing just about every day. It has definitely been a learning experience for myself and the rest of my colleagues in the office. Unfortunately, I don't have such an excuse for being a little late today.
It has been a very interesting day. Nothing like coming back from vacation (very surprisingly, no air travel troubles) and having to get ready for one of the biggest events you can have. Like I said, Bob did most of the work while we were all enjoying some time off so I haven't had a lot to do, but he definitely saves some of the fun stuff for me. In between getting the materials ready for tomorrow night's men's basketball game at Florida Gulf Coast, I've been on the horn trying to get contact some of new head football coach Rich Ellerson's contemporaries and former players. One of the things we do to prepare for a big announcement like this is contact people that know the new person to get quotes. We can say and write all we want, but some words from someone that most people are familiar with and hold in pretty high regard lends a lot more credibility than anything we can say. I don't want to name drop and spoil some of tomorrow's fun, but there have definitely been some very recognizable names on my call list. Not to speak too soon, but based on the comments I've heard today, I think we hit a home run with Coach Ellerson. I can't wait to meet him and start working with him.
This isn't my first expericence with this kind of thing. It must be my sparkling personality that makes my bosses feel comfortable giving me assignments like this. I had to to do this same thing when we made some coaching announcements at one of my previous stops, and I was able to get to talk with people like Mike Shanahan, Terry Donahue, Dick Vermeil and Shannon Sharpe. It always surprised me how friendly and helpful these guys were. Not that I thought they were bad guys, but talking to someone like me obviously isn't too high of a priority on their to do list. Every time I've done this though, they people I call have been very gracious. Today was nothing different.
Unfortuantely, one of the side effects of tomorrow's football press conference is that I had to forgo my trip to Florida with the men's basketball team. The boys are down in Ft. Myers getting ready to face Florida Gulf Coast. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. Tomorrow's result could determine the rest of my travel schedule. A BK victory would make them 2-0 since I started in games I didn't go to (last year's game at VMI which was held on the same day as the Army-Navy football game). That's one stat I better not tell Coach Crews or he'll ban me from the bus.
That does it for me today. I hope everyone had a great holiday and was able to spend some time with their family. Here's to a healthy and happy new year!
GO ARMY!
Saturday, Dec. 27
Mea Culpa, Holiday Style
First of all, let me apologize to all of our faithful BK Blog followers. If you look back through the last week of entries, or even the last month for that matter, you’ll find one lonely hole. A date for which no blog was submitted. Well, that hole was not the result of our hard-working staff taking a much-deserved holiday break for Christmas. That hole was the result of me, Bob Beretta, missing his second entry in the last three rotations. I joined the blog rotation following football season, hoping that my schedule would allow for regular contributions. Instead, I’m batting .500 for making my deadlines. Now in baseball, .500 is MVP material. In the world of media deadlines, .500 will put you on the unemployment line.
In the spirit of full disclosure though, the BK Blog entry completely slipped my mind with the happenings surrounding our football program the last week. Despite it being a holiday (and normally quiet) week, it’s been quite a whirlwind few days. I was fortunate enough to join our Director of Athletics, Kevin Anderson, during the interview process to identify our new head football coach in Washington, D.C., last weekend. Due to the impending snowstorm, we departed West Point on Friday morning and headed to the train station in Newark, N.J. We had planned to fly out later on Friday afternoon, but due to the horrible forecasts, we decided to rely on Amtrak to get us to our nation’s capital. What a wise decision that proved to be (thanks Maj. Chris Kingston), especially after learning that nearly 700 flights in the New York area airports were cancelled due to the snowstorm that pounded the East Coast.
We conducted interviews in D.C. on Saturday and Sunday, and were welcomed back to the Military Academy by a foot of freshly fallen snow. Special thanks to Mady and “Shak” (Ryan Yanoshak) for clearing off my car after the first eight-inch dumping on Saturday. If it weren’t for that, I might still be trying to dig out the old Honda from a snow bank. As it was, several inches covered our cars following another belt of snow on Sunday morning.
On Monday, I was able to steal a few hours away for some much-needed Christmas shopping, then headed to work on Tuesday. Shortly after arriving at my home in Monroe (about 25 minutes from West Point) on Tuesday evening, I received a call from Mr. Anderson with oustanding news ... we had secured a new leader for our football as Rich Ellerson had agreed to become our new head coach. After discussing our release strategy (Mr. Anderson agreed to release the news as soon as possible as a favor to the administration at Coach Ellerson’s former school, Cal Poly), we decided to make the announcement on Friday morning to be followed by an introductory press conference on Tuesday.
That meant spending all of Tuesday night (and early Wednesday morning) developing the press release to meet a Wednesday deadline. The release needed to be completed by that time to gain the appropriate approvals before release. With Thursday being Christmas and folks unavailable to provide feedback on that day due to the holiday, we needed to have everything wrapped up by the close of business on Wednesday, which was Christmas Eve. Needless to say, it was a hectic few days. Christmas, work-wise, was reasonably quiet for me, but for an 11 pm EST conversation with Coach Ellerson to review our plan one last time. At that point, we were on point for Friday’s release.
Having spent about 45 minutes with our new coach last Saturday in Washington prior to his official interview, and several subsequent phone conversations, let me definitively state that the leadership of West Point absolutely got this hire RIGHT. Rich Ellerson will have Army in a bowl game very quickly, quite possibly as early as next December. Fans will love his passion, his intensity and his devotion to his craft, and. specifically, to West Point. When we announced that Stan Brock would not return as head coach on the morning of Dec. 12, Rich Ellerson called our department within two hours to express his interest in the position. It was at that time that he told me that he had an opt-out clause in his contract for only two positions, and one was the Army head job. Hailing from a family of West Pointers, Ellerson termed it his “dream” job.
Not only is Ellerson a phenomenal football coach, he is a perfect fit for the Academy, from the schemes he utilizes on both sides of the ball to the love he has for West Point. He grew up a self-proclaimed “Army Brat,” and in his words, as a kid, viewed West Point as “the center of the universe.” The job he did at Cal Poly was simply amazing. The Mustangs have reeled off six consecutive seven-win seasons, making two trips to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in that time. To put things into proper perspective, Cal Poly did not have a single winning season since 1997 (and only three since 1990) prior to his arrival in San Luis Obispo. During our screening process we could not find anyone with a single negative thing to say about Rich Ellerson. His track record on and off the field is impeccable and his roots to West Point and option football run deep (dating all the way back to his days as defensive coordinator at Hawai’i, where he teamed with the Warirors’ offensive coordinator, a young option guru named Paul Johnson). Roll it into one special package and you have the perfect individual to lead Army’s football program back to national prominence.
Don’t let the fact that he’s spent the last eight years at the FCS level impact your impression of whether he can make the jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks. This man is well-respected throughout college football circles, no matter the division. And he remains well-liked in every market in which he has coached. Since we made the announcement about 30 hours ago, I’ve heard from reporters in California, Arizona, Hawai’i and New York, among others, all wishing to join our press/teleconference on Tuesday. That’s usually a tell-tale sign of the impact an individual has made in his market ... if reporters want to follow a coach to his new market (in this case several stops removed), that’s a sign of the respect a coach has earned. And finally, all Army fans should need to know is that former head coach Jim Young has publically and privately endorsed Rich Ellerson ... in my opinion, a higher compliment cannot be granted. So, Army fans were delivered a fabulous Christmas present on Friday. And I was honored to be involved in some small way. Unfortunately, my Christmas Day Blog suffered from my “distraction” but I figured I’d try to make amends with a little “inside” information on how things went down this past week.
Now, for some breaking news on the football front ... the Army Athletic Association will provide FREE audio and video streaming coverage of Coach Ellerson’s official introductory press conference in Randall Hall Auditorium on Tuesday, beginning at 2 p.m. Knight Vision cameras will capture all the action for subscribers and non-subscribers, alike. I can tell you that even though I’ve had several lengthy conversations with Coach already, and own a bit of insight into his plan to rebuild the Army program, I am very much looking forward to his first meeting with the media as Army’s new football coach. Make it a point to log on to goARMYsports.com on Tuesday if you can. It promises to be must-see streaming for those cyber-based fans. We will archive the press conference on our site for those unable to log on live, while providing full coverage on the site as well, complete with a full photo gallery courtesy of Mady Salvani.
So, I hope that explains my reason for missing my scheduled Christmas Day blog entry. While my colleagues have been dutifully meeting their deadlines from all over the country, I lapsed in my responsibilities from the home office at West Point. My heartfelt apologies to all.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the entries by the AC staff from their respective homes during the holidays. It’s been nice to see our staff members enjoying some well-deserved time at home with their families. In fact, I am writing this entry from my own in-laws’ home in Central New York, traveling three hours to the North and West after releasing our football news on Friday. While it’s been nice catching up on what my colleagues have done the last week or so, I have to admit, it’s been a little lonely in the office without their friendly faces. As we head to the New Year, I’d like to take this time to publically thank every one of them Mady, Trace, Gunny, Shak, Volk, Annie and Mark for the incredible jobs they do. The daily BK Blog that we introduced in August has hopefully provided our fans with a bit of insight into each of their personal lives. I can honestly say, they are stars in this profession, but even more highly regarded as individuals. They are true assets to our athletic department and I’d like to praise each one for the role they play in forming what I consider to be the most talented and selfless Athletic Communications staff in the country, bar none. Thanks guys for all you do. You’re the best!!!
Until my next BK Blog (hopefully, I’ll actually meet that deadline), be well and GO ARMY!!! Here’s wishing a blessed and healthy New Year to all.
Friday, December 26
Can you say that you had a better holiday season than Rich Ellerson? I, Mark Brumbaugh, got some new dress shirts and ties to add to the daily rotation and a book Ryan Yanoshak might want to steal from me (if he hasn’t read it already), but I did not get the Army head football coaching job.
I imagine that you checked the front page or saw the breaking news alert on SportsCenter (one of the perks of SC going live) on your way here to the BK Blog, so I don’t need to explain that Rich Ellerson is now in charge of the Army football program.
If you’re running to catch some good post-Christmas deals or returning that awful gift and do not have time to read up on the new football boss (and there is a lot to read), I’ll summarize:
Rich Ellerson, the son of a West Point grad and brother of two West Point grads, brings nearly 30 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Black Knights. For the last eight years, he has been turning Cal Poly into a Division I Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse. This past season, his record breaking triple-option offense (which he originally learned from highly-acclaimed option coach Paul Johnson, former head coach of Navy and currently in control at Georgia Tech) and dominating defense were able to defeat Football Bowl Subdivision San Diego State and narrowly lost to Big 10 Conference power Wisconsin in overtime. Prior to taking over at Cal Poly, Ellerson garnered national acclaim when he created the pressure, gap-control "Desert Swarm" defensive scheme and coached the likes of NFL stars Tedy Bruschi and Chris McAllister at the University of Arizona.
An option-expert and defensive genius with strong West Point ties? Sounds like a better fit than my new shirts.
I was certainly thrilled to hear such news while I continue this week’s trend of blogging from our original home offices. As Tim Volkmann mentioned earlier, I am also from the Rochester, N.Y. area, to which I returned Tuesday night. I knew I was home when I came down Empire Blvd. at the south end of Irondequoit Bay (part of the ultimate snow machine known as Lake Ontario) and could see the glow of Wegman’s supermarket above the trees on the east side of the bay. Reminder No.2 that I was home was when I turned into my neighborhood and saw snow banks along the road at mailbox height. The town of Penfield snow plow drivers had clearly made runs with the side plow to push the banks back. Unfortunately you can only push so much snow off to the side before it just caves back into the road, thus an additional plow on the side of the truck off the ground pushes snow back further on people’s lawns without tearing up their grass. The catch for the driver of the plow though is not to take out mailboxes. I think the most unique thing about this art is that you can look at the banks and see how close the plow came to your mailbox. I don’t think a plow has taken ours out yet.
While my home falls within the border of Penfield, N.Y., I never say that I am from Penfield. This part of Penfield is within the Webster Central School District and the Webster, N.Y. 14580 ZIP code, so most people think it is Webster anyways. Hence, I say I am from Webster when I need to be more specific than just “Rochester.” The neighboring neighborhood to mine is actually called “Pen-Web Park.” When houses catch on fire or bees attack on my street, the West Webster Fire Department shows up. The closest Wegmans is not referred to as the Penfield or Webster Wegmans (there are Wegmans stores closer to the town centers referred to as such), but the “Eastway Wegmans.” To recap, I live in the Webster Central School district near the Eastway Wegmans that is serviced by the West Webster Fire Department within the town of Penfield, a suburb of the city of Rochester. Make sense?
In addition to some nice gifts, I had a wonderful Christmas day. I was able to see some family and stuff myself with ham and Christmas cookies. My parents recorded the Army women’s hoops Maggie Dixon Classic Game at Madison Square Garden and enjoyed showing everyone that my co-workers and I got plenty of face time on ESPNU.
I was able to give Pete Dawkins another honor. His bobblehead was officially inducted into my personal collection where the likes of a half-bird/half-man Baltimore Orioles mascot, Rochester Red Wings legends Cal Ripken, Jr., Mike Mussina, Curt Schilling, Joe Altobelli and Justin Morneau, Yankees-great and a fellow born-on-June 19ther Lou Gehrig, Bills-mediocres Eric Moulds and Drew Bledsoe, Rochester Americans legend Jody Gage and a hockey-playing Donald Duck are also immortalized in bobblehead form.
I’m off to visit with more family. The rest of my holiday break will be filled with some quality relaxation time and reading. One of the books I received was Don Cherry’s latest (if you don’t know who he is, you need to watch more hockey), so I better finish that before getting back to West Point since Shak will be all over that.
Speaking of hockey, Army's team may end up playing my alma mater, UMass in their upcoming tournament at Dartmouth. It will be weird rooting against the maroon and white, but I know where my direct deposit comes from. At least I can still root for UMass in hoops against St. Bonaventure in February. UMass will be going for their seventh straight win over the Bonnies.
Happy Holidays and Go Army!
Wednesday, Dec. 24
If you're reading this blog right now in an attempt to steal some time away from those long-lost relatives, I hope you are doing so with a glass of milk and a couple (or four) Christmas cookies at your side! Tracy Nelson here on this lovely x-mas eve. I'm writing to you from my hometown of Salamanca, N.Y., which is located just about an hour south of Buffalo - so not too far from Tim Volkmann or Mark Brumbaugh. However, we spend enough time together back at West Point that we're avoiding one another over the holidays!
I have come to really love this time of year for the main reason that it generally means a pretty healthy break from work - this year eight days off for me thanks to the generosity of the women's basketball schedule. It's a time to re-charge the batteries and get ready to hunker down for the rest of the winter season. More importantly though, it's time that myself and my colleagues get to spend with their families without the distraction of a weekend packed full of games. Don't get me wrong, my family loves when they come to visit West Point. They can generally attend events from about six different sports in any given two-day span of a visit! It's nice to spend time with them at home (also with my cats, who I miss dearly when I'm away)!
I've been back home since Saturday night and have seen nothing but snow since arriving. That's pretty much par-for-the-course here in good old Western New York. Sunday and Monday dumped about 12 inches on the ground, so I've been helping my mom shovel in between trips inside to get more cookies! Things have been pretty quiet since then with last-minute shopping trips, cooking and wrapping in the mix.
Last night was a very rare and treasured opportunity for me, as I got to attend a basketball game as a fan!! Those are always few and far between, so I relish the chance. Salamanca is only about 20 minutes west of Olean, N.Y., and the home of my beloved alma mater, St. Bonaventure. For those of you interested in a little athletic communications trivia, SBU is also the alma mater of our very own Bob Beretta. I have no idea if that got me the job, but I'm sure that it didn't hurt. We Bonnies tend to stick together!! Bob gradutated in a year that I will not publicize, but what I will say is that he had a very successful career on the baseball diamond. He lettered all four years and graduated as SBU's single-season and career leader in saves. He was also the starting hurler when the Bonnies played their first Atlantic 10 game and also picked up the save during their first A-10 victory. Based on what I've seen so far, his daughter, Julia, may be following closely in dad's footsteps!
Anyway, last night the Bonnies took on Niagara, a local rival out of Buffalo. One thing that I really miss is the loyalty of Bonaventure basketball fans. Even with over a foot of snow on the ground and the student population off for winter break, over 4,300 people packed the 6,000-seat Reilly Center Arena, which has since also added the name Bob Lanier court after the SBU basketball legend. Unfortunately, the Bonnies just couldn't handle the pressure and quickness of the Purple Eagles and went down in defeat. Never fear, however, I had a great time visiting with some old friends and enjoying the RC atmosphere - one of the best in the region!!
Well, I think that about does it for me today. Looks like we're having a break from the snow. I hope the same can be said for West Point! I wish all of you a wonderful, safe holiday and thanks for checking in!
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Hello loyal Black Knight Blog readers. Tim Volkmann checking in today from my (original) home office on Kreag Rd. in Fairport, N.Y. (Read: my parents’ house).
It is holiday week and I pulled into town last night after a snowy journey north from West Point to spend Christmas with my mom, dad and little sister. My big sister will also be showing up at some point this weekend with her boyfriend Jeff so it will be nice to spend some time with my family (well, maybe not Jeff because he is a Dallas Cowboys fan, who also conveniently’ roots for the Miami Dolphins when they are doing well. Ha. I hope he enjoys the sweet Cowboys fuzzy slippers I got for him for Christmas.)
For those of you not familiar with New York State geography, Fairport is a suburb of Rochester, located about a 15-minute ride east of the city. Rochester is the third largest city in the state (behind Buffalo and the Big Apple) and has a pretty faithful sports following. Between the Buffalo Bills and all the other professional New York sports franchises (read: the New York Yankees), as well as the Rochester Red Wings (which are the Triple-A baseball affiliate of the Minnesota Twins) and the Rochester Americans (the AHL farm club of the Florida Panthers), I grew up having plenty of sports to watch.
There are a number of West Pointers with ties to Rochester. My dad works at a company called Priority Thinking (www.PriorityThinking.com) part time, and two of his co-workers are West Point grads. I always make sure to send home a media guide or two for the guys to look at.
Probably the most well-know Army athlete with Rochester ties is Don Holleder. The football standout was born in Buffalo, but moved with his family to Webster (another suburb of Rochester, which is also the hometown of current athletic communications intern Mark Brumbaugh) when he was seven. After graduating from Aquinas Institute as a three-sport star in football, baseball (he played first base) and basketball (center), Holleder received offers from many colleges (Notre Dame, Princeton, Navy), but fulfilled his father’s dream for him when he chose to attend West Point. He went on to garner three All-America awards as an end, before switching to quarterback at the request of Coach Earl Blaik. His final game a 14-6 win over Navy before graduating in 1956. He also lettered three times on the hardwood, leading the Cadets in rebounding as a junior.
Achieving the rank of Major, Holleder went on to serve in Korea and then volunteered for duty in Vietnam where he was honored with several awards, including the Soldier’s Medal, a Purple Heart and a Silver Star. An operations officer for an infantry brigade, he was killed in action on Oct. 17, 1967 while helping evacuate a unit of his troops that had fallen under an enemy ambush. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors and was later inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame as not only an end, but as a quarterback as well.
Each year, the Rochester Press Radio Club holds a dinner to honor not only local, but national athletes that have distinguished themselves during the year. One of the major awards that has been presented annually for the last 22 years is the Major Donald Holleder Award, given to a person “whose active life has exhibited the highest level of sportsmanship, character, courage and achievement consistent with the name of Don Holleder.” Super Bowl-winning coach of the New York Giants Tom Coughlin garnered the honor in 2007, while names such as Jim Boeheim, Gale Sayers, Marv Levy, Jeff Blatnick and Wilma Rudolph have all been honored with the award. The inaugural award in 1985 was given to another West Point cadet that Army football fans might recognize Pete Dawkins.
Well, mom just called me for dinner, so I guess it is time to wrap things up. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.
I want to give a quick thanks to Tony Wells (and the rest of the “Agency”) for all the information he helped me with about Don Holleder. Thanks again.
Monday, Dec. 22
Mady Salvani taking care of Monday’s blog. It is just a few days before Christmas and most of Army’s AC (Athletic Communications) staff is either home with family and friends for a short break or their way.
The weekend weather threw a crimp into a lot of folk’s plans. As Tracy Nelson said in her Friday blog, we took a trip to the Cadet Book Store and to the Cadet Store. When we started, there was just a snowflake, but when we finished we walked out into a full fledged winter storm.
Me, I like storms as long as I don’t have to drive too far in them. Every time we have a winter storm, I have visions of sugar plums dancing thru my head thinking about rushing home, grabbing a good book and sitting on the couch with two golden retrievers and a cat.
That is my dream, but the majority of times we have a game that night and wind up trying first to get up the hill by our office to get to the main road, then having to take two more hills to arrive safely at Hollender.
But Friday there was no game, though we did have one Saturday and Sunday and the weather wasn’t too accommodating either day.
So after returning to the office Friday afternoon, I grabbed my camera and packed a few things and went home. On the way I took a shot of Lusk Reservoir and some of the pine trees covered with snow. Though it is dangerous for folks who have to drive in snowy conditions, it is beautiful to behold.
When I arrived home my dogs were outside anxiously awaiting because I love walking them during a storm. But neither one is very good on the leash, which is my fault, that is why I only walk one at-a-time. The one left behind (in the house) spends the whole time howling or barking I could hear Bear (the younger one) halfway up the street. Kiley, the older one, pulls the whole time and when I switched dogs he spent his time barking.
The rest of the night I spent shoveling. My goal was to get up early Saturday morning to go shopping as it was the last weekend and Sunday’s weather forecast wasn’t very good. But neither was Saturday as the roads were slick, some weren’t even plowed by my house, so I spent most of the morning shoveling. I lost track of time and had to race to Christl Arena for the game with 45 minutes to spare. The best part about the game was that we won and wins make it better.
Tracy Nelson and Ryan Yanoshak were both planning on heading home one to upstate New York and the other Pennsylvania on Sunday Tracy in the a.m. and Shak after the basketball game. We kept telling them it would be better to leave Saturday then wait. Of course that means missing Joe Sottolano’s Christmas party, which is always a blast.
However, both relented and headed home much to my relief. Annie Holliday, Mark Bromberg and I went to Joe’s party Saturday night and had a great time, but because of the weather, a lot of folks had to cancel.
Sunday did not start out the way I wanted it was snowing and sleeting. The men’s game was at 1 p.m. but I had church, slippery roads and a lot of shoveling as I live at the dead end of a street and get the brunt of the street’s snow from the plows.
After getting the shoveling done, I went to get ready only to see the plows return. This time it wasn’t as much to shovel and all was forgiven.
The men’s basketball game vs. VMI was a fast-paced game and exciting. Army took a nice lead, but VMI put together a late run to pull out win.
Very few folks made it to the game as it was snowing and sleeting most of the time, but afterwards the sun came out for a short period.
Brian Gunning left early Monday morning to spend Christmas at his brother’s family along with his folks, while Mark Brumbaugh and Tim Volkmann, both Rochester natives, will be heading home Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Annie Holliday will be spending her first Christmas at her new home in Highland Falls with her husband, but they might make take a trip to Philadelphia to visit family sometime this week. She will be off next week and was originally hoping to go someplace warm, but I convinced her that snow skiing is just as much fun as water skiing.
Director Bob Beretta will spend the time with his wife Jen and daughter Julia along with the family dog Maxine at their home in Monroe, and they will be joined by his mother and sister Christmas morning.
I am headed, along with my dogs Bear and Kiley, to East Longmeadow, Mass., to spend Christmas, at my brother’s house with his wife, two daughters and son. It should be interesting as Kiley likes to recline on the couch and Bear likes to mark his territory, so I imagine I will be taking the “boys” for long walks in the country.
Merry Christmas!
Friday, Dec. 19
Code RED!
Hello Army fans! I hope you're all surviving the first winter storm of the year. Tracy Nelson coming to you from the comfort of my office. Just because it's a Code Red (aka don't come to work) at West Point, doesn't mean that the world of athletics stops. I had plenty to do today in preparation for tomorrow's women's basketball game vs. Presbyterian ...
For those of you joining us from the outside world, the Hudson Valley and surrounding moutains can really make it a "bear" to get into work for those that may live over the mountain. Therefore, we are often hit with a Code White, which happened very early this morning, meaning that there is a warning. While doing some last-minute shopping at the cadet store up the hill, I got word from a couple of the employees that the code was switched to Code Red. That means the place shuts down and I get to go home! With just this blog holding me up, I can feel a nice afternoon in front of the TV watching a marathon of Gossip Girl: Season I:) Nothing beats mindless TV and soup on a day like today. Since I've already taken care of the latter, I better get cracking on the former ...
While I'm at home taking advantage of some forced time off, I can only feel sorry for the Presbyterian team that is on its way up to West Point in this blizzard. Ryan (Shak) literally just took a yard stick outside after I asked him to tell me how much snow was on the ground. I wish that I had that impact on all people! The snow started around noon and we've already got at least 3 1/2 inches out there. Presbyterian played on Thursday night on its home court in Clinton, S.C., and have since been bussing the team up here through a white-out. I got a call from the coaching staff this morning and they were up in Virginia, so let's hope that they make it in time for tomorrow's game at 1 p.m.! In case of any changes, delays, etc., stay tuned to www.goARMYsports.com for details.
As you can imagine, I have the energy to write a novel this afternoon, but I am going to stop myself in exchange for a nap/TV extravaganza! This does it for me until after the holiday, so stay warm and enjoy any and all time away from work!
GO ARMY! BEAT PRESBYTERIAN!
Thursday, Dec. 18
Good afternoon Black Knight blog readers! Resident office coordinator Annie Holliday is with you today. I’m finally sitting down after taking care of the day’s tasks and particularly auction stuff. I’ve driven across post and back more times than normal today, and every single time I make the turn onto Howard road, there are cadets walking down to Ike Hall with arms full of books, and many more headed back up the hill with empty arms and great big smiles. To any of those students out there keeping up tabs on the Athletic Communications blog, have a safe and happy winter leave! You’ve worked hard and deserve it!
Everyone is gearing up for a big winter storm this weekend. Tracy Nelson said the song “Winter Wonderland” was running through her head all morning. I think she’s secretly excited about the 8-12 inches of snow we’re about to get, even though it’s going to put a wrench in the plans of many who wanted to travel tomorrow. As of now the basketball games scheduled for this weekend are on, but if they are cancelled, that information will be posted immediately to the main website (www.goARMYsports.com). Otherwise, plan to be there! (Or watch them on KnightVision!)
Last week was the annual gift shop sale, and I know I wasn’t the only one to take advantage of the opportunity to buy a gift or four for several of my friends and family members. If you are still trying to find the perfect item for your favorite Army fan, give the on-line gift shop a visit! The Nike Camo hats from Army-Navy game day are still available, and seriously, they’re awesome and deserve a spot in every Army fan’s collection of cheer gear.
Well before I get hit with that $1 fine, I should close this out! Enjoy your holiday celebrations, Black Knight fans, and I'll see you after Christmas!
Go Army!
Wednesday, Dec. 17
I'll Buy That For a Dollar
Greetings from Brian Gunning this afternoon. I'm now $1 lighter since this post didn't come until after 3 p.m. We've decided to institute a little fine system here in the office, and one of the transgressions is not completing your turn in the blog rotation by 3 p.m. of your assigned day. I may have to appeal though. I had some minor computer issues this morning - if you consider not being able to turn it on minor. If I don't win my appeal, someone is getting 100 pennies.
I have to say I've been a little off this week. We haven't had a men's basketball game since last Saturday and I haven't figured out what to do with myself. We started the season with seven games in 17 days, had a week off and then played three games in six days last week. I know I was all kinds of discombobulated with the travel and everything so I can't imagine how the players and coaches felt. I talked to a couple guys in the office last week after we got back from Penn State and you could tell how exhausted they were.
There hasn't been much rest for the weary, though. While I've enjoyed not having to turn game notes around every other day, the cadets are in the middle of their term-ending exams. When I think back to my final-exam weeks, I realize how easy I had it compared to these guys. I have yet to hear about a West Point "Munchie Machine" that drives around to all the barracks and hands out free coffee, hot chocolate, cookies and brownies. For any Ithaca College alumns out there, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
It should be an interesting match up on Sunday when VMI comes to town. Neither team has played since Dec. 13 because of the academic schedules. While Army is one of the top defensive teams in the Patriot League, VMI is the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, averaging 103 points per game. They also lead the country with almost 14 three-pointers per game. One of the more interesting notes about the Keydets is that their leading scorers, who are both over 20 points per game, are twin brothers - Chavis and Travis Holmes.
I saw assistant coach Jim Platt yesterday and inquired about how you defend a team that plays like this. He just kind of grinned and then gave me a shrug. Coach Platt is the Black Knights' defensive guru so I'm sure he has something up his sleeve, but he didn't want to let too much out of the bag. He must've seen the blog schedule.
I think our shot clock operator can go ahead and call in sick on Saturday, but don't think VMI can't play defense. They like to press and are averaging 16.5 swipes per game, so the Army guards will have to be extra careful with the rock.
Don't be surprised if Coach Crews tries to sneak '08 grad and current athletic intern Grant Carter into the game. Grant hit a three-pointer with less than five seconds to go last year down in Lexington, Va., to give the Black Knights a 71-69 win.
With exams going on, every thing is pretty quite around here in terms of competition so there isn't a whole lot of action to report on. In fact, Saturday's women's basketball game against Presbyterian is the first game on the docket. Hopefully the ladies have more success than the men's team did against the Blue Hose earlier this year.
Some shameless plugs for the on-line auction .. be sure to check out some of the new items that will be going up soon along with the plethora of game-used camo helmets from the Army-Navy Classic. Mady, Shak and Tracy have been busy all afternoon putting packages together, taking photos and putting the items on the site. Shak came up with a hockey experience that is pretty awesome.
That's it for now. I think the next time I'm up on the blog, I'll be coming at you live from Florida as the men's team prepares to face Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 30. Hey, its' a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Go Army!
Tuesday, Dec. 16
Shooters First
Welcome back to the Black Knights blog . . . Mark Brumbaugh hosting today.
I don’t think that anyone was more relieved than me to learn yesterday that it takes 20 years to become fluent in USMA acronyms. If the deadline was six months, I would have requested a class or something to get caught up. I have certainly gotten much better though from the ODIA (Office of the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics) meeting back when I started here in August. In lieu of one of those UN earpiece things, Tim Volkmann had to translate the Administrations’ speeches for me. However, I still get stumped once in a while. Annie Holliday introduced me to “TEEs” in an email a couple weeks ago, and admittedly, I was clueless as to what it could possibly stand for.
If someone ever publishes the “UGUSMAA The Ultimate Guide to U.S. Military Academy Acronyms,” I will be first in line.
One helpful tool that Volk provided the office was a guide to the officer’s branch insignias. Now I know that if I see crossed cannons on someone’s uniform, they are in Field Artillery, a fancy looking building means the Corps of Engineers, etc.
One of the more unique ones is for Special Forces, which is two crossed arrows. I had the privilege of listening to an officer donning the crossed arrows, Maj. Colby Jenkins 99, speak to the sprint football team last week, as I was graciously invited to the team’s annual year-end banquet, and Jenkins was the guest speaker.
Jenkins was a four-year sprint football player, starting at fullback during his senior year. When he first started speaking I was surprised that he seemed nice enough to be a kindergarten teacher. That said, his message left no doubt that enemy combatants are in trouble when he is on a mission.
His message to the team was for them to think of themselves as “shooters first” as opposed to specialists in offense or defense. To illustrate his point, he told them about a mission he led in Afghanistan where his group landed on an enemy stronghold and ended up getting split up. However, with everyone from the doctor to the radio guy understanding the mission and thinking of themselves as shooters first, the team found their way back together and the mission was accomplished.
Applying that idea to football, if everyone one on a team thinks of themselves as team members first, above their specialty, that team will perform much better than one where everyone is focused soley on their individual role. Perhaps “shooters first” is an early front-runner for the sprint football team’s 2009 motto.
Another highlight of the banquet for me was getting to go inside Washington Hall, the center of dining for the Corps of Cadets. It’s certainly an impressive and massive building, most likely trumping the dining commons of just about any other college. The food we had was great, as well. I have pretty high standards for barbecue chicken, and I was not disappointed.
Enjoy the Holiday season.
Go Army! Beat the TEEs!
Notations: I have had a lot of firsts since my last blog entry on Dec. 4 ... first visit to Lincoln Financial Field: Fri., Dec. 5 ... first-time getting stopped by the Secret Service: Sat., Dec. 6 ... first-time seeing a U.S. President in person: Sat., Dec. 6 ... first-time listening to a speech in person from a U.S. President ... first-time in Madison Square Garden: Sun., Dec. 14 ... women’s hoops (Saturday at 1 p.m.) and (men’s hoops Sunday at 1 p.m.) will give West Point a solid weekend of basketball ... only 24 more days until the next home hockey game (Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.)
Monday, Dec. 15
Springtime in December?
Bob Beretta at BK Blog Central today ... good to be with you in cyberspace again.
You've got to love winter in the Northeast ... it's felt more like mid-January of late, then out of nowhere a 60-degree day today. While Shak (Ryan Yanoshak) was gathering up Athletic Communications members two-by-two on Friday, just in case, as we survived the heavy rains, we're all thinking it's time to break out the sun block and head over to Doubleday Field for a little baseball this afternoon. Well, it's not quite that balmy, but it sure makes you wonder what's going on around here.
So we had a busy weekend with a dominating men's basketball win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday and, of course, the third annual Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden yesterday. Always a thrill to play in the "World's Most Famous Arena." My role was to serve as color analyst on the Army Sports Network for both events. And while our broadcast location at MSG was one step off 34th Street, it was still a thrill to call another game at that venue. Our women hung tough against Rutgers, a Top 20 team (the game was much closer than the final score indicated), and the event provided West Point leadership an opportunity to showcase some of our fine traditions. A group of cadets unfurled a large flag on the court for the National Anthem; the Cadet Drill team performed during halftime of the Army-Rutgers game; and the Cadet Spirit Band and Rabble Rousers were out in full force. The folks at MSG put together a very moving tribute on the court between games (Connecticut and Penn State played in the nightcap of the women's basketball doubleheader) with all four teams participating, along with Jamie (Maggie's brother), Jule (Maggie's sister) and Marge (Maggie's mother), among others. It was quite a touching tribute and handled extremely well by all involved.
Things will quiet down around the Army sports scene this week as all West Point cadets dive head first into "TEE" Week. As in the case of most everything at the Academy, "TEE" is an acronym for Term-End Exams. I must admit that it's taken me almost 20 years to get used to the whole acronym thing here. In many cases the abbreviations make perfect sense. In some, they cause me to ponder. My favorite it "POV" which is the abbreviation for "Personally Owned Vehicle." Now wouldn't it be shorter to just say "CAR" or C-A-R? Just asking.
Other than a women's basketball game at home against Presbyterian on Saturday and a men's basketball game at home against VMI (which beat Kentucky earlier this year), we're pretty quiet in AC-Land until after Christmas. As Shak mentioned on Friday, it's a good time for us to get caught up on some media guides, and start plugging away (i.e. baseball) on others.
Big news out of the department on Friday was the change in leadership for our football program. I'd like to publically thank Stan Brock and his assistants for all they had done in our little corner of the world the past several years. Stan was tremendous to work with from an AC and Marketing point of view and someone with whom we enjoyed working greatly. It appears the process will move along swiftly, so stay tuned to goARMYsports.com for any updates that may come down.
Today is a major cleaning event for the AC staff as we help to clean out some old closets that will allow us to gain some storage. Very exciting stuff. No. seriously, it is very exciting. At West Point, real estate, particularly storage, is very valuable. Any time you gain some, it's like winning a turf war. Good day to move stuff to the dumpster with temps in the 60s. Spring cleaning in December. Who would have thunk it?
Enjoy the holiday season and if you're in the Northeast, cherish the spring-like conditions. I'm sure we'll be back to 30 degrees and biting wind by the middle of the week.
Be well, and GO ARMY!!!
Bob Beretta at BK Blog Central today ... good to be with you in cyberspace again.
You've got to love winter in the Northeast ... it's felt more like mid-January of late, then out of nowhere a 60-degree day today. While Shak (Ryan Yanoshak) was gathering up Athletic Communications members two-by-two on Friday, just in case, as we survived the heavy rains, we're all thinking it's time to break out the sun block and head over to Doubleday Field for a little baseball this afternoon. Well, it's not quite that balmy, but it sure makes you wonder what's going on around here.
So we had a busy weekend with a dominating men's basketball win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday and, of course, the third annual Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden yesterday. Always a thrill to play in the "World's Most Famous Arena." My role was to serve as color analyst on the Army Sports Network for both events. And while our broadcast location at MSG was one step off 34th Street, it was still a thrill to call another game at that venue. Our women hung tough against Rutgers, a Top 20 team (the game was much closer than the final score indicated), and the event provided West Point leadership an opportunity to showcase some of our fine traditions. A group of cadets unfurled a large flag on the court for the National Anthem; the Cadet Drill team performed during halftime of the Army-Rutgers game; and the Cadet Spirit Band and Rabble Rousers were out in full force. The folks at MSG put together a very moving tribute on the court between games (Connecticut and Penn State played in the nightcap of the women's basketball doubleheader) with all four teams participating, along with Jamie (Maggie's brother), Jule (Maggie's sister) and Marge (Maggie's mother), among others. It was quite a touching tribute and handled extremely well by all involved.
Things will quiet down around the Army sports scene this week as all West Point cadets dive head first into "TEE" Week. As in the case of most everything at the Academy, "TEE" is an acronym for Term-End Exams. I must admit that it's taken me almost 20 years to get used to the whole acronym thing here. In many cases the abbreviations make perfect sense. In some, they cause me to ponder. My favorite it "POV" which is the abbreviation for "Personally Owned Vehicle." Now wouldn't it be shorter to just say "CAR" or C-A-R? Just asking.
Other than a women's basketball game at home against Presbyterian on Saturday and a men's basketball game at home against VMI (which beat Kentucky earlier this year), we're pretty quiet in AC-Land until after Christmas. As Shak mentioned on Friday, it's a good time for us to get caught up on some media guides, and start plugging away (i.e. baseball) on others.
Big news out of the department on Friday was the change in leadership for our football program. I'd like to publically thank Stan Brock and his assistants for all they had done in our little corner of the w
