Army West Point Athletics
Black Knight Blog - August 2009
August 17, 2009 | General
The Black Knight Blog is an 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 your feedback!
Click below to ready blogs from past months:
2008-09 Black Knight Blog entires
Monday, Aug. 31
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a Black Knight Blog...would you read mine, could you read mine? Won't you read, my blog entry?
(I hope you read that intro with the Mr. Rogers theme song playing in your head - that is what I did.)
Happy Monday everyone - Tim Volkmann manning the keys on a beautiful day in the Army Athletics neighborhood today. Mild and sunny temperatures are forecast for the next couple days along with - get this - no rain. I'll believe it when I see it.
It is very hard to believe today is the last day of August and September is already staring us in the face. Where time goes I have no idea.
I had a great sports weekend. Friday night, I sat in a rainy Yankee Stadium as Robinson Cano hit a three-run walk-off homerun to beat the White Sox 5-2 to start a three-game weekend sweep. That was the second walk-off Yankee win of the season I have been to this season live as Hideki Matsui also finished off an Oriole game with a moon shot back in July. The Yanks are playing well, but there is a long way to go. We'll see what happens.
On Saturday and Sunday, I headed south to Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey City, N.J. to take in the third and fourth rounds of The Barclays tournament. It was an awesome two days to see a tremendous field of great golfers. Along with seeing Tiger Woods live, I got to follow some of my other favorites from the U.S. and around the world - Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Phil Mickleson, Sergio Garcia, Fred Couples, Davis Love III and Matt Kuchar to name a few.
The course was absolutely amazing. Fifteen of the 19 holes had views of the Manhattan skyline and you could see the Statue of Liberty in the background just about every place you stood on the course. I was told it was built on an old land fill and you would never know because the place was so beautiful. Click here for the official site of the course - there are some great pictures and views from each hole.
If anyone out there wants to join the club, I also heard all you have to do is come up with $250,000 for an initiation fee and another sizeable sum for the annual dues. There are only 97 members right now, including Donald Trump, so it look like there is plenty of room and good company for anyone interested. I am starting to save up right now.
On Saturday, I followed Mickelson for a couple holes and I think I may be partly responsible for the struggles he had on weekend. I think I got too close to him on the par-5 eighth hole. I'm not what you would call a good golfer and my personal golf mojo must have rubbed off on him. I was standing about 10 feet from him as he hit his tee shot and hooked it to the right. I walked down the fairway to his ball, where it was sitting under a tree. He took a mighty whack at it for his second shot, but it only went about 10 yards, landing right in front of where I was standing. He walked over and took another chop, only to watch the shot only go about 15 yards. He eventually took a three-over par eight on the hole. While it was awful to watch one of my favorite golfers struggle, it is always nice to know even the best players in the world put up a snowman now and again.
The Army A Club had a tent at the entrance to the tournament and also had a spot in one of the luxury skyboxes on the 18th fairway. The view of the river was breathtaking and Sunday's beautiful weather was conducive for seeing for miles.
Army Assistant Athletic Director for Development Doug Fillis was at the tournament all four days working hard to spread the word about Army Athletics and to build excitement coming football season. Maria Tamburrro and Hanna (whose last name I didn't catch - sorry) from the ticket office were also on hand for four days tirelessly selling football tickets. All the golf spectators that came by walked away with Army football posters, bumper stickers and window stickers while a lot of people also signed up to buy season and single game tickets. It was a great way to not only spread the word about West Point to a large audience, but to generate new ticket business so Michie Stadium is packed for the upcoming season.
It turned out to be an exciting finish to the tournament too. Tiger made his usual run toward the top of the leader board, but so did four other players which set up a close finish. In the end, there were four players that missed birdie puts on the 18th hole, including Tiger, but an unheralded winner, Heath Slocum, sand an amazing 21-footer to clinch the title and hold off the pack.
Today, it is all about men's soccer for me. I am finishing off the men's soccer media guide PDF that I'll have posted later today, in preparation for tomorrow's season-opener versus NJIT at 7:00 p.m. Click here to peruse the 2009 season preview that I posted earlier this morning.
Talk to you soon - Go Army - Beat NJIT.
Thursday, Aug. 26
Good morning Army fans and happy Thursday! You're more now past the halfway point before the weekend officially begins! Tracy Nelson back with you today, which means that all eight of our regular bloggers have inked (or keyed I should say?) their first Black Knight Blog of the year. You've met them all and I hope that you continue to check back in throughout the 2009-10 season.
I was extremely happy to receive a handful of emails last week expressing how excited fans were for the return of the Black Knight Blog. Thank you so much for those of you who took the time to write in! It's always a honor to be a small part of making your day a little bit brighter with some news and notes on your favorite Army teams (or just office banter/stories that surely entertain as well!).
This week has been a busy one here at West Point. As Mady mentioned in a previous blog, women's soccer officially got the 2009-10 competitive season underway last Friday against Maryland. The Black Knights kept the Terps off the board over the first 55 minutes - and looked very impressive doing so I am told - but ended up suffering a 3-0 loss in the end. Head coach Stefanie Golan and her club will play for their first win of the year this Friday night at 7 p.m. at Clinton Field. The game will also be available via ITT Knight Vision. Click here for details.
While Mady has been working away with women's soccer, I've been cranking out volleyball releases all week. It's all leading up to this weekend's season-opening Army Invitational taking place on Friday and Saturday at Gillis Field House. Three matches per day are on the docket and include Eastern Michigan, Fairfield, Sacred Heart and your Black Knights! Click here to have a look at the complete schedule.
The Patriot League announced yesterday that Army was picked to finish third in the preseason poll. I had a talk with third-year head coach Alma Kovaci yesterday and she was pleased with the selection. Considering the fact that the team lost a cornerstone senior class that included four starters - all of whom were named all-league players at least twice in their careers - she was happy with the third-place ranking. The Black Knights were only one point behind in the voting for second, as Colgate just edged Army. American was picked first and will look to defend its title for the ninth year in a row. Not if the Black Knights have anything to do with it ... I have a very healthy rivalry with the volleyball SID down at American, so now I've gotten the first jab in of the year!
Turning to even more exciting news abuzz around the office ... things are picking up quickly as everyone gets prepared for football, which is just around the corner! Coordinating interview, issuing credentials, escorting media and figuring out game day responsibilities are all taking place now amidst the other happenings getting ready for other fall sports. Needless to say, this summer is officially over for Athletic Communications (and pretty much the entirety of ODIA). It's always sad to see the summer months end, but equally as exciting to get the competitive seasons underway!
I've spent the better part of the last week updating the Hall of Fame induction program for the Sept. 11 event. My role is minimal in comparison to some others in my office who have been working their tails off getting ready for such a spectacular event. If you somehow missed it, here's a look at this year's class, which includes Coach K who will speak on behalf of the class. It should be an extraordinary event. The Kenna Hall of Army Sports is probably one of my favorite places on post. It's a beautiful look into the history and tradition of Army athletics, while highlighting those individuals who played vital roles in creating that success. Panels of photos, history and honors for each of Army's sports, along with Olympic history and trophies galore (to include those three Heisman statues!) are all displayed. Mady and Ryan Yanoshak have been feverishly trying to pull together items for this year's temporary display, which is a glass case containing a item representing each of the newly inducted class members. Some of the inductees most guarded possessions are in there year-in and year-out. Last year, we even had an Olympic gold medal from former men's basketball player Mike Silliman (West Point '66), whose family was generous enough to entrust it in the hands of ODIA for the year. Sorry for rambling on and on, but I honestly can't say enough about the Hall of Fame. It's a gem here at West Point in my book!
Now that I've effectively taken 20 minutes to write today's blog, it's back to the ever-growing "To Do" list that is staring at me right now from my desk. I swear things are just appearing on there out of thin air.
I hope that you all enjoy a great weekend! As always, GO ARMY! BEAT EVERYONE!
Wednesday, Aug. 26
Happy Wednesday Black Knight Blog readers! As this is my first foray into the blog-o-sphere, allow myself to introduce...myself. Dallas Miller here at the controls for today's entry.
As the newest addition to the Athletic Communications staff, I'll be working mostly with cross country, sprint football, men's tennis, and track & field. Among others, I'm also looking forward to working with Tracy during volleyball and basketball, Shak during the hockey season, and of course the heralded Army football program.
As a three-year letter winner on the football team at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y., there is a decided soft spot in my heart for the gridiron. There's really nothing like the uneasy tension in the trenches as the quarterback scans the defense; the resounding crack when opposing players collide at full speed; the perfectly-timed blitz; or the high-arcing spiral that finds the outstretched hands of a receiver in stride.
From what I've seen so far of the Black Knights' squad, Army fans surely have a lot to be excited about this season. Being someone new to the environment, there is a palpable buzz around the team under new head coach Rich Ellerson.
While the preseason buzz for several teams rolls on, West Point itself has been impressive beyond words in my first few weeks. What a place! I'd obviously heard of it before, but until I saw it at full color I really had no idea how amazing West Point is. From unbelievable architecture, breath-taking views of the Hudson River valley, to a true sense of history at your fingertips, it's easy to see why this place is so revered.
Speaking of reverence, I've also been hit with the fact that in addition to being extraordinary cadets and future leaders of our country, the athletes here also compete at the highest level possible. There is still sometimes a certain 'mystique' about DI athletes and I have yet to fully wrap my head around the entire cadet-athlete experience. That a person so young can achieve so much and have such a bright future is truly inspiring.
While loyal readers know that the volleyball team will host the Army Invitational on Friday and Saturday, off in the distance is the beginning of the cross country season. Under second year coach Troy Engle, the Black Knights will break into the 2009 slate with the Army Open on Sept. 4.
That's all I've got for now - thanks for reading!
GO ARMY! Tuesday, Aug. 25
Hello hello all you beautiful Black Knight blog readers! Annie Holliday checking in with you today. In reviewing the first entries of the year, it does seem that everyone has given a great recap of the summer activities, so I'll spare you a second (or third) summary of it all. But bottom line, it was busy, and fun at times, too. (And RAINY!)
I've just returned from a last minute trip home to the other coast and it has been a busy day already. It started with the obligatory sorting of the correspondence that came through while gone. On the electronic front, after an hour of reading, deleting and organizing, I still have 10 little tan envelopes on the status bar at the bottom of my computer screen waiting to be followed-up on. About three piles of papers and envelopes materialized on my desk, and I'm still working on those. You have no idea the amount of mail we get during these first couple months of the season! Tons of media guide orders and poster requests, and that's just the stuff from the fans. There's lots to be processed on the interdepartmental and business front, too. So if you're waiting on your poster, be patient! I only have two hands, and I assure you I'm working as hard and as fast as I can. The phone has lit up quite a bit more than normal today, with questions on everything from Hall of Fame to cadet parades to game tickets and freight companies wondering what gate to enter. And as a bonus for my first day back, today was the annual all department meeting, where the entire ODIA is briefed by the Superintendent, Dean, Commandant and department senior leadership. Although it wasn't the first of these meetings I'd ever been to, I still walked away amazed by how many people work here. Because when it comes down to it, there are a lot of people serving the USMA mission via working with cadet-athletes here. It's awesome, and an honor to be part of it.
The Women's Volleyball team will kick off their season this weekend, so if you're reading this and you're local, come watch them play! I may be a little bit partial because it is "my sport" (the one I play/ed the most) but really they are an incredible bunch of athletes and really exciting to watch. Plus, their games are free! Coach Alma Kovaci and Assistant Coaches Jeremy Sands and Julie Chester have done such an awesome job and it will be great to see how all the hard work of pre-season unfolds when they take on Fairfield at Gillis Field House on Friday at 7 p.m.
It's a short entry from me today, given the other things demanding my time and attention this afternoon. So until next time, have a great day, and GO ARMY! BEAT EVERYONE!
Monday, Aug. 24
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Black Knight Blog. Brian Gunning making my 2009-10 debut on what appears to be a sunny day on the Hudson. For those of you who have been in the area this summer, you know that's a rare occurence.
Perusing my officemates' first entries it appears the assignment was to write the obligatory "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essay. Since I never actually did write one of those when I was in school, I'm kind of excited to do it now.
Everybody has already talked about our experiences at Yankee Stadium so I'll spare you that, except to say a giant thank you to the Yankees organization for their hospitality. The carpet could not have been any redder (if that's a word). I'm also hoping we leave the photo of the gun-toting three stooges up on here as long as we can. That day was unbelievable. For as much fun as it was, we actually learned a thing or two about cadet training as well. Hopefully, it will help us as we deal with them on an everyday basis now.
Let me say that I'm quickly learning that the older you get, the faster time moves. Looking at my calendar, I have still yet to comprehend that I'm getting on a plane for the football opener in less than two weeks. I guess it's a testament to how busy we actually are even when there are no competitions.
A big part of my responsibilities here at West Point are in the graphic design area, and it seems like everything needs to get done at about the same time. In May, June and July, just off the top of my head I remember having to complete three separate billboard designs, three separate designs for various bus shelters in the tri-state area, a football season ticket piece, the department's annual report, a hockey ticket postcard, both of the giveaways for the Sept. 12 and Oct. 10 football games, and of course, the monster that is the football media guide. After taking a breather for about a week once the football guide was done, I launched into the football game program. I wasn't the only one either. In additon to everyone grinding on their fall sport guides, Tim did the football fan guide and Shak was hard at work putting things together for the the Army Sports Hall of Fame. It's really weird to list all that stuff. When you're in the middle of it, you don't really think about it, but now that I reflect on it a little bit - we all cranked out a lot of stuff this summer. And the fun is just beginning!
It's also been a very interesting August. The most highly-anticipated football preseason in quite awhile began and from what I've seen, Army fans could be in for a fun season with first-year head coach Rich Ellerson. You can never predict how a season is going to go, but I can pretty much guarantee that the Black Knights will play all out and with enthusiasm on every snap. I wasn't much on getting excited about practice when I played sports, but I can tell you that this season's preseason has been fun to watch. I know this sounds counterintuitive given my lament about how fast time flies and it seems like we didn't catch a whole lot of down time this summer, but I actually can't wait for Sept. 5 to get here.
One quick side note ... be sure to keep checking back to goARMYsports.com for the 2009-10 men's basketball schedule. We're just finalizing a few things and will have that announcment this week.
That's it for now. Things are definitely cranking up around here as we start finalize the nuts-and-bolts details with our new television partner CBS College Sports Network and cross the t's and dot the i's on all the behind the scenes minutae that go into making the Army Football presentation to the public and the media a success. Pretty soon we'll all be asking, "Where did the season go?"
Have a great Monday and enjoy your week!
GO ARMY!!!
Friday, Aug. 21
Where Does The Time Go?
Forgive me if I get a little intraspective as I file my first BK Blog entry of the 2009-10 academic year. I see the rest of my teammates in the Athletic Communications Office have relived parts of their respective summers in earlier blog entries this week, but I can’t help but take a larger view of things as I write this entry early Friday morning. Bob Beretta with you today following what has been an extremely hectic summer.
Can it really be two weeks until our football season opener? Can it really be 2009-10? Can it really be 10 years ago yesterday that I became a father for the first (and only time)? Yes, Thursday marked my daughter Julia’s 10th birthday. Where oh where did those 10 years go? It seems like just last week that I was running home from the hospital on a rainy August afternoon riding an unbelievable flood of adrenaline. I had gotten “The Call” 24 hours earlier that I needed to rush right home to bring my wife to the hospital, and now I was scrambling around trying to get a few things together to bring back to the hospital and prepare to bring our brand new daughter home for the first time, just a few weeks before Army’s football opener. I had become a father ... me, a father? And I could hardly believe it. I will never forget the advice of so many those first few years ... “enjoy the time while they’re young, because the time will fly by; she’ll be a teenager before you know it.”
Well, the light of the Beretta household reached double digits yesterday and it was almost as significant an emotional event for me as that first day of kindergarten five years ago (I can’t even believe that was five years ago), when that first climb up the bus stairs hit me with the force of a million rush ends. I never really saw either one of those emotional tidal waves coming and when they hit, they hit harder than I can begin to express. But time marches on, waits for no one, no matter how hard you wish for it. And when you work in athletics, you get programmed to say goodbye to dear friends as staff members move on, officers retire, and cadets graduate, maturing from bright young pups into brighter young officers before our very eyes. It’s a right of passage we’ve all become accustomed to over the years and it hardens you a bit ... hardens you until that wonderful little ball of flesh you brought home from the hospital on a sunny August afternoon suddenly transforms into a beautifully burgeoning 10-year old in a U11 travel soccer uniform in the time it took to write a couple of media guides, it seems. My goodness, where did the time go?
So it is under that retrospective backdrop that I ask this morning ... where in the heck did the summer go? Thanks to some of the worst June and July weather in the Hudson Valley in my lifetime, and as eventful as a summer as I have experienced in our athletic department, seems like the summer actually just began. But my Franklin Planner rarely lies and this morning it screams that today’s date is Aug. 21. I even tried screaming back at it, “That can’t be so,” but that tirade accomplished little more than cementing the fact to my colleagues that the past few weeks have affected me, shall we say a bit adversely?
Seems like we were in Austin just last weekend watching the Army baseball team’s Cinderella run through the Austin Regional. The image of that walkoff grand slam by Texas in the bottom of the ninth inning will never leave my mind, nor will the sight of Joey Henshaw’s monstrous home run to dead center field over “The Monster” and Kyle Fleming’s amazing, over-the-shoulder catch as he launched himself head-first into the right-field wall. As Shak mentioned in yesterday’s BK Blog, Kyle is with us in the AC Office this fall ... who knows, maybe we can get him to guest author an edition of the BK Blog here in the days ahead. I’d love for him to write about his memories of that historic weekend for the Black Knights as Army reached a regional final for the first time in school history.
From Austin straight to Yankee Stadium, it seemed. Upon our return from the regional, several of us in the AC Office needed to set our sights directly on producing this year’s football media guide and other collateral pieces, all the while preparing for an historic week in July at Yankee Stadium. None of us will ever forget the experience those few days in the Bronx produced. After a great deal of planning, negotiating and juggling of the football schedule, those days arrived, and with them came a host of exciting announcements concerning future games, future venues, our new television partnership with CBS College Sports Network, and of course, our new partnership with the New York Yankees. And here we are, exactly one month later and the energy surrounding the football program remains at a fever pitch.
Talk about riding a wave of positive emotions ... those announcements, coupled with the high spirits of the players, head coach Rich Ellerson and the job he has already done with the Army football team, and it all adds up to the most anticipated football season along the banks of the Hudson in quite some a while.
It’s been a long time coming for West Point, but all of us associated with Army Football feel the program is on the cusp of a major turnaround. Stay tuned for what promises to be a fascinating ride this fall.
Be sure to check out Gunny’s recap of Saturday’s scrimmage and our full coverage of the football team as it barrels toward its season opener on Sept. 5. And who knows, we may even have a few more exciting announcements regarding future scheduling before now and then. If fact, I think you can count on it. We’ll begin our normal game-week coverage a week from Monday, and look for us to launch our Game Day Central micro site very soon.
Speaking of soon, the Army women’s soccer team will officially lift the curtain on Army’s 2009-10 intercollegiate season tonight as the defending Patriot League champs host Maryland in the collegiate head coaching debut of Stefanie Golan. Stefanie is a rising star in the coaching profession and she’ll have a talented young team ready for the Terps this evening. Mady Salvani will have all the details later tonight.
As for me, I’d better be heading to a day-long off-site strategy meeting with some other ODIA staff members before I’m late and draw the ire of the boss. Then it’s back home to prepare for my daughter’s 10th birthday party tomorrow? Can it really be 10 years? Can it really be fall? My goodness, where did the time go?
Have a great weekend.
Unitl next time, be well and GO ARMY!!!
Thursday, Aug. 20
I don’t think there was any ever doubt West Point is a pretty special place and a few events this summer highlight that for me.
Ryan Yanoshak joining you on this lovely Thursday morning with the AC cranked and a fan for back up.
While I didn’t get to the zoo or swim in a pond, I did get a couple of new tattoos in addition to the previously mentioned trips Mady, Trace and Volk talked about.
The Yankees experience was everything they said and more. What a first class organization that is extremely supportive of our military. The football games there will be amazing.
What I took most of the summer was our shooting experience.
A few weeks ago, Annie asked if anyone want to go shoot guns. It turns out one of the Ranges was open to staff and faculty. So Mady, Volk, Gunney and Annie and I hopped on the opportunity. We headed out to Range 11 and worked with the folks in the Department of Military Instruction. Capt. Jared Wilson and his staff took great care of us. We had a safety briefing with our M4s and then headed out to the range. We started in the prone position from 25 yards. After a solid grouping, you could move onto 100-yard paper targets.
After good shot groups from there, you were able to move onto the metal targets, those that ping when you hit them. Capt. Wilson was practically my personal instructor and he had me shooting from a bunch of different positions. I have no clue how you could hear a ping over all that noise but I am fairly confident that with Capt. Wilson’s help, I was a tremendous shot.
They opened the range that day to showcase new instructional techniques and it was an unbelievable experience. We work with the cadet-athletes on a day-to-day basis but don’t get that many opportunities to see what they go through during cadet. This provided at least a glimpse into that. And let me tell you, they make it look easy when they open fire in movies. It’s not. Not even close.
If only they made a media guide for Athletic Communications, this photo would be the cover.
That’s it for me. The athletic season officially begins tomorrow night when our women’s soccer team hosts Maryland.
And don’t forget the bevy of options to stay current with Army athletics.
Stay cool.
Good morning Black Knight Blog readers. Tim Volkmann here and I hope you have missed me at least half as much as I missed you over the last couple months. It is hard to believe how quickly summer has passed, but that also means that the fall athletics season is almost upon us.
My summer was an enjoyable one, spending time with family and visiting friends that I hadn't seen in a while. I got to relax in my hometown of Fairport, N.Y. (a suburb of Rochester) for a couple days during the Fourth of July holiday. Nothing can replace my mom's home cooking as I took full advantage of every delicacy she whipped up. Also, if you've never been to Western New York, you've probably never tasted the greatest food ever made in the history of mankind - Zweigle's hot dogs. I must have polished off at least a dozen over my four-day stay and had plenty of room for more. Trust me - you haven't lived until you have eaten a White Hot.
Living an hour north of New York City also provides and endless amount of things to do and places to explore during the summer. A friend of mine works at the Bronx Zoo and he treated my girlfriend and I to a rare behind the scenes look into all the birds that he takes care of as part of his job. It was very interesting to watch two full-grown vultures tear into their lunch while I was standing two feet away from them. I really hope I never have to walk across a desert or anything and have to fend off those guys. I wouldn't stand a chance. The birds of prey were fun to watch, but I think my favorite was the polar bear that is a resident of the zoo. I could have watched for hours as the big lumbering ball of white fur frolicked around in his pool with what was pretty much a huge beach ball. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep it under the water. It was amazing to watch such a large animal splash around like a nine-year old. He looked like he would be a pretty fun guy to hang out with. As long as he didn't try to bite my head off or anything.
As Mady talked about yesterday, one of the highlights of the summer had to be going to Yankee Stadium for the two announcements about Army's series of games to be played there in the coming years. The Yankee organization took care of everyone they invited down from West Point, rolling out the red carpet and then some. They really are a first class group of people - and I'm not just saying that because I've been a Yankee fan my entire life.
The seats we sat in for the two games we were invited to were right down by the field and were without question the best seats I've ever sat in at any sporting event. I've been to restaurants that didn't have as good as service as the wait staff that came right to my seat eager to bring me anything on the gourmet menu that I wanted. Drinks, sushi, hot dogs (while they weren't Zweigle's, they were still great), ice cream. Whatever you were in the mood for. The best part was the huge table full of candy right inside the entrance to where our seats were. All the Twizzlers and peanut M&Ms I could handle. Doesn't get much better.
Before the games, I also had the unique opportunity to work in the Yankee Stadium press area. Tracy Nelson, Annie Holliday and I had to transcribe all the quotes and everything that was said during the two press conferences. We sat in the front row of the media suite that stretched around behind home plate just above the 100-level seats - the perfect place to take everything in. Our multimedia guru Rich DeMarco came up as well to post the interviews he had done on the field and it felt like we could have been two reporters from the New York Post and the Daily News sitting next to each other chatting before a big game. Pretty cool.
Oh - I almost forgot - During the first game we watched (which incidentally ended on a walk-off home run by Hideki Matsui - niceeee!!) movie starlet Kate Hudson must have walked by our seats a half dozen times. And for all you fans of the television show "Entourage," Kevin Connolly (aka Eric Murphy) was also on hand to take the game in.
When I got home that night after the game, I turned on the television and watched a bit of the replay of the game that was on. Lo and behold, what did I see? Right there in the bottom of the first inning, sitting in the background right behind Derek Jeter as he was up to bat - my mug for the whole world to see. Ha. Kate Hudson even walked behind me at one point too while the cameras were pointed that way, but I'm sure everyone was looking at me and not her.
Now, getting back to Army athletics, tonight is the first preseason exhibition for one of the sports I cover - the men's soccer team. The Black Knights will welcome Seton Hall to Clinton Field for a 7:00 p.m. tune-up for the season so come on out and get your first glimpse of the 2009 squad. After another exhibition contest on the road this Saturday at Albany at 1:00 p.m., Kurt Swanbeck and the boys will kick off the regular season on Tuesday, Sept. 1, hosting NJIT at 7:00 p.m.
Hopefully we'll see you tonight - if not, I'll talk to you next time. GO ARMY!
Tuesday, Aug. 18
Hi, this is Mady Salvani taking care of today's blog. As Tracy mentioned, it is hard to believe that summer is just about gone. It has not been the best as far as weather, and now that that hot weather has finally arrived, I won't be able to spend time at my favorite watering hole (Delafield, which is a pond on West Point) with the start of Army sports this Friday.
First-year coach Stefanie Golan, hand picked by Gene Ventriglia to succeed him, ushers in her first season at the helm when Army hosts Maryland. It will be a tough game but a good gauge for the defending champion Black Knights. I really enjoyed going to the NCAAs last year, and with the talent returning and the incoming class, I'm hoping for a return trip.
It has been an interesting summer starting with baseball's trip to the NCAA where the players threw a scare at #1 Texas. We watched the games on the computer in the office and it was an exciting series. Right now we have Kyle Fleming, the outfielder who made a fantastic catch for those of you who watched it, as the AI (athletic intern) in our office.
Our office attended our annual ECAC-SIDA sports information directors workshop in early June in New Jersey, right by the shore. We left West Point on an overcast day and arrived at the hotel to hot weather. After putting our luggage in the room I went right to the beach. I walked it and I'm glad I did because after that it rained the whole time. Tracy and I roomed together and the last night she came in sopping wet. I found out that Ryan (Shak) threw Tracy into the pool after she had thrown his sneakers into the ocean.
July was exciting with the football announcement about Army playing Notre Dame in 2011 at Yankee Stadium. I was there the last time the Fighting Irish and Black Knights met at the old stadium.
The press conferences and the way we were treated by the Yankees was AWESOME. Being on the field prior to the game to take a photo of Coach Ellerson throwing out a pitch Monday and Athletic Director Kevin Anderson dong the same Wednesday was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The players from both teams were warming up while I was waiting and I have to admit I was concerned about being hit by a ball - but then I thought, heck they are professionals - they don't miss. Well just as I was breaking down my camera following Mr. Anderson's toss, a player yelled not to move and I froze as he calmly reached over and grabbed a ball that would have hit me. I thanked him for making such a good catch.
I got to see two Yankee wins and I called my brother from my seat (which was right behind the third-base line) to brag about what was happening and what a great time I was having. The experience for me goes in my Top 10 list at Army, which has included trips to Alaska, Ireland, Japan and Hawaii. Ireland and Hawaii were for football while Japan and Alaska were for basketball.
Last week we had our annual get-together at Bob Beretta's house, which includes pool games, baseball and volleyball with his family to include his daughter Julia (who turns 10 this month). The rain storm killed off our games but it didn't bother those in the pool. Everyone had a good time and my car didn't break down going or coming home, which made everyone happy.
Right now I am preparing for women's soccer this Friday. Though it is the earliest we have opened the season, I'm ready and so is the team.
Monday, Aug. 17
Good morning and welcome back to both loyal Black Knight Blog readers and all newcomers! It's good to be back and I'm honored to start off the 2009-10 addition of the award-winning BK Blog. If you're new to the blogging scene or just new to this particular blog, the point of reading this is pretty simple. It's yet another way to stay on top of your favorite Army teams as seen through the eyes of us. I guess that's a good lead-in to introducing myself. My name is Tracy Nelson, and I am privileged to work in the Army Office of Athletic Communications, entering my third year with the Black Knights. Among many other things, our office is chiefly responsible for maintaining www.goARMYsports.com. That being said, we'll have a rotation - much like last year for those of you who tuned in - as to who will blog on particular days. You'll get very familiar with (in ABC order - I know, we're so clever!) Tim Volkmann, Mady Salvani, Ryan Yanoshak, Bob Beretta, Brian Gunning, Annie Holliday and Dallas Miller. Dallas is a newcomer, but I'll let him introduce himself in his own entry later on in the week.
Phew - now that all of that intro hullabaloo is finished, now on to what you're really here for - the Black Knights! It's incredibly hard to believe that August is upon us and the cadets have arrived. One of my favorite things to watch at West Point are the festivities surrounding the cadets return and the plebes' acceptance. They make such a big deal out of them! I remember starting my freshman year of college at St. Bonaventure University in Western New York, and all the school did was point me to the bookstore and send me on my merry way. Of course, I tend to forget that those plebes go through probably one of the most grueling summers of their lives at BEAST, so it's only fitting that they get a warm welcome and congrats during the march back and "A" Day (Acceptance Day). I love seeing them reunite with their families.
This year, I did not make the "A" Day parade because I was diligently working in the office. However, I a few families trickled in to our building in an attempt to escape the immense heat and have a look around. We've had some nice improvements done over the summer, my favorite being that the building was painted in a lovely Army shade of gold on the interior. It looks great! The old robin's egg blue color sort of reminded me of a hospital, which is not good. Anyway, after tying up some loose ends before heading out for some vacation time (that's right - I'm writing this initial blog of the year from the comfort of my family's home in Salamanca, N.Y. - gotta love technology!), I made my way to down to Gillis Field House for the annual Black/Gold volleyball scrimmage. Volleyball, along with women's basketball and women's tennis, is one of the sports for which I serve as the main communications contact. It's a lot of fun, and I have to say that head coach Alma Kovaci and her team have treated me to wins-o-plenty during my first two seasons. They lost four phenomenal players to graduation last year, so this season will be a learning experience. From what I saw on Saturday, however, there is a lot of young talent coming from the plebe class and a ton of improvement by those returning. Should be a great season again this year. It's hard to believe that they open with the Army Invitational Aug. 28-29. Speaking of openers, our defending Patriot League Champion women's soccer team, under the direction of newly appointed head coach Stefanie Golan, has the honor of officially starting the 2009-10 competitive season for West Point. The Black Knights will host powerhouse Maryland under the lights at Clinton Field this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Should be a golden opportunity against the ACC for the BKs.
Since I was previously occupied with the volleyball scrimmage, I was unable to catch any of the football scrimmage, unfortunately. It was a hot one, so I was just as happy to slip into some air conditioning in my Carolla and hit the road for home. When I arrived, I realized that I didn't even have to be there. All I did was read my boss, Bob Beretta's, account of the scrimmage and I was all set. Click here to read for yourself (there are also a few video interviews to boot!). For those of you who can't wait to dig into football season this year, you should be excited. I've heard nothing but good things regarding the team under new head coach Rich Ellerson. I can't wait to catch them in the home opener opposite Duke on Sept. 12. My family is coming in for the game (although we are all Duke fans, I told them they are not allowed to attend unless they are all decked-out in black and gold), so it should be a fun weekend. A win would serve as the icing on the cake! Click here for tickets - there's no better place in the country on a football Saturday than Michie Stadium.
Well, I am afraid that about does it for me. I'm off and running to wash the car, run some errands with Mom and maybe even make a stop at the casino here in lovely Salamanca. I'll report back on my status next blog. If I had to bet (no pun intended), I'll be at least $20 down. That casino gets me every time!
Until next time, as always, GO ARMY! BEAT EVERYONE!
