I am yet to post this on the main page at Chargerblue.com, but here is a new wallpaper for you to download.
Right Click (Windows User, my sympathies), CTRL - Click (Cool Mac Users) HERE and then save the file. Of course you can just click the link to preview.
Tradition • Character • Service
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Fan Poll Results:Night Games = More Excitement
Thanks to all of the visitors who voted in our recent fan poll:
Would playing more home games at night generate bigger crowds and more excitement for Hillsdale College Football?
Yes, 33 votes
Night games are more fun 56%, 27 votes
No more competing against the D1 big boys for attention 10%, 5 votes
Other reason 2%, 1 vote
No, 15 votes
Only winning will do that 23%, 11 votes
Night games are too inconvenient for travelers 8%, 4 votes
Would playing more home games at night generate bigger crowds and more excitement for Hillsdale College Football?
Yes, 33 votes
Night games are more fun 56%, 27 votes
No more competing against the D1 big boys for attention 10%, 5 votes
Other reason 2%, 1 vote
No, 15 votes
Only winning will do that 23%, 11 votes
Night games are too inconvenient for travelers 8%, 4 votes
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Recruiting: Drelles, Two Others Headed to Hillsdale
From the Traverse City Record Eagle
05/02/2006
Drelles, two others headed to Hillsdale
FROM STAFF REPORTS
HILLSDALE — Traverse City Central standout Derek Drelles is among three local players to sign to play football with Hillsdale College.
In addition to the Trojans' 6-foot-3, 315-pound left tackle, the Chargers also signed Cadillac tight end/linebacker Bill Kanitz (6-3, 200) and Manistee Catholic Central quarterback/linebacker Braden Russell (6-0, 170) among its 38 signees.
Kanitz was a Record-Eagle Dream Team selection with 89 tackles and three interceptions.
Hillsdale will open the 2006 season on Sept. 2 at Gannon University.
05/02/2006
Drelles, two others headed to Hillsdale
FROM STAFF REPORTS
HILLSDALE — Traverse City Central standout Derek Drelles is among three local players to sign to play football with Hillsdale College.
In addition to the Trojans' 6-foot-3, 315-pound left tackle, the Chargers also signed Cadillac tight end/linebacker Bill Kanitz (6-3, 200) and Manistee Catholic Central quarterback/linebacker Braden Russell (6-0, 170) among its 38 signees.
Kanitz was a Record-Eagle Dream Team selection with 89 tackles and three interceptions.
Hillsdale will open the 2006 season on Sept. 2 at Gannon University.
Former Hillsdale Assistant Enters U Delaware HOF
Kevin Noonan
May 18, 2006
Delaware Online
Wisniewski Honored to be part of UD's Family
WILMINGTON -- They didn't expect to stay so long and they never dreamed they'd have the impact they did. They had no idea that one day they would become legends who would be elected to halls of fame and even have things named after them.
"We came to do a job,'' Irv Wisniewski said, "and we found a home and a family. It was a special time.''
That time was the 1950s and 1960s, when Wisniewski and other young coaches came to the University of Delaware and made their marks on the school and the thousands of student-athletes they coached over the decades.
Wisniewski was there for 24 years as head coach in basketball and golf and as an assistant in football.
That dedication was rewarded Wednesday night, when he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.
"It was real close-knit back then,'' Wisniewski said. "Everyone came from different places and different backgrounds, but everybody got along. Dave Nelson formed us into a family.''
Nelson, who died in 1991, was Delaware's head football coach and athletic director back then, and he was the one who lured Wisniewski to the First State. In 1952, the former Michigan football star was coaching at tiny Hillsdale College when Nelson offered him a job in Newark.
Full Story
May 18, 2006
Delaware Online
Wisniewski Honored to be part of UD's Family
WILMINGTON -- They didn't expect to stay so long and they never dreamed they'd have the impact they did. They had no idea that one day they would become legends who would be elected to halls of fame and even have things named after them.
"We came to do a job,'' Irv Wisniewski said, "and we found a home and a family. It was a special time.''
That time was the 1950s and 1960s, when Wisniewski and other young coaches came to the University of Delaware and made their marks on the school and the thousands of student-athletes they coached over the decades.
Wisniewski was there for 24 years as head coach in basketball and golf and as an assistant in football.
That dedication was rewarded Wednesday night, when he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.
"It was real close-knit back then,'' Wisniewski said. "Everyone came from different places and different backgrounds, but everybody got along. Dave Nelson formed us into a family.''
Nelson, who died in 1991, was Delaware's head football coach and athletic director back then, and he was the one who lured Wisniewski to the First State. In 1952, the former Michigan football star was coaching at tiny Hillsdale College when Nelson offered him a job in Newark.
Full Story
Charger Football Dominates IM BBall Scene
I have mentioned both here and on the podcast that the Hillsdale Collegian editorial staff wrote a piece suggesting that varsity athletes, namely football players, should form their own intramural basketball league. Simply put, it wasn't any fun getting beat by superior athletes.
Although I don't agree with the idea, I can see a bit of why they might be wishing this.
The champioship game featured a team of primarily upper classmen football players versus a team of freshmen football players. Several other football players played on other teams and were named to the all IM team.
Derek Nelson described his team's big win this way, "Jared Kell went 1-2 on free throws, but got the rebound
tipped out to him and hit a three to give us the lead for good with
about a minute to go. It was pretty exciting."
The Champs: From Left to Right in the picture ... First Row...Mike Pavelich TE #89,
Brett Neller RB #23, Jared Kell FS #7, Darl Bauer LB #9, Greg Dixon HB
#8, Second Row...Joe Dunham (non-athlete), Tim Wells (non-athlete),
Derek Nelson WR #2, Mark Scott LB #30
Although I don't agree with the idea, I can see a bit of why they might be wishing this.
The champioship game featured a team of primarily upper classmen football players versus a team of freshmen football players. Several other football players played on other teams and were named to the all IM team.
Derek Nelson described his team's big win this way, "Jared Kell went 1-2 on free throws, but got the rebound
tipped out to him and hit a three to give us the lead for good with
about a minute to go. It was pretty exciting."
The Champs: From Left to Right in the picture ... First Row...Mike Pavelich TE #89,
Brett Neller RB #23, Jared Kell FS #7, Darl Bauer LB #9, Greg Dixon HB
#8, Second Row...Joe Dunham (non-athlete), Tim Wells (non-athlete),
Derek Nelson WR #2, Mark Scott LB #30
Saturday, May 13, 2006
UIF::Dougherty Joins Freedom, Musielewicz article
When Ike Dougherty suits up for the Ft. Wayne Freedom, he will be the 5th member of the organization with Charger football ties. Head Coach Dan Pfifer was an assistant at HC while receivers Keith Recker, Dan Musielewicz, and QB Bill Skelton all are former Chargers.
Slumping Freedom banged up
By Stacy Clardie
The Journal Gazette
May 7, 2006
Dan Musielewicz doesn’t particularly think Keanu Reeves is a great actor, but he recalled some of Reeves’ words to describe Fort Wayne’s recent 65-32 blowout at Lexington last week.
“In ‘The Replacements,’ Keanu Reeves talks about quicksand and how you get in it and you struggle and you do as much as you can and all you do is keep sinking further,” Musielewicz said. “That’s pretty much what happened. Early in the game, we did some bad things and a few things went wrong in the second half and pretty soon it was out of control.
“You didn’t know what happened. You didn’t know what was going on. Not good.”
The Freedom seemed to respond in practice this week with a pair of the most physical practices the team has had this season.
Coach Dan Pifer has been pleading for the group to exert energy and enthusiasm consistently – “since Week 2,” he said – and he was happy with the effort delivered Wednesday and Thursday.
Musielewicz called the atmosphere more businesslike.
“It’s now or never. Buckle up and start playing,” said Musielewicz, whose team has lost three consecutive games and plays at defending United Indoor Football champion Sioux Falls (6-0) tonight. “You might be playing football for fun, but it’s your job. It’s my job. It’s the coaches’ jobs. There’s no more screwing around.”
Certainly he hopes that translates into a victory, but Fort Wayne (3-3) will need more than just added emotion.
Three offensive starters will miss the game because of injury. Included in that group is starting running back Rocky Harvey, who will miss his second consecutive game with a high ankle sprain.
The offense runs through Harvey, so perhaps it wasn’t that big of a surprise when that unit managed little production without him last week at Lexington.
But the Freedom will have to adjust to playing without more than just Harvey tonight.
Receiver Luther Stroder was the primary running back without Harvey in the lineup last week, but Stroder injured his knee against the Horsemen and didn’t make the trip to Sioux Falls.
Pifer was all set to have newcomer Joe Johnson as the lone running back but found out Thursday that Johnson wouldn’t be available because of work commitments.
That means, by default, receiver Adrian Reese will get the bulk of the work at running back. And with that switch, there goes quarterback Bill Skelton’s favorite target.
Reese has team-highs with 36 catches, 367 yards and nine touchdowns. Musielewicz’s 16 catches, 170 yards and four TDs are the next best.
That means the plan Reese and Musielewicz discussed after practice Wednesday may have to be altered.
“Adrian and I had a few words and said, ‘Put it on my shoulders,’ ” Musielewicz said. “That’s what I want. But whatever it takes. Whether it’s this week, next week or the whole season, put it on our shoulders. We’ll start carrying them.”
In order for receivers to be productive, though, the offensive line must give Skelton time to throw, and Skelton must make the right reads. Skelton had the worst game of his career last week, completing only one more pass (five) than interceptions thrown (four). He’ll also have a new offensive lineman in front of him this week: Hillsdale product Ike Dougherty will fill in for injured Jamarkus Gorman at right guard.
Without Harvey and the rest of the injured starters, Pifer said he has opted to do “goofy” stuff on offense. He’s been pleased with the production out of the base offense, but he’s using this Harvey-less time to develop plays off that offense.
“We’re going to have to rely a lot on our defense,” Pifer said. “If our defense plays better than they did the first time here (in a 47-44 overtime loss April 15), we’ve got a chance to win.”
Slumping Freedom banged up
By Stacy Clardie
The Journal Gazette
May 7, 2006
Dan Musielewicz doesn’t particularly think Keanu Reeves is a great actor, but he recalled some of Reeves’ words to describe Fort Wayne’s recent 65-32 blowout at Lexington last week.
“In ‘The Replacements,’ Keanu Reeves talks about quicksand and how you get in it and you struggle and you do as much as you can and all you do is keep sinking further,” Musielewicz said. “That’s pretty much what happened. Early in the game, we did some bad things and a few things went wrong in the second half and pretty soon it was out of control.
“You didn’t know what happened. You didn’t know what was going on. Not good.”
The Freedom seemed to respond in practice this week with a pair of the most physical practices the team has had this season.
Coach Dan Pifer has been pleading for the group to exert energy and enthusiasm consistently – “since Week 2,” he said – and he was happy with the effort delivered Wednesday and Thursday.
Musielewicz called the atmosphere more businesslike.
“It’s now or never. Buckle up and start playing,” said Musielewicz, whose team has lost three consecutive games and plays at defending United Indoor Football champion Sioux Falls (6-0) tonight. “You might be playing football for fun, but it’s your job. It’s my job. It’s the coaches’ jobs. There’s no more screwing around.”
Certainly he hopes that translates into a victory, but Fort Wayne (3-3) will need more than just added emotion.
Three offensive starters will miss the game because of injury. Included in that group is starting running back Rocky Harvey, who will miss his second consecutive game with a high ankle sprain.
The offense runs through Harvey, so perhaps it wasn’t that big of a surprise when that unit managed little production without him last week at Lexington.
But the Freedom will have to adjust to playing without more than just Harvey tonight.
Receiver Luther Stroder was the primary running back without Harvey in the lineup last week, but Stroder injured his knee against the Horsemen and didn’t make the trip to Sioux Falls.
Pifer was all set to have newcomer Joe Johnson as the lone running back but found out Thursday that Johnson wouldn’t be available because of work commitments.
That means, by default, receiver Adrian Reese will get the bulk of the work at running back. And with that switch, there goes quarterback Bill Skelton’s favorite target.
Reese has team-highs with 36 catches, 367 yards and nine touchdowns. Musielewicz’s 16 catches, 170 yards and four TDs are the next best.
That means the plan Reese and Musielewicz discussed after practice Wednesday may have to be altered.
“Adrian and I had a few words and said, ‘Put it on my shoulders,’ ” Musielewicz said. “That’s what I want. But whatever it takes. Whether it’s this week, next week or the whole season, put it on our shoulders. We’ll start carrying them.”
In order for receivers to be productive, though, the offensive line must give Skelton time to throw, and Skelton must make the right reads. Skelton had the worst game of his career last week, completing only one more pass (five) than interceptions thrown (four). He’ll also have a new offensive lineman in front of him this week: Hillsdale product Ike Dougherty will fill in for injured Jamarkus Gorman at right guard.
Without Harvey and the rest of the injured starters, Pifer said he has opted to do “goofy” stuff on offense. He’s been pleased with the production out of the base offense, but he’s using this Harvey-less time to develop plays off that offense.
“We’re going to have to rely a lot on our defense,” Pifer said. “If our defense plays better than they did the first time here (in a 47-44 overtime loss April 15), we’ve got a chance to win.”
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Splitting D2: Bad Things Man! Bad Things!
EDITOR'S NOTE: I had incorrectly reported earlier that this would take a 2/3 convention vote. That is incorrect and 51% will carry this. Thanks to Brandon Meisner at D2football.com who helped me wade through the last report from the NCAA.
Big Smoke Coming Down...Maybe. Huge changes could be coming to NCAA division II football and frankly they look mighty scary. The NCAA is proposing to split D2 into two "championship brackets". It is all based on the number of scholarships each bracket could award. One could offer up to 36 while the other could offer up to 18. Not only does what this would do in terms of watering down the division scare me, but what Hillsdale College might do as well.
If this thing goes through, it would not take effect until the 2009 season but bottom line is that it is a bad idea. Anytime something splits, it gets watered down. Remember back in elementary school when the football games would get too rough on the playground, so the teachers would make fifth graders play on one field and the sixth graders play on another field? Those new smaller games never regained the grinding intensity of the big free-for-all. Maybe a better example is when my elementary school restructured (read sissy-fied) field day with a bunch of different competitions hoping to give other less athletic kids a shot at a ribbon. For some reason the tetherball championship as the only boy in the competition wasn't as satisfying as winning the 600 yard run against the whole school. The same could be coming to D2 football.
How did we get here? If you follow this division closely, you know that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference have been pushing for years to lower the maximum number of scholarships to 24 at this level. Those ideas have been continually rebuffed by the membership and this new approach was offered up as a sort of compromise by a special committee within the NCAA.
Money Talks There has been quite the spirited debate taking place over at the D2football.com Message Board regarding the proposed change and I have been an outspoken critic of them since this thing first surfaced. All of a sudden college administrators nationwide, many who don't know a jock strap from a chin strap (not ours of course) will have the opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in one fell swoop. The economic factor is what scares me the most about the future of Hillsdale College football.
What Will Kovalchik Do?It is no secret that money is tight right now in the Hillsdale College athletic department and over his track record athletic director Mike Kovalchik has been a notorious cost cutter. Heck, he and the Hillsdale administration cut Dave Dye's academic advising job in a "restructuring" move. So, the question has to be at least considered. Would Hillsdale opt to award only 1/2 of its current scholarships to play in the bottom tier of Division II? Would Hillsdale deny a significant number of young men the chance to play for one of the historical small college football programs? This remains to be seen. I am hoping the Hillsdale tradition I know of rising to meet a challenge will weigh heavily on this decision.
League Breaker According to the NCAA, entire conferences will have to decide with which division they will affiliate themselves. But, schools do have the option of playing in an opposite tier as an independent or as an associate football-only member of another league. Now the question looms. What will the GLIAC do? The smaller and private GLIAC schools may, I say, "may" be tempted to break away and play down. I seriously doubt that this would dissolve the GLIAC as a football conference...again, but sweeping changes could occur as to who is playing who.
I've Gotta Calm Down Over the past couple of day though I have shamefully realized that I have been doing what my man Tony Femino calls "mouth breathing" on his foreign affairs Voice to America Talk Show. (Memo to HC: Get TF to a CCA. He is great). We're all in a huff about something that might never happen. D2 might split. Get the plastic wrap and the duck tape and turn on Fox news to see if we are up to orange or purple or red threat levels.
What happens next? “The task force’s charge was to give the membership some options that would provide championship opportunities for schools that can’t afford to fund 36 equivalencies,” said task force Chair Jerry McGee, president of Wingate University. “But it’s important to understand that this is not a done deal. We know that many people believe that Division II football is fine as it is, and they will have an opportunity to vote to that effect in January.” (NCAA News)
There you go. Options are on the table. The PSAC and RMAC's reduction in scholarships attempts have been thwarted twice. Here is a new idea. Let's see what the rest of the people who are also part of D2 think what is best for the division.
So there. That is the big topic in D2 football circles. The more I think about this thing, the more I think of it as an asteroid floating around out there that might hit Earth. It could happen and that possibility is scary, but the likeliness is still a long way off...at least January.
Oh yeah, the NCAA wants also to change regions...again. Wait until I show you what the new map might look like.
Please leave your comments below and let me know what YOU think.
Big Smoke Coming Down...Maybe. Huge changes could be coming to NCAA division II football and frankly they look mighty scary. The NCAA is proposing to split D2 into two "championship brackets". It is all based on the number of scholarships each bracket could award. One could offer up to 36 while the other could offer up to 18. Not only does what this would do in terms of watering down the division scare me, but what Hillsdale College might do as well.
If this thing goes through, it would not take effect until the 2009 season but bottom line is that it is a bad idea. Anytime something splits, it gets watered down. Remember back in elementary school when the football games would get too rough on the playground, so the teachers would make fifth graders play on one field and the sixth graders play on another field? Those new smaller games never regained the grinding intensity of the big free-for-all. Maybe a better example is when my elementary school restructured (read sissy-fied) field day with a bunch of different competitions hoping to give other less athletic kids a shot at a ribbon. For some reason the tetherball championship as the only boy in the competition wasn't as satisfying as winning the 600 yard run against the whole school. The same could be coming to D2 football.
How did we get here? If you follow this division closely, you know that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference have been pushing for years to lower the maximum number of scholarships to 24 at this level. Those ideas have been continually rebuffed by the membership and this new approach was offered up as a sort of compromise by a special committee within the NCAA.
Money Talks There has been quite the spirited debate taking place over at the D2football.com Message Board regarding the proposed change and I have been an outspoken critic of them since this thing first surfaced. All of a sudden college administrators nationwide, many who don't know a jock strap from a chin strap (not ours of course) will have the opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in one fell swoop. The economic factor is what scares me the most about the future of Hillsdale College football.
What Will Kovalchik Do?It is no secret that money is tight right now in the Hillsdale College athletic department and over his track record athletic director Mike Kovalchik has been a notorious cost cutter. Heck, he and the Hillsdale administration cut Dave Dye's academic advising job in a "restructuring" move. So, the question has to be at least considered. Would Hillsdale opt to award only 1/2 of its current scholarships to play in the bottom tier of Division II? Would Hillsdale deny a significant number of young men the chance to play for one of the historical small college football programs? This remains to be seen. I am hoping the Hillsdale tradition I know of rising to meet a challenge will weigh heavily on this decision.
League Breaker According to the NCAA, entire conferences will have to decide with which division they will affiliate themselves. But, schools do have the option of playing in an opposite tier as an independent or as an associate football-only member of another league. Now the question looms. What will the GLIAC do? The smaller and private GLIAC schools may, I say, "may" be tempted to break away and play down. I seriously doubt that this would dissolve the GLIAC as a football conference...again, but sweeping changes could occur as to who is playing who.
I've Gotta Calm Down Over the past couple of day though I have shamefully realized that I have been doing what my man Tony Femino calls "mouth breathing" on his foreign affairs Voice to America Talk Show. (Memo to HC: Get TF to a CCA. He is great). We're all in a huff about something that might never happen. D2 might split. Get the plastic wrap and the duck tape and turn on Fox news to see if we are up to orange or purple or red threat levels.
What happens next? “The task force’s charge was to give the membership some options that would provide championship opportunities for schools that can’t afford to fund 36 equivalencies,” said task force Chair Jerry McGee, president of Wingate University. “But it’s important to understand that this is not a done deal. We know that many people believe that Division II football is fine as it is, and they will have an opportunity to vote to that effect in January.” (NCAA News)
There you go. Options are on the table. The PSAC and RMAC's reduction in scholarships attempts have been thwarted twice. Here is a new idea. Let's see what the rest of the people who are also part of D2 think what is best for the division.
So there. That is the big topic in D2 football circles. The more I think about this thing, the more I think of it as an asteroid floating around out there that might hit Earth. It could happen and that possibility is scary, but the likeliness is still a long way off...at least January.
Oh yeah, the NCAA wants also to change regions...again. Wait until I show you what the new map might look like.
Please leave your comments below and let me know what YOU think.
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