Let go!
1. No Hat For Old Men (NY Times)
Forget about “Gilligan’s Island” and the Kangol caps of the ’90s: The bucket hat has dethroned the fedora as the chapeau du jour. Spotted these days on megastars including Pharrell and Justin Bieber, the floppy topper has also showed up on fashion runways, most notably Prada and Lacoste.
The Times lists seven hats, ranging in price from the $38 Carhartt Watch Bucket (an abomination of the genre) to the $615 Louis Vuitton Bucket Hat.
2. Giants practice report, 8/1 (Big Blue View)
If you’re not old enough to remember the glory days of the “Big Blue Wrecking Crew” — the nickname given to the Giants linebackers of the 1980s, you might just be in for a nice treat this year if this current group of Giants linebackers continues on the path they’ve started since the spring.
I don’t know if I’d classify this as more than a rumor right now, but the Giants’ defense supposedly looks real good--at least right now. The O-Line is slowly improving, but as of this writing, the defense appears to be ahead of the offense, at least down in the trenches.
John Mara wasn’t ready to promise a contract for Odell Beckham Jr. before the start of the regular season, though that’s the goal https://t.co/FLV2VBOYHp— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 2, 2018
3. Daughtry: In the Air Tonight
Heard the original on Pandora this week, wondered if there was a more guitar-based version out there, and found this. Say what you will about the Internet, some things about it are still great.
4. Army Football Roster Update (Army Football Insider)
Army recently updated its roster with numbers for its freshman class.
I don’t typically talk about recruits until after they finish Beast Barracks, but these guys only have about a week left. With that, I think we’ve shaken out all the quitters. My thoughts are as follows:
-- Army Football has 76 new plebes. That’s not the largest haul we’ve seen in the Monken era, but it’s a healthy number. Right around Monken’s average, I think.
-- The class is physically big, especially when we look at potential pass catchers and/or blockers on the outside. I first noticed it when TE Chris Cameron got recruited. I was like, “Wow. That kid is really tall for an Army tight end.” Cameron is 6’4”, 205. By comparison, TE Bryton Belvin is 6’7”, 230. Holy smokes! At wide receiver, Michael Roberts, Cameron Johnson, Sean Eckert, Daniel Zuloaga, and Jalen Moy all stand 6’3” or 6’4”. This was obviously not an accident.
I have no idea if any of these kids can catch, but I expect that several of them will lay down the law on opposing defensive backs for years to come.
-- Former USMAPS backup QB Tyler Tyhier appears to have moved to slotback. This was probably inevitable given that Tyhier stands all of 5’8”, 153, but it still makes me sad because I’ve followed him on Twitter for years now, and I know that he was hoping to play quarterback. He is a terrific player, but he just doesn’t quite have the build, unfortunately, and no one can change that. Honestly, the writing’s been on the wall since last year when he had trouble cracking the starting lineup at the Prep School.
As I’ve written before, the Academy tests folks in different ways. We’re all strong at one thing and not as good at something else. That’s kind of the point. This, I expect, is an early test for a guy I’ve been rooting for. I hope he overcomes it and gets to contribute.
-- Army has two punters in the new class, and they’re both either 6’4” or 6’5”. That shit is insane. Here’s hoping for a fake punt in which Army’s punter trucks an opposing safety straight-up. Good God, that’ll make Sports Center for sure.
-- I thought we had a player from Connecticut in the new class, but I don’t see him listed. Alas.
Most of the individual position battles are gonna take more than a couple of weeks to shake out, but as beat writer Sal Interdonato noted recently, a few of the new wide receivers might actually contribute pretty soon. For the rest, well, barring blowout wins at home against Liberty or Hawaii or maybe on the road at San Jose State, we might not see some of these guys until the games against Lafayette or Colgate. I expect those two games will get pretty deep into the depth chart, though, especially as the team is looking to get healthy for Army-Navy.
Interdonato has the complete roster on his Army Football Insider blog, so if you want to see every recruit listed alongside his new number, check it out. Also: Coach Andy Wolfrum, head football coach at the Prep School, has finally started posting some highlights of the new class from last year. He’s got two as of this writing, but it looks like more are coming.
The future of the Brotherhood starts camp soon! Here's some of the ground game highlights of guys that are about to start their first season at Michie Stadium...you'll want your sound on.....#Beatnavy pic.twitter.com/Ks4Vn1mJ8W— Coach Andy Wolfrum (@andywolfrum) August 1, 2018
Air attack highlights from last season - looking for big things from this group starting tomorrow! #Beatnavy pic.twitter.com/wPfkieB4PC— Coach Andy Wolfrum (@andywolfrum) August 1, 2018
No idea why the Prep School is still using the old “Speed A” logo, but I suppose it prevents a certain amount of confusion with the actual Academy team.
5. Last Chance: Swim Across the Sound
The Swim Across the Sound is tomorrow! If you haven’t yet donated to the cause, this is your very last chance. Go donate. Do it NOW.
Folks, we’re up to almost $10K, and that is outstanding. Thank you so much for your support. I am incredibly grateful for all that you’ve done. We really are going to #BeatCancer tomorrow.
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That's all I've got. But we'll be back next week... unless I get eaten by a shark, anyway.
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