Two Army sergeants first class came up short of the Olympic podium in London on Monday — one on the wrestling mat, the other on the shooting range. Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers, making his second trip to the Olympics, was knocked out in the quarterfinal round of the 120-kilogram Greco-Roman bracket, falling 1-0, 1-0 to Turkey’s Riza Kayaalp. Kayaalp went on to lose in the semifinals, which eliminated Byers from bronze medal consideration. It’s the second Olympic trip for Byers, who also reached the quarterfinals in Beijing. He won two matches in China to reach the round of eight,…
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With opening ceremonies in London hours away, here are some last-minute links for a handful of military medal hopefuls. As competition begins, remember to check with our good friends at USA Today for all the up-to-the-minute results, military and otherwise. Herring honors daughter. As one of three team captains, Marine Sgt. Jamel Herring will lead the U.S. boxing team into competition in London. But his walk into the opening ceremonies will take a different kind of strength; as the New York Post reports, Herring’s infant daughter died exactly three years ago. Key quote: “I’ll think about her, but I also…
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…
From Denver to Calgary to London to Belgrade and all points in between, here’s a few quick hits spanning eight or so time zones: Oh? Canada? Air Force 2nd Lt. Spencer Armstrong’s college football career barely took off — the wideout missed five games his junior season with a hamstring injury, then broke his leg three games into his senior year, rejoining the Falcons in December for the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl (and that cool picture on the right). The Canada-born Armstrong was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 2009, but as with other aspiring…
Three quick hits for a Wednesday morning, from Belgrade to Brian Stann to Big East football: 1. Pre-Olympic trip. Three Olympics-bound soldiers are among the seven elite U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers headed to Europe later this week for the Gedza International tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, according to TheMat.com. Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers (120 kilograms), Sgt. Spenser Mango (55 kg) and Spc. Justin Lester (66 kg), all members of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program, will make the trip; Mango and Lester will wrestle Friday, with Byers hitting the mat Saturday. At stake: A chance to fine-tune their mat game as…
A Thursday tour around the Web for military-themed sports goodness: Ben Garland update. We promised we’d keep you informed, and here’s the latest: Garland, a first lieutenant, ditched his Denver Broncos uniform Wednesday for some traditional cammies, being sworn in as a member of the Colorado Air National Guard in front of the team’s training facility. Get the whole story from our good friends at USA Today here. Garland will do public relations work for the Guard while trying to make the Broncos as a defensive lineman. J.J. Avila update. In April, we told you the ex-Naval Academy hoopster and…
Some quick Olympic updates while you attempt to schedule a therapy session after watching the latest Tim Kennedy video: 1. Hosting the secretary. It’s the setup to the oldest joke in the book: Some wrestlers, a racewalker, a bobsledder and the secretary of the Army walk into a cafeteria … No, seriously — Army Secretary John McHugh made the trip to Colorado Springs, Colo., to chat with soldier-Olympians and Paralympic athletes over lunch May 2, giving him a close-up look at competitors who’ll represent his service on the world stage this summer. Tim Hipps of the Army’s Installation Management Command…
Spc. Spenser Mango (blue) claimed an Olympic bid with a win over Max Nowry on Saturday in Iowa City in the 55-kilogram Greco-Roman final. (Getty Images photo by Matthew Stockman)
For two soldiers, it’s a return to the grandest stage in athletics. For another, it’s his first chance at his sport’s highest honor. For a fourth, all of that was just out of reach. Sgt. 1st Class Dremiel Byers and Sgt. Spenser Mango did what was expected of them over the weekend in Iowa City at the Team USA Olympic wrestling trials, winning their weight classes with 2-0 sweeps of their respective best-of-three championship finals. Byers had a bye to the 120-kilogram final and was without his highest-profile competition after Rulon Gardner decided not to weigh in, stalling his comeback…
The London Olympics are less than 100 days away, and while some military athletes have already punched their tickets (and keep checking here for new Army qualifiers), the trials have yet to start in earnest. That changes this weekend in Iowa City. About 30 wrestlers with military affiliations will compete in the Greco-Roman and freestyle (men’s and women’s) tournaments to determine who’ll represent the U.S. on the mats. Click through for a quick guide for the once-every-four-years wrestling fan — the troops, the favorites, the story lines, the TV coverage and, of course, the flying squirrel.
Three quick hits from around the web on a Wednesday morning: 1. Proctor resigns: Bill Wagner at The (Annapolis, Md.) Capital broke the news yesterday — Navy quarterback Kriss Proctor, who finished his senior season with a win over Army in December, has resigned from the Naval Academy and will not graduate. The resignation hasn’t been accepted, according to the report, but it likely will be, and was reportedly triggered by an alleged honor code violation. 2. Falcon free agents: Frank Schwab at The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette brings better news, reporting on the pro football dreams of Air Force…
