Military MMA links: Brandon Sayles video, Herschel Walker visit, Marine boxers win
February 10th, 2012 | Army Boxing Combatives Football Marine Corps Mixed martial arts UFC | Posted by Kevin Lilley
For those of you sick of the latest service academy basketball news (either here or here), try these combatives links:
Army (Superheavyweight) Strong: Staff Sgt. Brandon Sayles gets a nice video treatment from the folks at HDNet before his fight tonight at XFC 16:
Sayles, a three-time Army Combatives Championship winner, will face Chase Gormley live on HDNet; the fights start at 10 p.m. ET. Also on the card is former Marine Dustin West — check out an XFC news release on his work with the Wounded Warrior Project here. Not sure if you get HDNet? Click the “subscribe” tab here.
Football legend stops by: Herschel Walker is known for many things — a college football career that ranks among the best ever, his time as the face of the now-defunct USFL, the famous trade that sent him to Minnesota and helped create a Dallas dynasty (How famous? This famous), and a 2-0 record as a Strikeforce heavyweight as he rushes head-on toward age 50.
He’s also known for going public with his battle against Dissociative Identity Disorder. Multiple personalities may not be at the top of the priority list for military medicine, but mental health issues are. That’s why Walker’s message during his recent visit with soldiers and families at Fort Bliss, Texas, is so important. Staff Sgt Casey J. McGeorge, who wrote this release about the visit, put it best: “There is no shame in seeking help.”
Walker, who turns 50 in March, may have one more fight left in him, according to an SB Nation report citing a recent interview in a magazine After Action only reads for the articles.
Marines take gold: OK, the arts aren’t exactly “mixed,” but it’s big news anyway — the Marine Corps ended Army’s two-decade win streak at the Armed Forces Boxing Championship at Camp Pendleton, Calif., earlier this month. Click the previous link to read about Marine Sgt. DeJesus Gardner’s gutty performance in the 201-pound weight class to clinch the overall win, and get the Army write-up here.
Marines, sailors take in Super Bowl at sea
February 6th, 2012 | Football Marine Corps Navy | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Maj. Doug Baker, a Patriots fan from Roxbury, Conn., reacts while watching the Super Bowl in the officer's wardroom aboard the USS Wasp. (Mike Morones/Staff)
ABOARD THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP WASP -– If you’re going to watch your favorite NFL team lose in the Super Bowl, it may as well be somewhere interesting.
That’s the scenario I found myself in last night as I continue to cover Bold Alligator 2012, a massive amphibious exercise involving at least 14,000 personnel and 25 ships off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. Like many of the sailors and Marines aboard this gator ship, I had accepted there was a strong possibility the game wouldn’t be on while underway –- only to find out the exact opposite.
Not only did the Wasp have the Super Bowl, the ship’s leadership went out of its way to make sure as many people as possible could see it. From the wardroom, to the barber shop, to the mess deck, several thousand personnel took a break to watch the game, in which the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 21-17.
The liveliest place to view the game was the hangar bay. A movie theater screen and hundreds of chairs were set up, and Marines and sailors turned it into a concert-like environment in which the game and the commercials alike received howling cheers and boos.
The crowd was polarized when it came to sports, with any close-up shot of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady or Giants quarterback Eli Manning receiving a loud, mixed response. It was less so when it came to the commercials, as the raucous response to a new ad for the Fiat 500 Abarth showed. It depicted a tall, exotic woman flirting with a short, awkward man – until he realized he was simply daydreaming. The Marines and sailors howled.
In the ward room, dozens of officers aboard gathered over chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, coffee and soda to watch the game on two big-screen TVs. Several foreign officers asked questions about the rules of American football, and U.S. personnel cheerfully explained.
As a Massachusetts native, I took all this in with a red Patriots T-shirt poking out from underneath my half-zipped fleece. A few people noticed, but no one poked fun. They understood the draw of the game.
In the hangar bay, Lance Cpl. T.J. Miller, 20, told me he found out he’d be involved in Bold Alligator two days before the ships launched earlier this month. A Patriots fan, he assumed he’d miss the game for the second year in a row.
“They told me two days before, ‘Pack your stuff. You’re going,’ and I thought it was possible I’d miss it,” the CH-53 mechanic said. “The signal has gone out twice for about 30 seconds, but if it happens again I’ll go see what happens in the mess deck.”
Ah, the signal. Late in the game, it did go out again. Shortly after Giants receiver Mario Manningham reeled in a spectacular sideline grab that put New York in position to win the game, the screens on board went dark.
“Are you kidding me!” several Marines and sailors yelled in the mess deck, frustrated with the timing.
The signal came back a few moments later, and stayed true through the end of the game. When Giants running back fell into the end zone with the game-winning score with about a minute to play, much of the hanger bay exploded into cheers.
Brady’s last desperation heave into the endzone fell to the ground a few minutes later, and Giants fans on board erupted. A sailor began blowing a whistle as though it were a musical instrument, and a group of Marines and sailors began jumping up and down in celebration.
Lance Cpl. Alex Ovide, 23, was one of the most boisterous. An amphibious assault vehicle crewman from Queens, N.Y., he’ll be involved in the amphibious unfolding over the next few days, but was glad to watch the game. He missed it last year while he was in the field, he said, and didn’t know the Wasp would have the game until it was already underway.
“I was just hoping to get a phone call out and find out the score,” Ovide said. “There was a rumor mill at first that we’d be able to see it, and then it came together.”
The result of the game, Ovide said, was “simply beautiful.” He congratulated the Patriots on a great season, knowing that I was a fan.
“This was great,” he said. “All of us came together, and all of the branches of service on board, too. It’s something you can really appreciate.”
I couldn’t agree more. Other than the final score, of course.
Report: Brian Stann’s next UFC fight slated for April
January 5th, 2012 | Marine Corps Mixed martial arts | Posted by Phil Creed
Brian Stann drops Jorge Santiago in the second round of his TKO win at UFC 130 in May 2011. (The Associated Press)
Good news, MMA fans: Former Marine and Silver Star recipient Brian Stann is returning to the Octagon in April. Stann will square off with Alessio Sakara in the headline fight at UFC on FUEL TV 2, MMAJunkie.com reported today.
The fight will take place April 14 at the Ericsson Global Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. It’s the first UFC event in that country, according to Sherdog.com.
Stann (11-4) hasn’t fought since a second-round submission loss to Chael Sonnen in October at UFC 136. Sakara (15-8) is also coming off a defeat, losing a decision to Chris Weidman in March.
Never heard of FUEL TV? Click here to find out if you cable system carries it.
Rough season ends with a bang for former Marine in NFL
January 4th, 2012 | Football Marine Corps | Posted by Phil Creed
For former Marine and current Tennessee Titans fullback Ahmard Hall, 2011 was a year to forget. Unfortunately for Hall, he literally has trouble remembering the very end of his season because of the concussion he sustained in fourth quarter of the Titans’ final game.
Hall, who served in the Corps from 1998-2002, got clocked by Houston linebacker Tim Dobbins on an outside run with less than two minutes to play. Watch the play here. The force caused Hall spin in the air and fumble, with the Texans recovering.
Hall told The Tennessean on Monday that he was “clearing up” but couldn’t remember much about the play or anything after it.
The injury ended a disappointing season for Hall. He started the year by missing the first four games due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. Tennessee’s running attack never got on track during the season, finishing 31st in the NFL, despite having former 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson in the backfield. The Titans, playing under a new coach, finished the season 9-7, but missed the playoffs after the tiebreaker went to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hall, set to become a free agent after finishing his sixth season with Tennessee, told The Tennessean he was not optimistic about re-signing with the Titans.
“I am just going to enjoy my time with my family and try and relax and worry about [a new contract] in March,” Hall said.
See the service assignments for the Army-Navy game seniors
December 7th, 2011 | Army Army-Air Force Game Football Marine Corps Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Saturday’s Army-Navy game comes on the heels of another momentous day for the cadets and midshipmen, one that will affect their future much more than the outcome of a football game.
Seniors at both academies received their service assignments (Navy) or branch assignments (Army) in the few weeks, a moment long anticipated by mids and cadets. These assignments determine the path that cadets and midshipmen will be put on when the graduate and are commissioned as officers. West Point”s seniors, who will be commissioned as second lieutenants in May, get tapped to go into branches like armor, infantry, field artillery, etc. Navy seniors, who will be commissioned as either ensigns or Marine Corps second lieutenants, go into a career paths to become surface warfare officers (SWO), submariners, pilots, Marine Corps ground officers, etc.
Here’s the assignments for this year’s senior football players:
Naval Academy service assignments
Brian Ackerman – Surface Warfare (Nuclear)
Bruce Andrews — Supply Corps
Ryan Basford – Surface Warfare
Thomas Batchelder — Surface Warfare
Brian Blick — Marine Corps Ground
Max Blue — Marine Corps Ground
Alex Boddiford — Surface Warfare
Hal Bowron – Surface Warfare
Brady DeMell – Surface Warfare
Delvin Diggs – Surface Warfare (Nuclear)
Neil Doogan – Marine Corps Ground
Eric Douglass – Surface Warfare
John Dowd – Submarines
Zach Dryden – Surface Warfare
Doug Furman – Navy Pilot
Mason Graham – Marine Corps Ground
Hal Hunter – Intelligence
Caleb King – Naval Flight Officer
Jared Marks – Marine Corps Ground
John McCauley – Surface Warfare
Kwesi Mitchell – Naval Flight Officer
Gary Myers – Naval Flight Officer
Torri Preston – Marine Corps Ground
Kriss Proctor – Naval Flight Officer
Aaron Santiago – Surface Warfare (Nuclear)
Jarred Shannon – Surface Warfare
Eric Stein – Naval Flight Officer
Mike Stukel – Marine Corps Ground
David Sumrall – Intelligence
Jon Teague – Marine Corps Pilot
Alexander Teich – Special Warfare (SEAL) [Read more about Teich here]
Jabaree Tuani – Surface Warfare
David Wright – Surface Warfare
West Point’s branch assignments:
Joe Bailey – Armor
Austin Barr – Field Artillery
Davyd Brooks – Field Artillery
Alex Carlton – Engineers
Broghan Carnes – Field Artillery
Frank Ceva – Signal Corps
Steven Erzinger – Armor
Daniel Hinkson – Field Artillery
Max Jenkins – Infantry
Josh Jones– Infantry
Robert Kava– Field Artillery
Brad Kelly– Infantry
Chad Littlejohn– Engineers
Mike McDermott – Field Artillery
Jordan Pleasants – Infantry
Bill Prosko – Armor
Andrew Rodriguez – Infantry
Justin Schaaf – Field Artillery
Kolin Walk – Transportation
(Special thanks to Navy’s Scott Strasemeier and Army’s Brian Gunning for providing After Action these lists.)
Photo: Marines ‘Tebowing’ before Broncos-Jets game
November 21st, 2011 | Football Marine Corps | Posted by Phil Creed
Marines perform their version of 'Tebowing' before the Broncos-Jets game on Nov. 17. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez)
“Tebowing” has swept the nation since the Denver Broncos promoted former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow to starting quarterback last month. The trend pokes fun at Tebow’s penchant for dropping to a knee in prayer, with his elbow on his knee and his fist under his bowed head. The pose has inspired a website and countless imitators, with the latest being a group of Marines on the field prior to the Broncos-Jets game last Thursday.
Tebow, perhaps the most divisive figure in the NFL right now, continues to win games. And after scoring a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to beat the Jets, The Man himself showed us mortals just how Tebowing is really done:
Tim Tebow bows his head on the sidelines after scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the Broncos 17-13 against the Jets. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez)
Video: Justin Timberlake’s Marine date dominates MMA match
October 25th, 2011 | Marine Corps Mixed martial arts | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Marine Cpl. Kelsey De Santis smiles after winning her MMA fight Saturday night. (Photo by James J. Lee/Staff)
In the blink of an eye, it was over. Justin Timberlake may want to take notice.
Cpl. Kelsey De Santis, the Marine who famously invited the singer and actor to attend the Marine Corps birthday ball with her, competed Saturday night in Operation Octagon XVI, a mixed martial arts event in Sterling, Va.
To say it was a one-sided fight would be an understatement.
De Santis, fighting in the 145-pound featherweight title fight, pummeled her opponent, Stacy Sneeringer. With a flurry of energy, De Santis took Sneeringer to the mat early, and finished her off 2:51 into the fight with a series of punches and elbows to the face. The match never made it to Round 2.
Staff photographer James J. Lee and I attended the event, held at the Dulles Sportsplex. Check out his video here:
As you can see, the 5-foot-9 De Santis had a large following in the crowd of about 300 people. She took the the microphone in the ring afterward and thanked a variety of people, including her coaches and fellow Marines at the Martial Arts Center for Excellence in Quantico, Va. She also acknowledged all the hoopla surrounding the sensation her YouTube invitation created.
“I’m looking forward,” she said, “to going to the Marine Corps birthday ball with Justin Timberlake.”
On came one of his signature songs, “SexyBack,” and the crowd cheered.
Marine who asked Justin Timberlake to Marine Corps Ball has MMA fight Saturday
October 21st, 2011 | Marine Corps Mixed martial arts | Posted by Phil Creed
Cpl. Kelsey De Santis, the Marine who made a name for herself in July by asking Justin Timberlake to the Marine Corps Ball, will be fighting in an MMA bout Saturday in Virginia.
DeSantis’ fight is the main event at Operation Octagon XVI in Sterling, Va. Her opponent is a fellow 145-pounder named Stacy Sneeringer.
A trainer at the Martial Arts Center for Excellence (MACE) at Quantico Marine Corps Base, Va., De Santis became the second Marine to garner national attention for asking a celeb to the Marine Corps Ball (A male Marine had struck first by asking Mila Kunis to the Ball). Timberlake accepted De Santis’ invitation, and the two are slated to attend the D.C. ball in November.
Here’s De Santis fighting at Operation Octagon in Oct. 2010. She’s the one in the black top who’s pummeling her opponent.
Here’s a recent interview with De Santis about this fight:
A lousy weekend
October 9th, 2011 | Air Force Army Marine Corps Mixed martial arts Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Chael Sonnen takes down Brian Stann at UFC 136 in Houston. Sonnen submitted Stann in the second round. (AP Photo/ Houston Chronicle,Johnny Hanson)
It was a bad weekend for the service academy football teams. Very bad.
Army lost to previously winless Miami (Ohio). Air Force got smoked by Notre Dame. Navy was trounced at home by Southern Miss.
And on top of all of that, the military’s biggest MMA star — former Marine officer and Silver Star recipient Brian Stann — was soundly defeated Saturday night at UFC 136.
Stann handled
The only of the above events I watched was Stann’s loss, which was somewhat stunning. It wasn’t surprising that Stann lost — he was the underdog — but it was shocking to see Chael Sonnen dominate him so thoroughly right from opening bell.
An All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, Sonnen’s grappling abilities proved to be too much for Stann, who’s had his greatest success as a stand-and-bang fighter. By the end of Saturday’s fight, Stann had spent most of the match on his back or against the fence, unable to create any distance from Sonnen. According to FightMetric.com, Stann was outstruck 28-2 by Sonnen and was taken down four times.
Sonnen completed his dominating performance with an arm triangle, forcing Stann to tap at 3:51 in the second round. Adding insult to injury, Sonnen didn’t even discuss the match in hi postfight interview in the Octagon, choosing instead to callout rival Anderson Silva in a WWE-esque rant. Intentionally or unintentionally, Sonnen’s antics seemed to drive home that this was an easy victory for him.
The loss is Stann’s first since dropping to middleweight, where he had won three straight fights. Stann’s last loss in the Octagon – to light heavyweight Phil Davis in Feb. 2010 — was another matchup against a former NCAA All-American wrestler.
Afterward Stann was understandably frustrated.
“I thought I was strong enough to handle his wrestling and that wasn’t the case, ” Stann said. “You don’t want Chael Sonnen on top of you. It was horrible.”
Stann’s pro record now stands at 11-4.
Down year?
Last season saw all three service academy football teams make it to bowl games. It appears highly unlikely that will happen again.
Ahmard Hall back from suspension, wants to clear his name
October 6th, 2011 | Football Marine Corps | Posted by Phil Creed
Ahmard Hall returned to the Tennessee Titans this week after serving a four-week suspension for using a banned substance. The former Marine sergeant, now in his sixth year in the NFL, wants folks to know that he wasn’t taking steroids.
Hall told reporters yesterday that he popped positive for Adderall, a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine which is prescribed to treat attention deficit disorder. Hall says he borrowed the drug from a friend to keep him alert for a drive home to Texas in February.
This is an odd strategy if Hall is trying to clear his name. Isn’t taking a prescription that isn’t yours against the law and, presumably, NFL rules? If the suspension is the same for either drug, what difference does it really make?
From a football standpoint, Hall’s return is huge for the Titans, who have the lowest-ranked rushing attack in the league. Two seasons ago, Hall was part of a unit that helped running back Chris Johnson rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. Hall said yesterday it would take more than just him to get on track, but every little bit has to help.
“The running game is not a one-person problem, it is a team problem, and offensive problem,” Hall told The Tennessean. “Me coming back, I am not going to solve the problem. We all have to get together and get on the same sheet of music. But I can’t wait to get out there Sunday.”