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Harmanpreet Kaur has put India's failure to win crunch games in big tournaments - specifically at this year's Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup - down to the "mindset" of individual players.

"I think it's only the mindset because, if you see, our team has very good players," Harmanpreet said ahead of the T20I series against West Indies, which starts on Sunday. "All of them have done really well whenever they got the opportunity. I think in the big games it's only about the mindset and what you're feeling individually. Because, as a player, as a team, you can only talk about the things you have done well. At the end of the day, it's only you who is dealing [with the situation and pressure] in the middle and it's only about you, how you are going to take these things forward.

"We discuss whatever is required to win but, at the end of the day, it's the individual performer's mindset, about how you are going to win the game for the team."

While India have won 13 out of the 20 T20Is they have played this year, they have lost all-important games. They had an unbeaten run in the Asia Cup in July till they lost big to Sri Lanka in the final. Then they missed out on making the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after losing a must-win match against Australia in the group stage. In the Asia Cup final, Smriti Mandhana top scored for India when the rest of the batters failed. Harmanpreet's solo effort with the bat went in vain against Australia.
India are now coming into the T20Is against West Indies on the back of a 3-0 loss in the ODI series in Australia.

"It's really tough when you're going through this patch," she said. "At the same time, we can only talk about the good things we have done in the past. I think having team-bonding sessions are very important. So, when we were coming back from Australia, we had good talks on the flight because that was only time we could talk and think about how we can start this series. Yesterday was a good off-day and today we had a good meeting where we discussed how we have to go about in this particular series."

The scheduling hasn't helped. These T20Is in Navi Mumbai take place right after the ODIs in Perth and Brisbane - the last was on December 11 - and while Harmanpreet said it was part of playing at the highest level, she admitted it wasn't easy.

"To be honest, it is difficult because you know we're coming from Australia. After the game, only within four-five hours we left the country and came back to India," she said. "But as professionals, these things happen and we just want to stay motivated. Yesterday was an off-day so we tried to rest well and we are looking forward to the game tomorrow.

"Think when you have very less time, it's very difficult to come back and reflect on the things which you have done in the past. At the same time, we just have to keep talking about the positives. The young girls who have come into the team have done really well in domestic and they are also positive. I think staying together is something which is very important, which we have been doing."

Harmanpreet was tight-lipped when asked about the omissions from the squad for the series.

India have rung in several changes to the T20I side, but the exclusion of Arundhati Reddy and Shafali Verma have been major talking points, particularly considering Reddy was India's joint-highest wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup and Shafali has the second-most runs in T20Is for India this year.

"I would say to ask the right person, because I can only talk about the team that's here, and what things we can do to win this series," Harmanpreet said. "I think regarding Shafali or any other player, [it's] better to ask the right persons."

No DRS for South Africa women's one-off Test against England

Published in Cricket
Saturday, 14 December 2024 07:34

There will be no DRS for the one-off Test between South Africa and England in Bloemfontein, the first women's Test in South Africa in 22 years. The match will be the only one out of the 21 internationals played by both men and women in South Africa this home summer without DRS.

This was the first season where DRS - a technology that costs millions of dollars - was used for women's bilateral internationals in South Africa. CSA said it has opted to prioritise DRS in white-ball women's internationals for now.

"The inclusion of the DRS for the ongoing inbound tour against England was agreed upon at the planning stage of the tour, noting that it will be the first time it was used for women's bilateral tours in South Africa in recent history," Enoch Nkwe, South Africa's director of national teams and high performance, said in response to a query about the absence of DRS for the Test.

"The white-ball formats were prioritised with regards to DRS for this tour as it directly impacted the Proteas Women's rankings in T20I cricket and the Women's Championship as well as the overall CSA strategy for the senior women's national team.

"While the development of the red-ball format is important, it is worth noting that resources are currently being directed at the white-ball formats due to the significance of ODI and T20I cricket in the current women's international cricket landscape."

South Africa had already qualified for the ODI World Cup before the series against England but aimed to finish as high on the Women's Championship points table. In the ICC rankings, they are currently ranked fourth in ODIs and fifth in T20Is. There was one instance during the ongoing England tour when DRS malfunctioned. In the third over of South Africa's chase in the first ODI in Kimberley, Tazmin Brits was pinged on the pad by Lauren Bell and was given out lbw. She wanted to review the decision but could not because the technology was down.

ESPNcricinfo understands that, in a home summer where India men's T20I series was the only profit-making visit, the expense of using the technology was deemed too much for this match. This, despite CSA announcing a profit of US$45.6 million from the last financial year and benefiting from two successive years of India visits.

The Test match will be produced on a budget with only seven manned cameras (some matches are broadcast with as many as 30) and two run-out cameras on one side of the field (as opposed to the usual four, two on each side). That means that if there is a fielder in the way of a run-out decision on one side, the TV umpire may not be able to make a decision.

The two on-field umpires for the match - Kerrin Klaaste and Lauren Agenbag - will be officiating a Test for the first time.

DRS has become the norm in international cricket but there are still matches played without it. At this year's men's ODI World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe, DRS was only in place from the Super Six stage. There was no DRS at this year's women's T20 World Cup Qualifiers in the UAE, or in the recently completed Ireland Women's tour of Bangladesh.

Bella James, the Otago Sparks top-order batter, has earned a maiden call-up to the New Zealand squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia in Wellington next week. Injuries have, however, ruled opener Georgia Plimmer and fast bowler Lea Tahuhu out of the series.
James has represented Otago 137 times across formats since her debut in 2014, and has been in excellent form in the ongoing one-day competition (for the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield) at home. She is second on the run-scorers' list with 293 runs at a strike rate of 85.17 from five innings. Her lowest score in these matches is 36, and she has a best of 101 not out.
"We're really excited to give Bella her first call-up to international cricket," Sarah Tsukigawa, the chief selector of the team, said in a press release. "She's been working hard at the domestic level for many years, and her current form in HBJ shows why she deserves this opportunity. Bella's ability to hit 360 degrees around the ground with power is a valuable quality."

Plimmer has sustained a bone stress reaction in her left hip, "ruling her out of cricket until next year", a New Zealand Cricket statement said. The statement added that Tahuhu has sustained a grade-two hamstring tear, and "is expected to be fit by early January".

"We're gutted to not have Georgia or Lea for this series but injuries do create opportunities to explore how other players could fit in," Tsukigawa said.

Meanwhile, seamer Rosemary Mair has returned to the ODI squad for the first time since 2022, when she withdrew from the squad that faced England because of a back injury.

This is the first time since 2020 that the two sides will compete for the Rose Bowl Trophy, which Australia currently hold.

New Zealand squad for women's ODI series against Australia

Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Isabella Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bella James, Fran Jonas, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold

Blues acquire defenseman Fowler from Ducks

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 14 December 2024 09:49

The St. Louis Blues have acquired defenseman Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks to bolster their playoff push.

The Blues traded a 2027 second-round pick and 22-year-old minor league defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka to Anaheim for Fowler and a 2027 fourth-round pick.

Crucially, the Ducks are retaining 38.5% of Fowler's $6.5 million cap hit. The 33-year-old defenseman is signed through the 2025-26 season. Fowler has a limited no-trade clause in which he submits a four-team trade list to the Ducks every offseason.

"After meeting with Cam several times over the last few months, it became clear to both of us it may be time for a change. As usual, Cam handled the process with professionalism and remained committed to the Ducks," Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek said.

Fowler had spent the entirety of his 15-year NHL career with the Ducks, who selected him 12th overall in the 2010 draft. He's the highest-scoring defenseman in franchise history, with 457 points in 991 games.

He's also the franchise leader in goals (96), assists (361) and appearances among defensemen. Among all skaters, only center Ryan Getzlaf (1,157) appeared in more games with Anaheim.

Fowler is considered a good puck-moving defenseman with above-average passing skills, but Fowler has been a defensive liability for the Ducks over the past few seasons while averaging 24 minutes a night for a rebuilding squad. His minus-66 since 2022-23 was fourth worst among all NHL players.

Fowler has four assists in 17 games this season, skating to a minus-7. He missed time with an upper-body injury.

"This was a difficult trade to make, considering what Cam has meant to this organization," Verbeek said. "He has been a valuable and respected member of our team for 15 seasons, representing the Ducks with ultimate class. His character and contributions on and off the ice have [left] and will continue to leave a positive impact on our fans and community."

Biakabutuka has seen time in the AHL but has spent most of his pro career in the ECHL. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

This is the second significant move on the blue line for Anaheim, which acquired defenseman Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers last week. In Fowler, the Blues add another veteran to an experienced group on their back end.

His addition could signal that defenseman Nick Leddy will be out of the lineup long term. He hasn't played since Oct. 15 and was recently receiving further testing on a lower-body injury. With the salary retention, Fowler's cap hit is $4 million -- which is what Leddy's contract counts against the cap.

St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong has been aggressive in trying to turn the Blues' season around, firing first-year head coach Drew Bannister after 22 games to hire former Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. St. Louis has gone 5-2-1 since the coaching change.

Former NFL QB Palmer to coach HS alma mater

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 14 December 2024 09:49

Carson Palmer is taking over as the head football coach at his alma mater, with Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Orange County, California, making his hiring official on Friday.

Palmer, who turns 45 later this month, played at Santa Margarita in the late 1990s and led the Eagles to consecutive CIF Southern Section titles. From there, he enrolled at USC, won the Heisman Trophy in 2002 and was the No. 1 selection of the 2003 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

"Santa Margarita Football is excited to announce the hiring of former Eagle and Heisman Trophy winner, Carson Palmer as our new head football coach," the school posted to social media.

"As head coach, Palmer aims to build a program that emphasizes not only athletic performance but also academic success and character development," the school continued. "His vision includes creating a culture of hard work, discipline, and perseverance that prepares student-athletes for both their athletic and academic futures."

The Orange County Register reported that Palmer was a voluntary assistant coach for the school's freshman team in the 2023 season. His son, Fletcher, was the quarterback of the freshman squad.

Palmer's first game at the helm of Santa Margarita in the 2025 season will be against neighboring Mission Viejo, coached by another former USC and NFL quarterback, Rob Johnson, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Palmer finished his NFL career with 46,247 yards, 294 touchdowns and 187 interceptions, with a career completion percentage of 62.5. He led the Arizona Cardinals to a 13-3 record and a spot in the NFC Championship Game during an MVP-caliber 2015 season. That was the furthest he went in the postseason.

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.

THE STEEP CLIMB up Stony Lonesome Road is harrowing, even for the fittest of Army's football players. When the shuttle buses aren't running in the winter, team members hoof it from their barracks to the Kimsey Athletic Center for offseason mat drills at 5 o'clock in the morning, typically in freezing temperatures with a layer of snow on the ground.

The last thing they see before making the final left turn is the historic "Beat Navy" house, built in 1875 and used to accommodate distinguished guests. The building, with its illuminated sign out front, is a reminder that the football mission at Army is clear. It's why you see "BEAT NAVY" signs everywhere in and around West Point, New York, from the Food Mart Go Army convenience store in nearby Fort Montgomery to the urinals in the football complex. Yes, the urinals.

In downtown Annapolis, Maryland, the waterfront home of the U.S. Naval Academy, souvenirs with GO NAVY BEAT ARMY are in storefronts everywhere -- year-round -- but on campus, everything ramps up during "Army Week." That's when the coaching staff double-checks every door is locked. It's when mascot security is turned up a notch. (In 2012, Navy's goat mascot went missing and was found next to a grass median on Army Navy Drive in Crystal City near the Pentagon.) It's when the scout team wears black stripes on their helmets to mimic Army's players.

Because of who the players are -- and the soldiers they will soon become -- the Army-Navy rivalry game, which will be contested for the 125th time Saturday in Landover, Maryland, is unlike any other in the country, drawing a global audience of our nation's armed forces past and present.

But as the college football landscape continues to rapidly shift, the lives of students at Army and Navy have become a larger outlier than ever before.

"Their entire day is filled," Navy coach Brian Newberry said. "And it's not just classes, it's legitimate classes. And they've got things in the evening within their company and military responsibilities. They don't get sleep like you do at another place."

There's also no money for name, image and likeness -- the Department of Defense prohibits players from endorsing any products or having any sponsorships. The academies do not allow redshirting. There are no sweeping roster changes from the transfer portal. Anyone who transfers into the U.S. Military Academy or the Naval Academy has to start all over as a freshman academically and go through the military training and dreaded "plebe" orientation, making it highly unlikely any junior football player wants to tackle that challenge.

And yet there's still so much to play for.

"A lot of what we talk about is serving something bigger than yourself," Navy senior fullback Daba Fofana said. "Now, there is that aspect of you want to put food on the table for your family and all of that, but the reason you play football and the reason that you serve in the military isn't for yourself. It's for the love of the game, love of your country, the love for your brothers."

"I'm glad guys at other schools are getting paid big money in NIL," Army junior linebacker Kalib Fortner said. "They should be. But that's not our purpose. It's the brotherhood that's at the center of everything we do and fight for, playing for your brother that's right beside you in the locker room, the one who lives down the hall from you in your barracks, every cadet who's ever come through here, and most importantly, our country."

ESPN shadowed Fortner, Army's leader in tackles for loss this season (8.5), and Fofana, a team captain, attending classes with the players, as well as practice and position meetings -- even Bible study -- to illustrate what a typical day is like for an athlete at one of the academies.

As Army and Navy prepare to play the 125th edition of "America's Game," they do so entrenched in their military history, adhering to strict traditions in an era of college football that has drastically changed around them.


DABA, FROM THE Mandingo tribal word meaning hard worker, is named after his paternal grandfather. His father is from the Ivory Coast, but Fofana grew up in Cumming, Georgia, where he wrestled, ran track and played football.

It's a long way from the Yard, the nickname given to the Naval Academy that dates back to the word "dockyard" during the Revolutionary War.

Like any college, the Yard is buzzing with activity -- students with backpacks crisscrossing campus to get to their next class. Unlike most other places, though, you need a valid picture ID to get past the MA (master-at-arms) at Gate 1, and don't even think about driving on campus without a credential from the Department of Defense or a Naval Academy ID card.

Not only is it hard to get in, the midshipmen need permission to get out.

There are more than 4,400 students in the Brigade of Midshipmen, and they all live in Bancroft Hall, a sprawling dormitory complex that includes 3.8 miles of corridors and eight wings divided into 36 companies.

Fofana wakes up each morning around 7 in a tiny dorm room that's about 100 square feet, a utilitarian space devoid of any decorations, pictures or posters. He typically leaves around 7:20 a.m. and doesn't come back until around 9 p.m. There's no rug on the tile floor, and each room has a shower and a sink, but the bathrooms are communal. There are two raised wooden beds that each accommodate a desk and chair underneath, with no clutter on the desktops, save for a few neatly stacked papers. On the floor sits a black mini-refrigerator, which Fofana received special permission for.

"I just have the stuff that I need in here," he said.

Fofana learned to quickly and expertly make his bed with hospital corners every morning before leaving his room, and any extra blankets have to be folded on top. It's one detail that will be checked during two routine inspections each semester, "alpha and bravo." Normally, he said, study hours are "sacred," but once every semester, all midshipmen go through a white-glove test -- a 40-point inspection called bravo that includes making sure the floors are waxed and that all uniforms are hanging dark to light, left to right. Students are allowed three "hits" on the inspection, and if they fail on a fourth, they have to take it again.

There's a laundry service that does the dry cleaning for the dress uniforms, and a cart comes around the halls once a week to collect other clothes. Everyone has to be in their company spaces by 11 each night, and sign a paper confirming it with the company deck officer.

"It was very much a culture shock," Fofana said of his arrival at Navy. "At the beginning of plebe summer, as soon as I walk through my door, you walk in and you start getting yelled at all of a sudden, I'm like, 'Oh, shoot.' And the first two weeks were a pretty hard adjustment, just because of the lifestyle and all that stuff. But after that, I ended up easing into things and figuring out a rhythm."

After all, he's got a PlayStation in his room. Both Army and Navy are in the EA Sports NCAA football game, but their players don't receive any NIL money, unlike the $600 that players who have opted in at other schools receive.

"I'm just happy to be a part of the game," Fofana said. "It's a childhood dream of mine."


FORTNER AND HIS twin brother Liam, a receiver at Army, grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. They won back-to-back state championships together at Central High School, and Kalib was a three-time all-state selection. They signed their scholarship papers with Army together on Dec. 17, 2020.

Up by 6:15 every morning, Kalib Fortner's day begins at 6:50 when cadets assemble in the quad for predawn formation. Breakfast in the mess hall is mandatory and begins at 6:55 a.m. Fortner doesn't return to his barracks during the season until 8:30 or 9 p.m.

Fortner lives on the second floor of the Eisenhower Barracks, named after former general and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a 1915 West Point graduate. There's very little space between the two beds in his room, which he shares with Charlie Barnett, a junior kicker. There's a desk at the foot of his bed and two portable fans.

"The smell is nothing like it was my freshman year at Sherman Barracks, when we had to leave our windows open, but you still have to air it out sometimes," Fortner joked.

The only real decor is a collage of pictures of Fortner's longtime girlfriend, Morgan McSwain, just above his desk. The floor is tile, and there's nothing on the walls, which are painted a bland off-white.

There's no television. "Wouldn't have time to watch it if I did have one," he said. There's no mini-fridge, either. Fortner uses his school-issued laptop to watch game tape and also has an iPad and may watch other games on it. There's a sink in the room, but that's it. The toilets and communal showers are at the end of the hallway. There aren't any elevators in his barracks, which have six floors.

Every Monday, the cadets have mandatory main inspection. Fortner is up at 6:15, shaves, gets his uniform ready and climbs the seemingly endless flight of stairs to "The Shelf," which overlooks the rest of the barracks in the main courtyard. Fortner is a squad leader in the First Regiment and has to inspect seven cadets in his company when they get to the top.

"Got to make sure their shoes are shined, their belts are in line, that they have their dog tags and proper haircuts," Fortner said. "It's a laundry list."


AT 7:20 A.M., on a "tactical Thursday" when nearly everyone is required to dress in identical fatigues, Fofana walked through the side door of Bancroft Hall, which is essentially a food factory equipped to feed all 4,400 midshipmen in 20 minutes. By rule, he takes his hat off inside the building. A patch on the left arm of his uniform reads "DON'T TREAD ON ME," and the pin with three gold stripes on the front of his chest indicates he's a team captain, an honor recognized throughout the school.

"You're at a leadership school," longtime Navy assistant coach Ivin Jasper said. "That's the role you're going to be in once you leave school. It's getting that early start on it."

Each sports team has its own table in-season, and Fofana sat down for breakfast at table No. 42, which had a yellow FOOTBALL sign on it. He piled sausage and eggs on his plate and had a glass of orange juice. Several trays packed with pancakes were scattered around the table, with teammates grabbing food and passing it around like a supersized holiday dinner.

Fofana has a 3.69 GPA and is majoring in applied physics while pursuing a career in medicine; he hopes to be a doctor in the orthopedics field. This fall, he's taking 16 credits and said the most difficult course is called Introduction to Aeronautics, a study of concepts such as fluid motion, airfoil and wing theory, and wind tunnels. (The students call the class "planes.")

His class schedule on this particular Thursday began at 8:30 a.m. in Luce Hall Room 114 with Stoic Philosophy and Leadership. Fofana was one of the first students in the room.

"What do we want to know about each other today?" professor Marcus Hedahl said to start the class, asking each person in the room to share an album, song or artist they enjoy listening to.

The purpose of the class, Hedahl said, is to teach the midshipmen how to think, not what to think. It's a leadership class that looks at diverse cultures.

As Fofana left his stoic philosophy class and made his way to Autonomy and Control Naval Weapons Systems in Rickover 1061, he joined a flood of classmates walking through a hallway adorned with posters of famous leaders, including Bill Belichick, Gregg Popovich and George Washington.

The focus of this next class is the mechanics of how weapons systems work. On the floor at the front of the room, in front of a dry-erase board, was a blue, inert (key word) 5-inch gun shell. If it's blue, it's a dummy weapon used for instruction.

The theme of the day was sensors, as in night cameras, smart watches and heart sensors. The students call professor Lieutenant Commander Christopher Jeffries, who is also dressed in fatigues, "sir," and he stayed at the front of the room by a lectern as he taught, explaining to the small group that they need to know how a GPS works and not to depend on it -- because sometimes it doesn't work. He showed a video of an F-35 plane that continues flying even after the pilot has been ejected.

Before turning his attention to football in the afternoon, Fofana worked on his physics research project, where he used a confocal microscope to look at a sample DNA salt solution.

"There's a lot of pressure, anxiety," Newberry said of the academic demands on the players. "I want football to be an outlet for them. When they get over here, I really want it to be the best part of their day. That doesn't mean we're not going to do hard things. But we're going to have fun in the process of doing those things."


A CIVIL ENGINEERING major, Fortner is taking 16 credit hours this semester. His five classes include Structural Analysis and Platoon Operations. He took a heavier load during last spring semester (21 credits) and made the dean's list.

In the spring, he took a class called Survival Swim.

"You had your uniform on, your rifle, everything," he said, "and then there was also a class called Military Movement, essentially gymnastics, but I passed them both fine."

During his Structural Analysis class, a required course for civil engineering majors, Fortner and his brother Liam worked together drawing frames on a chalkboard (yes, an old-school black chalkboard). They erased part of the structure they were drawing and started again. "It's deflection of beams and frames, even harder than it sounds," Fortner said.

After his final Wednesday morning class, Fortner hustled to pre-lunch formation, where cadets gather with their companies to take accountability and make any pertinent announcements before marching into the mess hall. This week, the week of the Air Force game, cadets wore camouflage fatigues, camouflage hats and brown boots. They walked briskly and alertly, always with their heads up and prepared to salute an officer, and seeing a cadet with his or her face buried in a cellphone would be akin to seeing Bigfoot.

The campus is referred to as "post," and is very contained. West Point covers 16,000 acres on the west bank of the Hudson River, about the size of Manhattan. "But post is pretty condensed, making it easy getting to and from classes and meeting with professors," Fortner said. Washington Hall is the mess hall, and just out front is a statue of the first U.S. president. A helicopter landed on the lawn adjacent to the statue just after the cadets sat down at their tables for lunch. "It's probably a general," Fortner said.

The mess hall houses 4,000 cadets, and Fortner sat at one of the first three tables with the rest of the football team. Breakfast and lunch are mandatory for cadets. On their table was a sign that read: "Heavy, Heavy," meaning they get a little more food in a meal served family style. The players spoon out meat, green beans and macaroni onto their plates. There are bags of rolls on two corners of the tables, and a couple of pitchers of water (no ice). Some of the players drink Hoist, an electrolyte hydration beverage approved for use by the military.

Fortner sort of picked at his lunch and didn't eat much.

"I don't usually eat a whole lot here. I'll get some snacks at the football complex before practice," he said.

The mess hall is massive, majestic and full of history. There's a huge raised platform in the middle known as the "poop deck," and special guests will visit periodically to address the cadets, who greet the guest by standing at attention. The same goes for any formal dinner.

Among the guests during his time at Army: former President Barack Obama, Hall of Fame basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (a West Point graduate), multiple high-ranking generals and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. Even the Stanley Cup, won last season by the Florida Panthers, was raised on the poop deck in October, with team captains Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad whipping the corps into a frenzy. Panthers owner Vincent Viola is a West Point graduate. Barkov brought the house down when he screamed, "Beat Navy!"

"I'm not sure a day goes by when you don't hear that, and it doesn't matter where you are or who you run into," Fortner said.


AT 3 P.M., Fofana grabs a seat at the end of the table in a small room for his meeting with the fullbacks and quarterbacks. He's wearing his football pads and eating an Uncrustable while they watch film of the previous day's practice. At the head of the table, working the video clips and running through film is first-year offensive coordinator Drew Cronic.

As the meeting broke, Cronic said, "Daba's got it."

"1, 2, 3, FAMILY!" the players yelled together.

There are 180 players on the Navy roster -- there's no limit to team size. Newberry said because other programs are so focused on the portal, more talented high school players are available for Navy to recruit.

"We're being a lot more selective, and a lot more picky with who we're taking," Newberry said.

When practice began, it was unusually hot for a September afternoon.

At 4:10, as the Midshipmen were finishing up stretching, one player yelled, "Where else would you rather be?"

"Nowhere!" the team responded.

Fofana is listed at 5-foot-8, and that's probably a little generous. Most of the players at the academies are noticeably smaller than the elite recruits who typically populate blue-blood football programs, but there's a self-awareness about it that drives them.

"These guys are going to be bigger and stronger than you," barked Jason MacDonald, who spent his first four seasons at Navy coaching the fullbacks.

"No offense, young man, but the linebacker you face will be bigger," MacDonald told another player. "You gotta sink lower."

Fofana is the No. 2 fullback on the depth chart, but he has received one of the highest honors a Navy athlete can get -- being voted a team captain by his teammates. As a team captain along with senior linebacker Colin Ramos, Fofana also leads Navy's leadership council, which is composed of one player for each position group.

"Be your own blocker," MacDonald directed as Fofana ran through the spring-loaded machine with his eyes down. "Hit it, hit it, hit it! Eyes up!"

"That could be the difference between a 5-yard gain and a touchdown," he said. "Hear me?"

"Yes sir!"

Newberry said Navy never has more than two hard days of practice in a row because "everybody can't really handle it."

"You have to be really conscious of all that they have on their plate, mentally and physically."

At 7 p.m., following a long day, practice and more treatment -- and ordering Chick-fil-A for dinner -- Fofana headed back up the stairs in Ricketts Hall, where the pastor, Bill McKinney, was leading a discussion on faith, and his wife, Barbara, was handing out brownies and milk to about a dozen players in the room.

It's September, and some players were wearing T-shirts that had BEAT ARMY written on their backs near the collar. As the pastor spoke, to his right on the wall behind him was a picture of Navy's band, holding up poster letters that spelled "BEAT ARMY."


FORTNER HAS A short window to go back to his barracks and change into his football practice shirt and shorts and maybe get in a little studying before the buses start running at 1:30 p.m. to take the players up to the Kimsey Athletic Center and practice fields adjacent to Michie Stadium.

None of the players want to miss the bus because they know how grueling that climb to the top can be. The buses don't run when the weather is nasty in the winter, and Fortner said the summer bus schedule can be tricky too.

"I know what it's like climbing that hill when it's 20 degrees and a foot of snow on the ground," he said. "I think one of the hardest days I ever had was going from there to boxing class. Demanding doesn't begin to describe it."

Treatment for the players begins at 1 p.m. followed by weightlifting for different groups. Fortner also had a leadership council meeting. The team meeting was at 3:20 p.m., followed by Fortner's inside linebackers position meeting.

Army's inside linebackers coach is Justin Weaver, who was also Fortner's coach the year he was in the academy's prep school in 2021. As the linebackers watched tape together, Weaver barked, "Every first-down marker is a trench, but we had sawed-off shotguns in all those trenches."

There's never any doubt, even in football position meetings, that you're at a military academy.

"When y'all go out and lead soldiers and set up training, expect them to execute. Trust your training," Weaver said as he looked around the room.

"Consistency over time is toughness. Anybody can do something once."

Army coach Jeff Monken likes to refer to his program and his players as the "last of the hard."

"I brought it with me from Georgia Southern," said Monken, who coached there from 2010 to 2013 before coming to Army. "This is the last generation willing to accept the hard, and these kids at Army embody that. You hear people in all walks of life saying they're soldiers. We are. That's why we're here."

Just like the players' academy duties, Army's practices are regimented, intense and unrelenting. At one point Monken climbed on top of a cart and screamed, "It's time to f---ing start practicing the way we're supposed to. Are we going to talk about it or f---ing be about it?" The level of discipline on the Black Knights was clear in their 35-14 win over Tulane last Friday in the AAC championship game, when Army became the first FBS team in at least 20 years to have no turnovers, no penalties and no punts in a game, according to ESPN Research.

Army has an indoor practice facility but uses it only when severe weather forces its hand. The backdrop for the field, especially once the leaves begin to turn, is gorgeous. And you know you're not at just any practice when midway through, a group of parachuters comes sailing in over the fields. And then a few minutes later, Army helicopters come roaring overhead.

As the players spread out to stretch toward the end, coaches bellowed, "Finish the day!"

The team dinner, catered by a local restaurant during the season, is served at 7:55 p.m. on the fourth floor of the football complex. The players chowed down on wings, then slowly made their way to older-looking school buses painted white, and back down the hill to their barracks.

The "Taps" bugle call is played at 11:30 p.m., when all cadets must return to their rooms. Even after a 12- to 13-hour day, Fortner finds himself up past "Taps" on some nights.

"There's no such thing as wasting time here at West Point," he said. "You find time to study, nights when you get back from practice, pockets during the day and sometimes in the early morning hours.

"It's not easy here and not for everybody. People ask, 'How do you juggle it all?' My answer is that being on the football team here forces you not to be a procrastinator. Time is money. Time is valuable, and time is important."

Fortner's "lazy" day during the season is on Sunday when he might sleep in until 9. But then it's time to get up, and he says, go "kick some ass" the rest of the week.


FORTNER DOESN'T HAVE a car. Cadets aren't allowed to have one until the second semester of their junior year. But he has heard the stories of high-profile players around the country driving Lamborghinis.

"Is that true ... Lamborghinis?" Fortner asked with an incredulous smile.

No Army players receive NIL money, although Fortner said he gets a $358 monthly stipend from the military. Much of that is used for incidental expenses such as his laundry and haircuts. There's only one transfer player on the team, backup center Kyle Kloska, who came from Central Michigan.

"Part of what's so cool about this place is that it hasn't changed. It's not going to change," Fortner said. "We're not here to cash checks. We're here to serve each other on this football team and later on our country."

The midshipmen also receive a monthly stipend, but they pay for everything they have -- things like their computer equipment, laundry, haircuts and uniforms -- making it basically an interest-free loan that they're paying back over their four years. As a plebe, more is taken out. There is also an opportunity to take out a $32,000 loan when they are juniors at an interest rate somewhere around 4%, a benefit also available to cadets at Army.

"We're a unicorn right now," said Navy's Newberry, whose roster does not include any fifth-year players. "We still truly are a developmental program. Everywhere else in the country, rosters are flipping over semester to semester -- not year-to-year. How do you really build a culture? In relationships, trust takes time. We have that here."

Monken said "society has a head start" on Army when it goes out to sign high school players on the recruiting trail. Like Newberry, he doesn't operate in a world with NIL or the transfer portal.

"Kids have been told they should look out for themselves and build their own brand, and so the music and the social media and TV is about individual success, wealth and power," Monken said. "That's completely opposite than it is here. We are fully committed to training these young men to be servant leaders. So you bring guys like that in here, and they're already wired that way to serve the team and to do what's best for the team.

"We don't promise a jersey number. We don't promise starting time. We don't have money to say, 'Oh, we'll give you this much money.' No, it's just to be a part of this. We sell this place and what this is and what it can do for them for their future, our culture."

Army athletic director Mike Buddie, who pitched in the major leagues, said it's not easy to find 17- and 18-year-olds who are willing to serve their country and give up five years of their mid-20s to do so, even if they go in as officers. Plus there's always the specter of war.

"But for the ones that it does resonate with, once they're here, they're here and they're committed," he said. "For the most part, they're coming here for the mission of the academy. They're not coming here to improve their [NFL] draft status. I think we have fewer distractions. It's a hell of a lot easier to build cohesion and chemistry.

"It makes it easier for coaches to coach and develop and hold kids accountable because these kids are held accountable from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed.

"It's just part of their DNA, which I think they respond very well to coaching."


JASPER, THE LONGTIME Navy assistant coach, said it has been a tradition of his to get dressed early and walk around the field at the Army-Navy Game.

"I love coaching in that game," Jasper said. "It's hard to really explain it, to be on the winning side. And the other side? You don't even want to think how the other side is feeling. It is devastating. People don't understand it. If you're not in that inner circle where you understand, you don't understand."

"The truth is, you could lose every other game and beat Army and Air Force and people would be happy," Newberry said. "I wouldn't be happy, but people would be."

Mike Viti, Army's assistant head coach for the offense, played in the rivalry as a fullback for the Black Knights from 2004 to 2007. He says this game is "sacred" for both sides, and when he speaks, everybody connected with the Army program listens. After graduation, Viti served a deployment as a platoon leader in the Arghandab River Valley in Afghanistan and earned a bronze star and combat action badge. He lived on an outpost that was attacked virtually every day by the Taliban.

"I believe in my heart that this place is already a magnet for personalities like a Fortner and many other guys like him. They seek and respect and value the rawness of what this is," Viti said. "They came to this place and games like Army-Navy to actually become who they want to become in life."

A year ago, Fortner was the star of Army's 17-11 win over Navy. He had a strip sack of Navy quarterback Tai Lavatai in the third quarter, picked up the fumble and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. He also made a touchdown-saving tackle in the final seconds.

How did his life change after being named MVP in a win against Army's biggest rival?

"Probably more officers coming up to me walking to class and saying my first and last name, even some instructors recognizing me on post," Fortner said. "You hear a lot of 'Beat Navy' wherever you go around here, but I heard a lot of that the next week.

"People remember what you do in that game. ... You're at a place where presidents went to school, famous generals, the best of the best in our country. Yeah, it's a football game, but you're representing all of those people."

Monken has seen the rivalry from both sides. He was an assistant under Paul Johnson at Navy from 2002-07, and when he arrived at Army in 2014, the Black Knights had lost the last 12 meetings. Monken wasn't bashful about saying it was time to make it a rivalry again.

A soldier's duty is to complete his mission.

"We hadn't been completing our mission in this series," Monken said.

There are "Beat Navy" signs everywhere -- on stair steps, on the weights in the weight room, on the walls in team meeting rooms, the sides of trailers, in the locker room, even in the bathrooms. As the players walk onto the practice field, there's a clock counting down the hours, minutes and seconds to the game.

Contrast that to when Monken took over at Army.

"There was a little sign about this big underneath the upper cabinets," said Monken, holding up his hands a couple of feet apart. "That was it. Nowhere else."

Entering Saturday's game, Army has won six of the past eight meetings with Navy. The Midshipmen won every game in the series from 2002 to 2015 until Army upset No. 25 Navy 21-17 in 2016.

The pendulum has swung, but Monken knows any momentum in a rivalry like this one comes with a caveat.

"It's only as good as this year," he said.

With its AAC championship victory, the Black Knights reached the 11-win plateau for just the second time in program history. For Monken and everyone else associated with the team, while the first conference championship in the history of Army football has punctuated a season to remember, it will hardly define it.

"We take pride in holding ourselves accountable in everything we do," Fortner said. "And in football, that means beating Navy.

"That's how you're judged here, and that's the way it should be."

Sources: A's acquiring LHP Springs from Rays

Published in Baseball
Saturday, 14 December 2024 09:53

The Athletics are acquiring left-hander Jeffrey Springs in a six-player trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, sources told ESPN, continuing their push toward contention and significant increase in their payroll as they head into their first season in Sacramento.

Springs and one other player will go to the A's while right-handers Joe Boyle and Jacob Watters, first baseman Will Simpson and a Competitive Balance A round draft pick - somewhere in the late 30s - will go to the Rays, sources said.

Pushing its payroll into the $100 million range, the A's acquired Springs - who is owed $10.5 million each of the next two seasons and has a $15 million club option for 2027 - on the heels of giving free agent Luis Severino a three-year, $67 million contract.

Springs, 32, broke out in 2022 with the Rays after bouncing from Texas to Boston to Tampa Bay. He looked primed for a big 2023 after signing an extension, only to tear the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow.

He returned from Tommy John surgery last season and in seven starts went 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA and 37 strikeouts against 11 walks in 33 innings. Springs will join Severino and J.P. Sears in a rotation that also could include left-hander Hogan Harris and right-handers Joey Estes, Mitch Spence, Osvaldo Bido or Luis Medina.

The A's went 69-93 this year and with a core of designated hitter Brent Rooker, outfielders Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday, catcher Shea Langeliers, shortstop Jacob Wilson and first-base prospect Nick Kurtz, are positioning themselves to compete in a wide-open American League West division.

The 25-year-old Boyle is the lone player going to the Rays with major league experience. At 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, Boyle throws a 98-mph fastball and devastating slider that both grade as well-above-average pitches. Throughout his time with the A's - and, before that, Cincinnati - controlling them was always the issue. In 47.2 innings this year between the rotation and bullpen, Boyle struck out 56 and walked 40 but allowed just four home runs.

Simpson, a 15th-round draft pick out of Washington in 2023, ascended to AA this year after hitting .270/.373/.480 with 16 home runs and 81 RBIs in 109 games at High-A. In addition to his time at first base, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Simpson dabbled at third base and played outfield in college.

Watters, taken in the fourth round out of West Virginia in 2022, split time between the rotation and bullpen in High-A this year. He went 6-3 with a 5.04 ERA, striking out 56 and walking 28 in 60.2 innings.

The Competitive Balance Round A pick is worth around $2.5 million in bonus-pool dollars for the Rays, who have their own competitive-balance pick two slots ahead of the one they acquired in the deal.

Wife of former England player Voyce 'heartbroken' over death

Published in Rugby
Friday, 13 December 2024 10:33

The wife of former England rugby star Tom Voyce has said "absolutely devastated and heartbroken doesn't even describe how we feel", following his death.

A body found in an area in Northumberland flooded during Storm Darragh has been confirmed as that of the missing 43-year-old.

The former England international was reported missing on Sunday and police believe he tried to cross Abberwick Ford, near the village of Bolton, in a vehicle which was then pulled along by the current.

Anna Voyce paid tribute to her husband and said: "My main focus now is our son Oscar having done what he asked, 'find Daddy'."

Northumbria Police confirmed on Thursday its Marine Unit had discovered a body near Abberwick Mill, following a large-scale search.

"Tom would be blown away by the amount of people that were out there helping," Mrs Voyce said.

"We have all been overwhelmed by the support of friends, many travelling from far afield to help with the search.

"We are just so lucky to live in such a special community that pulled together to find Tom."

Since relocating to Northumberland from London in 2019, Mr Voyce left his role at Investec to set up his own business, Trevow Vegetation Management.

Mrs Voyce said: "Tom was fully immersed in Alnwick Rugby Club and was much-loved by Oscar's under-7's team which he coached with gusto, giving back to the game that gave him so much.

"Oscar is immensely proud of his Daddy and he was the best father and role model that Oscar could have asked for."

Alnwick Rugby Football Club said it was "deeply saddened" by his death.

"The senior players couldn't have enjoyed his sessions more and in recent years he has taken to coaching the minis, and I know he will be a huge miss to them.

"Our thoughts are with his wife Anna, son Oscar, mother Christine, sister Emily and the rest of his family.

"A great rugby player and an even better man."

Mr Voyce, from Truro in Cornwall, played for Wasps, Bath and Gloucester before retiring from the sport in 2013.

Among those who paid tribute are England head coach Steve Borthwick.

He described Mr Voyce as "a wonderfully gifted rugby player and a truly lovely man".

"Tom left a lasting impact on everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him and created memories that will stay with all who watched him play," he said.

"On behalf of everyone at England Rugby, we extend our deepest condolences to Tom's family, friends, and loved ones. Our thoughts are with them during this incredibly difficult time."

Irish ex-rugby player found guilty of rape in France

Published in Rugby
Friday, 13 December 2024 13:10

Former Ireland U20 rugby international Denis Coulson has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was found guilty of the rape of a woman in Bordeaux, France, in 2017.

Dublin-born Coulson, who also played for Connacht and French side Stade Français, was one of two former Irish international rugby players sentenced on Friday at Bordeaux's Cour d'Asisses.

Chris Farrell, who was a member of Ireland's Grand Slam-winning 2018 Six Nations squad, was handed a four-year sentence with two years suspended for failure to prevent a crime.

The court was told he would not be sent to prison but would have to wear an electronic tag for two years and remain in France.

The two men were on trial with three other rugby players, two of whom were also found guilty of rape on Friday.

All five men were once teammates together at FC Grenoble.

Loick Jammes, 30, from France, was found guilty of rape and given a 14-year sentence.

Rory Grice, 34, from New Zealand, was found guilty of rape and given a 12-year sentence.

Fellow New Zealander 30-year-old Dylan Hayes was given a two-year suspended sentence for failure to prevent a crime.

All five defendants had denied the charges against them.

Chelsea's perfect WSL start ended at Leicester

Published in Soccer
Saturday, 14 December 2024 06:21

Leicester City put a stop to Chelsea's perfect start in the Women's Super League (WSL) on Saturday as the two sides drew 1-1 at the King Power Stadium.

Coming into the game on the back of four straight WSL defeats, there was little to suggest the Foxes would be the first team to take points off the reigning champions this season, but an early goal and some inspired goalkeeping gave them a valuable point.

Missy Goodwin, who was brought on in the 11th minute for Deanne Rose, put Leicester ahead less than ten minutes later when she found the bottom-left corner of the net with a powerful finish from the centre of the box.

Chelsea, who were looking for a record breaking tenth consecutive WSL win, finally responded in the 77th minute, as Wieke Kaptein's stellar long-range shot levelled proceedings.

Sonia Bompastor's side spent the rest of the match camped in Leicester's final third chasing a winner to maintain the former Lyon head coach's immaculate start since joining the Blues in the summer. However, a combination of resolute defending from the hosts and some profligate finishing, in particular from Sjoeke Nüsken, saw the spoils shared at the full-time whistle.

The draw lifts Leicester to 10th with six points, while Chelsea remain in first place with 28 points, six clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

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