This weekend the Governor (AKA Mrs. Tailgate) and I met in
Baltimore for the 117th rendition of the Army Navy game and the accompanying festivities.
I have written about this game every year now for nine seasons so I will keep
it short and sweet this time with a slideshow for your enjoyment. The game
would be played at M&T stadium, the home of the NFL Baltimore Ravens. The tailgate
was once again hosted by the Cliffside Park, NJ Crime Family (lots of guys whose
last name end in I or O and have nicknames like Jimmy the eyebrow, Johnny gotta
large trunk and Joey double tap) and attended by many of our friends from
Frostburg, the Army and other places of notable ill repute. All told, our tailgate
hosted over 120 people in the brisk but sunny Baltimore afternoon. A great assortment of chow and refreshments
were provided by many: Terry Kernan’s grilled oysters with bacon, cheese and
peppers, Hoss Van Orden’s cheese steak sandwiches, Ray Carlucci’s homemade
chicken noodle soup, Slicky the gimp’s sausage and peppers, Brian Donnelly’s old
bay chicken wings, multiple breakfast egg and meat sandwiches, Dino Manzoni’s deer
meat chili, Long Island Vinny Ammirato’s 30 lbs. of kielbasa, slow cooked spare
ribs, cannoli’s, Rat’s bloody Mary bar, Jameson, fireball and other lesser
sprits and libations. If you are going to attend only one college football game
in your life, this is the one. Although neither team will win a National
Championship this year or perhaps any year going forward, I dare you to find
two teams that will play any harder against one another. The history, the
pageantry, the patriotism, and the sacrifice these young men will endure in the
future make this the most meaningful game each year. In addition to the traditional pre game pageantry,
President Elect Trump attended the spectacle. It was also the venerable Verne
Lundquist’s last broadcast ever. Last
and most importantly, Army finally beat Navy after a 14 year drought! After
falling behind in the 4th quarter, Army put together a game winning
drive spearheaded by QB Ahmad Bradshaw to pull out the win 21-17. Enjoy the
brief slide show:
Around the Nation- Congratulations are in order to Lamar Jackson for winning
this year’s Heisman Trophy but losing the runway fashion show all at the same
time. Five time defending champion North Dakota State will face James Madison
and Eastern Washington will host Youngstown State in the FCS semifinals next
week. In the first time forever, neither Mount Union nor Wisconsin Whitewater will
be in the Division III championship game as both have been eliminated from the
playoffs. Mary Hardin Baylor will be facing Wisconsin Osh Kosh by gosh in the
Championship. In the DII Championship next weekend, North Alabama will face
Northwest Missouri State. In the NAIA St. Francis IN will face off against Baker,
KS in the finale next weekend.
Bieber – The
Playoff committee. I need your help in generating a groundswell to expand to 8
teams. Mainly so I don’t have to listen the wrong sided ESPN blow hards
pontificate all year about who will be in the final four. My plan as laid out
last week is simple, logical, fair and oh yeah, it will generate a whole lot
more money than a bunch of meaningless Bowls (however, please continue with those):
- Automatic bids for the 5 power five champions (must have conference championship games)
- ·Top rated non-power 5 school (Group of 5) that wins their conference
- The two highest rated wild cards.
I know the 4 team playoff is a step in the right direction,
but it is like performing heart surgery and leaving two vessels blocked while opening
up only two. We need to take this all the way, so please help me spread the
gospel. Until then, the Playoff committee gets to share some righteous Bieber
hardware.
Next UP – We will
be attending the Foster Farm Bowl in Santa Clara, CA on 12/28 between Indiana
and Utah. This will afford me the opportunity to wear my bodacious Wisconsin
red and white striped coveralls again. We will follow that up with the Granddaddy
of them all on 1/2/17 to witness Penn State take on USC. Please send me your
Bowl pictures and I will try to post them. There will be no write up until
after the Foster Farm Bowl for a mid- Bowl season update.
Happy Tailgating!