Thursday, June 11, 2015

2015-16 Bowl Schedule Released

The 2015-16 Bowl Schedule has been released to the general public.  This year's lineup of postseason competition features 41 games, including two new bowl games along with the College Football Playoff National Championship game.  The two new games are as follows:  The AutoNation Cure Bowl, which will feature teams from the American Athletic Conference and the Sun Belt, and a game unofficially referred to as the "Arizona Bowl," which will include teams from Conference-USA and the Mountain West.  As for the College Football Playoff, this season's semifinal games will be the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and the Capital One Orange Bowl.  Both games will be played on New Years Eve, while the College Football Playoff Championship game will be held on January 11th at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.  The current postseason schedule can be found below.  

Source:  fbschedules.com

2015-2016 POSTSEASON COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL AND CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE


Bowl Location Date/Time TV
AutoNation Cure Bowl
American vs. Sun Belt
Citrus Bowl Stadium
Orlando, FL
Sat., Dec. 19
12:00 pm ET
CBSSN
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
C-USA vs. MWC
University Stadium
Albuquerque, NM
Sat., Dec. 19
2:00 pm ET
ESPN
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
MWC or BYU vs. Pac-12
Sam Boyd Stadium
Las Vegas, NV
Sat., Dec. 19
3:30 pm ET
ABC
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Cramton Bowl
Montgomery, AL
Sat., Dec. 19
5:30 pm ET
ESPN
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
C-USA vs. Sun Belt
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, LA
Sat., Dec. 19
9:00 pm ET
ESPN
Miami Beach Bowl
C-USA vs. The American
Marlins Park
Miami, FL
Mon., Dec. 21
2:30 pm ET
ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
MAC vs. MWC
Bronco Stadium
Boise, ID
Tue., Dec. 22
3:30 pm ET
ESPN
Boca Raton Bowl
MAC vs. American
FAU Stadium
Boca Raton, FL
Tue., Dec. 22
7:00 pm ET
ESPN
San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl
MWC vs. Army
Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, CA
Wed., Dec. 23
4:30 pm ET
ESPN
GoDaddy Bowl
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Ladd-Peebles Stadium
Mobile, AL
Wed., Dec. 23
8:00 pm ET
ESPN
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
C-USA vs. MAC
Thomas Robinson Stadium
Nassau, Bahamas
Thu., Dec. 24
12:00 pm ET
ESPN
Hawai'i Bowl
American vs. MWC or BYU
Aloha Stadium
Honolulu, HI
Thu., Dec. 24
8:00 pm ET
ESPN
St. Petersburg Bowl
American vs. C-USA
Tropicana Field
St. Petersburg, FL
Sat., Dec. 26
11:00 am ET
ESPN
Hyundai Sun Bowl
ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12
Sun Bowl Stadium
El Paso, TX
Sat., Dec. 26
2:00 pm ET
CBS
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl
Big 12 vs. C-USA
Cotton Bowl Stadium
Dallas, TX
Sat., Dec. 26
2:20 pm ET
ESPN
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten
Yankee Stadium
Bronx, NY
Sat., Dec. 26
3:30 pm ET
ABC
Independence Bowl
ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC
Independence Stadium
Shreveport, LA
Sat., Dec. 26
5:45 pm ET
ESPN
Foster Farms Bowl
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Levi's Stadium
Santa Clara, CA
Sat., Dec. 26
9:15 pm ET
ESPN
Military Bowl
ACC/Notre Dame vs. American
Navy-Marine Corps. Stadium
Annapolis, MD
Mon., Dec. 28
2:30 pm ET
ESPN
Quick Lane Bowl
ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten
Ford Field
Detroit, MI
Mon., Dec. 28
5:00pm ET
ESPN2
Arizona Bowl
C-USA vs. MWC
Arizona Stadium
Tucson, AZ
Tue., Dec. 29
(tentative)
CBSSN
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Big Ten vs. MWC
Amon G. Carter Stadium
Fort Worth, TX
Tue., Dec. 29
2:00 pm ET
ESPN
Russell Athletic Bowl
ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12
Florida Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL
Tue., Dec. 29
5:30 pm ET
ESPN
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl
Big 12 vs. SEC
NRG Stadium
Houston, TX
Tue., Dec 29
9:00 pm ET
ESPN
Birmingham Bowl
SEC vs. American
Legion Field
Birmingham, AL
Wed., Dec. 30
12:00 pm ET
ESPN
Belk Bowl
SEC vs. ACC/Notre Dame
Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, NC
Wed., Dec. 30
3:30 pm ET
ESPN
Franklin Amer. Mort. Music City Bowl
SEC vs. ACC/ND or Big Ten
LP Field
Nashville, TN
Wed., Dec. 30
7:00 pm ET
ESPN
National University Holiday Bowl
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, CA
Wed., Dec. 30
10:30 pm ET
ESPN
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
At-Large vs. At-Large (NY6)
Georgia Dome
Atlanta, GA
Thu., Dec. 31
12:00 pm ET
ESPN
Goodyear Cotton Bowl
Playoff Semifinal Game
AT&T Stadium
Arlington, TX
Thu., Dec. 31
4 or 8 pm ET
ESPN
Capital One Orange Bowl
Playoff Semifinal Game
Sun Life Stadium
Miami Gardens, FL
Thu., Dec. 31
4 or 8 pm ET
ESPN
Outback Bowl
Big Ten vs. SEC
Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, FL
Fri., Jan. 1
12:00 pm ET
ESPN2
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
Big Ten vs. SEC
Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium
Orlando, FL
Fri., Jan. 1
1:00 pm ET
ABC
Fiesta Bowl
At-Large vs. At-Large (NY6)
U. of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, AZ
Fri., Jan. 1
1:00 pm ET
ESPN
Rose Bowl Game
Big Ten vs. Pac-12 (NY6)
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA
Fri., Jan. 1
5:00 pm ET
ESPN
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Big 12 vs. SEC (NY6)
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, LA
Fri., Jan. 1
8:30 pm ET
ESPN
TaxSlayer Bowl
ACC/ND or Big Ten vs. SEC
EverBank Field
Jacksonville, FL
Sat., Jan. 2
12:00 pm ET
ESPN
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Big 12 vs. SEC
Liberty Bowl
Memphis, TN
Sat., Jan. 2
3:20 pm ET
ESPN
Valero Alamo Bowl
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Alamodome
San Antonio, TX
Sat., Jan 2
6:45 pm ET
ESPN
Cactus Bowl
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Chase Field
Phoenix, AZ
Sat., Jan. 2
10:15 pm ET
ESPN
CFP National Championship
Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner
U. of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, AZ
Mon., Jan. 11
8:30 pm ET
ESPN




Sunday, June 7, 2015

AMERICAN PHAROAH WINS TRIPLE CROWN

Hello everybody!  It has been a long time since my last post, and I am happy to be back for an update, even if it is a little late.  But yesterday was a very special day in the history of sports.  On June 6, 2015, American Pharoah became the first horse in over 37 years to win the Triple Crown of U.S. Thoroughbred racing.  In order to accomplish this difficult task, a horse must win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.  The last horse to win this prize was Affirmed back in 1978.  Up until this year, only eleven horses (Sir Barton - 1919, Gallant Fox - 1930, Omaha - 1935, War Admiral - 1937, Whirlaway - 1941, Count Fleet - 1943, Assault - 1946, Citation - 1948, Secretariat - 1973, Seattle Slew - 1977, Affirmed - 1978) had won the Triple Crown.  As of yesterday, there are now twelve.  Congratulations to American Pharoah and its connections, including owner Ahmed Zayat, Trainer Bob Baffert, and Jockey Victor Espinoza.  For trainer Bob Baffert, American Pharoah was his fourth attempt to win the Triple Crown.  His last three tries (Silver Charm - 1997, Real Quiet - 1998, and War Emblem - 2002) won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to win the Belmont Stakes.  Interestingly, War Emblem was also jockey Victor Espinoza's first attempt at a Triple Crown.  Espinoza had another try for a Triple Crown last year with California Chrome, but that horse finished fourth the Belmont Stakes.  With yesterday's victory in the Belmont Stakes, Victor Espinoza is the oldest jockey (age 43) as well as the first Hispanic jockey to win the Triple Crown.

American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes by five-and-a-half lengths.  It is the third-largest margin of victory in that race for a Triple Crown winner.  Secretariat had the largest margin, 31.5 lengths, while Count Fleet back in 1943 won the Belmont by 25 lengths.  American Pharoah's final time for the 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes is 2 minutes 26.65 seconds.  By comparison, Secretariat's final time, and the current record for that distance, is 2 minutes 24 seconds.  An incredible horse.  As for American Pharoah's future, trainer Bob Baffert plans to run him the Breeders Cup Classic at Keeneland in October.  Other stops for American Pharoah this summer may include the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park and the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. 

Courtesy of Youtube, the Howell Report is pleased to provide video replays of all three 2015 Triple Crown Races. Telecasts were provided by NBC Sports and The New York Racing Association.

Kentucky Derby:



Preakness Stakes:



Belmont Stakes: