Byers, Mango lead strong military presence at Team USA wrestling trials
April 19th, 2012 | After Action Army Marine Corps Wrestling | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Dremiel Byers reacts after winning a spot on the 2008 Olympic Team at the U.S. trials in Las Vegas. He'll be grappling for a trip to the London games this weekend in Iowa City. (US Presswire photo by Marlene Karas)
The London Olympics are less than 100 days away, and while some military athletes have already punched their tickets (and keep checking here for new Army qualifiers), the trials have yet to start in earnest.
That changes this weekend in Iowa City. About 30 wrestlers with military affiliations will compete in the Greco-Roman and freestyle (men’s and women’s) tournaments to determine who’ll represent the U.S. on the mats. Click through for a quick guide for the once-every-four-years wrestling fan — the troops, the favorites, the story lines, the TV coverage and, of course, the flying squirrel.
Wednesday update: Navy QB Proctor resigns, Falcons look forward, Byers makes a promise
April 18th, 2012 | Air Force Army Football Navy Wrestling | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Navy quarterback Kriss Proctor looks downfield during the 2011 Army-Navy football game, his last game as a Midshipman. (US Presswire photo by Danny Wild)
Three quick hits from around the web on a Wednesday morning:
1. Proctor resigns: Bill Wagner at The (Annapolis, Md.) Capital broke the news yesterday — Navy quarterback Kriss Proctor, who finished his senior season with a win over Army in December, has resigned from the Naval Academy and will not graduate. The resignation hasn’t been accepted, according to the report, but it likely will be, and was reportedly triggered by an alleged honor code violation.
2. Falcon free agents: Frank Schwab at The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette brings better news, reporting on the pro football dreams of Air Force receiver Jonathan Warzeka and safety Jon Davis. Don’t expect to hear either name during NFL draft coverage, but both hope they’ll get a look as free agents despite the service commitment that comes with an academy education. Warzeka tied for the team lead with 31 receptions and caught four touchdowns while also handling kick return duties, racking up 254 rushing yards and throwing a touchdown pass. Davis had a team-best four interceptions and was second in tackles with 94.
3. Byers’ medal hunt: From Tim Hipps of Army Installation Management Command public affairs (via TheMat.com) comes this story about Army Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers, who will attempt to make his second U.S. Olympic team this weekend. Byers has owned the 120-pound Greco-Roman wrestling division for years — a 10-time national champion who’s earned gold, silver and bronze at the world championships. Byers opens up about the Olympic medal he promised his grandfather, along with his thoughts on the return of Rulon Gardner, his time with the Army’s World Class Athlete Program and his career plans beyond the London games. Byers, 37, won’t have to participate in the Olympic qualifier tournament on Saturday in Iowa City; he will meet the winner of that event Saturday night in a best-of-three showdown for the Olympic berth. Gardner will attempt to make weight on Friday.
Academy sports roundup: Friday night Navy football, Army documentary debuts, Air Force hoops
April 12th, 2012 | After Action Air Force Army Basketball Football Navy | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Hundreds of soldiers attended Army's spring football scrimmage March 9 at Fort Benning, Ga. A documentary on the game airs this weekend on CBS Sports Network. (Army photo by Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade)
Three Thursday-afternoon academy sports bits, one per service:
1. Army at Benning, on TV: It’s a little early for Saturday college football, but if you’ve got the itch, scratch it with “Army Spring Football Mission: Fort Benning,” a 60-minute documentary on the Black Knights’ trip to Georgia for a scrimmage at Doughboy Stadium. Catch a short preview here, during which Army head coach Rich Ellerson says the magic words regarding the Benning experience for all Black Knights fans: “It’s going to pay off on Saturdays.” CBS Sports Network will air the doc at 8 p.m. Eastern, according to an Army release; if nothing else, it’s a fine excuse to find that channel on your local cable provider — all three academy football teams likely will be featured on CBS Sports Network sometime this season.
2. Friday night lights: Speaking of football on the magic box, the Naval Academy announced via Facebook that the Navy-Central Michigan game will move from Saturday, Oct. 13, to Friday, Oct. 12, and will air in prime time on ESPN2. The Mids are 2-0 all-time against the Chippewas and last faced them in 2010, winning 38-37. It’s the only Friday game on Navy’s schedule (so far) this season; fittingly, CMU will celebrate Military Appreciation Night that evening.
3. Falcon hoops recruits: The academies don’t participate in the high school hoopla that is signing day for either football or basketball, so digging up the details on recruiting classes can be a challenge. Frank Schwab at the Colorado Springs Gazette answers the call, however, with this primer on the Air Force 2012 men’s basketball class. The usual recruiting-link caveat: Every class looks good on paper.
Wounded Warrior softball team to face celeb squad in D.C.
April 2nd, 2012 | After Action | Posted by Andy Charest
The Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team will face a team of celebrities April 3 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
Baseball’s regular season starts in just a couple days, but the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team’s season just doesn’t end.
The team travels the country bringing attention to the resilience of military service members by competing aginst able-bodied opponents. On April 3, they’ll face a team of celebrities in a charity game after the Washington Nationals-Boston Red Sox exhibition game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
The celebrity team will feature local radio and TV personalities such as “Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory, sports legends such as Redskins Hall of Famer Darrell Green, and even “Top Chef” contestant Bryan Voltaggio.
If you have a ticket to the Nats-Sox exhibition game, you can attend the Wounded Warrior game for free.
If you’re in the D.C. area April 3, buy tickets here; a portion of all proceeds goes to the softball team.
For more on the team’s mission, check out its website.
Big Man on Base: Herschel Walker wins over Eglin airmen
March 29th, 2012 | After Action Air Force Football | Posted by Sean Smyth
Herschel Walker signs a 1983 Georgia Bulldogs pennant for Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Talley during Walker’s March 22 appearance at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Samuel King Jr. / Air Force)
This slipped through the cracks last week: Herschel Walker made an appearance at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., sharing stories of his battle with mental illness and winning a legion of Air Force fans along the way.
The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and legendary running back says he’s made stops at numerous military bases in an effort to encourage troops to not shy away from addressing mental health problems.
“Look at me. We all fall short in life,” he said.
A Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal report notes Walker received “multiple standing ovations” during an address inside an Eglin hangar.
Click here to read Bill Verona’s enrapturing report from the Walker appearance.
Boston College puts end to AFA hockey team’s season
March 28th, 2012 | After Action Air Force Hockey | Posted by Sean Smyth
Air Force senior defenseman Scott Mathis shoves Boston College’s Steven Whitney to the ice during last week’s NCAA tournament game. Top-ranked BC won the game, 2-0. Mathis is one of four seniors who’s leaving the Air Force squad via graduation. (Winslow Townson / The Associated Press)
It was a first the Air Force Academy’s hockey won’t brag about: the first time this season it was shutout. The Falcons were held scoreless in their NCAA tournament game against Boston College last Saturday, falling 2-0. Chris Kreider, a first-round NHL Draft selection in 2009, scored both of BC’s goals.
Considering who (the country’s top-ranked team) and where (in a Worcester, Mass., arena filled with BC fans), you shouldn’t be disappointed. It was only the third time in the past 10 games where BC managed to score just two goals. The Eagles are averaging 3.6 goals per game in that stretch.
Air Force coach Frank Serratore wasn’t hanging his head afterward. “That is a heck of hockey team in Boston College, and in my opinion they beat a heck of a hockey team.”
BC coach Jerry York said the Falcons were “a hard, tough out.”
Air Force finished its season at 21-11-7. It was the fifth time the Falcons managed to reach the NCAA tournament.
They’ll return four of their five top scorers from this year’s team and lose just four seniors – albeit some key players – so another tournament run isn’t out of the question.
Click here to read more about the Falcons’ future prospects.
Olympic wrestling update: Soldiers Byers, Mango earn spots for Team USA
March 27th, 2012 | After Action Wrestling | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Army Sgt. Spenser Mango wrestled to a silver medal last weekend in the 121-pound Greco-Roman class at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla. (Army photo by Larry Slater)
Wrestling’s rarely looked at as a team sport, especially at the elite level — one on one, no substitutions, no help beyond shouts from the sidelines.
But Olympic qualifying for Team USA wrestling may be the ultimate team sport — still one on one, still no substitutions, but if a wrestler earns a qualifying bid in his weight class, it doesn’t go directly to that individual: Slap “USA” into the Olympic bracket for now, and whoever wins the U.S. qualifier in Iowa City next month gets the golden ticket.
Need somebody to fight for their country, not just themselves? Find some soldiers. Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers and Sgt. Spenser Mango did just that at the FILA Pan American Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., over the weekend, taking first and second, respectively, in their Greco-Roman weight classes to claim spots in the London games for Team USA.
Both Byers (heavyweight/264.5 pounds) and Mango (121 pounds) are ranked first by TheMat.com in their classes. Byers was not scored upon in three matches en route to the gold in Kissimmee, while Mango fell 1-0, 1-0 to Cuba’s Javier Gonzalez in the final.
Byers and Mango each reached the quarterfinals in Beijing in 2008. Byers was already part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program; Spenser joined the Army and the WCAP after his Olympic appearance. Spenser’s top competition in Iowa likely will be fellow WCAP member Spc. Jermaine Hodge, ranked second in the nation by TheMat. After Action’s already introduced you to Byers’ top competition.
Byers has qualified for a best-of-three final against the winner of the Iowa City tournament (for a 15-page refresher on qualifying procedures, if you’re curious, go here). “Two matches, and let two matches determine — it better not be three. Just let it fall where it’s going to fall,” he said in an Army write-up. “I’m going to put my best effort forward. I have my teammates behind me and my coach pushing me. Let’s go get some medals.”
Thursday football roundup: Sullivan Award video, more honors for Dowd, Air Force’s future conference
March 22nd, 2012 | After Action Air Force Army Football Navy | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Army linebacker Andrew Rodriguez battles the snow, and the Fordham Rams, during an Oct. 29 game at Michie Stadium. (US Presswire photo by Danny Wild)
Three quick service academy football hits, before everybody gets their hoops fix this evening:
1. Sullivan Award video. As After Action tweeted earlier this week (Hey, let’s all follow that account, could we?), Army linebacker Andrew Rodriguez was presented with the James E. Sullivan Award on Tuesday, given to the top amateur athlete in the country. It’s an elite club, with names both historical (Army’s Doc Blanchard) and contemporary (Michael Phelps, Peyton Manning and, yes, this guy). Head here for a West Point-produced behind-the-scenes video of Rodriguez at the awards ceremony.
2. Dowd gets his due. A 3.9 GPA. In mechanical engineering. At the Naval Academy. While anchoring the offensive line. You can’t really put a value on an achievement like that, but that hasn’t stopped Navy senior John Dowd from collecting some scholarship checks. His most recent: A $7,500 NCAA-provided postgraduate grant, one of 29 awarded to top student-athletes. According to a Navy sports release, Dowd also received $18,000 in postgrad cash from the National Football Foundation.
3. Megaconference update. Navy grabbed headlines for its football-only shift to the Big East in 2015, but Air Force will be in a new conference much sooner, when the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA complete their merger. Reports say details of the move — TV contracts, divisions, expansion, a possible in-conference four-team football playoff, scheduling, you name it — could begin to emerge in June or July. As constructed, the MAC/C-USA has 16 football teams spanning five time zones. A Denver Post report says the merger is on track for 2013. And in a testament of the new league’s wingspan, we have writers from West Virginia and California offering their perspective on the deal. Short version for the link-disinclined: (1) It’s about the money, specifically NCAA hoops tournament payouts, and (2) Putting together a 16-team nationwide college football league is a logistical head-scratcher. Air Force fans, get your frequent-flyer plans in order. Or warm up the remote for road games.
In which we find a (good) reason to blog about Tim Tebow
March 21st, 2012 | After Action Football | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Army Sgt. Dakota Oklesson "Tebows" with the Tim Tebow Denver Broncos jersey he won as a door prize at the Camp Clark, Afghanistan, dining facility Super Bowl party Feb. 3. (Army photo by Spc. Ken Scar)
Even if you’re not a football fan, or you’re forward-deployed, or you’re in a submarine under the Pacific with your fingers in your ears humming “Anchors Aweigh” as loud as you can, you’ve probably heard the news: Quarterback/attention magnet Tim Tebow has been dealt from Denver to the New York Jets (probably) to make way for another quarterback of note.
Even before Peyton Manning forced his latest PCS move, Tebow couldn’t help but make headlines for some reason or another. But one of his recent endeavors didn’t get much press: a visit to a wounded warrior in Florida as part of a fundraising event.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Romy Camargo, an Army Ranger who was shot in the neck during a combat mission in Afghanistan and paralyzed from the neck down, met Tebow on March 9. Army Times wrote up his story briefly in its print edition (subscribe here to read it online), and a video from the event shot by a local Fox TV crew is here.
Oh, and the guy on the right with the suddenly outdated merchandise? Get more on his story, and a dose of war-zone generosity during last month’s Super Bowl, here.
FUEL TV posts profile of former Marine and UFC fighter Brian Stann
March 21st, 2012 | After Action Combatives UFC | Posted by militaryonline
From our friends at Battle Rattle:
FUEL TV has posted the Brian Stann profile that aired last night. In it, the former Marine officer turned pro MMA fighter recounts his time in Iraq, including a six-day battle for which he was awarded the Silver Star.
