Big East commissioner steps down: 5 reasons Navy fans should care
May 7th, 2012 | After Action Football Navy | Posted by Kevin Lilley
John Marinatto, who has led the Big East's recent expansion efforts, including the addition of Navy football, resigned as the league's commissioner Monday. (AP file photo by Stew Milne)
John Marinatto is out as Big East commissioner. His departure was first reported by CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy, who also reported that Marinatto may have jumped before he was pushed — league presidents asked for his resignation Sunday, according to McMurphy’s sources.
Marinatto extolled the virtues of the academy’s football-only move to the Big East alongside Navy officials shortly after the official announcement was named. The commish since 2009, he was behind the conference’s expansion efforts that have ranged from next-door neighbors to Conference USA refugees to schools on the other side of the country. He’s also been on hand for the defection of West Virginia to the Big 12 and the planned defections of Pitt and Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference sometime after this football season. An interim successor has been named, but no timeline has been set for a permanent replacement.
Why would Navy fans need to worry about Marinatto’s departure, years before the Mids begin conference play? Click through to find out.
Army Olympian update: Secretary stops by, Lester takes top honor, WCAP web update
May 7th, 2012 | After Action Army Wrestling | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Army Secretary John McHugh, middle right, chats with soldier-athletes including Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers, far right, during a recent visit to the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Army photo)
Some quick Olympic updates while you attempt to schedule a therapy session after watching the latest Tim Kennedy video:
1. Hosting the secretary. It’s the setup to the oldest joke in the book: Some wrestlers, a racewalker, a bobsledder and the secretary of the Army walk into a cafeteria …
No, seriously — Army Secretary John McHugh made the trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., to chat with soldier-Olympians and Paralympic athletes over lunch May 2, giving him a close-up look at competitors who’ll represent his service on the world stage this summer. Tim Hipps of the Army’s Installation Management Command has the full report here, including snippets of conversations McHugh had with London-bound wrestlers Sgt. Spenser Mango and Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers. (Byers identifies himself as a heavyweight. McHugh: “I can see that.”) McHugh also related his experience on a bobsled run at Lake Placid, N.Y., and praised the soldiers in the Army World Class Athlete Program for their commitment to both sport and service.
2. Web makeover. We’d prefer you get all your military Olympics news here, but if you absolutely, positively have to go somewhere else, check out the revamped WCAP Olympian site for full bios on all Army participants, including coaches. Tell them we sent you.
3. Lester’s spotlight. Speaking of elite Army athletes, Spc. Justin Lester added another title recently — the best U.S. Greco-Roman wrestler of 2011. Lester, who qualified for the Olympics in the 66-kilogram weight class last month in Iowa City, earned USA Wrestling’s Wrestler of the Year honors after winning U.S. Open titles in two weight classes (74 and 66 kg) in 2011. He also took fifth in the 66-kg class at the 2011 World Championships in Turkey, which qualified the U.S. for the Olympics in that weight class.
It was the first such honor for Lester. Fellow WCAP and Team USA wrestler Byers has won the award three times (2009, 2002, 1999).
West Point grad signs with Titans
May 2nd, 2012 | Army Football nfl | Posted by Phil Creed
Collin Mooney tries to slip through Navy tacklers during the 2008 Army-Navy game. ( Eric Hartline/US PRESSWIRE)
Here’s more red meat for those that hate seeing service grads leave active duty early to play pro sports. Collin Mooney, a 2009 West Point graduate, has become the latest former service academy star to be picked up by an NFL team, signing with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday, according to the team’s website.
Mooney has completed three years of his five-year service commitment, which allows him to apply for early release from active-duty per official DoD policy (academy grads must serve 24 months on active duty before being granted their release). According to the Titans website, Mooney has filed the paperwork for his release, but the process is still ongoing.
Mooney, who set an Army single-season rushing record in 2009, becomes the third service academy graduate to join an NFL team this offseason. Lt. j.g. Eric Kettani (Patriots) and Air Force Lt. Ben Garland (Broncos) will also be trying to make rosters when training camp rolls around.
Last summer Mooney was given a tryout by the Lions, but was not signed.
Earlier this week another Army vet, Morkeith Brown, signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brown, a 6-foot 6-inch, 270-pound defensive end, served as an enlisted soldier before playing college football at Temple.
Last season there were only three vets in the NFL — former Tennessee Titans fullback Ahmard Hall (Marine Corps), Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Chad Hall (Air Force), and linebacker Caleb Campbell (Army), who split time with multiple teams and is now with the Kansas City Chiefs.
If you’ve never seen Mooney play, here’s a 15-minute (!) highlight video of his blocking:
Harris makes Cardinals debut; people whine
May 1st, 2012 | Baseball Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
The St. Louis Dispatch reported today that Navy Lt. j.g. Mitch Harris made his pro pitching debut yesterday. The right-hander got in for an inning, allowing three hits and one run while striking out one batter, according to the Dispatch’s Birdland blog.
As we blogged yesterday, the Navy has denied Harris early release from active duty to play with the Cardinals. He’s still on leave, and will stay with the team until the end of May before reporting to duty again.
If you do head over to the Dispatch’s site, and I encourage you to, be sure to take a look at the comments under the Harris piece. As usual, some folks seem aghast at the very notion that an academy graduate would leave active duty early to play pro sports. These type of grumpy comments come up every time there’s a story about a service member leaving active duty early, whether it be Harris or Lt. j.g. Eric Kettani or Air Force Lt. Ben Garland.
Generally, these comments are misguided at best, and bitter and mean-spirited at worse. So before folks start screaming about how awful it is that Harris or Kettani or Garland are trying to leave active duty early, it’s worth getting a few facts straight:
1.The DoD has an official policy that allows certain officers with the ability to play pro sports (a tiny minority of service members) to leave active duty early. Read it here.
2. The DoD did not create this policy to give people an easy way out of their service commitments. Rightly or wrongly, somebody in the Pentagon saw a recruiting and public relations benefit to allowing service members with extraordinary athletic talents to pursue pro careers.
3. There are specific conditions in the DoD policy for service members allowed to leave early. These include serving in the Reserve or National Guard and repaying a prorated amount of the cost of the service member’s education. Officers who leave early are also subject to recall to active duty at any time.
4. DoD allows each of the services to use its own discretion when it comes to the policy. For instance, then-Navy Secretary Donald Winter decided in 2008 it was not appropriate to allow anyone to leave early during a time of war. So while Army Lt. Caleb Campbell was allowed to leave active-duty in 2010 to chase his NFL dreams, the Navy did not allow Harris or golfer Billy Hurley (now on the PGA tour) to use the DoD policy.
5. Last year, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus relaxed his service’s policy, at which time Harris again applied for early release.
So if folks are going to get on their soapbox about Harris or Kettani or Garland trying to play pro sports, it seems to me they should direct their energy toward the Pentagon. It is DoD’s official policy that allows service members to leave active duty and play sports. Individuals like Harris, Kettani and Garland are operating within the rules created by the DoD. Why denigrate them for testing the waters?
That’s not to say there aren’t some good discussions to be had on this issue. For instance, there is plenty of room to argue about the recruiting or PR benefits of allowing an officer to play pro sports early. Unless an athlete is a star player in the mold of David Robinson and Napoleon McCallum, does he really give the service that much visibility?
Do certain sports (minor league baseball jumps to mind) allow for better recruiting opportunities than others?
All of the people released under the policy so far are football players. But if someone can’t get off the practice squad of an NFL team, should they be recalled to active duty?
There’s also a question of how the services make their decision — for instance, why was Kettani allowed to leave but Harris (with more time in service than Kettani) denied? Shouldn’t anyone who can get a pro contract (and has served honorably) at least get a chance?
And most important of all: Can the internet survive without ad hominem attacks? Probably not, you big dummy.
Army vet signs free agent contract with Buccaneers
May 1st, 2012 | Army Football | Posted by Phil Creed
Temple defensive end Morkeith Brown leads the band following the Owls' win over Wyoming the 2011 New Mexico Bowl. (Mark J. Rebilas/US PRESSWIRE)
Defensive end Morkeith Brown, who served in the Army before playing college football at Temple, has signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 6-foot 6-inch, 270-pound Brown was one of Temple’s team captains last year. He started all 13 games for the 9-4 Owls, who finished 15th in the nation in total defense. Brown was voted third team All-MAC after racking up 40 tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble.
But before going to college, Brown was a soldier. He credits his time in uniform for helping turn his life around, which you can read more about here and here. His time in the service included a 14-month deployment to Afghanistan, according to his Temple bio.
Last season only one NFL player – former Marine Ahmard Hall — was a prior enlisted veteran. Hall started seven games at fullback for the Tennessee Titans in 2011, and is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Random trivia about Brown: In 2008 he ran a fumble back for a touchdown in his college debut against … Army. In fact, West Point proved quite agreeable with Brown during his college career, as his Temple teams went 4-0 against the Cadets during that span.
Denied again by the Navy, Mitch Harris remains determined to make the majors
April 30th, 2012 | Baseball Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
On the same day the Navy announced it was releasing Lt. j.g. Eric Kettani to pursue a career in the NFL, the service also made a less-public decision about the pro baseball hopes of Lt. j.g. Mitch Harris, a Naval Academy grad who’s spent this spring with the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
Harris, drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round in 2008 after graduating from the academy, was denied an early release by the Navy to pursue his baseball career. So for now he’ll finish up his leave with the Cardinals and report to Dam Neck, Va., at the end of May for his next assignment.
Harris said Friday that’s he’s disappointed by the decision, obviously, but understands that it was a possibility all along.
“As of right now it’s kind of just go with the flow and do as I’m told until I figure out what’s next,” Harris said from Jupiter, Fla., where he’s playing on the Cardinals extended spring training squad.
Harris is still looking for more information as to why the Navy denied his request, saying that he’s trying to talk to as many people as possible about his options going forward. So far, he said, he’s heard little explanation from the Navy.
Harris previously had been denied an early release in 2010, but decided to apply again last summer after the Navy loosened its policy on allowing academy grads and NROTC-commissioned officers to pursue pro careers “to showcase their talents on a national stage when in the best interests of the service.”
Making matters more confusing for Harris was Kettani’s release to play for the Patriots. While happy for his fellow Mid to be getting a shot at playing pro football, Harris was unclear what differentiated his case from Kettani’s.
“Eric and I are good friends. I’m pumped for him,” said Harris, who tweeted congratulations to his fellow SWO on the same day he got denied by the Navy. “In the same sense it’s hard, again, it’s been a dream for me [to get a shot at the majors] … I feel like I’m right there.”
Harris is scheduled to pitch his first game of the spring today after working past some arm soreness that slowed him earlier in the spring. Although he could keep in himself in top physical shape while serving on active-duty, keeping his throwing arm strong would be much harder.
“It got a little sore after a week or two,” Harris said. “But I’m back to where I feel like I need to be.”
Harris said he’s fed off the professionalism and work ethic of the more seasoned ballplayers, noting that the atmosphere is a complete change from anything he experienced while playing at the academy.
“You realize it’s not a game anymore. It’s your job,” Harris said . “Every single day when you come to the ballpark, that’s what you do for a living. … You learn how to carry yourself in a professional manner.”
The time spent with the Cardinals has only made Harris more determined to carve out a career in baseball.
“It’s been a challenge. It’s definitely been a motivation to [make the team],” Harris said. “If I just get the chance, I can prove to myself and everyone else that I have what it takes to be a professional baseball player.”
And although his quest is once again on hold, Harris said he’s still optimistic he can appeal the decision and win an early release from the Navy. Ideally, he would like to be able to report to the Cardinals at the beginning of next year’s spring training. Harris believes playing baseball would be a great public affairs and recruiting benefit for the Navy, and he’s hoping the situation may yet be worked out.
“There’s so many ways we can make this great for both sides,” Harris said.
Brian Stann’s next UFC opponent announced
April 29th, 2012 | Marine Corps Mixed martial arts | Posted by Phil Creed
Well that didn’t take long. Fresh off of knocking out Alessio Sakara on April 14 at UFC on FUEL TV 2 in Sweden, UFC boss Dana White tweeted Sunday that Stann’s next opponent will be Hector Lombard.
Lombard may not be a household name for casual MMA fans, but he does present a formidable opponent for Stann. Although Lombard will be making his UFC debut, he’s a seasoned fighter who is currently riding a 20-fight winning steak (dating back to 2007). Like Stann, Lombard has a reputation for heavy hands. You can see that for yourself below, as he knocks out UFC vet Jay Silva in SIX seconds in 2010.
The best news about this fight: It will be broadcast for free on network TV as part of UFC on FOX 4, according to MMAJunkie.com.
NASCAR: Behind the scenes with Ryan Newman and the Army car
April 29th, 2012 | After Action Capital City 400 NASCAR | Posted by Mike Morones
Ryan Newman drives the Army sponsored car during the Capital City 400 in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday.
I spent the weekend at Richmond International Raceway to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run the Army car during Saturday’s Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. Driven by Ryan Newman, the Army-sponsored Chevrolet finished the night in 15th place.
In addition to the action on the track, I spent some time at the Army’s ‘Strength in Action Zone’ on the midway at the RIR complex. Besides an appearance by Newman and the presence of the Army #39 show car, the zone featured interactive displays and a helicopter flight simulator. While the rainy weather didn’t do much to help attendance, Army recruiters said they usually enjoy a fairly positive response from race fans.
Capital City 400 at Richmond
April 29th, 2012 | Army NASCAR | Posted by Mike Morones
Ryan Newman climbs into the #39 Army Chevrolet team moments before the start of the Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va. on April 28. Newman started in 12th position and finished in 15th. (Mike Morones/Military Times)
Ryan Newman Meet and Greet at Richmond
April 28th, 2012 | NASCAR | Posted by Mike Morones
Ryan Newman addresses race fans at the U.S. Army's Strength in Action Zone on the midway outside Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA on April 28, 2012. (Mike Morones/Military Times)
Here’s a shot from the Army’s Strength in Action Zone outside the track – they had some exhibits of equipment as well as some physical training test and of course the #39 show car. Because of the weather attendance was a bit sparse – at least until Ryan Newman arrived for a quick question-and-answer session.
Staff Sgt. Robert A. Olson III, a drill sergeant from the 194th Armored Brigade at Fort Benning, watches as James Lowry, 16, from Mechanicsville, Va. does pull-ups in the US Army's Strength in Action Zone at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA on April 28, 2012. (Mike Morones/Military Times)