Anticipation of Stagg Bowl XXXIV

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So I’m at my real job on Sunday, on the sports copy desk at USA Today, sitting not far from a Wisconsin native. Another editor stops by his desk. The Wisconsin native asks the other if he saw that UW-Whitewater won and would be headed back to the Stagg Bowl.

Some people here know me as a Division III football geek/guru (you make the call), but in this case, I was like a fly on the wall, listening to two casual fans’ honest opinions about Division III football.

“You see who won?”
“No, who?”
“Wisconsin-Whitewater. They’re going back to the championship to play Mount Union.”
“Oh. Now they’ll get killed.”

Normally, I’d butt in there, as most of us expect a pretty tight rematch between the Warhawks and Purple Raiders. But for some reason I kept listening.

“You’ll never guess who scored three touchdowns?”
“Who?”
“Derek Stanley. The guy who used to be a running back at Wisconsin (Madison), and beat up his girl and got kicked off the team. He must’ve ended up at Whitewater.”

‘Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?’ I thought to myself. ‘I didn’t know that. I’m supposed to know stuff like that about D3. I’ve never heard anyone say a negative word about Derek Stanley. And Whitewater doesn’t really seem like it would need to build with transfers with questionable pasts. And he’s a receiver, not a running back. I’m so confused.”

So eventually I spoke up. And we determined that it was BOOKER Stanley who was convicted in July of beating and choking a woman in his off-campus apartment. The running back was kicked off the team this offseason by new UW coach Bret Bielema, and according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in April, inquired about enrolling and playing for Whitewater.

The Warhawks already had a Stanley, thank you very much (not to mention some running back that appears to be holding down the starting job). As far as I know, DEREK is a model citizen.

A journalist always gets his facts straight … eventually.

The moral of the story, kids, is: You might learn a lot more about Mount Union and UW-Whitewater this week than you ever thought you would. But don’t believe everything you hear, and always consider your source.

Definitely keep this in mind as you read fans’ chit-chat about Saturday’s national championship game. 🙂

Have at it everybody:

186 thoughts on “Anticipation of Stagg Bowl XXXIV”

  1. Back to labart96’s question: anyone know where to search for ratings on the Stagg Bowl broadcast overall, as well as during the d3football.com period? I’m inclined to believe they’re improving, given the late afternoon start on the game. Is that a good assumption?

  3. Thanks, Pat.

    This will be my adieu for the 2006 season.

    To Pat, Keith, Gordon, et al: Thank you so much for your dedication above and beyond the call in satisfying a thirst felt by thousands.

    To DIII fans everywhere: Enjoy the game this Saturday, and have a safe, blessed, and happy holiday season with family and friends. May your wishes be fulfilled.

    To Purple Crush: Peace, my friend. I will be attending at least one game in Belton in 2007, so perhaps we can meet and enjoy a Crusader win.

  4. Anybody know where RIGG0123 is? I have decal for his truck. Seems like he has gone under ground. Anyone who might help me find his Bronco, send along a note.

    Thanks.

  5. Booker Stanley was from Whitefish Bay (Milwaukee area). A good friend of mine (with whom I’ve sat with at a number of Badger games) always made a big ruckus when Booker carried the ball because she was also from Whitefish Bay.

    Derek is from Verona (Madison area). Bout an hour ‘n a half apart.

  6. kmic only played 11 games in 05 – 1254 yards. he’s got 2291 so far this season.

    here’s some crazy mount stats for you – since 1990, mount is 215-10. kehres, in 21 years, 245-20-3, 8 national championships.

    saturday should be a terrific game. if mount can get the lead early, UWW will get a serious dose of kmic. aganst SJF, he carried 25 of the 33 second-half plays.

    if UWW takes a lead of more than a TD at any time in the game, mount will have to throw more than kehres is apparently comfortable in doing this season. that would favor UWW to win.

  7. Wow, it’s something how the press or media people can get things WRONG and run with it Yes, I know it seems that UWW is the underdog in this contest, but by no means take them for granted. They have earn thier way to this championship game. They have played some tough football this year. Their “Quality of wins” was better than MU. It only takes a little negative publicity to get started and passed as truth, to cause people to judge and hate. I KNOW DEREK STANLEY BETTER THAN EVERYBODY, ALL HIS TWENTY-ONE YEAR OLD LIFE, as a matter of fact. To set the record straighter, He is not related to Booker. And has never been in trouble or has had a criminal record. And yes, HE IS A GOOD KID, RESPECTFUL, POLITE as well. He just happens to have a common last name. I believe Booker is a good kid too. Give him a break and pray for him. Don’t be sorry, BE CAREFUL.

  8. Keith,

    Thank you for speaking up and correcting that uninformed fellow on Derek Stanley. I’ve worked at UW-Whitewater for the past 10 years. I’ve known Derek since he came in as a freshman. Trust me, he’s no Booker. A real good guy, very likeable, humble and a tremendous athlete. It’s a fact that some people (in order to save face) will feel the need to make up stories about other teams or players after they get beat by them, rather than just accept the fact that the better team won. Last year after beating an unnamed team, I heard through the rumor mill that we only won because we let in all these black athletes. At that time we had 2 that started on the team. Hmmm..??

    I also listened to people tell me that Booker Stanley (among other D-I athletes) were coming to UWW. All I had to say was, really??? Wouldn’t they have to apply and get accepted first? Since I work in an area that would know, I thought I would have known. But who knows, maybe they know another way to get in. People just love feeling like they are passing on inside information (fact or fiction), I guess.

    With this said; I love this website! Generally, people who post on here have intelligent, thoughtful posts. Keith, the information you Pat and the others provide us with is invaluable. What if there was no D-III Football.com? What would we do? I for one would say that life for D-III football fans wouldn’t be quite as complete.

    This Saturday should be a great game! This year’s two best teams will have a showdown. What else could anyone ask for? Oh, yeah, a WARHAWK WIN! GO HAWKS!

  9. Uhh, roscoe, I think the point was they didn’t run with it. That’s why there are people called editors in this world and such. 🙂

  10. Maybe, this rumor was not printed or passed, never-the less, that’s how rumors start. Someone saids something, especially, negative stuff, and it’s off. Anyway, we have settled this particular discussion, so let’s just get ready for the game and enjoy the time in Salem. However the outcome, it will be fun.

  11. Yeah,
    it wouldn’t hurt Roscoe to cool out a bit. It was idle chatter from a guy who got two names mixed up. It was never in danger of being printed or anything.

    Also, nobody with a clue, least of all Mount Union, is calling UW-W a real underdog. Public opinion has this as the toss-uppiest toss-up I’ve seen in a Stagg Bowl.

    dcroak, Holiday Inn-Roanoke used to be the Wyndham, if I’m not mistaken. Just changed names recently. The Clarion next door was always the other team hotel, and Hotel Roanoke (aka Hotel Bavaria) is the coaches’ convention/media hotel. FWIW. (I can reveal such info because the crush of D3football.com groupies is quite managable)

    lg1970,
    wait … don’t bid us adieu until after Saturday’s webcast, and come back for the Year in Review!

    (wonders if he’s already out of earshot)

    For those giving D3football.com props, we very much appreciate it. Knowing it’s appreciated helps keep us going even when the travel stinks, the family wishes you were home, the money isn’t pouring in and the work on top of work drudges on into the late night.

  12. Slightly off topic from Salem, but has anybody else noticed how lopsided the poll is in favor of Kleppe? Not taking anything away from Brehm, but that’s a pretty big difference, even considering a lot more UWW fans visit than Alma fans I’m fairly sure. Just an observation 🙂

  13. Keith,

    Still within earshot. I only meant I won’t be adding my half-penny’s worth until next year. I will defintely be monitoring the d3football site ’til after the Year in Review.

  14. Kleppe doesnt get Gagliardi, what a joke. What percentage of the award is based on on field performance? As for game analysis Saturday. Whitewater has the championship swagger right now and MU is fading very very fast. Rotating QB’s is not winning formula, and will lead to MU’s demise this weekend. LK overcoache this team. Garson is window dressing this weekend. Kmic will not get a hundred against UWW’s front seven. Kleppe will be a beast since he was snubbed for award. Justin Jacobs exploits MUs suspect secondary this weekend. 35-10 Whitewater wins first ever stagg bowl.

  15. Well,
    all things considered about the Gagliardi, it’s really hard for folks who don’t follow D3 that closely to give a DT the same consideration they give a QB that piles up numbers. And even though it’s a pretty good committee of voters, not all of them watch D3 like we do.

    I was afraid that might happen.

    I was pretty high on Brehm even though he wasn’t my top choice. I think he’s going to be a very deserving winner once you find out what this guy is all about.

    I think Kleppe would take a Stagg Bowl ring over a Gagliardi anyday.

    Flush 🙄

  20. 3 P.M. for us Wisconsinites…

    It’s almost impossible to pick a favorite in this game…flipping a coin is even a coin flip

    If i was a betting man, i would put my money on the team in purple!

  22. WOW Flush….don’t go out on a limb there. I really thought the Warhawks would win the game last year. Thought they had more talent. Then proceeded to watch the Puple Raiders “get it done”.
    I picked MU by 7 in an earlier post for this years game but am having second thoughts. I don’t have a dog in this fight but I must admit I would like to see the Warhawks get one. If you are not a MU fan, how could you not pull for Coach B to be able to look up on the shelf at the championship trophy while playing with all those grandkids. 🙂

  23. dcroak – If Mount is staying in the Holiday Inn, then the hotel rule change discussed earlier must be true……We’ve stayed at the Wyndham forever!!!

  24. Just wanted to correct what Keith said earlier about the Holiday Inn-Roanoke having been the Wyndham hotel before. Just confirmed with 2 sources that it was the Clarion Hotel that changed it’s name to the Holiday Inn-Roanoke, not the Wyndham. The Wyndam Hotel remains the same. So if MUC is staying at the Holiday Inn-Roanoke and that use to be the Clarion, then the MUC team is at the same hotel as the UWW players stayed at last year and the UWW players are in a new hotel, the Holiday Inn-Tanglewood and no team is staying at the Wyndham. Wow, I am so confused!!!!! Hopefully, I got that right.

  25. Guess I will wade in on #3 and this may surprise a few people but I think a difference maker could be the UWW coaching staff. Don’t get me wrong, LK will never be out-coached but I think that our guys will come with a better game plan this year and the players have the talent and confidence to execute it. They have played against MUC 3 of the last 4 years and that familiarity has got to finally pay off in some form. Add to that, the fact of this being Brez’s final game and that could be the added motivation to carry UWW.

  26. Regarding the hotels, I thought it was interesting last year that the Wyndam (where MUC stayed), the Clarion (where UWW stayed) and the Courtyard (where fans of both teams stayed) were all within a couple of blocks of one another. This year, UWW is staying on the complete opposite side of town.

    And again, I do want to offer my apologies on the whole Booker / Derek Stanly matter. That is what I get for speaking off the top of my head based on a rumor without doing any research! And I have met Derek’s family as well and have no doubt that Derek is no Booker!!!

  29. They lack in that department. Not to mention they all close at 1:00. Your best bet is the hotel bars, the Wyndham has a nice one.

  33. Also, Warhawk fans, don’t forget about the get together at the marriott courtyard – roanoke airport friday night. Based on the posts on warhawkfootball.com there will be plenty of football fans there. MUC guys you are also welcome, we are all friendly people on friday night and we would be more than happy to see you and have a nice scholarly conversation.

  34. wjbtms,

    Good point about RIGG0123. I am sure many people have great ideas on what to put on the side of his Bronco.

    Also, a lot of people mention flipping a coin to pick a winner for the Stagg. That won’t work for this game because the coin would end up landing on its edge.

    If UW Whitewater wins this thing, someone on campus could make a mint selling bumper stickers, t-shirts, or whatever that say, “UWWinners”. If someone does it and ca$hes in, then please remember good ole SeanGOP.

  35. I really love when flush comes on here and decides that he/she is smarter than LK…and thats fine, you’re entitled to your opinion…nothing wrong with predictions as far as the score is concerned, because you just never know, you might be right..im not gonna rule it out completely…Im just curious as to how MU is “fading”…sure Garcon is still dealing with his injury, and it would be nice to see the offense be a little more explosive as in year’s past..but I dont see the blowout that you do…the D still has plenty of game on the MUC side as well…

  36. SeanGOP-
    What did I tell you about playing on the internet?

    wjbtms-
    My hats off to you and your school- a very competitive game.

    Now on to the real game- this is going to be a good one folks. The GREAT Larry K will be the difference!

  37. I will mention Awful Aurthur’s here as a possibility since both M&B and CB&Co have been mentioned.
    Of course, I don’t have their number or website handy but its 3 blocks east (I think that’s the right direction-maybe north) of Corned Beef

  38. rigg0123,

    Is that all you’ve got? Please. So, How does your white Bronco look?

    I hear rigg0123 is the “short” version of your screen name. I hear the original was “rigg0,1,2,3, uh 4, 5?, 9?”

    Just messing with you.

  39. Fading??? There was a lot of that trash talk goin on last year, and we all saw had that ended up. It’s going to be a great game, bottomline! Either team is capable and most deserving of being a national champion this year. With that said…….Go Raiders!!

  41. Kieth or Pat,
    I got a question that you might know the answer. I heard that the start of the game may be delayed by ESPN because of a basketball game on before it. When would the announce if it is delayed? and if it is, do you know if there is a way that those of us in the parking lot would find out if it is delayed so we can have a couple more brats and drinks (of Mountain Dew of course)? Thank you.

  42. U-Dub-Dub,

    Thanks for the heads up about the possible delay. I was going to set my DVD R to record the game. There is an unfortunate chance that I may not be able to see it live in the comfort of my living room (with a fridge full of soda, of course).

  43. Yeah, I have it recording, but as always with any sporting event I set the show after it to record also. In this case it is sportscenter, which I’m sure will highlight the game.

  44. Well,
    I think we had the floating start kick in during the MUC/Trinity year, and it was not that much of a difference. If a game runs long with a lot of time outs or free throws late, then the start goes back by a few minutes. If there’s overtime it could be an issue, but i really don’t think there’s any way you could get an announcement that would let you know to start your tapes later or tailgate longer.

    You can have ESPN on or you can listen to the D3football.com webcast (which somehow always seems to be available in the parking lot) and we’ll keep you up to date, but it’s not going to be more than a matter of minutes anyway.

    Unless there’s some other kind of delay that I’m completely unaware. And with how I’ve been finiding out things from Pat lately (stupid Connecticut!), that’s possible 🙂

  45. Best Sports Bar in Roanoke is the Sports Page. It’s about 5 minutes from downtown, and trust me……the best chicken wings in Virginia. Other good food too, but the wings are the best.

  46. Hey FLUSH (don’t tempt me)

    What championship swagger do you attain without a championship?

    Yea that two QB thing isn’t working either. At least according to the NCAA.
    Total Offense #1
    Rushing Offense #2
    Passing Offense #68 (so we run a little more)
    Scoring Offense #1
    Team Passing Efficiency #1 I think 2 QB’s have something to do with that.

    If Garcon is window dressing I’ll take a house full.

    The only way Kmic does not get 100 yds is because he gets 200 yds or he doesn’t play the whole game. Inside info you heard it here…Kmic is the real window dressing and he isn’t going to get the ball once the whole game. Bank on it and be sure to tell the Warhawks.
    With permission from the NWC & GHC (TM) phone it in.

    Suspect pass defense?
    Total defense #2
    Rushing defense #1
    Pass efficiency defense #8….WW #21 Exploit exploit.
    Scoring defense #2

    I know I know..Mount Union hasn’t seen a team like this yet?

    Never mind I can’t resist…….fluuuuuuuuuuuuuushhhhhhhh there you go.

    Enjoy the swirl.

    Coming to the game to support your team? I’ll buy you a beer. You’ll be thirsty after your trip.

  47. Thank you Kieth. Now I won’t have to change my pregame routine, except for the time change and the later game time.

  48. Mainjack,
    You know how I get (or maybe you don’t) when I see these superlatives:

    “the best chicken wings in Virginia”

    Really now? They beat all of Tidewater, Richmond, No. Va.?

    My guess would be Pierce’s Pit Bar-B-Q outside of Williamsburg, but I don’t think I’ve ever had wings there.

    Now back to your regularly scheduled commentary. 🙂

    Here’s a relevant question: Who’s gonna have the best wings in a parking lot in Salem, Virginia?

  49. D3Keith,
    Can’t tell you about the parking lot, but I can tell you this….if you go to the Sports page, you will experience the biggest and best chicken wings this side of the Mississippi. your choice of about 10 different sauces, accompanied by one large screen TV, and another 10-12 smaller TV’s. All with a different game going on. Check it out. it’s worth the time.
    I traveled all of Virginia for 5 years, been to tidewater, the beach, richmond, DC area, even williamsburg. Superbowl 2005, they sold over 1000 orders of their wings. try it……you’ll like it.

  50. Don’t forget Hooters, they have pretty good wings.
    And I don’t know about best wings in the parking lot, but we’re gonna be grilling some brats out there.

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