2007 Football Attendance

This is interesting if you're into this kind of thing. Delaware ranked 3rd overall in the FCS in 2007, behind App. St. and Montana.

Check out the full list here: FCS Attendance Report

Flacco Featured in the Daily News

Now this is a rarity. A Blue Hen featured in an article in the New York Daily News. It's a pretty good read, but more than anything it's just fun to have Flacco appear in one of my local rags.

Check the article here: Daily News

BracketBuster Win

Great road win for the Hens against Toledo for the annual BracketBuster game. Toledo is a real tough place to earn a road victory. Solid effort to end the two game skid and improve to 12-15 overall. Hofstra up next.

Check the game recap here: UDel Sports

Flacco Fever on CNNSI

Here's a good article about Flacco at the Combine. Plus it's pretty fun to see him on the main page of CNNSI's NFL section.

Check the article: CNNSI.com

NFL Scouting Combine

Now that the Combine is in full swing, I figured it was time to post a few things about our boy Joe Flacco and how he's doing out in Indy.
Here is Flacco's official NFL Combine page: NFL.com

Some interesting blog posts about Flacco on the Hashmarks blog:
Flacco has entered the building
Flacco: Bring on the criticism

An excerpt from the second post: "I'm sick of hearing myself talk about it," he said. "I don't think I have too much to prove at this point. We played pretty good competition. We made it to a national championship, but no one wants to talk about that."

Here is the main link to the ESPN Hashmarks blog: Hashmarks

The NFL also has a new widget which I've embedded below. Grab it if you want it.

Mason Exacts Revenge

After letting a 19 point second half lead slip away to the Hens earlier in the season, the Patriots would not allow Delaware to climb back into last night's game. Mason defeated UD 70-58 to bring their record to 19-8 overall and 11-5 in league play. Delaware on the other hand dropped to 11-15 overall and 8-8 in the CAA. At this point it's going to be very difficult to get to that .500 mark. But first things first. A tough BracketBusters matchup against Toledo on Saturday.

Check out the recap of the Mason game here: UDel Sports

Photo Credit: University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Official Athletics Website

Flacco Featured on ESPN's First Take

Joe Flacco was interviewed today by Dana Jacobson on ESPN's First Take. Joe discusses his final preparations before heading to the NFL Combine.

Flacco Featured on SportsCenter

This was featured on SportsCenter last night. It's a must see for any UD fan. It's a really nicely produced piece on Flacco. Scott Brunner, who is helping Flacco to prepare for the NFL combines and the draft is part of the piece as well.

Dragons Down Hens

Well the up and down season continues for the men's hoops team. The Hens were beaten at home by the Drexel Dragons by a score of 62-60. This was a hard fought game, but one in which the Hens were constantly digging themselves out of holes. That and some poor shooting ultimately doomed UD. That .500 record is still achievable. Next up is a real tough test at George Mason.

Check out the game recap here: UDel Sports

Photo Credit: Mark Campbell

Men's LAX Wins to Start Season 2-0

The Hens took down UMBC 15-7 in their second game of the season today. The game took place in Neptune Beach, FL with all proceeds benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project which supports wounded U.S. soldiers.

Check out the game recap here: UDel Sports

For info. on Wounded Warrior, visit their site here: Wounded Warrior Project

Stopper of the Year

Now that's a great title for an award. Unfortunately that's the shortened version. The official title is the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but it is a great honor nonetheless. The award is presented every year to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball. The NCBWA has announced their watchlist for the 2008 Stopper of the Year. Included on the watchlist is Blue Hen senior closer David Slovak. Last year Slovak recorded 12 saves in 35 appearances with a 4.15 ERA.

Check out the full press release here: NCBWA

Big Comeback Earns Road Win

These are the kind of games you have to win to join the CAA elite. It might not have been pretty. It might have taken a while for them to get going. But in the end, Monte's boys got it done against a team that they should beat regularly. After trailing by 10 at the half, the Hens came back to defeat Georgia State in Atlanta by a score of 51-48. UD now sits at 11-13 overall and 8-6 in league play. With five regular season games remaining, the goal now is to keep gaining momentum leading into the CAA Tourney. Personally, I think Monte should also be preaching the importance of finishing up with a .500 record or better. If we can go 4-1 in these last five, that's exactly what will be achieved. That is a huge feat psychologically considering where this program has been the last few years. The magic number of 15 wins also represents a 10-win improvement from last year. That is a major accomplishment.

Check the game recap here: delaware online

Mench Signs Minor League Deal

The Sports Network is reporting that Kevin Mench has signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers and will be invited to spring training as a non-roster player. Let's hope he has a real solid spring so he and his giant melon can get back to the bigs.

Check out the story here: The Sports Network

Baseball Captain Buchholz Featured

It's hard to believe we're talking about baseball, but the college baseball season is right around the corner. The Hens begin their season on Feb. 22, with a four game series at The Citadel. In the meantime, check out the profile on Alex Buchholz at PingBaseball.com. He's featured as their Spotlight Player of the week.

Here's the link: PingBaseball.com.

Dawson Earns Another Rookie of the Week

For the fourth time this season, Alphonso Dawson earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors. That is the most by any Blue Hen in school history. As Dawson continues with his stellar rookie season, the future looks brighter and brighter for Blue Hens Hoops.

Check out the link: UDel Sports
Photo Credit: University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Official Athletics Website

Men's LAX Continues Their Winning Ways

The UD Men's Lax team opened the season with a road win over St. Joe's on Saturday. The 18-10 victory was a balanced effort as nine different players scored goals. Vincent Giordano led the attack with a career-high five goals.

Here is a recap of the game: UDel Sports

The Blue Hens next face off against UMBC at the Wounded Warrior benefit tournament in Neptune Beach, FL on Saturday, Feb. 16. For more info. on the Wounded Warrior Project, check out the link to their site here: Wounded Warrior Project.

Photo Credit: University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Official Athletics Website

Cam Howard is Ready to Attack

Last year's amazing Final 4 run was bittersweet for attackman Cam Howard. His gut wrenching decision to sit out the season due to a torn ACL meant he wasn't a part of that historic run through the NCAA Tournament. But it also meant that he would have one year of eligibility remaining. As this season kicks off, many are wondering how Cam is feeling both physically and emotionally. Below are links to two articles about the fifth year senior.
Lacrosse Magazine

delaware online

Photo Credit: Kevin Tucker/Lacrosse Magazine

Hoops Falls to VCU

In a gutsy effort the Blue Hens were eventually worn down by VCU at The Bob on Saturday afternoon. The Hens actually led around the thirteen minute mark of the second half, but a 16-0 run by the Rams ended any hopes of an upset. But folks, the bottom line is, this team is showing up and competing night in and night out. You never know come the CAA tournament. Crazier things have happened.

Link to the game recap: UDel Sports
Photo Credit: Mark Campbell

Gritty Win for Women's Hoops

It's been a tough season for Tina Martin and her squad. They currently sit at 6-16 overall and 5-5 in the CAA. But last night was a rare bright spot as they were able to gut out a tough upset win over the 2nd place VCU Rams. Amazingly, they were able to pull out the W while managing only 42 points (42-37). This was the lowest amount scored in a victory in school history.

Here's a link to a game recap: UDel Sports.

Photo Credit: Mark Campbell

Finally...

The Hens Men's Hoops team gets a win. After losing three straight and 5 of 6, the bleeding has stopped. At least for now. It's not going to be much fun when Eric Maynor and VCU pay us a visit on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully this dramatic W will give us some momentum in what will be definitely be a tough test against the Rams. I kept seeing the ESPN bottom line updating while I was watching Duke/UNC last night. Every update was bad. The last one I saw, they had pulled to within 5. I then went to the computer to see the final score and did not expect the little arrow to be next to the word "Delaware". A Herb Courtney 3-ball with 1.2 seconds left to win it! You gotta be kidding me and you gotta love it. One thing you cannot accuse this team of is having no heart. These kids DO NOT give up. Let's keep it going this weekend.

Here's a full recap from the official Hens site: UDel Hoops

Photo Credit: The News Journal/WILLIAM BRETZGER

Men's Lacrosse Preview

For all you LAX fans out there, be sure to check out the Inside Lacrosse team previews. They do a great job of breaking down their top 20 teams. They have the Hens as the pre-season #14.

Here's the link: Delaware Preview.

Signing Day

It's National Letter of Intent Day. Always a fun day for college football fans. Obviously 1AA/FCS kids aren't going to get any attention from the ESPNs of the world, but the Hens and Coach Keeler did sign 5 young players.

Here they are:

- Marcus Burley (DB), from Richmond, VA

- Chad Davis (OL), from Newark, DE

- Rob McDowell (DE), from Silver Spring, MD

- Logan Shultz (DL), from Orrtanna, PA

- Nihja, White (WR), from Wayne, PA

It's a very small class due to the fact that we lost only nine seniors from last year's team. Keeler seems to be very excited about this small group. Congratulations to these young men and welcome to UD.

Here's a link to the full story: UDel Sports

BracketBuster Matchups Announced

The Hens will visit Toledo for the annual ESPNU BracketBusters on Feb. 23rd. The Rockets are currently 7-13 overall and 4-4 in the MAC, which puts them in a tie for fourth in league play. The Blue Hens have never beaten Toledo in six previous games.

Here's a link to all of the BracketBuster matchups: ESPNU.

Omar Cuff Honored

Omar was honored today by the Sports Media and Entertainment Network as their running back of the year. Nice to see Omar getting some off-season accolades with all of the attention being payed to Joe Flacco.

Here's a link to the full article: delaware online.

Aaron Love Slide Show

Very cool slide show on Slide.com featuring Delaware Wide Receiver Aaron Love.

Here is the link to the page: Aaron Love on Slide.com

College Football All-Star Challenge

Flacco participated in this event last week and won two of the challenges, including the distance challenge with a 74 yard bomb.

Here are Joe's highlights on Youtube:


Quick article on the event: Arizona Republic

Men's Hoops Free Fall Continues

Things have gotten plain ugly for Monte and Co. In control most of the way against lowly Hofstra, the Hens connected on just 2 of their last 17 shots. Come on guys. It's time to buckle down and get a win. It doesn't have to be pretty. We just need a W. It's that simple.

So here are the latest numbers:
Overall: 9-12
CAA: 6-5 (after starting 5-0)
Lost 5 of 6.

Next up is UNCW at home on Wednesday night. I'll be listening.

Here's the story: UDel Recap

From Duke to Delaware

From Philly.com:

White changes pick
By Rick O'Brien
INQUIRER SPORTS WRITER

Two months after Duke coach Ted Roof was fired after a 1-11 season, Conestoga wide receiver Nihja White has decommitted from the Blue Devils and made an oral commitment to Division I-AA power Delaware.
White had developed a close relationship with John Gutekunst, Duke's former assistant and recruiting coordinator.
"When they did the firings, the place just wasn't that comfortable to me anymore," White said. "It kind of left me wanting to go in another direction."
Last weekend, White visited Delaware and met with head coach K.C. Keeler and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca.
"They have a winning program and I'll get the chance to play early in my career," White said. "I like their coaches a lot."
In nine games last season for Conestoga, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound White had 53 receptions for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns. A first-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania selection by The Inquirer, he also is a dangerous kick returner.
After Duke left the picture, other Division I-AA schools to show interest in White were Villanova and William & Mary.

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Link to the story: Philly.com

Link to Nihja White's Scout's.com Profile: Scouts.com

The Katz Jinx

We got a quick mention in Andy Katz's college hoops chat on ESPN earlier today. I always like to get some ink, but this was not because of anything we're doing well.

Here is the question & answer:

Hugh (Wilmington, DE): Andy, please never call Delaware your mid-major team of the week ever again. They're a missed Marc Egerson last-second miracle away from being 0-5 since you gave them the above award two and a half weeks ago.

SportsNation Andy Katz: I know. The Katz jinx is on.

Uh oh.

Here is the link to the full chat wrap (Insider content): Andy Katz Chat Wrap

Hens Hoops Struggling

This is officially a skid. The Hens have lost 4 of 5 and seemingly cannot find the bottom of the bucket. They have shot a percentage in the low 30s the last two games and from all accounts look like they've run out of steam. Considering we're only about half way through the conference schedule, this is not a good sign. Monte needs to settle these kids down and build up their confidence. We need to start making some shots and stop the bleeding at Hofstra this weekend. We need a W in that game real bad.

Here's the link to the game recap: UDel Recap
Photo Credit: The News Journal/William Bretzger