Entries Tagged 'Football' ↓

…don’t ever let the Red Sox win the World Series.

If this is how Boston celebrates it’s second Super Bowl victory in three years, one shudders to think what would happen should the “Sawks” finally win the Fall Classic…

.BOSTON — New England Patriots fans turned rowdy after their team’s Super Bowl victory, flipping cars and lighting small fires as thousands swarmed the streets. One person was killed when an allegedly drunken driver backed his sport utility vehicle into a group of revelers.

In Kenmore Square, near Boston University, college-aged fans thronged the streets around garbage fires Sunday night. A local television station reported that one of its vans was vandalized, and the crew had to be escorted from the area by police.

Across town near Northeastern University, fans flipped about a half dozen cars.

An SUV struck several people early Monday, killing James Grabowski, 21, of West Newbury, and injuring three others, one critically. The SUV was stuck in a crowd of revelers when the driver put the car in reverse, then shifted into forward, striking pedestrians and a police officer, authorities said.

Grabowski was the son of State Police Capt. Daniel Grabowski. The family had no comment Monday.

The driver, Stanley Filoma, 24, of Boston, was arrested a short distance away. He was arraigned Monday on charges including vehicular homicide while operating under the influence. Bail was set at $10,000.

Filoma was over the legal limit when he was given a breath test three hours after he was stopped, district attorney spokesman David Procopio said.

Filoma’s lawyer, Steven Sack, didn’t return a call.

In the city’s busy Allston neighborhood, which is home to many students and has many bars and nightclubs, firefighters hosed down revelers to disperse the crowd. Temperatures were in the mid-20s.

Three people were arrested, police said. Crowds dispersed by about 1:30 a.m.

At the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, police in riot gear cleared a crowd of hundreds of fans after they set a fire and refused to disperse. There were no reports of trouble at the University of Rhode Island and the University of New Hampshire, where violence broke out after Red Sox playoff games last fall.

Boston plans a noontime parade Tuesday that will wind its way to a rally at City Hall Plaza, where two years ago about 1.2 million fans celebrated the Patriots’ Super Bowl win — its first — over the St. Louis Rams.St. Louis Rams

Eagles lose third NFC title game in as many years. Frustration in the region is palpable…

Living as close to Philadelphia as I do, the majority of my friends are of course Eagles fans. After the Giants proved their ineptness by going 4-12, I decided, for the sake of my friends, that I would pull for the Eagles in this year’s post-season.

I was as thrilled as everyone else around here when Donovan McNabb found Freddie Mitchell for that crucial play which will forever be known as “fourth and twenty-six.” Couple that play with the gift of an interception supplied by Brett Favre during the overtime period, and destiny did seem to be with the Eagles.

So what happened? Why are the Panthers, and not the Eagles, now on their way to Houston to face the Patriots? Well, some of the cause can be traced to poor officiating, but in the NFL, the good teams overcome poor officiating. Injuries, to be sure, played their part - the most significant of course being the loss of Donovan McNabb during the second half of last night’s game. More than anything else, it is purely the nature of the NFL today, where, thanks to free-agency and the salary cap - the elite teams are forced back down to .500, and the poor teams are propped up to .500.

I received an email from the biggest Eagles fan I know, Dan “Wooly” Woolard. I’ll share it with you here, as I found it quite poignant:

EAGLES FOOTBALL 2000-2003

Who loves the sun
Who cares that it makes plants grow
Who cares what it does
Since you broke my heart

Who loves the wind
Who cares that it makes breezes
Who cares what it does
Since you broke my heart

Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun
Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun
Pa pa pa pa
Not everyone
Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun

Who loves the rain
Who cares that it makes flowers
Who cares that it makes showers
Since you broke my heart

Who loves the sun
Who cares that it is shining
Who cares what it does
Since you broke my heart

Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun
Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun
Pa pa pa pa
Not everyone
Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun
Sun
Sun
Sun

Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun
Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun
Pa pa pa pa
Not everyone
Pa pa pa pa
Who loves the sun

WINGBOWL XXII JANUARY 30TH, ALL WOUNDS SHALL BE CAUTERIZED

So, time does march on, and the Super Bowl is now stuck with a very un-sexy matchup, the New England Patriots against the Carolina Panthers. I’ll be sure to watch, because just like every other American, I’m a sucker for it, but one thing’s for certain - GO PATS.

The University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens defeated the Colgate Raiders 40-0 in the Division I-AA national title game in Chattanooga tonight.The Hens saved their best for last, shutting down the Colgate offensive attack completely, getting the first road shut out since 1983 in the process.

This is the first I-AA championship for Delaware.

Adv. of Mike’s very own intrepid reporter, Scott, was at the game in Chattanooga, and here is his report:

Scott, here, no longer live on the scene. The report got lost somewhere in the whirlwind holiday tour that took me from Chatty to ‘nati and points in between, but more on that in a moment.

Exiting off I-24 onto Main St, Stephanie and I slowed to a crawl on the busy throughway of Chattanooga’s histortic warehouse district. The normally desolate street, was teeming with cars emblazoned with Delaware tags and Blue Hen paraphenalia, fans, makeshift parking signs, and street peanut vendors. The excitment and the crowds were building toward their epicenters buried just a mere block away.

Rising above the industrial facade, the towering lights of Finley Stadium created a hovering glow the that would last well into the night for the Blue Hen faithful.

After parking the car, we strolled through the parking lot and witnessed the magnitude of the Blue Hen crowd only hinted at in the side street. Generations of Hens fans, swarming about ranging from the long time booster to the coed postponing her Christmas vacation. Smoking barbecues filled the air with visual and sensual signs of the invasion, while victorious marauders hopped on tops of vans and shouted their supremacy to the outnumbered supporters of the supposed Raiders of Colgate. The outcome had been decided in the land of the tailgate long before the battle on the field.

The stadium itself is beautiful with its red brick, however, the layout is not very conducive to getting into it. As we took our seats, the home side was awash in Blue and Gold. The other side was nothing more than a small huddle of maroon that did not stretch pass either 40. Another thing about the layout of the stadium that was disappointing was the seating. Because it was not very steep, visibility was always an issue.

Being so long after the event, I will not regale you with stories of dominance that the Fightin’s exerted. I would call the game a mixture of ecstasy and agony. Winning so convincingly was ecstasy for the Blue Hen fan, however, the agony was the sub-freezing temperatures and a fiance to keep warm, which reminds me of the vending.
I believe that the stadium folks were either unprepared for the temps of the multitudes, because trying to get a hot beverage in that place was a herculean effort, not unlike the one Colgate needed to actually play in the game.
On a side note, Stephanie spirits warmed a bit despite the lack of hot chocolate at the half-time show of the UD band. If Colgate had brought the A-game the band did, they may have scored a touchdown. Being a former band person, that was a treat for Stephanie. I was even impressed with their version of Bohemian Rhapsody which i witnessed them play before but not with as much intensity and precision.

As the game ended and a Blue and Gold wave rushed on the field, we waited for the trophy presentation but were unable to make anything out from the mid-field mob. So, we left to thaw our frozen bones. Leaving the stadium, packs of Delaware fans celebrated as pockets of disillusioned Colgate fans tried to filter out unnoticed, at least the ones that did not leave by the 3rd quarter. They offered meager resistance against the truly victorious chants similar to the resistance offered by their gridiron classmates. All in all, it was a great Christmas gift to me, as the tickets were one one of my presents and a gift to all Blue Hen fans who finally got to see UD football as good as we believe it to be.

The University of Delaware Fighting Blue Hens defeated the Wafford Terriers 24-9 in NCAA Division I-AA semi-final action this afternoon at Delaware Stadium in Newark, DE. The win sends the Hens to Chattanooga, TN to play for the national title against Colgate on Friday. This is the first time Delaware has advanced to the final since 1982, where they lost to Eastern Kentucky 17-14.

Kickoff for Friday’s national title game is 7 PM ET. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

Here’s a game recap from the Associated Press:

(3) Delaware 24, (2) Wofford 9

Preview - Box Score - Recap

By DAVID GINSBURG, AP Sports Writer
December 13, 2003
NEWARK, Del. (AP) — Delaware pulled away from Wofford in the second half behind the running of Germaine Bennett and earned a berth in the Division I-AA championship game with a 24-9 victory Saturday.

Bennett amassed a career-high 186 yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns, all in the second half. He also set a school single-season record for yards rushing (1,583).

The Blue Hens (14-1) will play for the title Friday night in Chattanooga, Tenn., against Colgate or Florida Atlantic, who met in Saturday’s other semifinal game.

Delaware, which set a school record for wins in a season, is seeking its first I-AA title. The second-seeded Blue Hens have outscored the opposition 109-26 in their three playoff games, all at home.

Wofford (12-2), participating in the I-AA playoffs for the first time, had a 12-game winning streak snapped.

Despite receiving another outstanding performance from its defense, Delaware was locked in a 3-all tie until Bennett scored on 2-yard run late in the third quarter.

The senior running back made it 17-3 with 6:41 left, capping an 89-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, then clinched the victory by scoring from the 15 with 2:42 remaining.

Delaware fans stormed the field with three seconds left, then were herded together on the sideline before Wofford scored on the final play.

The fans then returned to begin working on toppling the goal post, and the game was called before a conversion could be attempted.

It was Wofford’s first loss since a 49-0 defeat at Air Force on Aug. 30. The Terriers won two straight playoff games at home before flying to Delaware — only the sixth time in the 114-year history of the program that Wofford traveled by air to a game.

The flight back to South Carolina was likely a quiet one.

The Terriers made a game of it for three quarters with their defense. The Blue Hens reached Wofford territory on each of their first five possessions but could manage only a field goal.

Delaware finally ended the trend in the third quarter, when Bennett accounted for all but 15 yards in a 52-yard drive that ended with the first of his two touchdowns.