FB: Empire 8

[labart96]

How is Micheli's first team selection awful in your opinion? 

He won the Gagliardi and two Stagg Bowls.  Interested in your thoughts b/c there are not a lot of guys with that on their resume.

Personally, I thought Brett Elliott was by far and away the best QB that D3 has had over the past decade. 

Brett Elliott played with just one other offensive All-Decade player during his time, WR Casey Allen (I am not including the kicker that made the team).  Micheli played with 5 on offense during his time...Kmic, Garcon, Blanchard, Shorts, and Safran.  And Micheli was never the offensive focal point...Kmic was.  Plus Elliot's stats were way better, he was the focal point of the offense, and he also won the Gagliardi and a National Championship.

"Awful" may be too strong...maybe awfully surprising, but at the end of the day not that surprising?

great points / argument k+

i tend to agree on your assessment of elliott based on the stats, similar track record (albeit micheli has two rings) and micheli having a much better supporting cast.

[Mr. Ypsi]

My guess would be that the deciding factor was that Elliott only played 2(?) years in d3.

[AUPepBand]

Congratulations to the following former Empire 8 student-athletes who were included on this website's 2000s All-Decade Team:

BRENNAN FORTUNE, St. John Fisher, 2nd Team Offensive Tackle

MARK ROBINSON, St. John Fisher, 3rd Team Running Back

ADAM GROSSMAN, Ithaca, 3rd Team Offensive Guard

GENE LANG, St. John Fisher, 3rd Team Linebacker

STEVE STEPNICK, St. John Fisher, 3rd Team Cornerback

JACK PHELAN, Hartwick, 4th Team Wide Receiver

I was really surpised that Brady from Alfred didn't make this list.  Guy was an animal.  Also...Micheli making 1st Team All-Decade QB in my opinion is awful...

Pep certainly agrees that Alfred's Brenton Brady should have been on the D3football.com 2000s All-Decade Team. However, the 2000s team was likely selected from among D3football's previous award winners. Brady never was named to the All-East Region Team, much less the All-American. (He was a honorable mention All-American in 2004 and 2005) If Pep remembers correctly, Brady was not included because, due to an oversight, he had not been nominated. Nevertheless, anyone who played Alfred during Brady's career has said much the same of the outstanding linebacker....he was "sick"!

Always up for a challenge on the basketball court, Pep often chose to guard Brady the Beast, who liked to shoot the trey. Pep's strategy was to deny Brady the ball. On the basketball court, Brady was just lazy enough not to want to work to "get open"" but often called for the ball. When he finally got his hands on it, he forced up a trey, which was often off the mark due to his frustration because of lack of touches. Add to that Pep's aptitude for talking smack to dudes twice his size, Pep neutralized Brady so long as the Beast didn't take it to the hole and dunk over Pep's defenseless 5-8, 200-lb. frame.

Pep misses those Late Nite meetings!

[Pat Coleman]

You almost had to be a two-time All-American to even be in the discussion. And Brady was, despite Pep's assertion otherwise -- he was a two-time honorable mention selection.

There were, in our opinion, 12 sicker linebackers in Division III in the decade. But he was damn good, don't get me wrong.

All-Region was not a factor in selecting the All-Decade team.

[AUKaz00]

Well, the Kaz00 family is off to Viper's part of the country for a winter reprieve.  If you're still lurking on these boards, Jose, you can look for me at the Pirate Festival sporting the hat of your Rays' NY-Penn League affiliate.

[AUPepBand]

You almost had to be a two-time All-American to even be in the discussion. And Brady was, despite Pep's assertion otherwise -- he was a two-time honorable mention selection.

There were, in our opinion, 12 sicker linebackers in Division III in the decade. But he was damn good, don't get me wrong.

All-Region was not a factor in selecting the All-Decade team.

Thanks for setting that straight, Pat. I looked back at the D3 All-East Region Awards and didn't find him. And, agreed, about one needing to be a two-time All-American to be part of the discussion. Had the Saxons made the playoffs in 2005 and made any noise (which are pretty big "ifs") his billing would have been more widely known. Even then, that was his senior year and, like you said, two-timers pretty much set the standard.

Pep has a video of the AU-Fisher game of 2005 in which Brady .... was a major factor in that 13-7 upset.

On Saxon Warriors!

Note: Upon further review, Pep found, indeed, that Brady was an Honorable Mention All-American in 2004 and 2005. Pep had been looking in the All-East Region awards, which did not include Brady.

[Bombers798891]

Congratulations to the following former Empire 8 student-athletes who were included on this website's 2000s All-Decade Team:

BRENNAN FORTUNE, St. John Fisher, 2nd Team Offensive Tackle

MARK ROBINSON, St. John Fisher, 3rd Team Running Back

ADAM GROSSMAN, Ithaca, 3rd Team Offensive Guard

GENE LANG, St. John Fisher, 3rd Team Linebacker

STEVE STEPNICK, St. John Fisher, 3rd Team Cornerback

JACK PHELAN, Hartwick, 4th Team Wide Receiver

Here's my question: It's made of of guys who may have only part of their careers in the 2000's, but does the list look at the whole career of those players, or only the part that was in the 2000's? That's kind of what surprised me about Grossman, since he only played one season in the 2000's--albeit a very good one

[Pat Coleman]

You almost had to be a two-time All-American to even be in the discussion. And Brady was, despite Pep's assertion otherwise -- he was a two-time honorable mention selection.

There were, in our opinion, 12 sicker linebackers in Division III in the decade. But he was damn good, don't get me wrong.

All-Region was not a factor in selecting the All-Decade team.

Thanks for setting that straight, Pat. I looked back at the D3 All-East Region Awards and didn't find him. And, agreed, about one needing to be a two-time All-American to be part of the discussion. Had the Saxons made the playoffs in 2005 and made any noise (which are pretty big "ifs") his billing would have been more widely known. Even then, that was his senior year and, like you said, two-timers pretty much set the standard.

Pep has a video of the AU-Fisher game of 2005 in which Brady .... was a major factor in that 13-7 upset.

On Saxon Warriors!

Note: Upon further review, Pep found, indeed, that Brady was an Honorable Mention All-American in 2004 and 2005. Pep had been looking in the All-East Region awards, which did not include Brady.

Pep -- I also mentioned this in my post!

Bombers798891: Your question is answered on the All-Decade team's page.
http://www.d3football.com/awards/all-decade/2000-team

[Bombers798891]

You almost had to be a two-time All-American to even be in the discussion. And Brady was, despite Pep's assertion otherwise -- he was a two-time honorable mention selection.

There were, in our opinion, 12 sicker linebackers in Division III in the decade. But he was damn good, don't get me wrong.

All-Region was not a factor in selecting the All-Decade team.

Thanks for setting that straight, Pat. I looked back at the D3 All-East Region Awards and didn't find him. And, agreed, about one needing to be a two-time All-American to be part of the discussion. Had the Saxons made the playoffs in 2005 and made any noise (which are pretty big "ifs") his billing would have been more widely known. Even then, that was his senior year and, like you said, two-timers pretty much set the standard.

Pep has a video of the AU-Fisher game of 2005 in which Brady .... was a major factor in that 13-7 upset.

On Saxon Warriors!

Note: Upon further review, Pep found, indeed, that Brady was an Honorable Mention All-American in 2004 and 2005. Pep had been looking in the All-East Region awards, which did not include Brady.

Pep -- I also mentioned this in my post!

Bombers798891: Your question is answered on the All-Decade team's page.
http://www.d3football.com/awards/all-decade/2000-team

Thanks pat.

[AUPepBand]

During these cold, quiet days, there is time to think. Perhaps too much time for Pep to think. So Pep was musing:

The 2010 Stagg Bowl was, once again an all-purple affair. The chances of that occurring were pretty great, considering five of the eight quarter-finalists embrace purple as their dominant school color...Whitewater, Mount Union, Mary Hardin-Baylor, St. Thomas and Alfred.

It was difficult to sort out the Saxon fans from the Mount fans at Mount Union Stadium on Dec. 4, 2010. It definitely was a "Purple Out."

The color purple has only a couple words with which it rhymes. Given the desire to be clever and witty in supporting the Saxons, one is severely limited in concocting a chant with a line ending with "purple" when desiring for said chant's lines to rhyme.

So, here's an off-season challenge for all posting supporters of purple-clad teams....first, identify the TWO words (and one is a stretch) that rhyme with purple. Second, create a chant in support of your team that uses at least one of those words that rhyme with purple.

On your mark, get set.....GO!

[HSCTiger74]

During these cold, quiet days, there is time to think. Perhaps too much time for Pep to think. So Pep was musing:

The 2010 Stagg Bowl was, once again an all-purple affair. The chances of that occurring were pretty great, considering five of the eight quarter-finalists embrace purple as their dominant school color...Whitewater, Mount Union, Mary Hardin-Baylor, St. Thomas and Alfred.

It was difficult to sort out the Saxon fans from the Mount fans at Mount Union Stadium on Dec. 4, 2010. It definitely was a "Purple Out."

The color purple has only a couple words with which it rhymes. Given the desire to be clever and witty in supporting the Saxons, one is severely limited in concocting a chant with a line ending with "purple" when desiring for said chant's lines to rhyme.

So, here's an off-season challenge for all posting supporters of purple-clad teams....first, identify the TWO words (and one is a stretch) that rhyme with purple. Second, create a chant in support of your team that uses at least one of those words that rhyme with purple.

On your mark, get set.....GO!

Gotta go with the ever-popular, but completely inaccurate, maple syrple.

[HSCTiger74]

During these cold, quiet days, there is time to think. Perhaps too much time for Pep to think. So Pep was musing:

The 2010 Stagg Bowl was, once again an all-purple affair. The chances of that occurring were pretty great, considering five of the eight quarter-finalists embrace purple as their dominant school color...Whitewater, Mount Union, Mary Hardin-Baylor, St. Thomas and Alfred.

It was difficult to sort out the Saxon fans from the Mount fans at Mount Union Stadium on Dec. 4, 2010. It definitely was a "Purple Out."

The color purple has only a couple words with which it rhymes. Given the desire to be clever and witty in supporting the Saxons, one is severely limited in concocting a chant with a line ending with "purple" when desiring for said chant's lines to rhyme.

So, here's an off-season challenge for all posting supporters of purple-clad teams....first, identify the TWO words (and one is a stretch) that rhyme with purple. Second, create a chant in support of your team that uses at least one of those words that rhyme with purple.

On your mark, get set.....GO!

Gotta go with the ever-popular, but completely inaccurate, maple syrple.

Okay, I couldn't come up with a chant so I wrote a pome instead (it doesn't deserve to be called a poem).  Ahem ...

Every year the playoffs seem
To bring us some new "power" team.
And then their superfan appears
To boast and brag, and lead the cheers
And claim his team will clean the clocks
Of Saxons or Raiders or even Warhawks.
But in the end the game is played
And his guys come out slightly frayed,
After which the little twerp'll
Rue the day they met the purple.

[Mr. Ypsi]

During these cold, quiet days, there is time to think. Perhaps too much time for Pep to think. So Pep was musing:

The 2010 Stagg Bowl was, once again an all-purple affair. The chances of that occurring were pretty great, considering five of the eight quarter-finalists embrace purple as their dominant school color...Whitewater, Mount Union, Mary Hardin-Baylor, St. Thomas and Alfred.

It was difficult to sort out the Saxon fans from the Mount fans at Mount Union Stadium on Dec. 4, 2010. It definitely was a "Purple Out."

The color purple has only a couple words with which it rhymes. Given the desire to be clever and witty in supporting the Saxons, one is severely limited in concocting a chant with a line ending with "purple" when desiring for said chant's lines to rhyme.

So, here's an off-season challenge for all posting supporters of purple-clad teams....first, identify the TWO words (and one is a stretch) that rhyme with purple. Second, create a chant in support of your team that uses at least one of those words that rhyme with purple.

On your mark, get set.....GO!

Gotta go with the ever-popular, but completely inaccurate, maple syrple.

Okay, I couldn't come up with a chant so I wrote a pome instead (it doesn't deserve to be called a poem).  Ahem ...

Every year the playoffs seem
To bring us some new "power" team.
And then their superfan appears
To boast and brag, and lead the cheers
And claim his team will clean the clocks
Of Saxons or Raiders or even Warhawks.
But in the end the game is played
And his guys come out slightly frayed,
After which the little twerp'll
Rue the day they met the purple.

Groan!  I don't know whether to smite you or applaud you!   I'll go with +k.

[AUPepBand]

No activity on the E8 boards this month yet?

Pep is thinking football only because yesterday was AU's football banquet, held at the Hornell Knights of Columbus Hall with an announced crowd of 400 in attendance. Pep thoroughly enjoyed the highlight tape (that included a photo of the pep band) but even more so the awards presentations (good fun!).

And, while "attendance" is on Pep's mind, with St. John's once again leading the nation in D3 football attendance statistics, Pep is wondering what went wrong at Ithaca....why were attendance figures not reported to the NCAA? Or reported incorrectly? As a result, Ithaca shows total attendance of 5 for five games or an average of 1 person in attendance??? Wouldn't an NCAA statistician realize the error and try to correct it? To this website's credit, Ithaca was estimated with attendance of 5,000 for five games, an average of 1,000.

Mind you, attendance is not a big deal. But that IC stat adversely affects the Empire 8 Conference's attendance statistics considerably. According to the NCAA, the Empire 8 average game attendance dropped by 320 in 2010. Neither the Courage Bowl nor Cortaca were hosted by the E8 in 2010, no doubt adding to the drop in attendance figures. Since the conference averages are linked to NCAA figures, Pep is thinking the Ithaca average was not corrected in its compilation. So, the Empire 8 was likely better than the 15th D3 conference for attendance in 2010.

Pep has been pleased that the Saxons have been attracting good crowds for its home games (avg. 2,918 for six games) and is real pleased with the numbers who follow AU on the road. While the Saxons have six home games in 2011, Pep thinks the Fisher and Ithaca games always have the biggest draw at Merrill Field...but both are road trips for AU in 2011. Home games will be with RPI, St. Lawrence, Springfield, Salisbury State, Hartwick and Utica. Pep is hoping AU can somehow get past the 3,000 avg. mark but that will likely depend on weather...

On Saxon Warriors!

[Bombers798891]

No activity on the E8 boards this month yet?

Pep is thinking football only because yesterday was AU's football banquet, held at the Hornell Knights of Columbus Hall with an announced crowd of 400 in attendance. Pep thoroughly enjoyed the highlight tape (that included a photo of the pep band) but even more so the awards presentations (good fun!).

And, while "attendance" is on Pep's mind, with St. John's once again leading the nation in D3 football attendance statistics, Pep is wondering what went wrong at Ithaca....why were attendance figures not reported to the NCAA? Or reported incorrectly? As a result, Ithaca shows total attendance of 5 for five games or an average of 1 person in attendance??? Wouldn't an NCAA statistician realize the error and try to correct it? To this website's credit, Ithaca was estimated with attendance of 5,000 for five games, an average of 1,000.

Mind you, attendance is not a big deal. But that IC stat adversely affects the Empire 8 Conference's attendance statistics considerably. According to the NCAA, the Empire 8 average game attendance dropped by 320 in 2010. Neither the Courage Bowl nor Cortaca were hosted by the E8 in 2010, no doubt adding to the drop in attendance figures. Since the conference averages are linked to NCAA figures, Pep is thinking the Ithaca average was not corrected in its compilation. So, the Empire 8 was likely better than the 15th D3 conference for attendance in 2010.

Pep has been pleased that the Saxons have been attracting good crowds for its home games (avg. 2,918 for six games) and is real pleased with the numbers who follow AU on the road. While the Saxons have six home games in 2011, Pep thinks the Fisher and Ithaca games always have the biggest draw at Merrill Field...but both are road trips for AU in 2011. Home games will be with RPI, St. Lawrence, Springfield, Salisbury State, Hartwick and Utica. Pep is hoping AU can somehow get past the 3,000 avg. mark but that will likely depend on weather...

On Saxon Warriors!

Students and faculty get in for free, so they aren't sold tickets...therefore there's no way to know.

As far as E8 discussion, burtal schedule for the Bombers. They open at home against Brockport and their next six games include five road games and Fisher at home. Ye gods.

I mean, closing with three at home is nice, but what kind of shape will the Bombers be in when they get there? Let's not forget, this team went 1-4 on the road last season (albeit against some better teams than they'll go to this season)

So the Bombers will likely be 1-0 before basically waiving goodbye to Butterfield for two months except to play a team they haven't beaten since 2005. Great.

I hate schedules that are imbalanced with home/road games. The Bombers have never in their modern history played five of six on the road. Thanks for doing it following their worst season since 1995. I know they had to add some new teams on there, but come on.