Though we still have no idea how we’re going to get through the next seven weeks, it’s great to know there are only 52 days left till the football Dukes kickoff the Withers era in College Park against one of the nation’s best players, Stefon Diggs, and the rest of the underwhelming new B1G member Terps! And even less than that (38 days in fact) till the Women’s Soccer team gets the entire JMU Athletics year started against Bucknell on August 16.
And in case you hadn’t noticed, and judging by JMU’s non-athletics headlines lately you understandably have not, JMU Sports got itself a newfangled and it has to be said, slick and modern website on July 1. You can check it out here. The site, produced by a company called Sidearm Sports and hopefully signaling a break from the tech-debacle that has often been NeuLion, has a cleaner, simpler look and we’re both pleased so far and hopeful about the future but…
…where the hell is Duke Dog? Seriously, why does JMU insist on trying to marginalize Duke Dog, the real Duke Dog we all know and love, seemingly every year. First they tried to sex him up with a more aggressive look for the mascot costume and a shinier gray, but three-year olds all over Bridgeforth were terrified and quickly called out the imposter. Now JMU seems to have removed Duke Dog from all of our logos on the new website. Unfortunately, all the rebranding in the world isn’t going to change the fact we’re still in the CAA.
Now please, #FreeDukeDog!
As we mentioned last week, Coach Wither’s and his staff have brought a ton of new ideas and enthusiasm to the JMU football program. One of those new ideas was a players Strongman Competition, which took place in June. This video captures the highlights. It’s rather intense and features a bunch of strenuous looking activities, any one of which would send a much weaker man (like me for instance) to the showers crying. Thankfully the Dukes are far tougher than most of us and actually appear to be enjoying themselves, even while inexplicably wearing tie-dyed t-shirts for a tug-of-war. Football season can’t get here soon enough.
It’s gameday. In the knockout round. Of the 2014 World Cup. Let’s do this boys. Beat Belgium. And oh yeah, that’s a real jersey.
The brand new and improved JMUsports.com website officially launched today. We’re not going to offer a fully detailed review, but we will say it gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from us. It features a simple and clean design and it includes some great new information. We particularly like the football results going back 42 years. While we were checking it out today, we came across an article on the current state of football season ticket sales. And it turns out those who forecast gloomy times for fan support appear to have misread the tea leaves. Football season ticket sales are ahead of last year’s pace.
There was a great deal of handwringing over JMU’s failure to make a move to an FBS league this year. While we have no interest in rehashing the “should we stay or should we go debate”, it’s obvious that there were some very vocal members of the pro-FBS segment. Some of whom might have even predicted that the the majority (or at least significant portion) of the fans would voice its displeasure by abandoning the football program, leaving Bridgeforth with scores of empty seats this Fall. Well, as of the May 15 season ticket renewal deadline, 500 more season tickets had been sold than at last year’s deadline. And more tickets have been sold since then, bringing the total season tickets sold to 6,100. That’s on pace to surpass last year’s total of 7,002.
We’re not pointing this out in order to convince you that everything is perfect in the world of JMU sports or JMU football. The football program is headed by a new regime, desperate to break free from the mediocre plateau the former coaches had settled on. And the FBS question will continue to loom over us for at least another year. But this uptick in football season ticket sales might indicate that the excitement about what Coach Withers is doing with the program, trumps any sort of disappointment lingering over the lack of a conference move. Which would be awesome.
Withers and his staff haven’t even coached their first game, but they’ve already put their stamp on the program. From a completely revamped academic program, to improved student outreach, to a player strong man competition, to on overall injection of enthusiasm. They’re breathing life into a program that really needed it. And they’re pulling in talented players and recruiting like it’s their job (side note: it is their job). The enthusiasm, or “juice” as Withers puts it, is contagious. And these latest season ticket numbers are evidence of that.
Todd and I have been a little preoccupied in general lately and more than a little distracted by the World Cup. While we might be distracted, it’s pretty clear Coach Withers and the Dukes are working hard and are zeroed in on the upcoming football season. The video above proves that. It also might prove that high tech moisture wicking shirts are the new Bike coaching shorts. In any case, the relaunch of the new (and hopefully improved) JMU Dukes football program will take place on August 30 against Maryland. It will be here sooner than you think. Thank God.
Andrew Vanderhoeven is in Brazil with the American Outlaws cheering on the United States Men’s National Team. He graciously agreed to share a few words and pictures with us about the experience. Here is the first installment of his World Cup Diary. Give him a follow on twitter at @Vanderhooooov
As for the US game I’m not even sure how to describe the experience it was. All the time and money I poured into this trip was worth it just walking to the stadium. Beating a team that has been our kryptonite for years was just an added bonus. To be honest I was so caught in the moment of attending a cup and everything I was barely able to see the Dempsey goal. That was truly a rush as I hugged every man, woman, and child in proximity whether American or Brazilian. Fast forward through 80 odd minutes of parking the bus, one blown hamstring (of my favorite player), one broken nose of the team captain, and one blow lead and we were at a moment I’d always imagined. Watching the 2010 World Cup and the “Goal Heard Round the World” I’d imagined what it would have been like to see it live. The John Anthony Brooks goal is as close I’ll ever get I imagine. It was the most insane feeling in the world. From the depths of despair to the highest of highs, it’s the type of moment you never forget and everything that makes sports good. I truly don’t know if I’ve ever been happier, I’m still smiling.To be honest, we’re anxiety-ridden messes about tomorrow evening’s USA game against Ghana already and not entirely in the mood for gnashing our teeth about JMU offseason fodder. We’ve also watched every critical USMNT game over the last twelve years or so together and this year life has contrived (for good reason this time) to split us up and I think we’re even more nervous not to share our nail-biting afternoon tomorrow. (Wait – has the blog turned us into a bitter old married couple? guess so).
So this post isn’t for everyone, but we do want to send some big “best wishes” out to two former Dukes. First, to soon-to-be-former Daily News-Record JMU beat reporter Matthew Stoss (@MatthewStoss)! Stoss had the unfortunate duty of taking over for Mike Barber at a time when pretty much the entire fan base has been, and continues to be, justifiably pissed off with JMU’s position re: athletics as a whole. Matt was funny, smart, and generally gave a great effort covering a thankless and paranoid end-of-Mickey era and the women’s hoops run of glory. We might be the only ones, well of course our guy Dukie95 too, who really enjoyed he and Marc Selig’s short-lived Dukes of JMU Modcast and we always appreciated that Stoss seemed to have interests outside of just athletics. We have no idea what the journalism world pays, but for anyone with a complaint about his time, we’d just like to postulate that it just might be fairly difficult living in a small, old-boys club town when the old boys you cover make a generous, but tenuous living off the performance or lack thereof of a group of 19-year-olds.
Second, word is former JMU QB Drew Dudzik has been hired as an offensive assistant at Duke. Nearly saved our ass in the Montana semifinal and of course, 21-16. Good luck Drew!
For our fellow fanatics, @MattJones36 is taking over the football beat. He’s a VT grad so chances are he’ll be toeing the line on unwarranted condescension soon. Hope not.
So normally we do some kind of gimmicky bracket to get us through the summer/college sports offseason. We’ve done a late 90’s/early aughts Virginia bands bracet, a late 90’s H’Burg food bracket, and various other nonsense to keep the site going through the dog days. But this year we’re both watching the World Cup. Pretty much every game. And we don’t really care about trying to write about anything else.
So whether you love the beautiful game like we do or are a soccer hater, we know you love wagering and beer if you love this site, so feel free to join our first ever World Cup Pick ‘Em Fantasy League over here at ESPN. The Group name is JMU Sports Blog and the password is “Bridgeforth”. Yes, it was going to be #CAA4Lyfe, but we’re trying to enjoy our summer.
Winner gets free beer at a JMUSB tailgate this fall. Winner and 2nd place get to guest post on anything you want JMU related in August. You only have to pick the opening round and then you can go back in and make new picks once pool play is over. Wonder if we can get 10 entries on 24 hours notice.
Good luck and U! S! A!
The Diamond Dukes might have had a disappointing season, but that doesn’t mean the roster lacked talent. Senior third baseman Ty McFarland and Junior pitcher Chris Huffman were each selected in the 2014 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. McFarland was chosen in the 10th round by the Evil Empire New York Yankees. The San Diego Padres took Huffan a few rounds later in the 14th. They were the 75th and 76th MLB draft picks in JMU baseball history.
Ty, son of JMU head coach Spanky McFarland, was the 302nd overall pick. He led the Dukes in practically every offensive category. This past season he had a slash line of .317/.390/.507 and picked up All CAA first team honors. He led the Dukes with 9 homers and had 23 extra base hits overall in 53 games. Additionally, he finished 3rd in the CAA in total bases with 115. He previously had earned All CAA third team honors twice and earned Freshman All America in his first year at JMU. He showed increasing power at the plate throughout his JMU career, with his slugging percentage rising each year. If the trend continues in the minors, he could make some noise in the Yankee organization.
Unlike McFarland who already graduated, Chris Huffman has the option to return to JMU for his senior season. He is reportedly negotiating with the Padres and has until July 18 to decide if he will sign and forego his final year of eligibility. The right hander has a big arm with a fastball that has been clocked in the mid-90s. Baseball America had him as the 3rd best draft prospect in the CAA prior to this past season.
Chris began his JMU career pitching out of the bullpen, serving as the Dukes’ closer his first two years. In 2014 however, he transitioned to the starting rotation and was JMU’s ace and Friday starter. He finished the year with a 6.43 ERA in 91 innings of work. He racked up 69 strikeouts against 31 walks in the process. Huffman showed the ability to throw a lot of innings and pitch deep into ballgames, notching 3 complete games. With a career ERA north of 5.00, we’re assuming that the Padres believe they can take Huffman’s raw power and ability and develop him into more of a complete pitcher.
So apparently Everett Withers and the football team aren’t the only ones pulling in transfers from bigger schools this year. Matt Brady managed to land Butler Guard Devontae Morgan this week. Morgan certainly didn’t play much (think walk-on minutes) for the Bulldogs the last two years, but he was a Brad Stevens recruit and we’d say that speaks well of him in addition to the fact he’ll have a year to develop his game while sitting out and then still have two years of remaining eligibility. In any case, it’s another decent addition to a quietly encouraging offseason after the sting of losing Charles Cooke.
Secondly, on a personal note, I have accepted a new job in Greensboro, NC, and have been busy getting started and moving so we’ve been a bit sporadic, but with the World Cup cranking up next week, we’ll be all over place on Twitter and FB. Also, the move still doesn’t convince us there’s anything even remotely resembling a silver lining about a conference with Elon in it.
