CSTV: Why You Should Care

College Sports Television is great, and I'm not just saying that because Navy signed a huge contract with them. OTHER then showing every Navy game this year, CSTV will showcase some amazing College Football duels that ESPN/ABC will not pick up. Just look at some of next year's matchups (taken courtesy CSTV.com):


Thurs, Aug. 31
10:30 pm
FOOTBALL UTEP at San Diego State (Live)
Sat, Sep. 2
5:30 pm
FOOTBALL East Carolina at Navy (Live)
Sat, Sep. 2
9:00 pm
FOOTBALL Houston at Rice (Live)
Sat, Sep. 9
1:30 pm
FOOTBALL UMass at Navy (Live)
Sat, Sep. 9
5:00 pm
FOOTBALL Colorado vs. Colorado State (at Denver) (Live)
Sat, Sep. 9
9:00 pm
FOOTBALL Texas Tech at UTEP (Live)
Sat, Sep. 16
2:30 pm
FOOTBALL South Florida at UCF (Live)
Sat, Sep. 16
6:30 pm
FOOTBALL Texas Tech at TCU (Live)
Sat, Sep. 23
12:30 pm
FOOTBALL Oklahoma State at Houston (Live)
Sat, Sep. 23
1:30 pm
FOOTBALL Tulsa at Navy (Live)
Sat, Sep. 23
5:00 pm
FOOTBALL UTEP at New Mexico (Live)
Thurs, Sep. 28
7:00 pm
FOOTBALL BYU at TCU (Live)
Sat, Sep. 30
9:00 pm
FOOTBALL SMU at Tulane (Live)
Thurs, Oct. 5
9:00 pm
FOOTBALL TCU at Utah (Live)
Sat, Oct. 7
2:00 pm
FOOTBALL Navy at Air Force (Live)
Sat, Oct. 7
6:00 pm
FOOTBALL Virginia at East Carolina (Live)
Thurs, Oct. 12
8:00 pm
FOOTBALL Colorado State at Air Force (Live)
Sat, Oct. 14
1:30 pm
FOOTBALL Rutgers at Navy (Live)
Sat, Oct. 14
6:00 pm
FOOTBALL UAB at Rice (Live)
Sat, Oct. 14
10:00 pm
FOOTBALL New Mexico at UNLV (Live)
Sat, Oct. 21
4:00 pm
FOOTBALL Colorado State at Wyoming (Live)
Sat, Oct. 21
8:00 pm
FOOTBALL Tulsa at Memphis (Live)
Sat, Oct. 28
4:00 pm
FOOTBALL UNLV at Utah (Live)
Sat, Oct. 28
8:00 pm
FOOTBALL East Carolina at Southern Mississippi (Live)
Sat, Nov. 4
4:00 pm
FOOTBALL San Diego State at Wyoming (Live)
Sat, Nov. 4
8:00 pm
FOOTBALL Tulane at Marshall (Live)
Thurs, Nov. 9
8:00 pm
FOOTBALL Wyoming at BYU (Live)
Sat, Nov. 11
4:00 pm
FOOTBALL Notre Dame at Air Force (Live)
Sat, Nov. 11
8:00 pm
FOOTBALL UCF at Memphis (Live)
Sat, Nov. 18
12:30 pm
FOOTBALL Temple at Navy (Live)
Sat, Nov. 18
8:00 pm
FOOTBALL UAB at Southern Mississippi (Live)
Fri, Nov. 24
7:00 pm
FOOTBALL Air Force at UNLV (Live)
Sat, Nov. 25
3:30 pm
FOOTBALL BYU at Utah (Live)
Sat, Dec. 2
4:30 pm
FOOTBALL Air Force at TCU (Live)
Sat, Dec. 2
8:00 pm
FOOTBALL Colorado State at San Diego State (Live)

Looks great, doesn't it? Unfortunatly, getting CSTV can be a hassle, and kinda expensive. However CSTV.com has beguna petition to help spread the word and get its game's picked up by more cable outlets and take the burgoning channel out of obscurity. If you want to see some of these games without paying the price in the future, be sure to sign the petition.

Some Random Thoughts on the NFL Draft: Part 1

• If you listened to the Draft on the radio in the Baltimore area, you probably heard it from AM 1300 The Jock (Strap) and the Sports Guys or Idiot or whatever the hell they call themselves. These guys are horrible, and provided no meanignful commentary outside of the Ravens. Furthermore they're just obnoxious, and admittedly dumb.
• Reggie Bush not going #1 was a shocker to everyone, but mostly to the ESPN draft "experts." For all the things going on with Bush, you have to admit he's a well spoken young man (much more then Vince Young) and an outstanding talent. I hope he comes clean about the House Issue, but I also wish him NFL success.
• Did I mention Vince Young is dumb?
• Since I'm a Bills fan, I'll detail my thoughts on their day. Not trading the #8 pick made very little sense. This is not a knock against Donte Whitner but rather just a questioning of the mindset of Marv Levy. I'm all for Conservativism, but by all accounts Whitner would have been available in the mid 1st round had the Bills chosen to trade with say, Denver. The fact that Matt Lienart was (amazingly) still on the board should have been incentive enough for other teams to trade up, and the cardinal got the best QB in the Draft at 10 for a steal. That being said, Whitner was probably the second best safety in the Draft, and I'm excited about his football mindset. I also loved the 3rd round pick for Ashton Youboty, who was to many a 1st rounder. The trade for John McCargo was interesting, but I'll hold off comment on that because I have never seen him play.

Ashton Youboty joins a growing list of Bills corners drafted out of THE Ohio State University

Accross the Internet today, the calls of a Bills Draft faliure and as "losers" continued. I had this to say on SI.com about the situation:

"The Bills, while playing a bit too conservativly, did not "bomb" the draft as some have suggested. By stealing Youboty in the #3rd round (Mel Kiper Jr. had him as a first rounder) they redeemed the early pick of Whitner. They didn't lose at all, they just missed a chance of being a "winner."
As for the real losers, look no further then the experts as ESPN. I think people are beginning to understand how dumb the "expert" opinions can be, and understanding that the draft is, in effect, a "crapshoot" in the words of Marv Levy."

This is Crap

No offense to the people who actually read this blog (all 5 of you) but most of the people who visit this site still come from searches about Lamar Owens and his rape case. This is a NAVY FOOTBALL/NCAA FOOTBALL blog. I'm not going to write about his legal issues. I think it's a shame people are obviously overlooking the turn-around of this program and it's exciting football style and focus on the unfortunate incedent regarding Lamar.

Just needed to say that, back to more football observations...

Why I Like George Bush

Navy Football Visits the White House

Memorable Quotes:

"I appreciate the fact that the Navy offense led the nation in rushing. And second place to the Navy rushing record was the mighty Texas Longhorn team"

-Georgie

I thank the members of the Naval Academy coaching staff who are here, particularly the head coach who seems to have done a pretty good job, might deserve a little pay raise if I might make a suggestion, you know what I'm saying? I don't know if you agree with that or not, Coach? Yes.

-Georgie

For Video, please Visit WJZ.com's Archieve

How Good Are We?

CollegeFootballNews.com has posted a decent preview on the 2006 Navy Football team. While most of it is stuff we have already heard, there are some notables to look further into.

• According to the article, the time for Navy is now, and they have the ability to win at least 10 games. While I agree the bar is high, at this moment I can't help but believe this team will come away with *only* 8 or 9 wins.
• The Schedule. Again and again I have heard of how woeful our schedule is. However, looking at it more in-depth may show it's not as bad as some may imagine. Notre Dame, as predicted by the top folks, will likely be a Top 5 team. Rutgers is coming off of a stellar campaign and believe it or not could be the second-best team in the Big East, and likely will go to another Bowl this year. Stanford was 1:16 seconds away from topping Notre Dame last year and going to a Bowl in it's own right, and nearly pulled off several HUGE upsets in the Pac-10. Connecticut also went 5-6 last year, one win away from Bowling, as they did two seasons ago. Last year's team was young and inexperienced, and look for a possibly revitalized offense that could lead them to challenge Rutgers and Pitt near the top of the conference. East Carolina went 5-6 last year and nearly toppled West Virginia, and this years program in thinking Bowl all the way. And what about Tulsa? This team went 9-4 last year with a huge win over Fresno State in the Liberty Bowl. Qb Paul Smith, as only a sophomore, threw for nearly 3000 yards with 20 TDs and only 6 Ints. Finally, I need not remind the Navy fans how Army has improved, and while they probably will not win more then 5 games, they have certainly moved out of their bottom-status. And last but certainly not least, Air Force presents it's usual challenge. While a tough schedule will keep the Falcons out of a Bowl game, this team is good and very hungry to reclaim it's place atop the SA's. Conclusion: Navy doesn't play a bunch of cupcakes. We play decent and average Mid -major schools that provide for great entertainment and most importantly, reasonable chances to win.
• Key Game: Rutgers? Our key game is still against Air Force, but I would also submit Stanford as one of the more important games. Hell who are we kidding, every game is important.
• No Reggie Campbell on the "Ten Best players"? Are you kidding? Something tells me the author only tuned in for Army and Notre Dame last year.
• Adam Ballard is listed as our best player overall. Many people may disagree, but for now I'm only going to say that he has the Best Potential of anyone on this team. Anyone who saw him rush in those final games last year can see he clearly has the power and better-then-Eckel speed. It's all about his technique from here.

There are also a very good Offensive breakdown and Defensive breakdown, as well as a well-researched Further Analysis. All in all, a very good read that should keep you busy for a while.

ABC's of What I've Learned About Blogging

I've officially been blogging for about 3 month's now, and In such time have managed to account for roughly 1/2 of all hits on this site, earn 9 cents in google ads, and waste good portions of every day searching the College Football Blog scene for something worthwhile enough to talk about. In light of all this, I've managed to actually keep up posts for this thing, and have solidified this site as the first and only Navy Football Blog on the internet. So, in honor of my accomplishment, I'd like to share what I've learned in my blogging time in a format accessible to our elementary-minded piers.

ABC's of What I've Learned About Blogging

"A" is for Asshole. Which is a commonly used term to denote a bloger who's ideas are not in step with one's own.
"B" is for Be Original. There are about a million CF Blogs out there, what makes this one special?
"C" is for Cash. Blogs make major cash. I think our Earnings Report shows just how much positive cash flow goes through this site. By subscribing to Google AdSense I've made a full $0.09. After all, who wants to buy a playbook over the internet?
"D" is for Don't Post Personal Stuff. That's for Myspace.
"E" is for Every Day Should be Saturday. The guys with the jean shorts combine the perfect mix of humor and actual NCAA content. Now if they would only include us as a link...
"F" is for Fans. They are the one's who read the blog, so they're the people wcaterer our coverage for. Yea, not really.
"G" is for God. It just is.
"H" is for Hot Girl. If your post sucks and you don't think anyone will read it, post a picture of a hot girl.

That got you attention, didn't It?

"I" is for I Hate USC.
"J" is for Jarrod Bryant. I just wanted an excuse to post this:

"K" is for Kidding, I guess we bloggers a do a lot of that. I wasn't kidding about USC.
"L" is for Lingo. Learn It, Use It, be Cool. "L" is also for Link, as in click those google Links at the top of the page, Link this damn blog to you own, and have a link.
"M" is for Make a good post. This was the last letter I filled in.
"N" is for Notre Dame, who rules the world of CF Blogs. Mad respect for The House Rock Built for actually linking us. Mad Respect also for the Mad Respect shown to Navy every year.
"O" is for Outstanding, as In my football team is outstanding. In other words, keep the content of the blog optimistictic about your team as much as possible.
"P" is for Plural. I am only one guy writing this blog, yet doesn't it sound more enticing to take the opinion of a "we" or and "our"?
"Q" is for Quinn, Brady Quinn. Next year's Hiesman favorite and poster-child for love 'em or hate 'em Notre Dame (love 'em, just not against the Midshipmen mind you), his sister is also the subject of considerable debate in the "Hot Gircategoryory. (I personally stand on the "Not" side.)
"R" is for Ron Mexico and New Mexico (Hank Bosnia), who provide living proof that Virginia Tech has sent some real dumb football players through its halls.
"S" is for Stream of Conscience, a literary technique pioneered by James Joyce. If I took the time to write a full story actually about football, it would be boring. Plus, I don't think I could physically do that. Instead I write down whatever comes to my mind, wherever my thoughts take me.
"T" is for Twelve, the age used by readers to denote the maturity of certain bloggers.
"U" is for University, a reminder that the opinions and views expressed inevitably reflect upon the Naval Academy. I'll try not to embaress my country too much.
"V" is for Victory, as In winning, as in beating the other team, as in vanquishing the bad guys!

It's all about the V, Baby

"W" is for We Must ignite this Coach, which is just to nice of a spoof of the idiotic Maryland-based (WV Rival) Under-Armor Commercials.
"X" is for X's and O's, and not the kissy/huggy crap mind you. No I'm talking the real blueprints behind every play we cheer or jeer for on televisionsi or in our respected stadiums. As a blog, we really don't deal with any of that, unless on the off-chance we want to flaunt our knowledge of how a Postfeminist critic taught us about the 4-3.
"Y" is for YouTube, which allows us bloggers to keep you at our site while you watch stuff like this:

"Z" is for Zebra, like my man Ed-Hoc.

'Roid Free Since '83

Yes, I did have to sing the song to get all the letters in order, most peopleople do. I will be gone to Arizona until next week, and will miss the Spring Game on Friday Night. If anyone wants to send pics, video, writeup, whatever about it, don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Actually, don't hesitate to get in touch with me at all. One thing I've learned about this blog thing is A) get a partner and B) get feedback. Ok, that's two things, whatever though. Hit me up with any comments.

East Carolina Fans laying Down the Smack

In an unprecedented move, the tough talking fans of East Carolina have already predicted a rout of Navy, a full 4 1/2 month's before the season starts. Oh, It's On.

One fan predicted that ECU would triumph 56-21, stating proudly that "ECU has a answer for your triple option." Ah yes, so did Colorado State. Another fan pointed out that "three brand new JUCO LB's will have some say so there". One proud Pirate Fan (arg) exclaimed "I hate to break the news to you but your talent sucks, " to a Navy message board poster. Something tells me Coach Johnson will have something to say to that.

Now, I'm not going to go out on a limb this early in the season (hell this early in the PREASEASON), but can somebody tell me when ECU became a football powerhouse? ECU is an average, Mid Major program which nevertheless should present a challenge for the Mids. In all likelihood it will be a close game, but to say ECU will blow us out of the water (no pun intended) seems completely absurd. I hope the ECU fans do some research.

That being said I need to do some research. ECU went 5-6 last year and played some quality opponents tight (W. Virginia). They are lead by a number of veterans, and of course coach Skip Holtz. They however, are not of the Top 25 talent pool. I did manage to find a video of their "talent." It ain't watching game film with Coach PJ and the boy's, but its the best I could manage on youtube.com:


Notice how half the video is still images...

I realize it's April, and we are still several month's away until any of this talks actually means anything, but sometimes it's fun just to check in and see what some of our opponent's fans have to say about our program. Nevertheless, we're going gonna destroy these squashbuckler's. Keep in mind we are returning almost all of the pieces of the Nation's Number 1 Rushing Offense, averaging 432 yards a game total. Last year, your team has the Number 112 Rushing Defense! On defense, a veteran group is emerging behind the efforts of Rob Caldwell, the nation's second best returning tackler. But don't take my word for it, read for yourself.

The world hasn't seen such a disproportional naval engagement since the New York sunk the Love Boat.

Oh, by the way, nothing against ECU. I have several friends who attend the University, and haven't heard a bad word yet, just from friendly preseason smack. If your an ECU fan, hit my comment box, let's enlighten each other.

Best. Website. Ever. (At least for today)

It's been a boring week. News on the Navy front has been slow moving, and the general onset of spring break, allergies, and thunderstorms has taken it's toll. Somewhere between all of this, I have taken to watching a new host of daytime television, not limited too, but including this lively British he said/she said domestic comedy.

Richard: Would fit in lovely with the College Football Blogsphere

To pass these long, boring spring days I have also taken to doing some endless scouting throughout the internet. Scouring the portals of blogs, message boards, and even the general "shit" of the sports world, I came upon an amazing website the other day while looking through the scout.com army message board.

Then College Football Chain Linker does for us what years of endless internet babble could never hope to achieve. It finally settles the questions of "my team is better then yours" when their was no Head-to-Head matchup of said two teams. case in point, let's use our beloved Midshipmen and a personally hated rival of mine: Cal.

Navy beat Air Force

who beat Washington

who beat Arizona

who beat Oregon St

who beat California

Hence, Navy beats Cal. Great stuff isn't it? Be sure to check out the site which In 2003 had a chain for an NAIA school to beat Co-National champs Southern Cal.

California...You Suck

Now, back to more daytime WB...

No, No, we watch for the Hot one

Mid-Week Roundup

A transcript of PJ's comments after the scrimmage Saturday morning has been released, and for a change the defense seems to have risen to the occasion. The comments are preety self-explanitory, and the only thing really to note is that it looks like Super-K is moving closer to solidifying the #2 QB job. Of course, we could be totally wrong on that, but for now just keep your eye's out for the young man come April 21st.

The scrimmage on Saturday took place in heavy rain, which may very well have contributed the frequency of fumbles and botched Qb-Center exchanges. Defensively, David Mahoney seems to be playing like possible Defensive Captain for next year, adding seven tackles. Outside linebacker Keith Lisante and inside linebacker Clint Sovie stepped up as well. It will be interesting to see where Lisante ends up come East Carolina. A soon-to-be Junior who was fairly highly recruited out of high school (Louisville scholorship), we havn't seen him too much his first two seasons. Just one of those guy's to keep your eye on come April 21st.

The Capitol has published a great article on backup QB Jarrod Bryant and his father, who has cancer. This is a very good read, and just shows the kind of young men are football team is filled with.

The Sun, Baltimore's premier left-wing "mainstream" newspaper, has written a fine article on Brian Hampton. Nothing we havn't seen before, but worthy enough to check out nontheless.

Lastly, you can read a detailed Scrimmage report over at gomids.com.

Mid-Week Roundup

Apparently sophomore CB Greg Thrasher broke his leg Monday during Practice, and is reporting on his Myspace that he will be out 3-6 month's. Gerg is right now our projected nickelback, and with the timeframe should be available In time for East Carolina Opening Day. Last I heard he is still among the fastest players on the team. Heres hoping to a speedy recovery on his part.



Paul Johnson had another round of comments on practice from last week. Among them were more praise for sophomore QB Super-K. "He can make some plays. He makes guys miss him. He's hard to tackle. I thought Kaipo did some things today. He has some speed. He is clearly a little better runner than some of the other guys," said Johnson. Kaipo was able to work with the first team and clearly impressed, although Johnson still had platen of criticism for the other guys. Still, it looks as though Kaipo may make a run for the backup QB role behind Bryant and Goss. Word on the street (actually from PJ) is that Trey Hines "is back physically."
Combined with Campbell, Whittiker, Ballard, and Hampton, we should see a major improvement in terms of speed out of the backfield.

There is the distinct possibility Navy may play Eastern Michigan at Ford Field. Hopefully some of that Lions magic will rub off on EMU.

Lastly, there is a great report online about some comments PJ made at the Academy in terms of the team. I don't want to steal this guy's thunder, but I definitely recommend checking the report out.

Damnit We Suck

"We're not very good right now."
-Paul Johnson

Man I love that guys pessimism. The offense scored under Brian Hampton on its first three possessions, and even Super-K lead the offense to a score, and PJ is dowright pissed. Why?

"That's because the other side isn't very good"

Ah the defense. Yea, we got some work to do in that category. Coach Green, your response?

"Obviously, they were pretty good and we weren't very good. It was across the board - the As, the Bs and the Cs. We've got to play better, that's the bottom line."

Sounds good to me. Let's not forget what this defense is set out to do. When the team is designed around an offense which routinely puts up more then 30 points, Coach Green has been assigned with putting together a defense that "bends" but doesn't "break." Of course you don't want to bend at all, and that's the goal this year, but inevitably we have to fall back on the offense. Remember last year? For the first couple games their was almost zero pass-rush. Hopefully the experience of Chan and Tattersall will help to improve the push. Our linebackers have shown some good athleticism, but when put into space (which is required in Coach Green's zone) they fairly to move quickly enough to stop the better WRs and RBs. It will be interesting to see how the Defense takes shape. Of course, this could be a sign our offense is just incredible, but we all know Coach PJ wouldn't think so positively in April. But hey, when you got a football program like this with these people in place a lot is expected, and hopefully are defense can right itself in the next 6 month's for ECU.


Some more notable PJ quotes:

"We have a chance to be decent, but right now we're not very good."

"Kaipo [Super-K] helped himself some today in my eyes. He's clearly a better runner than the other guys there. He's got some speed"