Winding Down

Welcome to 2010. The 2009 season is still hanging on with a GMAC bowl, two BCS games plus the national championship game waiting to be played.

With the noted exception of the Georgia Tech/Iowa Orange Bowl all of the eastern teams are done for the season. It was an enjoyable season with a number of historically significant events and I hope to review the 2009 season in due time.

Army news will be understandably slow for the next few months, but check here for condensed coverage as I plan on continuing "day to day" coverage of Army football. ESPN's Ivan Maisel touches briefly on the recent bowl success of the service academies. Another article examines the postseason play of the other academies All I can say about those is: Army, you're next.

2. It’s always difficult to figure out which teams will be ready for a bowl. Some lose their timing; others, their motivation. Some see their game as a reward. Others, after a season-ending loss, see it as a disappointment. But none of those issues ever apply to service academies. Navy and Air Force played with discipline and crispness Thursday. They were routs, and no one should be a bit surprised.

Justin Rodriguez of the Times Herald-Record reviews the Hudson Valley's sports stories of 2009... Army's season makes an appearance as a footnote.

10. OK, so Army's football team still has some work to do.

The Black Knights haven't had a winning season since they won 10 games in 1996. But under first-year coach Rich Ellerson Army won five games — its most since the magical year of '96. The Black Knights came within one win of a berth in the EagleBank Bowl.

The biggest win was an overtime victory over Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference.

Army did lose to blood rival Navy for the eighth straight year — 17-3 on Dec. 12 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Black Knights, routinely blown out by Navy during the streak, kept this game close.

The Black Knights led 3-0 at halftime.

Army news is slow now, but I will find Cool Content® to post in the off season.