Black and blue, and purple with envy
November 20th, 2009 | After Action | Posted by militaryonline
Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has led his club to an 8-1 record and the NFC North Division lead. (Andy King / The Associated Press)
Seems like Wisconsin National Guard troops who love the Green Bay Packers can’t get away from needling about Brett Favre’s resurgent season in Minnesota, even when they’re stationed thousands of miles away. Favre has shined in the first half of the season, leading the Vikings (8-1) to the top spot in the NFC North, three games clear of his former club with seven games left to play. He’s also the top-rated quarterback in the NFL and generally has avoided the five-interception games he’s known for.
Detainees at Camp Cropper, Iraq, have been listening in on their guards’ conversations about football and, lo and behold, have used Favre’s success to get under their guards’ skin.
Packers fans might get the last laugh, though — Favre helped lead to the New York Jets to a strong start last year, only to see Gang Green collapse down the stretch and miss out on the playoffs.
Hitting the slopes at Elmendorf and Eielson
November 20th, 2009 | After Action | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Ski and snowboarders get off the lift on top of Hillberg Ski Area at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, last year. (AF photo)
Your base might have a golf course, but does it have a ski slope? Airmen at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska and Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, can make that claim.
Both feature small slopes with only a few runs, but what did you expect, Killington or Aspen? We’re talking about the Air Force here. You can’t invest too much on a ski resort and risk stealing away money from the beloved golf courses.
I digress. Both Hillberg Ski Hill at Elmendorf and Iceman Hill at Eielson are busy blowing snow getting ready to open over the Thanksgiving Day weekend. It’s plenty cold in Alaska, but they still haven’t gotten enough natural snowfall.
While it might only take a few turns before you reach the bottom of the slope, it looks like the perfect place for beginners or families. The best part is the trip comes cheap. A lift ticket only costs $17 and rentals $20. You can’t find another slope, I don’t care how big, with cheaper rates. Beginners are typically scared away by the steep price tag that comes with a ski trip, but this gives airmen a cheap way to learn.
Elmendorf is trying to attract even more airmen to the hill this season by running a shuttle between Hillberg and the dorms.
The most popular runs, though, might not even be the ski and snowboard slopes. Hillberg’s staff said the tubing runs get the largest crowds, especially on weekends.
“Even if you don’t ski you can come out and enjoy the tubing runs. Some might say they are too old to go tubing but after a few times down you can’t get them off the mountain,” said Raina Panarese, who works at Hillberg.
More photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Season Preview: Army Basketball
November 20th, 2009 | After Action | Posted by militaryonline
- Senior forward Chris Walker is one of seven seniors looking to break Army’s streak of losing seasons. (Army photo)
Going into this season everything looked on track to break Army’s streak of 15 straight losing seasons. Seven seniors and five juniors return to a team that has reached last year’s semifinals of the Patriot League Championship.
Everything changed after the athletic department fired 7-year coach Jim Crews for unspecified reasons right before the season. The Times Herald Record has reported Crews was fired for physically abusing a player. Army hired Cornell assistant coach Zach Spiker to replace Crews and lead the veteran squad over that hump.
Last year’s team’s hallmark was defense. That should continue to be a theme this year. Patriot League 2009 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Nelson returns after posting an Army season record 32 blocks last year even though he stands 6-feet tall. He depends on posting up guards in the blocks, but word is he has spent a lot of time developing his jumper for his senior season.
An underclassmen who could break into the starting five is sophomore guard Julian Simmons who started 12 games as a freshman. He averaged 7.4 points per game including a career-high 21 points against Bucknell in the season finale.
If Simmons can boost his scoring average into the double digits, it will take some of the pressure off leading returning scorer Cleveland Richard. He averaged 12 points and 3 rebounds last year and shot .407 from behind the arc. Spiker will need plenty of production this year from his 6-3 senior swingman.
Like the other service academies, Army is plagued with little height. Senior forward Chris Walker, 6-9 is the only player taller than 6-3 to log considerable minutes. Army will need 6-6 senior forward Eric Zastoupil or maybe 6-4 junior forward Jeremy Hence to help fill the paint with Walker.
Predicted Finish: 16-12
MVP: Julian Simmons
Bold Prediction: Coach Spiker pushes this team over the hump in a down year for the Patriot League. Army wins with defense and a breakout season for sophomore Julian Simmons. Break out the champagne boys clear skies are here at last.
The guy knows how to make an entrance
November 17th, 2009 | Army Marine Corps NASCAR | Posted by Phil Ewing
Super-joint: A Marine Corps space shuttle pilot drove a NASCAR pace car out of an Army Reserve CH-47 Nov. 8 at Texas Motor Speedway (AP Photo)
Sure, you learn to fly the space shuttle and all of a sudden no vehicle is off limits to you — let’s say, for example, you wanted to drive a pace car down the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter onto the course at the Texas Motor Speedway. Yep. You can do that, apparently.
Marine Col. Doug Hurley, who has flown the space shuttle Endeavor, was himself flown onto the track in Fort Worth by Maj. Tank Sherman and his Army Reserve crewmates from Bravo Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment. Sherman told After Action the approach and landing on the racetrack was simpler than putting down his helo on an unimproved field over in Iraq or Afghanistan.
“There was a lot less dust,” he said, “and I didn’t have to worry about anybody shooting at me, unless they were drunk.”
There were some similarities to a combat mission. Sherman and his crew practiced on the ground with Hurley to make sure Hurley could drive the pace car — a brand-new Chevrolet Camaro — out of the Chinook’s cargo bay as quickly and safely as possible. And just as in a tactical situation, Sherman flew to a hold point before he deposited Hurley and the pace car, so he’d be in place when race officials were set up for the landing.
But the Camaro was easier to secure than a Humvee, and there was one other big difference, he said: “All the people standing and clapping for us. That doesn’t happen out in the back 40.”
Basketball Season Preview: Air Force
November 17th, 2009 | After Action | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Air Force senior forward Grant Parker (Air Force photo)
It’s not all about football here at After Action. We’ll give equal attention to the hard court. And unless no one has noticed, each one of the service academy basketball teams have already tipped off their seasons. This week we’ll take a look at each one and preview their upcoming seasons.
We will start with Air Force.
Last season the wheels fell off for Coach Jeff Reynold’s club. It ended the season on a 17-game losing streak before the Falcons shocked the entire Mountain West Conference by beating Colorado State in the first round of the conference tournament.
This will be a telling third season for Reynolds as the former assistant coach took over the program that Jeff Bzdelik left to coach at the University of Colorado. Bzdelik had led the Falcons to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and the NIT semifinals in 2007. Air Force was hoping Reynolds could keep the program rolling, but it has been in decline ever since. In his first year the team fell to .500 in the conference and last year it went 0-16 in Mountain West play.
Reynolds now has a full-blown rebuilding project on his hands. The Falcons will experience a youth movement as they lose their top three scorers and more than 50 percent of their offensive output from last year’s team. Not to say that’s necessarily a bad thing when you go winless in conference play, although it also means the other players didn’t have the chops to earn playing time.
Service academies take care of business
November 16th, 2009 | After Action Air Force Army Navy | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Army's Alejandro Villanueva catches a 7-yard pass from quarterback Trent Steelman in the Black Knights' win over VMI at Michie Stadium. (Army photo)
This week was a let down. Last weekend featured the Army/Air Force showdown with ESPN Gameday on the sideline and Navy’s historic upset of Notre Dame. This weekend Army, Air Force and Navy all faced opponents they should have beaten. And yes I included Rich Ellerson’s improved West Point squad who faced the Keydets of the Virginia Military Institute.
All three came through with a win, although Navy got a scare from the Delaware Blue Hens, who always seem to give the Midshipmen a hard time no matter how far Navy’s football program advances. I still can’t believe the Navy players’ ho-hum attitude after beating Notre Dame last weekend. Has Notre Dame really fallen this hard or has Navy come this far? Tough to tell.
Some quick recaps from the weekend:
The Black Knights tried to give this game away losing four fumbles, including one with 2:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the defense stood tall keeping the Keydets out of the endzone. Army running back Patrick Mealy led the offense and finished with 136 yards rushing.
Coach Rich Ellerson has turned this program around. The Black Knights have a chance to end the year with six wins if they can pull the upset over Navy on Dec. 12. Next week Army heads south to play North Texas, which is another winnable game as long as they can hold onto the ball.
Air Force never gave UNLV any sliver of hope they could pull the upset. Running back Asher Clark, who ran for 160 yards, started the onslaught with a 24-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Fighting Falcons didn’t let up the rest of the first half and went into the locker room with a 24-3 lead. UNLV came out in the second half strong, scoring a touchdown to cut Air Force’s lead to 14. But Nathan Walker squashed those hopes with his 2 yard touchdown run. The Falcons will take a three-game winning streak into its matchup with No. 22 BYU next weekend.
Navy 35 Delaware 18
Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo had to expect a letdown facing FCS opponent Delaware after beating Notre Dame for the second time in three years. But he still had to be disappointed with his team’s effort in the first half that left Navy trailing the Blue Hens by two at halftime. Not until the fourth quarter did the Midshipmen pull away.
Quarterback Ricky Dobbs ran in five touchdowns on the afternoon. If only college fantasy football existed. Ricky Dobbs would be a beast. I digress. Navy will get a much-deserved week off before flying out to Hawaii for it’s Nov. 28 meeting, which will be aired on ESPNU at 10:30 p.m. EST.
Notre Dame coach rips Navy on Veterans Day
November 12th, 2009 | After Action Navy football | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Notre Dame associate head coach Corwin Brown addresses the media. (AP photo)
Look to the left. There sits the world’s sorest loser and the only man with worse PR instincts than Redskins owner Dan Snyder.
Notre Dame associate head coach Corwin Brown decided that he’d spend his Veterans Day calling out Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo and then complaining about Navy’s “malicious” illegal cut blocks. This, of course, comes four days after the Midshipmen marched into South Bend, Ind., and leveled Notre Dame 23-21 to further embarrass a Fighting Irish coaching staff swiftly putting together their resumes.
I mean this is low and pathetic on all counts. Brown got agitated that Niumatalolo told reporters Saturday that his staff anticipated Notre Dame would not change their defensive scheme, which stymied the Mids’ rushing attack last year.
“I think the one thing that helped us, and I really hope this doesn’t come across wrong, but I think the thing that helped us this year was last year because we knew that they’d line up the same way,” Niumatalolo said Saturday.
And what do you know, the Fighting Irish defense, which Brown helps coach, used those same exact schemes that allowed Navy to take a 14-0 lead into halftime. How sour do you want your grapes Mr. Brown?
“I thought it was very disappointing, what the Navy coach said after the game. He didn’t want something to be misconstrued, but then he said it, regarding how we prepared and what we prepared to do. I’m going to tell you this – we came out in the second half, minus one mess-up, they don’t get anything.”
Of course, Brown doesn’t mention how his defense allowed 194 yards in the first half alone. He was too busy patting defense coordinator Jon Tenuta on the back for coming up with last year’s game plan.
“Whether you think it’s the right thing to say or not, in this profession, with all the classy guys that I’ve watched and played under and studied, they would never say a thing like that,” Brown told reporters Wednesday night. “To say that we didn’t prepare well or we didn’t have a good game plan, that’s crazy. What I think is crazy is a lack of imagination for what they do.”
Actually what Navy did with its “unimaginative attack” was run the ball right down Notre Dame’s throat most of the day. I mean is this guy for real? Does he not realize what it looks like for a coach of a team littered with 4- and 5-star recruits with NFL futures ripping a bunch of college kids who have dedicated themselves to protecting our country? So what does he do next? He calls the Mids cheaters and dirty players, of course. Those poor, poor Notre Dame players. Touchdown Jesus sheds a tear for thee.
“They hit (Notre Dame player Brian Smith) illegally last year and put him out. They hit (Notre Dame player Robert Blanton) on one of the most malicious plays I’ve ever seen since I’ve been playing. And I called [Niumatalolo] about it. And I told him I thought it was very poor. He probably thought I called because we lost; I was going to say something to him before the game but I didn’t. Very malicious. And in this game, which we’re supposed to be playing for our kids, you don’t let your players do something like that.”
Well done coach. You guys couldn’t stop Navy’s unimaginative attack because of their “illegal” chop blocks? Is that right? Since Notre Dame’s defensive lineman outweighed Navy’s offensive lineman by at least 30 pounds that had to be it. Good point.
But wait, we’re not done. Brown wanted to save his best comments for last. He figured he had not yet proven how little he understands what it means to serve or the sacrifices Navy’s players have made to wear the uniform that does not come with shoulder pads.
“Now, coach (Charlie) Weis, and (defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta) do a great job getting us prepare on offense and defense. And I don’t care what foxhole they’re in, I’m jumping in the foxhole with them every time. We had a damn good game plan. And that’s all I got to say.”
Someone needs to deliver this message to Brown and Notre Dame’s coaching staff because I bet Brown isn’t just speaking for himself and I have not yet heard an apology from Weis. To a team where many players will end up joining combat units like the U.S. Navy SEALs fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, foxholes aren’t just a symbol or catchy phrase. That foxhole might save their lives from bullets flying over head.
Happy Veterans Day
November 11th, 2009 | After Action Marine Corps football | Posted by Daniel Lamothe
The late, great Ted Williams flew combat missions over Korea in 1953 during a hiatus from his career with the Boston Red Sox. //The Associated Press
Todays is Veterans Day, and that means plenty of publications that rarely write about military life are giving thanks to the U.S. military.
Take Sports Illustrated scribe Joe Posnanski and the blog Baseball Think Factory, which salute the troops by posting a 2006-era photo of Marines playing baseball in Iraq.
Or Yahoo! Sports, which makes a valiant attempt to name some of the greatest athlete-veterans in U.S. history.
Or NFL.com, which shares a feature on Tennessee Titans fullback Ahmard Hall, who served in the Marine Corps for four years before walking onto the University of Texas football team.
These are all good things. In many ways, the sporting world is one of the most welcoming to veterans, and a place where — sadly — some Americans get some of their only exposure to military life.
Former Marine Capt. Matt Ufford, a sports blog luminary and former tank officer, also shares some of his own personal history today in a revealing blog post on Kissing Suzy Kolber. It’s well worth a read on an important holiday like this one — or anytime, really.
Commander-in-Chiefs Trophy again Navy’s to lose
November 10th, 2009 | After Action | Posted by Mike Hoffman
President Obama awarded the trophy last year to the Midshipmen.
Army threatened to make it a race. With a win last Saturday over Air Force, the Black Knights would have set up a winner take all matchup with Navy on Dec. 12 in Philadelphia. And after ending the first half knotted at seven, it looked like Army just might do it. Unfortunately for Army and anyone else who is tired of watching the Midshipmen accept a trophy at the White House, the lead didn’t hold up.
Air Force left the locker room after a fiery speech from linebacker Andre Morris Jr. and rolled over the Black Knights with four unanswered touchdowns in the second half. So what does that mean for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, which goes to whoever wins the series between the three service academy football teams? It’s a trophy that has made a home the last six years in Annapolis, Md. And it will stay there since the best Army and Air Force can hope for now is a tie. In that case, the trophy stays with the previous year’s champion.
The last tie occurred in 1993 amidst Air Force’s run of 11 wins in 13 years. Prior to Navy’s latest run, the Midshipmen had not won the trophy since 1981. Recently, though, a trip to the White House Rose Garden has become as regular as the start of spring ball.
Mike and Mike board USS New York
November 10th, 2009 | After Action | Posted by Mike Hoffman
ESPN's Mike and Mike will board the USS New York, which Port Authority Sgt. Christopher Bergman, a 9/11 first responder , sits in front of during her commissioning ceremony Nov. 7 (AP photo)
Apparently $1 billion only buys a face for radio.
Yes, three days after the Navy introduced it’s newest toy, ESPN radio personalities Mike and Mike will board the USS New York to do their morning show Tuesday. The two radio hosts, Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, will broadcast their show 6-10 a.m. EST on ESPN radio. And yes, the amphibious transport dock will get some TV time on ESPN2 as the radio show is also broadcast on those airways.
It is part of ESPN’s week long effort to honor veterans. The self-described worldwide leader in sports brought their College Gameday show to the Air Force Academy last Saturday and will broadcast Sportscenter from West Point.