Thursday, January 19, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Venue Spotlight: Stanford Stadium
Stanford Stadium ranked among Div 1A's oldest venues. The stadium was built in 1921 and sat just over 85 thousand. Construction of Stanford Stadium in the early 1920s was fueled by a competition with the University of California at Berkeley to see which school could complete its stadium first. Stanford won that contest, but Rose Bowl-bound Berkeley beat Stanford 42-7 in the first-ever game played at Stanford Stadium, on Nov. 19, 1921. Stanford Stadium hosted Super Bowl XIX in 1985 and the 1984 Olympic Soccer games. Immediately following this seasons finale vs Notre Dame, the wrecking crew came in and began demolition of the Stadium to make way for the all new Stanford Stadium. I had the opportunity to see a few games in the Stadium and even was able to gain access to the field and strike my best heisman pose. It was a classic stadium but was very antiquated and needed to go. The construction of the new stadium is already underway and making great progress.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Pac Ten 'Conf of the QB'
The Pacific 10 is the Conference of Champions , but its also the conference of the Quarterback. Many football fans dismiss the defense out west, but fail to acknowledge that the Pacific 10 has , and still is producing some of the better quarterbacks to play the game. The Pac 10 Currently has 16 quarterbacks on NFL rosters representing every team but Arizona and Stanford. Last season Stanford had 2 QBs on NFL rosters. Ten different Pac 10 quarterbacks started an NFL game in 2004, and 6 started in the final regular season game of 2005. In the past 10 NFL Drafts , 24 Quarterbacks have been selected, the Pacific Ten leads all conferences with 7 QBs drafted during that time. Three Pac Ten Quarterbacks have won Superbowls (Plunkett, Aikman and Elway), and 5 have won the Heisman (Matt Leinhart, Carson Palmer, Jim Plunkett , Gary Beban and Terry Baker).
Monday, January 09, 2006
Off Topic: Whats in a Name?
You are all no doubt familiar with the great College Football rivalry which is Army vs Navy. You may or may not be familiar with the respective mascots, Army has the mule, and Navy the goat. Lets begin with the Army Black Knights and their mule. USMA athletes are referred to as Black Knights or Cadets, but thier official mascot is actually a mule. Army adopted the mule because of its long-standing usefulness in military actions. Steadfast and strong, mules carried supplies to battle for centuries. Also, in its first ever sideline appearance, the Army mule turned and booted Navy's goat. An airborne Navy goat was all the Army corps of cadets needed to see to embrace their mule forever more. Speaking of booted , in 1869 the Navy booted the Army off Goat Island in Rhode Island to build a Torpedo Base. The original mission for the Torpedo Station was to serve as the Navy's experimental center for the development of torpedoes and torpedo equipment, explosives, and electrical equipment. The Navy's initial presence in those days consisted of a few wooden buildings and three civilian employees. The first recorded use of a goat mascot for Navy sports was in 1893, when an animal named El Cid (“the Chief”) was turned over to the Brigade by young officers of the USS New York.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Rankings and Standings
The Pac Ten sent 5 teams bowling this season and they compiled a 3-2 postseason mark. Arizona State , Cal and UCLA won bowl games while USC and Oregon lost. Click here for the final football standings. 4 teams finished in the final top 25 standings USC#2/2, Oregon #12/12, UCLA #13/16 and California #25, Arizona State finished outside the top 25 but recieved votes.
In Basketball 3 teams are currently ranked in the top 25, Washington #10/10, UCLA #17/17, and Arizona #21/23. Click here for Hoops Standings.
4 teams crack the preseason top 25 in the baseball rankings (Coaches/Baseball America/College Baseball Writers Assoc.) Arizona State #5/6/3, Oregon State #7/7/7, Southern Cal #15/17/NR, and Arizona #17/12/14.