Big Dilemma

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With Spectrum taking over Time Warner, my cable bill jumped over $30, and now totals over $200 per month - Deb would be very upset if she knew.  Now I have to seriously consider reducing the different services I get, which I know would jeopardize my DVR abilities.  That isn't good when I have 20 great games from this past year!  On the other hand, it is ridiculous to pay this price, especially when I could watch games from all divisions online.  I guess that Spectrum has made my choice easier...

March Madness

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I know that this is a college football site, but I have been known on occasion to cross the line.  With that being said, I can't help but talk for a moment about the College Basketball Conference Tournaments and subsequent selections...

  • Nice to see the Terps make the tourney after losing so much from last year's team, but I was a bit disappointed to see them bow out of the Big Ten tournament that was being played in Washington
  • Staying in the Big Ten, I am thrilled for Northwestern making the tournament for the very first time.  They were the last Power 5 team to make the tournament
  • Speaking of firsts, shouldn't be surprising that Princeton wn the first Ivy League tournament
  • Nice to see Saint Mary's selected, but felt bad for Illinois State
  • Lastly, congratulations to Rhode Island and North Dakota for winning their conference tournaments

Fountain City Classic

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I have just discovered a named rivalry game that has gone undetected by me the last couple of years.  It is called the "Fountain City Classic", which is played by two historically black Division II colleges - Fort Valley State and Albany State, and the game has been played in Columbus Georgia every year but one (2009) since 1994.  Albany State has won 24 of the last 32 games (20 of 27 Fountain City Classics that started in 1990), but Fort Valley State leads the overall series that started in 1924, 44-35-4.

Coaching Tree

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At Muhlenberg College, there is a substantial coaching tree growing that on a smaller scale can compare to Miami (Ohio).  Mike Donnelly has coached the Mules for twenty years, and has a career record of 140-74.  He took over a program that had struggled for years, and quickly turned the team around into a perennial contender for the Centennial Conference Championship.  With that success there are currently six Division III head coaches that have connections to Donnelly and Muhlenberg:  John Troxell at Franklin and Marshall (hired in 2006), Jeff Knarr at King's (2010), Trey Brown at Wilkes (2014), Tom Perkovich at Susquehanna (2015), Dan Puckhaber at St. Lawrence (2016) and Casey Goff at Defiance (2016).

A nice coaching legacy...

 

Ernie Davis

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A while ago in this space, Ernie Davis was mentioned as one of the elite running backs to come out of Syracuse - following in the footsteps of his idol Jim Bown, who helped recruit Davis to Syracuse.  I mention Ernie again because he was the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, which was presented to him in 1961.  Later that year he was drafted first in the NFL draft.  Unfortunately, Davis was diagnosed of leukemia in May 1962, and died eleven months later before playing a down in the NFL.  

John Gagliardi

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The winningest coach in college football with 489 wins over 64 years, mostly at Saint Johns, had a uniqe coaching style that has been labeled as Winning with Nos":

  • No blocking sleds or dummies
  • No athletic scholarships
  • No compulsory weightlifting program
  • No whistles
  • No "coach" - players call him John
  • No tackling in practice - players wear shorts or sweats
  • No long practices - an hour and a half or less

Can't argue with his success...