Air Force

Air Force football preview: Falcons host Idaho State to open season

By Kevin Lilley on August 29, 2012 Air Force, Football, Uncategorized

We’ve been Dublin-heavy this week as the start of the college football season nears, but Navy won’t be the only service academy to open its season Saturday — just the only one to do it on national television in a foreign country. Far from the spotlight but far more likely to come out victorious, Air Force will kick off against Football Championship Subdivision (the artists formerly known as Division I-AA; another name change pending) foe Idaho State. Here’s a quick breakdown. When and where: Saturday, noon Mountain time (2 p.m. Eastern), Falcon Stadium. TV: None, but the the game will…

Monday football roundup: More Notre Dame suspensions, Navy notes, Steelman video, Mountain West update

By Kevin Lilley on August 27, 2012 Air Force, Army, Football, Navy, Uncategorized

Four quick hits to start the week before kickoff: 1. Irish saving on airline tickets. Notre Dame senior running back Cierre Wood, the projected starter for the Irish after topping 1,000 yards on the ground last season, was suspended Sunday for the first two games of 2012, including Saturday’s contest against Navy in Dublin, according to multiple reports. Wood will sit because of unspecified rules violations and will be joined on the sideline by reserve defensive end Justin Utupo, also out for unspecified reasons. But that’s nowhere near the full list. Also suspended for Dublin are quarterback Tommy Rees and…

7 days until kickoff: AA’s picture-a-day countdown

By Kevin Lilley on August 25, 2012 Air Force, Football

One side effect to football season, at least every four years: Somebody insists on holding an election. This year, the Republican National Convention will conclude the same day the college football season begins. And by the time Navy and Air Force kick off Sept. 1, the Democrats will be trickling into Charlotte for their gathering. Where do politics and academy football intersect? Why, at the top, of course: Here, President Obama shakes hands with Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson during an April 23 ceremony in the East Room of the White House. At the ceremony, Obama presented the Falcons with…

9 days until kickoff: AA’s picture-a-day countdown

By Kevin Lilley on August 23, 2012 Air Force, Football, Uncategorized

They say swimsuit shots equal Web traffic. So: These particular beach bums date from the pre-Hasselhoff era — 1980, to be exact. And they’re not exactly bums. That’s the Air Force football team jogging on Waikiki Beach, according to the caption provided by the National Archives, before facing Hawaii in a season-ending showdown. The details may be lost to history — for one thing, the National Archives dates the picture Dec. 3, 1980, and the teams played Nov. 29, according to the Air Force media guide. This much is clear: The Falcons wouldn’t have much reason to be gallivanting around…

11 days until kickoff: AA’s picture-a-day countdown

By Kevin Lilley on August 21, 2012 Air Force, Football, Uncategorized

A picture that has everything: Two Air Force legends in their 1960s finest, painfully attempting to make a staged photo not look staged in the slightest: On the left is Ben Martin, who took over the Air Force program in 1958. In his first season, the Falcons’ fourth overall, he led Air Force to its only undefeated record and a berth in the Cotton Bowl, where his squad fought to a scoreless tie with TCU. Martin, a Naval Academy grad, coached 20 years at Air Force. He would later work as a broadcaster with ABC Sports, then return to Colorado…

24 days until kickoff: AA’s picture-a-day countdown

By Kevin Lilley on August 8, 2012 Air Force, Football, Uncategorized

Sometimes, school pride just bursts free: That’s Lt. Col. Scott Thomas, All-American defensive back for Air Force in 1985, playing to the Colorado Springs crowd as a special guest of the ESPN “College GameDay” crew in 2009. ESPN brought their pregame festivities to the academy that year before the Army-Air Force game, which the Falcons won 35-7. Thomas served as a guest analyst. His impartiality might be a tad suspect. Thomas was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this year. His coach for that 1985 season, Fisher DeBerry, was part of the 2011 class.

28 days until kickoff: AA's picture-a-day countdown

By Kevin Lilley on August 4, 2012 Air Force, Football, Uncategorized

We’ve done Army. We’ve done Navy. We won’t promise service academy equality from here on out, but for the third day of our countdown to kickoff, here’s a shot of Air Force defensive standout Chad Hennings, a four-year letterman, consensus All-American and Outland Trophy winner for college football’s best lineman. It’s a familiar site for Air Force fans in the ’80s — Hennings standing tall with an opposing player on the ground. Post your Air Force memories below, along with suggestions for future picture subjects.

Wednesday quick hits: Air Force-Notre Dame, Dremiel Byers Olympic preview, bowl notes

By Kevin Lilley on July 11, 2012 Air Force, Uncategorized, Wrestling

Rapid-fire military-sports links for a Wednesday morning: Irish invasion. Notre Dame will play Air Force at Falcon Stadium in 2013, according to this report by Frank Schwab in The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette, as school officials decided against moving the game to Sports Authority Field, home to the NFL’s Denver Broncos. Jim Trego, the school’s senior associate athletic director, told Schwab the move was designed to keep the marquee matchup, set for sometime in late September (Update: Make that Oct. 26, 2013), “in front of our home fans.” Those home fans could be busy in the coming years: Air Force…

Thursday late links: Brian Stann tweets on injury, Michigan seeks game with Mids, more TV schedules out

By Kevin Lilley on June 7, 2012 Air Force, Football, Mixed martial arts, Navy, UFC, Uncategorized

Three quick hits for a Thursday while you review your summer swim safety techniques: 1. Stann speaks. Straight from “The All-American” himself: No one is more disappointed than I, meant the world to headline a UFC, seperated shoulder, rehab will start tomorrow, back asap, apologies — Brian Stann (@BrianStann) June 6, 2012 Stann will miss his scheduled main-event middleweight fight with Hector Lombard, set for Aug. 4 in Los Angeles. The UFC’s web site now lists Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Brandon Vera as the main event at 205 pounds. Reports have Lombard facing Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 in July,…

Monday football roundup: Navy slotback's place in history, all-MWC preseason team, top-10 list rips Mids

By Kevin Lilley on May 29, 2012 Air Force, Football, Marine Corps, Navy

It’s the day after the unofficial start of summer. So, time for football news: 1. Singleton still a standout. As part of a 2007 Navy offense that included Eric Kettani, Shun White and Tyree Barnes, slotback Zerbin Singleton managed 484 yards rushing and a team-high 263 yards receiving. Those numbers may earn him a spot in the Navy’s media guide, but not in the annals of military history. Don’t worry — he’s got that covered. Marine 1st Lt. Singleton recently became the last in a long line of CH-46 pilots; the “Phrog,” in service since Vietnam, is being phased out.…

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