FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OzJohnnie]

The wheels are really going to start falling off when you start using whilst around these parts.

Ha!  I have managed to avoid that so far.  There's only so much colonisation which I will abide, after all.

I must admit that typing an 's' is much easier than typing a 'z', which requires your left pinky to awkwardly reach down.  So I don't mind all the Pommy influences.

[OzJohnnie]

Biiiiig game for the Hawks tomorrow against Geelong.  I'm getting excited and am losing my cool.  A loss is almost the end of Geelong's season while a Hawthorn loss ends their hopes of a top four finish and the preferred seeding that offers.

Here are a couple highlights from last weekend's big win over Essendon.  First, is a big hanger by Paul Puopolo as he goes for the mark over some talls.  He's a short man (for a footballer) but Poppy can sure leap.



And this one has 20-year-old Andrew McGrath of Essendon, who was the Rookie of the Year last year at 19.  He went to the same local Catholic elementary school as the Oz girls and was in the grade above #1.  He's in the middle holding the collar of his jumper.

[BDB]

The wheels are really going to start falling off when you start using whilst around these parts.

Whilst I had the Caps going overtime in 7 with Tampa Bay, my Stanley Cup Champion predictions on here continue to be flawless. 

Miac952, I resemble that remark. 

[jamtod]

A few thoughts from kickoff, without getting too into the weeds of the paid content:
* Transfer FS Tommy Fuller from Minnesota is intriguing. Hadn't heard about that one, would be nice to have a contribution from him back there to help replace Seering.
* I know Zach Bennett is listed as a TE, but an expectation of him to see PT there seems like somebody looking at the box score, seeing he played some snaps and is TE and assuming he'll catch passes. He's our long snapper but didn't catch a pass last year. Finn and Slavik would be the TEs I'd expect to step up.

[DuffMan]

From the SC Times:  College football: As Johnnies start practice, here are 5 players to keep your eyes on

COLLEGEVILLE — When St. John's football has its first practice Friday in preparation for the 2018 season, 176 players are expected to be there.
At least five are noteworthy.

Three are preseason All-Americans. Two are transfers expected to make an impact.

All involved hope to be MIAC champions, something the Johnnies last were in 2014. St. John's is coming off four straight NCAA Division III playoff berths and a 9-2 record in 2017.

"The expectations never change," St. John's head coach Gary Fasching said. "We want to win the conference and go deep in the playoffs.
"Everybody wants a national championship. But really, it's about one game at a time. We can't really worry about anything else. Really, what we need to worry about is the first practice."

That's at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Johnnies practice at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, then at 6:30 p.m. Sunday and throughout next week.
The first game is 1 p.m. Sept. 1 at Clemens Stadium against Wisconsin-Stout, which beat St. Thomas, 25-22 last year.

Five to watch include right guard Dan Greenheck, defensive end Nathan Brinker and safety Max Jackson.

Greenheck (6-foot-1, 265 pounds, junior) is a first-team preseason All-American, according to D3football.com. He's from Cretin-Derham Hall.

"He's fundamentally sound and though he's undersized for an offensive lineman, he does everything you want an offensive lineman to do. He's very quick, very athletic and he's got an offensive lineman demeanor."

Brinker and Jackson are second-team picks by D3football.com.

Brinker (6-3, 235) is a senior from Holdingford who had a standout 2017 season despite overcoming two off-season knee surgeries. He led the Johnnies with 11.5 tackles for loss.

"I assume he's healthy," Fasching said. "Last year, we took it real slow with him.  For us to be a dominant defensive team, we need him to be healthy."

Jackson (5-10, 185) is a senior from Cretin-Derham Hall who is one of the Johnnies' top athletes. Besides also returning punts, he's a starter on the baseball team.

"He's one of the top athletes in the whole league," Fasching said.

The transfers are: offensive lineman Karl Rude and defensive back Chris Harris.

Rude is a transfer from St. Cloud State, where he was the Huskies' starting center the past two seasons after sitting out his first year as a redshirt. He'll be a junior at St. John's and is from Lake in the Hills, Illinois, attending Marian Central Catholic High School. At Central Catholic, he started for four years and was a two-time all-conference selection.

Fasching said that Rude, who is 6-2 and weighs about 265, would play somewhere on the offensive line, but wasn't sure where.
"We don't know yet," Fasching said. "We want to see him in practice."

Harris, from Lake Elsinore, California, was a starting defensive back at Chadron State College in Nebraska. Chadron State is a Division II school.
He transferred to Chadron after starting his college career at Montana State, where he suffered a knee injury and underwent a coaching staff change.

He'll join a defensive secondary that includes Jackson and returning starters Ryan LaCasse and Sam Westby.

[art76]

After looking through all the MIAC team write ups in Kickoff, I have a few observations.
The nine MIAC teams are ranked between #3 and #230 Nationally - that's quite a spread, not sure it has been that big of a spread in years past.
They are thinking that St. Olaf might make some noise this year, jumping to fifth behind Bethel.

It's somewhat easy to say this now, before the season begins, but I think that if Bethel starts well, they could be undefeated going into the final game of the season with St. Thomas. Of course, lately, they have stumbled out of the gate and have had to fight to stay from having a losing season the past three years. If they do manage to upset the Johnnies, I will probably go down to the game in Northfield against the Oles the following week. That's a whole lot of presumption.

I agree with Kickoff and think the wild card team this year are the Oles. I can see them giving Concordia a run for its money when the Cobbers come down in  the next to last game of the season. Bethel will have played them both by then, and if the Royals have won both, those two teams might be duking it out for fourth place. It could be an exciting last couple of weeks in the MIAC if things play out as I hope they do.

There seems to be more D2 and D1 transfers into the MIAC this year. Someone who watches those kinds of things may say otherwise, but I cannot recall a season when so many have been talked about during the pre-season.

[wally_wabash]

There seems to be more D2 and D1 transfers into the MIAC this year. Someone who watches those kinds of things may say otherwise, but I cannot recall a season when so many have been talked about during the pre-season.

I don't think it's just the MIAC.  I would love data on this, but the feeling I get is that the D1/D2 transfer population is a new point of differentiation between teams at the tippy top of the division and teams that want to be in that uppermost strata.  The very best teams are recruiting a good deal of athletes that may have opportunities for scholarship football.  That's not new.  But then not letting go of those kids once the current recruiting cycle is over is a newer phenomenon.  Certainly most will never come back around on D-III, but any team that can bring one or two of those guys in after one or two years on the fringes of a depth chart at a D1 just added an instant impact player that they don't also have to wait a year on to mature physically like you do with traditional HS recruits.  I really do think that teams that aren't following up a year later with recruits that chose D1/D2 are getting left behind.  This is now part of the deal if you want to be great in this division. 

[OzJohnnie]

This game never disappoints in terms of intensity!  The Hawks went out 11 point victors over the Cats, taking both meetings this year.  We’re in the hunt for a top 4 finish, maybe as high as second.  Go Hawks!

The highlights: https://youtu.be/ET-EuLJO3Bg

And the final two minutes. I was on my feet cheering as Poppy was in a foot race the length of the field and then roaring with the rest of the crowd as Jeager O’Meara kicked the sealer.

https://youtu.be/ZnlQ4wVYzw0

[MUC57]

OzJohnnie

Is there something like "Aussie Rules Football for Dummies"? I'd like to know just a little bit about the game. I watched your video, but it didn't make much sense. Keep it simple. Remember, l'm old. I get mixed up and I forget things. Thank you in advance for your consideration! 🇺🇸🏉🇦🇺

[OzJohnnie]

No worries, mate. Here's a six minute explanation that is a fine intro:

https://youtu.be/XMZYZcoAcU0

And here's a more detailed 30 minute production:

https://youtu.be/Dtmu-1kMFZw


I don't know which channel, obviously, but a game or two is broadcast in the States each week. My dad was watching the Hawthorn v Geelong game and sending me a few texts.

OzJohnnie

Is there something like "Aussie Rules Football for Dummies"? I'd like to know just a little bit about the game. I watched your video, but it didn't make much sense. Keep it simple. Remember, l'm old. I get mixed up and I forget things. Thank you in advance for your consideration! 🇺🇸🏉🇦🇺

[sjusection105]

And the final two minutes. I was on my feet cheering as Poppy was in a foot race the length of the field and then roaring with the rest of the crowd as Jeager O'Meara kicked the sealer.

https://youtu.be/ZnlQ4wVYzw0

The pure beauty of it!

[MUC57]

OzJohnnie

Thanks a lot. Watched the short one and will watch the 30 minute one later. Those should get me started. Really appreciate the help. May all your boomerangs come back - or whatever.
Go Johnnies. Go Raiders. And, Go Everybody! 🇺🇸🏉🇦🇺

[MUC57]

OzJohnnie

Have now watched both videos. I know a lot more than I did, but will still have to watch them several more times. Thanks again for your help. That sport could be a lot of fun, once it is better understood!
Go Hawks! 🇺🇸🏉🇦🇺

Oh, almost forgot. I rather like The Fremantle Dockers. They wear purple and white. ☠🏈

[OzJohnnie]

And Freo are a team that everyone loves to hate. Sounds just about perfect. 

I'm glad you like it. It's fast and hard with a completely different skill set and physical requirement to any US sport. Most similar to hockey in the free flowing and randomly violent nature, but obviously a completely different sport in every other respect.  Like hockey, bringing whole-team effort, structure and predictability to the chaos is the key to success but there is still plenty of room for individual brilliance.

Anyways, with the football season approaching I'll post less footy. Unless the Hawks keep pulling good performances and run deep in the finals. I can't help myself in that case.

[DuffMan]

The Johnnies have their 2018 roster up online.  Only 170!