Around the Nation board

[K-Mack]

Now that this little Kickoff '09 thing is out of the way, K-Mack would like to discuss the much ballyhooed-but-never-follow-throughed "ATN and the LLPP go to a game"

Would probably be best if you made suggestions on the ATN thread, as I work way too much to stay current here.

Gro et al will push for Shoeapalooza 09 but TGP would recommend Oct 10 - Hobart v. Union.  Word on the street is that Frank Rossi has ended his hold out and signed a one year deal to continue calling U games.

I still vote the Shoes game. A sight nearly unmatched throughout the d3 landscape.

I'll be the judge of that!

I had heard the same thing about Rossi. On facebook, perhaps!?!

I still wish I had gone to that Rochester-area day/night doubleheader two seasons ago. I wonder (aloud) if that's on again this year. What was it, like Brockport and somebody (Cortland?) during the day and SJF/Rochester at night?

Couple different options actually that day. You've got Fisher against Rochester under the lights at 7:00 pm in the Courage Bowl. During the day, judging by driving distance, you'd have four distinct possibilities: Hobart vs. Carnegie Mellon 12pm, Brockport vs. Frostburg 1pm, Ithaca vs. Widener 1pm, Cortland vs. Rowan 1pm. All four are within driving distance to hit both games in their entirety

I literally JUST got done looking this up on my own and posting on the LL board about it.

It;s possible on both the 12th and the 19th actually. I could see Case at Rochester at 1 on the 12th (bad weekend for me to travel though) before Buff St at SJF at 7.

On the 19th, I have Alfred, Bart and Brockport at home, then Roch @ SJF at 7. Leaning towards that, I think.

Hadn't considered Cortland or Ithaca. I guess Alfred might be pushing it, but it would be a good one to tick off, especially because we were in love with them in Kickoff.

Also because of the legendary pep band

[pumkinattack]

I'd love for you guys to get up(KMack)/down(Pat) to Geneva and if there's no possibility of it next year, but consider that there's a major renovation to the field, stands and area around Boswell field after this football season.  It's not $100 Billion or whatever RPI spent, but they're putting in state of the art turf, new seating, walls, etc.  I guess the flip side, if you care, is that there's more DIII lacrosse history on Boswell Field than anywhere else, so maybe its better to see it in its current state than after the renovation.  Syracuse, Cornell and a few others used to grumble in the 80's (when interdivisional play occurred and Hobart was on their DIII championship streak) that Bart would water down the field to slow down opposing teams.  Did it happen?  No comment. 

[Ralph Turner]

Excellent opening ATN...

Looking forward to the weekly column.

http://www.d3football.com/columns/around-the-nation/2009-09-02/It%27s+OK+to+play+for+No.+3

[K-Mack]

Ralph,
Thanks.

Got some feedback, and a good point is raised here, so I thought I'd share. I definitely meant to take a look at Wartburg, but after charting 10 seasons of playoffs and adding 22 teams' records up by hand, I definitely could've just forgotten to do the Knights. Oops.

Bill on  Thursday, September 03, 2009 at 10:35:56 PM
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Subject: Central?
                Notes: I read with interest your comments in "It's Ok to Play for 3rd & 4th".

While I was hoping to see an IIAC team in the Top 10 of the D3 Football Era, I wasn't surprised to see that we weren't.  I was surprised to see Central in the also rans while Wartburg was shut out on the list.

Regular season records over the last ten years:
Central 81-19  81%
Wartburg 85-15 85%
(The same non-conference record)

Playoffs over the past 10 years:
Central 4-6
Wartburg 4-5

Long term history favors the Dutch.  Short term hisory show things to be fairly equal with a slight edge to the Knights.

[K-Mack]

Excellent opening ATN...

Looking forward to the weekly column.

http://www.d3football.com/columns/around-the-nation/2009-09-02/It%27s+OK+to+play+for+No.+3

Turns out not everybody is a fan:

Keith,

I generally read your column each week regardless of what it includes. Most of what
you have to say is not only valid but also very informative. That's why I am so
disappointed with your column this week. We could have all be spared the time it
took to sift through what I am convienced is one of your worst offerings to date. My
time would have been better spent doing almost anything (insert cross stitching,
crocheting, or underwater basket weaving refer here). Not sure exactly what happened
this week, but here's to the fact that all you can do after this particular offering
is go up. Maybe that was your plan maybe you wanted to lower the bar. You certainly
have. I'll think twice next week before reading any of your thoughts. This one was
particularly horrible. I for one sure hope you are wrong about the d3 championship
being a two horse race. Lets' all toast to you having something intelligible to say
next week although I won't be reading that one. With all the excitement of the start
of the season this is the best you could come up with? REALLY? NEW LOW MY FRIEND

(signed by a Matt from the 817 area code)

Matt,
Interesting. First two e-mails I got last night insisted it was some of my best work ever. I put so much work into the columns that by the end I never can tell if it's any good or not. Guess that's for you all to decide.

Care to elaborate on what exactly bothered you? I would think a message of "even if the same two teams make it back to the Stagg Bowl, enjoy the season for what it is" would resonate with everyone, even a fan of one of the Texas teams that has a legitimate shot at unseating Mount Union or UW-Whitewater.

Keith McMillan
Kickoff '09 Managing Editor
Keith@D3football.com

[Ron Boerger]

Some people just don't like being faced with the facts (e.g. these guys have played four straight times and don't lose much) and lash out blindly when they can offer no logical rebuttal.  

Now, as for me, I think you could just as easily have plugged Trinity in over Bridgewater, esp. given the way BC totally fell off the map last season.  Understand your points, but don't think a 'top ten' team should have a sub-.500 record in any season given the stiff competition for those spots.  

[Toby Taff]

Excellent opening ATN...

Looking forward to the weekly column.

http://www.d3football.com/columns/around-the-nation/2009-09-02/It%27s+OK+to+play+for+No.+3

Turns out not everybody is a fan:

Keith,

I generally read your column each week regardless of what it includes. Most of what
you have to say is not only valid but also very informative. That's why I am so
disappointed with your column this week. We could have all be spared the time it
took to sift through what I am convienced is one of your worst offerings to date. My
time would have been better spent doing almost anything (insert cross stitching,
crocheting, or underwater basket weaving refer here). Not sure exactly what happened
this week, but here's to the fact that all you can do after this particular offering
is go up. Maybe that was your plan maybe you wanted to lower the bar. You certainly
have. I'll think twice next week before reading any of your thoughts. This one was
particularly horrible. I for one sure hope you are wrong about the d3 championship
being a two horse race. Lets' all toast to you having something intelligible to say
next week although I won't be reading that one. With all the excitement of the start
of the season this is the best you could come up with? REALLY? NEW LOW MY FRIEND

(signed by a Matt from the 817 area code)

Matt,
Interesting. First two e-mails I got last night insisted it was some of my best work ever. I put so much work into the columns that by the end I never can tell if it's any good or not. Guess that's for you all to decide.

Care to elaborate on what exactly bothered you? I would think a message of "even if the same two teams make it back to the Stagg Bowl, enjoy the season for what it is" would resonate with everyone, even a fan of one of the Texas teams that has a legitimate shot at unseating Mount Union or UW-Whitewater.

Keith McMillan
Kickoff '09 Managing Editor
Keith@D3football.com

Sounds like someone's bitter.  I thought the article was great.  I think there are teams with a shot, but it won't be easy.  barring a fluke loss in season I expect UWW and Mount will be the top seeds again, but as we saw in 2004, the road does go through sometimes.  Keep up the good work.  Look forward to next weeks article.

[Ralph Turner]

Re:  The critique from Matt from area code 817 (Ft Worth,  an area code in which there is not a single D-III school.)


Keith,

I generally read your column each week regardless of what it includes. Most of what
you have to say is not only valid but also very informative. That's why I am so
disappointed with your column this week. We could have all be spared the time it
took to sift through what I am convienced is one of your worst offerings to date. My
time would have been better spent doing almost anything (insert cross stitching,
crocheting, or underwater basket weaving refer here). Not sure exactly what happened
this week, but here's to the fact that all you can do after this particular offering
is go up. Maybe that was your plan maybe you wanted to lower the bar. You certainly
have. I'll think twice next week before reading any of your thoughts. This one was
particularly horrible. I for one sure hope you are wrong about the d3 championship
being a two horse race. Lets' all toast to you having something intelligible to say
next week although I won't be reading that one. With all the excitement of the start
of the season this is the best you could come up with? REALLY? NEW LOW MY FRIEND

(signed by a Matt from the 817 area code).


That looks like a generic rant...

One could switch out that sentence for any of these and the entire paragraph would still make the same sense.

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "the d3 championship being a two horse race."

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "the Yankees losing to the Red Sox in the AL Championships."

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "the Dallas Cowboys choking in the NFC East and Da Iggles winning it all."

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "Tom DeLay winning it all on Dancing with the Stars."

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "Jon and Octomom finding true love in reality show heaven."

   

[roocru]

Re:  The critique from Matt from area code 817 (Ft Worth,  an area code in which there is not a single D-III school.)


Keith,

I generally read your column each week regardless of what it includes. Most of what
you have to say is not only valid but also very informative. That's why I am so
disappointed with your column this week. We could have all be spared the time it
took to sift through what I am convienced is one of your worst offerings to date. My
time would have been better spent doing almost anything (insert cross stitching,
crocheting, or underwater basket weaving refer here). Not sure exactly what happened
this week, but here's to the fact that all you can do after this particular offering
is go up. Maybe that was your plan maybe you wanted to lower the bar. You certainly
have. I'll think twice next week before reading any of your thoughts. This one was
particularly horrible. I for one sure hope you are wrong about the d3 championship
being a two horse race. Lets' all toast to you having something intelligible to say
next week although I won't be reading that one. With all the excitement of the start
of the season this is the best you could come up with? REALLY? NEW LOW MY FRIEND

(signed by a Matt from the 817 area code).


That looks like a generic rant...

One could switch out that sentence for any of these and the entire paragraph would still make the same sense.

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "the d3 championship being a two horse race."

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "the Yankees losing to the Red Sox in the AL Championships."

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "the Dallas Cowboys choking in the NFC East and Da Iggles winning it all."

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "Tom DeLay winning it all on Dancing with the Stars."

I for one sure hope you are wrong about:  "Jon and Octomom finding true love in reality show heaven."

   

LMAO !!   +1 Ralph

[dlippiel]

Excellent opening ATN...

Looking forward to the weekly column.

http://www.d3football.com/columns/around-the-nation/2009-09-02/It%27s+OK+to+play+for+No.+3

Turns out not everybody is a fan:

Keith,

I generally read your column each week regardless of what it includes. Most of what
you have to say is not only valid but also very informative. That's why I am so
disappointed with your column this week. We could have all be spared the time it
took to sift through what I am convienced is one of your worst offerings to date. My
time would have been better spent doing almost anything (insert cross stitching,
crocheting, or underwater basket weaving refer here). Not sure exactly what happened
this week, but here's to the fact that all you can do after this particular offering
is go up. Maybe that was your plan maybe you wanted to lower the bar. You certainly
have. I'll think twice next week before reading any of your thoughts. This one was
particularly horrible. I for one sure hope you are wrong about the d3 championship
being a two horse race. Lets' all toast to you having something intelligible to say
next week although I won't be reading that one. With all the excitement of the start
of the season this is the best you could come up with? REALLY? NEW LOW MY FRIEND

(signed by a Matt from the 817 area code)

Matt,
Interesting. First two e-mails I got last night insisted it was some of my best work ever. I put so much work into the columns that by the end I never can tell if it's any good or not. Guess that's for you all to decide.

Care to elaborate on what exactly bothered you? I would think a message of "even if the same two teams make it back to the Stagg Bowl, enjoy the season for what it is" would resonate with everyone, even a fan of one of the Texas teams that has a legitimate shot at unseating Mount Union or UW-Whitewater.

Keith McMillan
Kickoff '09 Managing Editor
Keith@D3football.com

Looks like he may have you there on your "two horse race" thoughts. dlip means its not like UWW and MUC have ever been in a Stagg Bowl or played against each other in a Stagg Bowl recently  . Dude dlip always enjoys your ATN's and appreciates all the hard wrok and preparation that goes into them. Keep it up and thanks!

[Ralph Turner]

Congratulations to D3football.com on 30M screen views on the front page.

[K-Mack]

Just getting around to sharing more feedback from the first two weeks. Patrick Bohn raises a valid point:

Mr. McMillan,

I liked your recent piece on the MUC/UW-W stronghold on the top of D-III. I think
you're right in that we, as D-III fans, have become a little too focused on the
Stagg Bowl when discussing success. However, I think the issue is, for those of us
who didn't grow up following D-III football, the Stagg Bowl is the one chance to
show everyone else how great D-III is. And when it's the same two teams getting all
the national attention, then all they know about is those two teams.

I understand that, on some level, D-III football will always be a niche in the
sporting world, and that the mainstream media will never really care about it,
regardless of the amount of parity in the sport. But at the same time, I do think
there's room for the sport's national profile to grow somewhat, and when the one
game shown nationally is always the same two teams, it doesn't allow any other team
to creep into the national scene.

That's not to say that MUC and UW-W don't deserve their success. But there are a lot
of great teams in D-III football, and exposing the world to a UMHB or Hardin-Simmons
or whoever would, I believe, do the sport some good.

As always, keep up the great work.

Patrick Bohn

[Toby Taff]

K-Mack,

Mr. Bohn does raise a valid point.  It would be nice to see something like an expose on D3s in sports history during the Stagg broadcast.  Obviously I don't know about all D3s, but i do know that HSU and McMurry have a pre-D3 history with names like Sammy Baugh and Grant Teaff.  Surely there are enough famous sports alumni from schools that are currently D3 to make an interest piece that could run @ the half.  I doubt it will ever happen, but it would be a good way of showing the faces of D3 rather than just the top of the heap.

[Ralph Turner]

K-Mack,

Mr. Bohn does raise a valid point.  It would be nice to see something like an expose on D3s in sports history during the Stagg broadcast.  Obviously I don't know about all D3s, but i do know that HSU and McMurry have a pre-D3 history with names like Sammy Baugh and Grant Teaff.  Surely there are enough famous sports alumni from schools that are currently D3 to make an interest piece that could run @ the half.  I doubt it will ever happen, but it would be a good way of showing the faces of D3 rather than just the top of the heap.

Two others that are in Halls of Fame...

HSU's Bulldog Turner (no relation) in the NFL HOF and
McMurry's Brad Rowlands (late 1940's McM running back) who in the College Football HOF.

[K-Mack]

K-Mack,

Mr. Bohn does raise a valid point.  It would be nice to see something like an expose on D3s in sports history during the Stagg broadcast.  Obviously I don't know about all D3s, but i do know that HSU and McMurry have a pre-D3 history with names like Sammy Baugh and Grant Teaff.  Surely there are enough famous sports alumni from schools that are currently D3 to make an interest piece that could run @ the half.  I doubt it will ever happen, but it would be a good way of showing the faces of D3 rather than just the top of the heap.

The thing about that is once you do it once, do you re-run the same piece every year? If so, do the same people see it over and over again?

ESPN is covering Division III one day a year, for three hours only. It's nice when they pronounce the players' names right, so I'm not expecting them to carry the torch for educating the entire nation on the history of Division III football. That's what we do. It would be nice since ESPN reaches so many households if they could do more, but we're honestly just a blip on their screen. If the UConn women's basketball game runs long, the Stagg Bowl kickoff is delayed.

Mentioning Sammy Baugh and Grant Teaff and Bulldog Turner is just the tip of the iceberg. Presidents, movie stars and famous coaches have all been D3 players and alumni ... it would be quite a long piece to touch on the entire pre-D3 history of these schools (the divisions didn't come into play until '73)

I think when ESPN comes in, they focus mostly on that one game and go back to doing what they do best, and what gets the most advertisers for them. It's tough to ask them to shine the light of D3 on the viewers, many of whom probably already follow D3 or one of the teams involved, when they've got a game to produce.