Navy-Duke will be on TV

On By MikeIn navy football6 Comments

The ACC released its TV schedule for the first three weeks of the football season:

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/060308aaa.html

Saturday, September 13th
Navy at Duke 12:00 Noon ESPNU
NC State at Clemson 12:00 Noon RAYCOM
Cal at Maryland 12:00 Noon ESPN or ESPN2
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech 3:30 PM ABC (and ESPN)
Chattanooga at FSU 3:45 PM ESPNU
Virginia at Connecticut 7:30 PM ESPNU

 

Good news! One other bit:

After the first three weeks of the season (games of Sept. 13) game times and TV will be announced weekly with a ESPN/ABC and Raycom Sports making their choices with a 12-day advanced notice beginning on Monday, Sept. 8 (for games on Saturday, Sept. 20).

So it looks like we won’t hear about the Wake Forest game until a couple weeks into the season. But looking at the ACC schedule that weekend, it’ll be a close one:

Saturday, September 27
Rhode Island at Boston College
Maryland at Clemson
Virginia at Duke
Colorado vs. Florida State (Jacksonville)
North Carolina at Miami
South Florida at NC State
Virginia Tech at Nebraska
Navy at Wake Forest

Navy-Wake is probably the 6th best game TV-wise on that slate, ahead of only URI-BC and UVA-Duke. That’s assuming that David Cutcliffe hasn’t immediately turned Duke around, in which case their game might leapfrog Navy-Wake. Assuming that (as in previous weeks) there are 6 games televised by the ESPNs/Raycom/ABC (which might not be a good assumption at all for all I know), that puts us squarely on the bubble. VT-Nebraska is a Big 12 game, so if that one ends up on Fox Sports Net or TBS or something, that might help. But I would guess that it’s high-profile enough to be picked up by ESPN or ABC. We may be looking at ESPN360 for this one.

But at least you have an easy decision now if you were wondering which road game to attend!

While I was sleeping

On By MikeIn air farce, army, football, going pro, navy football, navy lacrosse16 Comments

A lot of stuff on the ol’ radar that I haven’t addressed:

Chet gets a new contract. Navy’s athletic director and 2005 Bobby Dodd AD of the Year was inked through 2015. The Birddog Expert Analysis: Woot! I assume that there’s no explanation necessary for why this is a good thing.

The latest in the Caleb Campbell mess includes a Boston Globe piece that doesn’t include anything you haven’t already heard, except for the latest in ridiculous Caleb Campbell quotes:

“We all fight for freedom in different ways. Each in our own way.”

Someone please put a muzzle on this guy.

We also have an Examiner piece that calls Campbell “the anti-Tillman.” I said at the beginning of all this that comparisons to Pat Tillman were inevitable, and Bob Frantz’s column was only the latest in a long line articles that did so. Despite the headline, the column is fairly middle-of-the-road. At least until you get to a subtle dig at the end:

The merits of those arguments can be debated in perpetuity, and I will not attempt to bolster nor condemn any of them here. Rather, I prefer to let this story serve as a reminder to us all, on this solemn Memorial Day, of the extraordinary sacrifices made by so many men who either delayed or interrupted their professional careers in service to the greatest nation on earth.

Apparently Frantz doesn’t buy the idea that “we all fight for freedom in different ways.”

In contrast, ESPN’s Ivan Maisel writes about how former Navy football players are applying the lessons they learned on the gridiron to situations they face in the fleet. It’s a great illustration of the value of intercollegiate athletics at service* academies. And while one Ivan Maisel column won’t bring the sheer exposure that a season in the NFL would, in this instance it certainly provides a hell of a lot more substance.

Millen, who answers to the nickname “Moon,” said he relishes working with other former Midshipmen players.

“Most of the players I’ve seen tend to get along with each other, not just football players, but with other folks,” Millen said. “They interact well with others and play well as a team. I know that when I work with those guys, they’ve been through the same training I have. They’re competent in what they do. It’s sort of a litmus test, I guess, certainly for those of us that played. I know if I pull Ensign Diggs out to help me with something, I know what comes with that. … As a fellow ballplayer, there’s certainly more to him, and he walks in with a certain resume.”

That, dear readers, is what they call it the Brotherhood.

UNC fired John Haus, their head men’s lacrosse coach. Naturally, initial speculation as to who will replace him has centered around those with North Carolina ties… And one of the most successful lacrosse coaches who fits the bill is UNC alum Richie Meade. Fortunately, he doesn’t appear to be interested in leaving Annapolis:

Meade said yesterday he has not been contacted by North Carolina about the vacancy and was content at Navy.

“I’m very happy to be the head coach at the Naval Academy and hope to remain so,” Meade said. “I have no idea what direction North Carolina is going to go. I’m sure they will get a quality head coach because it’s a great school and a great program.”

Good news, because I don’t think my stomach can take another coaching change this year.

The MAC might expand to 14 teams by adding Western Kentucky and Temple in all sports. OK.

Army and Notre Dame might start playing again, according to the Times Herald-Record. OK.

And finally, in the realm of the absurd, we have the news that the Toronto Argonauts have signed Ross Weaver. As in the 2006 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Ross Weaver. Weaver has spent the last two years playing arena ball with the Colorado Ice. Now with the Argos, Weaver is serving the Air Force by tapping into previously untouched recruiting territory: Canada! It’s amazing nobody’s thought of this before!

Two years of arena football, and now Canada. We all fight for freedom in different ways!

Sometimes I think I’m the only sane person left.

What about Mitch Harris?

On By MikeIn going pro12 Comments

Caleb Campbell is the epicenter of the service* academy straight-to-the-pros debate, but he isn’t the only story. Navy’s own Mitch Harris, the fireball-tossing pitcher with as much pop in his bat as his lively right arm, has been getting a lot of press lately with the Major League Baseball draft on tap this week. Navy fans have undoubtedly already seen this piece in the Washington Times on Mitch and his situation. (Note to newspaper editors across the country: “Anchors Away” is about the most unoriginal, overused headline for a story about Navy sports. Please, please start coming up with something new.)

Anyway, the piece is pretty good despite the cliched headline. One thing that probably catches your eye is the series of quotes from Navy AD Chet Gladchuk.

Moreover, because the “nation is at war,” Navy secretary Donald Winter in November suspended early release from active duty and made five years of full-time service mandatory. Harris isn’t the only one displeased with that. By promising athletes the chance to play immediately in the pros, the differing policy gives West Point a marked recruiting edge over Annapolis.

Gladchuk has gone to the very top to try to get the Navy to change and said Winter seems willing to reconsider the issue.

“There is a chain of command, and I think I have addressed every link in this chain,” Gladchuk said. “Everyone is aware of our concerns that the playing field is not level and will eventually affect our competitive stature.”

“A-ha!” say the fans of the Alternative Service (lol) Option. Even Navy’s AD has no problem with it! He wants the same thing! Now it’s justified! Hooray!

Not exactly. Would you expect anything different from an athletic director? It’s Chet’s job to do what he can to ensure his teams’ success on the field. So if he sees something that would help him to that end, he should pursue it. It’s completely understandable why Stan Brock and Kevin Anderson would want the ASO, and completely understandable why Chet Gladchuk would want to even the playing field in response. But that doesn’t make it right. There is supposed to be a higher level in the chain of command that balances the desires of the athletic department with the needs of the service. It’s that level which has failed. I’m sure that service* academy coaches and athletic administrators would love for all kinds of things to change in order to make their jobs easier. Lower admissions standards, basket-weaving majors, more lax conduct rules, you name it. But these things are kept in check. Just like the Alternative Service (lol) Option should have been. Chet is right that he needs a level playing field. Hopefully the answer is for the ASO to be shut down rather than the Naval Academy stooping to such desperate and shameful measures.

One more thing…

Catcher Jonathan Johnston was drafted in 2007 in the 42nd round by Oakland – a year after he graduated – and is now playing in the minors. But Johnston previously served 18 months aboard a ship. That helped. He also had an understanding commanding officer who assigned him to the U.S. Military All-Star team, which has allowed him to play professionally.

Johnston believes he and Harris can serve the Navy best by playing and recruiting.

“We want to do both,” he said. “Because we can. We want to bring attention to the Navy. I’d rather be a recruiter and pay the Navy back that way.”

So many people say that sending players to the pros is great because it “brings attention to the Navy” or it “helps the Army.” The purpose of going to the Naval Academy isn’t to “help” the Navy. It’s to be the Navy. Not that the good of the service has anything to do with the policy. It’s a sad state of affairs.

May has now come and gone, which means that the Army’s “internal review” regarding the ASO should be complete. My guess is that they do nothing to change it. Here’s hoping the OSD crushes them. I won’t hold my breath.

Sorry…

On By MikeIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I’ve been out for the last few days, making the trip from Jacksonville to Vancouver, WA to deliver a car to my brother. I even managed to get a peek at the Smurf Turf in Boise since I happened to be passing through town during the state track meet. I’m back now, and I’ll be making acquaintences with the news that I missed while I was gone. Chet has a new contract? Good news!

You can get dizzy from this much spin

On By MikeIn air farce, army, football, going pro, Uncategorized5 Comments

The Air Force Times did an article on the Army’s Alternative Service (lol) Option over the weekend. It’s mostly the same ol’ stuff, with the twist of some quotes and background on Bryce Fisher, Air Force class of 1999 and current Tennessee Titans defensive end. It’s mostly stuff you’ve already seen, but there were a couple things worth mentioning.

We’ll start with the news that the Army is reviewing its policy, with findings due by the end of the month. At least, that’s the way it’s being spun:

An Army spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, said she couldn’t explain why the Army interprets the Defense Department’s policy differently from the Air Force and Navy. Army officials are reviewing this policy with a ruling due by the end of May, she said.

“We are currently conducting an internal review to ensure we are operating within the intent of DoD’s policy and will determine if any adjustments are appropriate,” Edgecomb wrote in an e-mail to Air Force Times.

But let’s be serious here. You don’t need to conduct an internal review “to ensure we are operating within the intent of DoD’s policy.” When the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness sends a memo to service secretaries three days after the NFL draft, reminding them what the DoD policy is and stating that “constructs for ‘active duty’ service should not include arrangements typically unavailable to others in uniform,” any literate person without an agenda already knows that the Army isn’t even coming close to complying with the intent of the DoD policy. So why the review? To figure out another way to circumvent the DoD directive, of course. It’s the only explanation. You don’t need any kind of review to simply say “Yes, sir!” and carry out your orders. So I’m not optimistic that the end of the Alternative Service (lol) Option is imminent, although after Chu’s memo it’d take some serious spinning and loophole-crafting to be able to weasel out of it. We’ll see if the Army can come up with anything.

Meanwhile, the Air Force has used the DoD policy to send a player to the Arena League:

First Lt. Brett Huyser, an Air Force Academy ‘04 grad who started two years on the football team and now plays guard for the Colorado Crush in the Arena Football League might have had a shot in the NFL if the Army’s policy applied to him back then.

“NFL teams called my agent, but once they found out that I would have to sit out for two years they lost interest,” he said.

Huyser transferred out of active duty two years ago and now splits his time in the Reserves working at the Air Force Academy and playing arena football for the Crush, from whom he earned $36,000 a year in his second season.

Wow… Arena football? Really? Good thing nobody’s abusing the DoD policy! I can only assume that Huyser just wasn’t cut out for the elite Combat Coach program. But spending reserve time at the Air Force Academy probably still gives him a chance to provide valuable mentorship, so clearly his education was money well spent by the American taxpayer.

Finally, we have this:

Last June, Air Force Academy baseball star Karl Bolt was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 15th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft after he graduated with his class in May.

Bolt is on active duty at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., but he saves his leave all year so he can break off and play in the Phillies’ minor league farm system over the summer. He is lining up at first base this summer for their Single-A minor league team, the Lakewood BlueClaws in New Jersey.

Man, I had a hard time squeezing in 5 days of leave on active duty. I’m not sure what Bolt’s job is, but I imagine it isn’t exactly a vital one if the command can get by without him for 30 straight days… Assuming that’s all he’s getting.

This time I’m sure.

On By MikeIn navy lacrosse, Uncategorized2 Comments

OK, now Navy’s lax season is over. Navy got off to a better start this time, but the end result of their second meeting with Johns Hopkins was pretty much the same. A quarterfinal-record crowd of 17,000 + saw the Blue Jays stomp the Mids, 10-4.

This game had all the usual ingredients of Navy lacrosse games from the second half of the season.

Opposing goalie made to look like an All-American thanks to gobs of easy saves? Check!

Sloppy passing and catching? Check!

On-screen graphic on television that describes the futility of the Navy offense? Check! (“Johns Hopkins: Second time this season holding Navy scoreless for 30+ minutes”)

The inability to do anything on offense was pretty disappointing, because a lot of other things went Navy’s way and might have given the Mids a chance to win if they could do more offensively than aiming for the goalie’s chest. As many turnovers as Navy had, Hopkins had problems maintaining posession themselves, at least early on. Mikelis Visgauss won 9 of 10 at the X in the first half, giving the Mids plenty of opportunities. And unlike the first meeting, Navy grabbed more ground balls than the Blue Jays. There was no shortage of hustle.

But teams can’t live on hustle alone, and in the end the story of the game was Navy’s lack of offense. Navy outshot Hopkins, just as they had done in the first meeting. Don’t let that fool you, though. Taking a million shots that sail high and get backed up by a teammate, just so you can take another harmless shot later in the posession, is not the hallmark of a productive offense.

But whatever. It’s the same story we’ve heard all year. And it was a disappointing year, given recent history. Navy lost to Army, didn’t win the Patriot League regular season, and got bounced out of the conference semifinals. The question now is whether this was just a rebuilding year, or the beginning of a trend. My gut tells me it’s the former, but I admit I’m still a bit nervous.

Opportunity Knocks

On By MikeIn bowls, football4 Comments

It’s a fact of life as a football independent that bowl games are hard to come by. Most bowl games have conference affiliations that make it hard for an independent like Navy to carve out a spot, even with the ever-growing roster of games. So when a conference and a bowl game split up, it’s big news for Navy fans. And that’s what we have today, as the ACC has decided to part ways with the Humanitarian Bowl.

“We will be leaving the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise,” ACC commissioner John Swofford told ESPN.com Wednesday. “They provided some excellent experiences for our teams. I think if you talk with our teams they’ve enjoyed being there. It’s a little different kind of bowl experience than a lot of places but our schools, coaches and athletic directors have wanted to move that particular game back more in our geographic footprint.”

Might the ACC’s departure create an opportunity for Navy to swoop in? It sounds like it:

“We’re working on two fronts — we want a one-year deal for 2009, and also are looking for someone to sign a longer-term deal with from 2010 and on,” McDonald said.

McDonald would not say who the bowl was speaking with for the future deals, though he did add that “we’re not just going to try and keep it geographical.”

That one-year 2009 deal sounds perfect, with the Congressional Bowl being locked up for 2008 and the Poinsettia Bowl’s at-large bid opening up again in 2010. And I think that the director’s comment about not necessarily limiting their selection to schools and conferences in close proximity to Boise is a clear signal to teams like Navy that they are in play. I have no doubt that Chet Gladchuk was on the phone the moment this news hit the wire.

I know what half of you are thinking. I can already hear the groaning. Boise? Yes, Boise. I know that the game is sort treated like the gag prize of the bowl season, but that’s just among the message board crowd. The Humanitarian Bowl Committee has a very good reputation around college football for treating their teams well. The main complaint about Boise is the cold, and yes, Boise is cold in December. But they put their cold to work for them. The Humanitarian Bowl is a sort of winter wonderland bowl game, with all the skiing and winter sports you can handle. It might not appeal to everybody, but spending New Year’s Eve skiing and watching football sounds like fun to me. It’s a unique bowl experience, and I’m all for it.

If you’re waiting for the Cotton Bowl to open up, you’re going to be waiting for a long time. I say we make the most of these opportunities when they present themselves.

Signs of a Backbone?

On By MikeIn army, football, going pro13 Comments

The Office of the Secretary of Defense hasn’t been as silent about the Army’s flaunting of DoD policy as we thought.

Contrary to the “this is a DoD policy” spin that Army spokespeople like to claim, the Department of Defense does not approve of the “Alternative Service (lol) Option.” This was apparent to anyone (other than Army homers) who read the original policy. Now, even those people will have a hard time spinning this:

David Chu, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, sent the memo to the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force on April 30 — three days after Campbell was drafted and Army’s program became national news. The subject of the two-paragraph memo is “Policy for Academy and ROTC Graduates Seeking to Participate in Professional Sports Before Completion of the Active Duty Service Obligations.”

The memo “retransmits” the Department of Defense policy issued in August and states it is “a policy that remains in force and may not be supplemented.” It goes on to say that “constructs for ‘active duty’ service should not include arrangements typically unavailable to others in uniform.”

Not to say I told you so, but….

So perhaps the sun is setting on West Point’s folly. Or maybe the Army will just ignore this memo too. I mean, it isn’t like they paid attention to the first one, which was already pretty damn straightforward in its intent. At this point, nothing surprises me. After all, this memo went out two weeks ago. There’s been plenty of talk from the Army about their wonderful policy since then.

It appears that earlier comments from DoD spokespeople about how it’s up to Army to interpret the DoD policy for themselves were really just a face-saving measure, trying to prevent any bad publicity for the Army while working behind the scenes to get them back in line. Now that the story of this second memo is out, the true shady nature of the Army policy is exposed– and it looks a lot different than the peaches and cream picture that they tried to put on it. Hopefully as this story spreads, the Army will be shamed into following the rules. Of course, the real shame is that we’ve even reached that point.

Meanwhile, there has apparently been a flap about the Army policy on Baltimore radio. The interesting thing about this bit isn’t that the author disagrees with the policy, but rather his take on some of the knee-jerk reactions from people who disagree with him:

“Mike”, a listener – now FORMER listener – took great exception with my opinion today. Mike has a military background and went to great lengths today to explain that both Bob and I are wrong on this matter. Never mind that it’s our respective OPINION(s) that the U.S. Army is wrong for allowing Caleb Campbell to play football rather than fulfill his duties in Iraq. Mike says we’re wrong for thinking that way and chastised me for having an opinion on something that I’ve never before experienced – “perhaps you should try crawling through the mud with a rifle (once) before you criticize the manner in which the U.S. Army operates”, he wrote to me in an e-mail.
 
Well, if we used that theory as a barometer for sports talk radio, WNST wouldn’t exist, since none of us (I think) have ever thrown a pass in the NFL, stepped to the plate in major league baseball or hit a 3-point shot in Division I college basketball – yet we all see fit to comment, praise and criticize some of those situations every single day at 1570. Hell, no one in our listening audience has ever coached in the NFL and last January we had thousands of people claiming the ex-Ravens coach didn’t know what he was doing, right?

I know I touched on it earlier this week, but this guy is dead on. This idea that this is an issue only for military members to discuss is absurd.

 

MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL OH NOES

On By MikeIn bowls, football5 Comments

With the Congressional Bowl and St. Petersburg Bowl both being given the green light by the NCAA, the inevitable whining about how there are too many bowl games is in full swing. The topic pops up twice a year; when new bowl games are approved (like now), and again during the bowl season itself. We have yet another piece here that presents all the usual arguments, this time courtesy of Paul Finebaum.

Usual argument #1: Nobody watches!

Does anyone care? Will anyone watch another meaningless bowl game featuring 6-6 teams that don’t want to be there and did nothing to earn an invitation?

Of course, ESPN is not only in the broadcasting business but now owns multiple bowls, including several of the newer ones. ESPN owning bowl games is a major conflict of interest.

I guess nobody else sees the irony in asking this question year after year as more bowl games are added. Do you know why they’re added? Because people watch! And why is ESPN owning bowl games a conflict of interest? That doesn’t make sense.

Most people have better things to do at noon on the Saturday before Christmas than watch Cincinnati and Southern Miss or Houston-TCU or New Mexico-Nevada. Even when the games are good, they are bad.

Well, that’s ESPN’s problem then. Why would anyone else care? Are people being forced to watch? And if some people can’t appreciate a good football game if it doesn’t involve the SEC, that’s too bad. Those of us who enjoy the game more than the hype don’t need neon lights to tell us what makes for a good matchup.

Usual argument #2: You’re rewarding mediocrity!

The argument is age-old that these bowl games give football players an opportunity to experience a new city (wow, five December nights seeing all the tourist attractions of Birmingham) and be fussed over. It’s an educational experience, part of the learning process, some claim.

No, it’s not.

It is a reward for mediocrity. It teaches young people that if you do a crummy job, you can still get by in the world. Nice example for young people, huh?

Really? You’re against bowl games because of the example it sets for “young people?” Really? As if players and fans don’t see a difference between the Motor City Bowl and the Rose Bowl. 6-6 teams don’t get the same reward as 11-1 teams. Bowl games are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Everyone but grumpy sports columnists can see that.

Bowl games are fun. It’s college football. I like watching college football. If you do not like watching college football, then by all means do those “better” things you need to do on the Saturday before Christmas. Leave the football watching to the people who enjoy it.