Mids at the World Series. Too bad Army’s not playing
October 29th, 2009 | Naval Academy Sports | Posted by Phil Ewing
The Naval Academy color guard, here presenting the colors in 2005 in Philadelphia, will do its thing at game two of the World Series tonight in New York // JO1 James Pinsky/ Navy
Halloween is this weekend, the skies are turning iron and giant flocks of migrating birds are doing touch-and-goes outside on the Parking Lot of Excellence. In short, autumn is hitting its stride, and yet thanks to the greed generosity of America’s TV networks, baseball season still hasn’t ended. Wednesday night was game one of the World Series, which saw two great Cleveland pitchers taking on hitters from New York and Philadelphia, and for game two Thursday, the Navy is getting into the act.
The Naval Academy’s color guard will present the colors at Yankee Stadium before the opening pitch, the academy announced Thursday morning, although it wasn’t clear whether that would be part of the televised broadcast. Just in case you can’t catch them on TV, the midshipmen who’ll be taking part are:
Midshipman 1st Class Dan Sauer of Kirkland, Wash., carrying the Brigade of Midshipmen flag; Midshipman 1st Class Luke Leveque of Kodiak, Alaska, carrying the flag of the United States Marine Corps; Midshipman 1st Class Jason Mazzoni of Salisbury, N.C., carrying the flag of the United States Navy; Midshipman 2nd Class Bryen Roder of Little Falls, N.J; and riflemen Midshipmen 2nd Class Zishan Hameed of Norfolk, Va.; and 2nd Class Hannah Allaire of San Antonio, Texas.
Stranded on a sub in the Chesapeake Bay (updated)
October 26th, 2009 | Life at Sea Maritime operations Naval Academy Submarines | Posted by Phil Ewing
Visitors spent a sunny afternoon stranded topside on the fast attack sub Annapolis when the Navy's boats to ferry them to shore broke down // Lt. Patrick Evans/ Navy
ABOARD THE FAST ATTACK SUBMARINE ANNAPOLIS – After a pleasant but brief visit to this sleek black shark, lurking incongruously amid the sails gliding across the shimmering Chesapeake Bay, it was time to leave.
The Annapolis’ skipper, Capt. Mike Holland, said our launch would be arriving any moment — plus Scoop Deck had asked to see the ship’s Vertical Launch System tubes in the bow — so we climbed up the ladder forward of the conn and examined them for a few moments in the clear, but chilly, Maryland sunshine. It was just after 12:30. After several more minutes of conversation on the sub’s bow, our boat still hadn’t arrived.
Air-sea battle scheduled for Saturday
October 2nd, 2009 | Naval Academy Sports | Posted by Phil Ewing
The Air Force Academy Falcons, as represented by The Bird With No Name, come to Annapolis this weekend for a battle on the gridiron. Observers expect bone-crunching hits // Air Force
The Air Force Academy Falcons football squadron comes to Annapolis this weekend to renew what has been a comparatively low-observable rivalry with the Naval Academy Midshipmen. Navy’s big marquee nemesis is Army, but in recent years Air Force has been the Mids’ biggest competitor for the coveted Commander-in-Chief’s trophy.
Not too recent, though — Navy has won its past six match-ups against the light-blue lads, and the Mids will enjoy home-field advantage this year at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. Indeed, the sold-out audience is being urged to create a “sea of blue” by wearing their Naval Academy regalia, and to deafen the Falcons with cheers, in hopes the noise will disrupt the Air Force offense’s command-and-control capabilities.
It’s going to be a good game: Both teams are coming off wins, and the Falcons players will no doubt appreciate the thick air along the Severn after the thin gruel they’re used to at 6,035 feet. Then again, Navy may have an edge in predicting Air Force’s plays after looking at these intelligence reports about life at the Air Force Academy. And Navy warships have already infiltrated the Air Force campus.
The deadliest football in the world
October 1st, 2009 | Aviation Carriers Life at Sea Naval Academy Sports | Posted by Phil Ewing
MC3 Eduardo Zaragoza/ Navy
When the Navy Midshipmen take on the Army Black Knights this December in Philadelphia, one of the game balls they’ll use will have more combat experience than most of the players on the field.
On Tuesday Cmdr. Max McCoy, the executive officer of VFA 86, the “Sidewinders,” carried the ball aboard his F/A-18 Hornet on a sortie from the carrier Nimitz. That gives the ball at least one catapult shot, about six or seven hours in the jet, who knows how many targets destroyed, and then a trap back aboard the ship — hopefully on the 3 -wire. After that, being kicked through Army’s uprights for a Navy field goal should be no problem.
What might have been: Army-Navy in Indianapolis?
September 15th, 2009 | Naval Academy Officers Sports | Posted by Phil Ewing
Midshipmen celebrate after 2006's Army-Navy game in Philadelphia. This year's game will also take place in Philadelphia -- but one city that tried to get it was Indianapolis. // Navy
Scoop Deck was just a wee slip of a blog when it told you about the next few years’ venues for the Army-Navy Game, announced all those months ago, and now here’s an interesting thought experiment: Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk gave a presentation at the school’s Board of Visitors meeting Monday in which he talked about the places the game could’ve gone.
The Naval Academy had proposals from Pittsburgh; Boston; the Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia and — Indianapolis!
Wouldn’t it have been weird for the game to be in land-locked Indianapolis? Sure, Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indy Colts, is a brand new athletic venue, but just think how long would it have taken for the cadets to run there from West Point and all those mids to run from Annapolis. The game has taken place in the Midwest only once: in 1926, when the Midshipmen tied the Black Knights 21-21.
Back to reality: Gladchuk said the Army-Navy game’s later date this year, which makes it almost the only football game on TV that Saturday, could mean double the viewership of a normal year’s game, and consequently more exposure for the Naval Academy and West Point.
“If you’re a college football fan, and you’re looking for a college football game, we’re going to be the only game in town,” he said.
Bill the Goat goes up against America’s finest
August 31st, 2009 | Naval Academy Officers Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
Naval Academy mascot Bill the Goat is in this year's national mascot competition, and he needs votes to be able to advance against the other college mascots // MCSN Matthew Ebarb/ Navy
The Naval Academy Midshipmen are starting off their football season with a bang this year — and not just because they’re taking on the pride of Central Ohio for their first game. The Mids’ beloved mascot, Bill the Goat, is taking part in this year’s National Mascot of the Year contest, and he’ll need votes from across the country to compete against other big-time mascots such as Texas Christan University’s Superfrog and the University of Maryland’s dreaded Testudo, the most dangerous turtle in America.
Don’t count ol’ Bill out, though: He has a disagreeable and combative nature, plus he’s in great shape from all that PT. And he has the ear of powerful people.
You can check out Bill’s profile page here, which has a lot of interesting information about him, from height and weight to his pre-game meal (”grass from Army’s end zone”). And you can vote for Bill here, where he’ll be going toe-to-toe with the other foam costumes in the competition.
Mids: It’s OK, Buckeyes, boo if you must
August 26th, 2009 | Life at Sea Naval Academy Video | Posted by Phil Ewing
The Naval Academy Midshipmen celebrate their victory over Army Dec. 6, 2008 in Philadelphia // MC2 Kevin O'Brien/Navy
Here’s a tip if you ever find yourself in Central Ohio: If you need to shop for groceries, get your oil changed, or do anything else for which you hate crowds and waiting in line, do it on a Saturday afternoon in the fall. From Springfield to Newark, the Columbus metropolitan area will be shut down so everyone in town can pack into the infamous “Shoe” and watch Columbus’ pro football team the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the stuffing out of some Big 10 patsy.
Only for the first game this season, the Bucks are hosting an unusual opponent: the Naval Academy Midshipmen, who face long odds going up against the Scarlet and Gray Barricade. Still, Ohio State officials don’t want the home crowd of sports patrons to give the Mids the usual High Street Welcome, a.k.a. booing and hissing. Instead, OSU is calling for Buckeye fans to politely applaud the Mids, to thank them for their service.
VBSS Team links
August 24th, 2009 | Carriers Naval Academy Science and technology Ships Submarines merchant ships | Posted by Phil Ewing
"Unidentified vessel, this is U.S. Navy warship; halt and prepare to accept this news and information" // MC3 David Wyscaver
Pilot-ladder climbin’, rigid-hull inflatable boat drivin’, shotgun-carryin’, vessel-inspectin’ links, ordering you to heave to and prepare to be boarded by these interesting tidbits:
- Not everyone in Japan was pleased that the carrier Nimitz is paying a visit this week.
- Kansas City’s business and city fathers are sending donations to help out with the commissioning ceremony of the fast-attack submarine Missouri.
- Who loves football more, the infamous “Buck-nuts” who play along the banks of the old Olentangy, or the midshipmen who ply the tranquil Severn? With the help of some bone-crunching hits, we’re gonna find out Sept. 5.
- Check out this post about seven sweet ship engines, which includes the power plants of today’s warships and civilian vessels.
- Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Sink! Sink! Sink!
Chow for the brigade
July 22nd, 2009 | Morale Naval Academy Officers | Posted by Phil Ewing
They may be second-guessing their life choices this summer, but these plebes will have luxurious new dining accommodations in King Hall by their junior year // Shannon O'Connor/Navy
This year’s class of freshmen, or “plebes,” has already begun its its plebe summer at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and it’ll spend a few weeks relaxing, going to amusement parks, and just bumming around until the school year resumes with upperclassmen this fall. When it does, midshipmen will have to deal with some major renovations to the academy’s cafeteria, King Hall, which is soon to undergo a $40 million renovation. The contract for the job was let yesterday.
“Food is a big morale issue — it’s pretty important to everybody, especially young people,” said Naval Academy superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler at a June 8 meeting of the academy’s Board of Visitors.
He also described the antiquated conditions of King Hall’s galley, including some kind of High Steampunk conveyor-belt deep-fat fryer — which, of course, was broken. The mids will have temporary chow facilities until the King Hall renovations are complete in 2011.
A pregnant midshipman graduates: What do you think?
July 21st, 2009 | Naval Academy Officers Personnel Washington | Posted by Phil Ewing
A pregnant midshipman was granted a rare waiver in May and permitted to graduate and accept her commission. What do you think? // Navy
People on and off the web are talking about this Naval Academy story from last week: A midshipman was granted a waiver to graduate in May and be commissioned as an ensign, even though she was pregnant at the time.
That’s normally against the rules: No midshipman is permitted to be married or be responsible for a child — including men — during their time in Annapolis. But the midshipman in question applied for and was granted a waiver to graduate May 22, and is now serving in the fleet. Navy officials say the Academy pregnancy policy stands, that this woman was a unique case.
We want to know what you think: Can the Naval Academy continue its no-pregnancies regulation after granting this exception? Should the exception have been granted? What should the Navy have done differently?