Navy Team

ANNAPOLIS -- As Roger Staubach stood at his side, Adm. Thomas Lynch, the superintendent at the Naval Academy, was asked to describe perhaps the best player to ever wear a Navy uniform."

For Steven Rhodes, any game is a big game. After all, the Middle Tennessee defensive end came close to sitting out the entire season. This one, though, beats them all. A matchup with Navy on Monday in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth makes the former Marine sergeant's eyes open wide with anticipation. "It's a privilege and an honor to play in the Armed Forces Bowl, especially playing against the Navy," Rhodes said at Burleson Centennial High School, where his team is practicing.

Aberdeen Proving Ground's "Super Pond" has been closed indefinitely while investigations continue into the deaths of three divers in the underwater explosion test facility in the past month, the Army announced Friday. Col. Gordon A. Graham, commander of the proving ground's test center, ordered the shutdown Tuesday, the day two Navy divers died while in the man-made impoundment. Graham had ordered a "safety stand down" after a diver's death Jan. 30, but the Navy dive operation went ahead because it had already been scheduled, according to a proving ground news release.

When Navy junior Obi Uzoma finishes a drill for the outside linebackers, he has a vested interest in watching the rest of the position's players go through, and it has nothing to do with protecting his turf as the primary backup to starter Jordan Drake. Uzoma's intrigue stems from the presence of his younger brother, freshman Nnamdi Uzoma. The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Obi Uzoma said he and his younger brother compare notes "after every game, after every major scrimmage, after every practice.

Between errant shots, shaky decisions or a growing sense of uneasiness, No. 13 Johns Hopkins appeared vulnerable to yet another late-season loss to Navy on Saturday. Then the second half arrived. The Blue Jays scored 11 straight goals to close the game, routing the Midshipmen, 15-4, before 3,646 at Homewood Field. Mike Poppleton won 15 of 17 faceoffs, Brandon Benn scored five goals and John Kaestner added three goals and three assists for Hopkins (8-4), which lost to Navy in two of the previous three years.

For Steven Rhodes, any game is a big game. After all, the Middle Tennessee defensive end came close to sitting out the entire season. This one, though, beats them all. A matchup with Navy on Monday in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth makes the former Marine sergeant's eyes open wide with anticipation. "It's a privilege and an honor to play in the Armed Forces Bowl, especially playing against the Navy," Rhodes said at Burleson Centennial High School, where his team is practicing.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For Navy, today's game against 10th-ranked Notre Dame is a matter of getting out healthy so it can attempt to salvage its season in its four final games, against Tulane, Vanderbilt, Rice and Army.For Notre Dame, the game will be a tuneup for a final stretch against Boston College, Penn State, Southern California and a possible appearance in a major bowl game.That Navy (0-6, the only winless team in Division I-A) is given no chance against Notre Dame (5-1-1) was clear in the questions fielded by Fighting Irish coach Lou Holtz during a series of teleconferences this week.

Navy's basketball team has been clearly on the rebound since launching the season with three straight losses, but last night it hit a record-setting gait in that department. The Midshipmen shattered the school record with 71 rebounds, an amazing 37 of them off the offensive boards, and had little trouble routing Liberty, 79-53, at Alumni Hall for their ninth victory in the last 10 games. Liberty, which had beaten both Richmond and Virginia Tech on the road, simply couldn't cope with Navy's superior size, desire and hustle and was never really in the game.

They were bigger and stronger inside, had better athletes than the current Navy team and, after their first NCAA tournament, were expected to win . . . often.The last midshipmen to represent the academy in postseason play were anchored by David Robinson. From 1985 to 1987, Navy made the NCAA tournament every season, creating some big waves in 1986, when Robinson, forward Vernon Butler and point guard Doug Wojcik led the team into the final eight before it was eliminated by Duke in the East Regional final.

The opportunity for a rousing comeback is there for Navy's football team tomorrow as it plays host to Southern Methodist at 1:30 p.m.That fumbling, sleep-walking comedy of errors committed by the Mids last week at Vanderbilt, which frustrated and embarrassed everyone, was not the true Navy team.Coach George Chaump described the game as a "once-in-a-lifetime experience" and admonished everyone to "keep our mouths shut, grit our teeth and wait for another day.""Another day" will arrive tomorrow and with the dedication and spirit displayed all week on the practice field, the Mustangs from Dallas will see a Navy team eager to improve on last week's performance.

Oct. 28, 2006: Delaware's Joe Flacco passes for four touchdowns, but Towson's Sean Schaefer throws for five as the visiting Tigers (6-2) upend the Blue Hens, 49-35. Nov. 2, 1982: Oakland Mills' girls soccer team ends rival Wilde Lake's 58-game winning streak, 3-1. Theresa O'Donnell scores twice in the hard-fought contest in which six players are injured. Oct. 28, 1978: John Manns, 16, a junior at Mergenthaler, becomes the first Maryland high school football player to die from injuries received during a game.

As season openers go, a road game at Indiana on Saturday doesn't seem as daunting for Navy as going to Dublin, Ireland, to play Notre Dame last year. It might be just as tough, however, given Navy's problems against the Hoosiers for more than a half last season in Annapolis, as well as what Indiana did against Indiana State last week. A year after surviving a 31-30 shootout at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Navy (0-0) will face much-improved Indiana (1-0) in Bloomington, Ind., at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Wave Ryder first gained national attention last November when Navy's junior safety was part of an answer on "Jeopardy. " The category was "Great College Football Names. " The answer - "Perhaps the most appropriate name ever, Wave Ryder, of this service academy. " Ryder said he heard about Alex Trebek mentioning his name on television from a friend who was watching the show "and was shocked as much as everyone else. " It wasn't that big a surprise when the same answer popped up again on another "Jeopardy" competition this summer.

Working in naval intelligence seems a perfect fit for Jasmine DePompeo's first assignment when she graduates later this month from the Naval Academy. For years, she's seen things on the lacrosse field that others don't pick up on. The playmaker for the No. 11 Midshipmen, DePompeo excels at setting up her teammates from behind the crease. As the attacker watches a play develop, her mind flips through a handful of options as she looks for an opening to whip a quick pass through. If it's there, she'll find it. DePompeo set a Patriot League single-season record with 65 assists this spring.

Between errant shots, shaky decisions or a growing sense of uneasiness, No. 13 Johns Hopkins appeared vulnerable to yet another late-season loss to Navy on Saturday. Then the second half arrived. The Blue Jays scored 11 straight goals to close the game, routing the Midshipmen, 15-4, before 3,646 at Homewood Field. Mike Poppleton won 15 of 17 faceoffs, Brandon Benn scored five goals and John Kaestner added three goals and three assists for Hopkins (8-4), which lost to Navy in two of the previous three years.

Sixty-six runners dashed, jogged and walked through the streets of Annapolis on Saturday to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and raised money for one of the hospitals that treated their wounds. "When I saw what happened in Boston, I knew we had to do something, and we had to run," said Caitlin Chapman, who organized the race and got quick permission from an Annapolis official to stage the start and finish at City Dock. "It could have been any of us running in that race in Boston," Chapman said, "and it could have been our family members who were standing there watching us finish.

ANNAPOLIS -- It has been said for years that the regular season is meaningless as long as Navy beats Army in football, but don't try to sell that to members of this year's Navy team -- especially fullback Brad Stramanak."

Sunday's 24th annual showdown between St. John's College and the U.S. Naval Academy is of the most collegial and civilized kind - a croquet match - but that doesn't mean the stakes aren't high. The Navy team won narrowly last year in an upset, 3-2, since traditionally the Johnnies triumph on their own turf - the games are always played on the three-century-old campus, which has a serene lawn facing College Avenue. The so-called imperial wicket, or captain, of the St. John's College team, Matt Mangold, says that's not likely to happen again.

After a two-year hiatus, the Navy football team was back at the White House on Friday to accept the Commander in Chief's trophy from President Obama in a ceremony held in the East Room. The Midshipmen had won the trophy - which is presented to the winner of the series among the three service academies - seven consecutive times beginning in 2003, but that record streak ended when Air Force claimed it in 2010 and 2011. Navy has won the trophy 13 times in all. "This never gets old," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said.

President Barack Obama awarded Navy's football team with the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy on Thursday afternoon in the East Room at the White House. Here are the president's remarks: Hello, everybody.  (Applause.)  Hello.  Please, everybody have a seat.  Well, good afternoon.  Welcome to the White House.  I want to start by recognizing Coach Ken Niumatalolo, my fellow Hawaiian, for being here once again -- where is he?  There he is right here.  (Laughter.)  Hard to miss him.  Give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)