Celebrate Good Times, Come on!!!

Lionel Ritchie couldn't have said it any better. Last night was the MGN Gold Cocktail Party and for the first time in MANY years it was seasonally warm and didn't rain!! Hallelujah! With a little help from our friends - Rodney O'Neale, part owner of the Golden Bull Grand Cafe in Gaithersburg who supplied our food; our GA bartenders - Mike, David and Delbert; our server/helpers - Linda, Lauren, Mary, and Allison; my wonderful friend and coordinator of so many events - Debbie Bebee, we were able to enjoy a lovely time. Gold members mixed and mingled, had a chance to visit with Ralph, and just show their common affection for the Maryland football program. James Franklin and Lee and Stacey Hull dropped in along with Jemal and Carla Griffin and Mike and Gayle Lynn, our new MGN coordinator (Mike replaced Mike Mattia) and he has done a wonderful job maintaining the continuity of the program. We are so grateful for our loyal Gold members who have supported us through the years and for those new folks who have just joined. Enjoy the photos below. I wish I had gotten a photo of all who attended but the night really went by quickly. We are very appreciative of all our MGN members and want to make sure that they know that we could not do what we do without your support and that we will continue to strive for excellence each and every day!

We are looking forward to seeing many of you at the MGN GALA and AUCTION at the N. Bethesda Marriott on Saturday, May 16th at 5PM. Check out the website for more details and to see a list of items that are being offered. Get your friends together and buy a table! It's a night of great festivity starting with a cocktail hour silent auction reception, dinner, live auction, dancing, and open bar, not to mention watching Ralph on the dance floor....priceless!!!

Two Former Football Players Honored and Give Back!

Paying It Forward

Madieu Williams Hosted Free Youth Football Clinic & Adult Health Screening at Saturday’s Maryland Day

NFL standout and University of Maryland alumnus Madieu Williams hosted a youth football clinic and adult health screening as part of the annual Maryland Day celebration, held this past Saturday, April 25. Youth met at the School of Public Health Building and used the turf field at Comcast for the football event. Madieu, a graduate in Family Science, was honored as the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus from the School of Public Health.

For boys and girls ages 8-13, the event offered a chance to work their football skills, sportsmanship, and teamwork skills, all the while building their self-esteem. They also met Williams and other Terp Football players (Erin Henderson, Bruce Perry, JP Humber, Josh Allen). All participants received a t-shirt, water bottle and refreshments. Our sponsors included Chick-fil-A, Saval Foods, Vitamin Water, Under Armour, Health Solution Services, Dimensions Health Care, PG County Health Department, and STICC.

For adults, the event offered free blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, carbon monoxide, and oral cancer screenings. While pre-registration was required for the football clinic, the health screenings were open to all. Dr. Jaime Flores, one time Terp football captain, 2009 UMD Alumni Association Humanitarian award winner and KNES graduate was on hand with colleagues from JHU Medical and UMB Medical for consultations with doctors. Mr. Kevin Clair, the 2008 Distinguished Alum for SPH, donated the services of his company, Health Services Solutions, to perform the glucose and cholesterol screenings. Dr. Robert Ord and his colleagues from the UMB Dental School performed oral cancer screenings. Students from the Department of Public and Community Health under the tutelage of Dr. Sharon Desmond had posters on hand on a variety of health topics. The Prince Georges Health Department had tables of information to disseminate to our attendees. Dimensions Health and Prince Georges Hospital offered giveaways and information in addition to seminars on Medicaid and Diabetes, while STICC - Sexually Transmitted Infection Community Coalition had 2 sessions: How to Talk to your Kids about Sex and Straight Talk for Teens About Sex.

See photos at this link.

Pre-Spring Game Presser Synopsis-like Twitter

HI everyone,

Here's a long Twitter like blog about today's presser.

Sitting here at the presser for the Spring practice review. Ralph is speaking about the events around this weekend including the Letterman's picnic on Friday and the Saturday parents gathering and spring game. We hopefuly will have a big crowd, we've emailed Pop Warner teams , HS teams. Weather looks good.

We have had a very good spring - young team - but very impressed about the hard work put in by our kids. Lots of progress over the last 4 practices. Concerned about lines - inexperience - need to get stronger. Skill people look good. Defense is impressive. Corner play very good - 4 safeties, Skinner, Perez, McCullough, Tate. Wiseman and Hughes coming on. Lbers - Gloster has had a good spring. Moten and Hartsfield doing very well. 5 Freshman should help, Murray and Drakeford, red shirts are doing well. Offense - Cannon had a great scrimmage, making plays, good catches. Torrey Smith also doing well. Kevin Dorsey made a bunch of plays. Logan, McCree, Dorsey playing with confidence. Making plays tough catches. Robinson and Turner playing well. D. Scott, Meggett, Morgan, and Douglas doing well. Special teams - Baltz excels at punter - Wallace and Barbour - good field goal kickers, waiting on Ferrara. Tony Logan good as PR; Torrey top kickoff in conference and expect the same for this year.

Very good practice this AM, next one Thursday and hopefully finish with a good game on Saturday. Good experience to have game like situation with people in the stands.

Questions-
Dinich - notable changes in defense? - Don Brown good addition - his D is diferent from many that we play - plays different typrese of cover 2 - and PRESS MAN - not sure we could do that - now we challenge every throw. QBs have to throw very accurately and receivers have to go up and make plays. Will need to consider some ramifications for pre-season practices. Don great teacher - works well with Lempa and Seamonson and Sollazzo. Players and staff have responded very well about Brown.

Cavanaugh - Freshman usage? - can't count on freshman; red shirt freshman - need to get Campbell and Armstrong eligible and they should make a difference. OL is like fine wine, takes time. But there is a desire to do well. Dill, Pinegar and Gilbert improving. Key will be guard - Young neds to be further along, Lewis has responded, Gonella doing well, Hampton struggling but working hard. Phil Costa at Center and doing great, leadership extraordinary and Danny Edwards playing the best football since he arrived.

Stevens - AJ Francis - competitor, smart, keeps fighting, never quits - that tells me alot about an individual. Must work on production. Right now he is starting NG, but he may become an OL. Need to get the best players on the field - don't need good players sitting on the bench.

? - significance of R/W game overall? - Game is a simplified version - don't want to show alot. Value is to calm nerves - how do the young players react to playing in front of a crowd. Coaches will go through all mechanics of a game situation, not from Tyser, but the sideline. We need to evaluate players in a game like situation. Last week's scrimmage helped. This team has had more reps in spring than any other time. Need to correct mistakes. Has been a fun team to coach; confidence growing; they joke with me. Monday in weight room was the best this spring according to Deege. Working hard in drills but problem working in "team" - have to assimilate lots of info - now they are getting the whole picture and things are starting to happen.

DB - Kenny Tate run at corner? - We talked about it but not sure who goes in on safety. Kenny is a good blitzer - big body - can play as LBer, made 8 tackles last week and 11 week before, 2 INTs. He will be on the field alot.

Keith - Jamar as QB? - Saturday he has made progress and in today's practice more progress. With 2 QBs still was making some mistakes as a #2 QB - he did talk to me today picking up hots - today he got his hots. Last 2 practices good improvement.

DB - Bankins kickoff return schemes - Known for his KO returns, we did have a return by Torrey last week. Punt protection should stay the same. He will have some flexibility in KO.

Dinich - Torrey? - Needs to make more plays as a receiver. As a punt returner, he can run and he is fast. He is a remarkable kid. Good student, leader, hard worker, well respected - will be a very good football player and moreover successful in life.

Keith - Dion? - Can he finish - he's improving.

End of Presser

Meet Our Coaches Wives: Stacey Donovan

Name: Stacey S. Donovan

Years married: 4 yrs in May 2009

Names and ages of your children: John Patrick 3 in May, Cate is over 14 mos.

Occupation: Mom

Hobbies: Running

Favorite Restaurant: Zebra In Rehobeth Beach a place i venture to with my friends and family... it is a fun special treat! Good food, drinks and atmosphere!

How did you meet your husband?: There was a hurrican that struck the DC area (and surrounding areas) lots of power was out all over, so at the time i lived in DC we went to dinner and a bar...and John had done the same thing...we met in a bar during a hurricane!

Describe a typical game day.: Oh gosh...it all starts the whole week before with tickets and who is coming and what are we eating and drinking!
The day of...wake up full of nerves, with kids, get dressed...pack the coolers, everyone comes to help pack the car,,caravan over to UMD 3 hrs before game, unload kids, unload guests, set up tables, unload cars, set up tailgate. pack up tailgate 15 min before game, game time...Nervous, excited, anxious and busy with guests and little kids. Spend the day waiting for the end to breath a victory and then celebrate with all of the wives, coaches and fans who join us at the tailgates. At the end of a long day, pack it all up and start back over a couple days later!!!
What’s the best part about being a coach’s wife? 2 really big parts, One part is seeing how passionate, dedicated, obsessed my husband is about the game, the kids, the teaching, so many dimensions of the career. The Second part is the adrenaline and excitement that as wives we feel just mostly because we live it daily in our lives. We become just as attached and dedicated and very emotional about a game. But to us it's not always just a game, it is our life!

What’s the worst part? The hours they work, they miss many moments in their children's and wives life!

MGN has it going on!

So many events..., so little time!

Hope to see everyone at the Spring Update next Wednesday, April 22nd, at 6PM in the Gossett Team House.

Maryland Day on April 25th is the day of our Spring Game. Autograph seekers should be on hand at 12:30 on the mezzanine when players and coaches are available for signings. The game kicks off at 3:30PM.

May 1st marks the 9th year of the MGN Gold Cocktail Party at the Friedgen's. If you are a Gold member and did not receive an EVITE, please contact gsf@umd.edu.

Looking for an evening of great bargains, delicious food and drink, and dancing up a storm, as well as mixing with our football coaches and staff, then you need to come to the MGN Gala and Auction. Details can be found at this link.

The Ralph Friedgen Invitational will be held once again at the beautiful Woodmont Country Club in Rockville on June 1st. If you are interested in entering a foursome contact the football office at 301-314-9057.


Looks like a very busy Spring!! Wish it would stop raining!!

Oh What a Night!! Cooking with Colin and Gloria

At last year's Gala, Richard and Deb Olson bid on and won a great item. Learn to cook a meal with suggested wine pairings from a chef, Colin Potts, and a "housewife from Montgomery County", Gloria Friedgen! Deb and Rich arrived around 2:30PM and watched and worked while Colin and Gloria (mostly Colin) prepared a delicious gourmet meal. They took part in the preparation (hands on learning) while sharing food stories and more. Ralph arrived after practice. A short while later James Franklin and Don Brown joined the festivities. The food was great but the fellowship even greater.




You, too, could have this experience and other "Football Access" items ... You'll find them at the MGN Gala and Auction, Saturday, May 16th, 2009, at the N. Bethesda Marriott. Get a table together and enjoy a wonderful evening of great buys, food, drink, and dancing!

Meet our Coaches Wives: Fumi Franklin

Periodically we will post some Qs & As to help you get to know the wives of our coaching staff, or shall we say the women behind the men who support their husband's careers so unselfishly and to our benefit! The first in our series will be Offensive Coordinator, James Franklin's wife, Fumi.

Name: Fumi Franklin

Years married: 2 ½ years

Names and ages of your children: Ava (22 months), Addison (11 months)
Ava Addison

Occupation: Stay at home mom

Hobbies: Lets see, trying to get 8 hours of sleep in a row…thinking of new and creative ways to convince my oldest daughter that veggies are yummy! I can’t remember, my children are only 11 months apart!

Favorite Movie – A Few Good Men, Wedding Crashers, The Man from Snowy River

Favorite Restaurant: La Lomita Dos – I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this restaurant. The food is incredible.

How did you meet your husband? I met James when he was a GA at Washington State…but I think it’s important to mention that I didn’t pay him any attention because he still had a flat top and they had gone out of style AT LEAST 10 YEARS EARLIER! It wasn’t until several years later that we started dating.

Describe a typical game day. CHAOS! I have two very little girls that have a hard time making it through an entire game. Last year I would stay home until after they had taken their afternoon/morning nap (depending on game time) and we usually got to the game around halftime. We watched the games from James’ office because the stadium experience was just to overwhelming for the girls. Plus, my oldest likes to stand in the window and say HI to every-single-person that passes by.

What’s the best part about being a coach’s wife? My husband gets to do something that he’s excited about! We make a lot of sacrifices for James’ job but it feels worth it when I know he’s doing something he loves.

What’s the worst part? He spends a lot of time away from home. Between camp, the season, recruiting, conferences etc. there’s a chunk of the year that we don’t see him very much. My kids are usually in bed before he gets home, and they wake up after he is gone in the morning – so they REALLY miss him. My oldest will even carry his picture around ☹ During the season, the girls and I try to visit him at least a few times a week for lunch, but it just depends on everyone’s schedule.

Would you also include a favorite recipe? Oh my gosh, this questions feels really stressful because I AM NOT A COOK! I think it’s important to put that out there right away, but I am a tailgater…

7 Layer Dip
Layer #1
2 ½ cans of jalapeno bean dip
Layer #2
3 avocados (mashed)
2 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
Mix layer 2 together
Layer #3
8oz. sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
1 pkg. taco seasoning
Mix layer 3 together
Layer #4
2-3 medium tomatoes (chop into pieces)
1 bunch of green onions (chop)
1 small can of olives
Layer #5
2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese
**Layer in pan starting with Bean Dip and Serve with Chips**

Why are you a member of the MGN?

We are looking to spotlight our MGN members on our blog. If you would like to tell us why you are a member of the MGN please email your response to MGNFootball@gmail.com. Include a photo if you would like. We would love to hear from you!

Spring Practice 2009 Starts Today!

If you are up and about and on campus at 5:45AM today you will not be alone! Along with the ROTC gang that jogs in the AM you will hear the "click clack" of big feet jogging excitedly (may be an exaggeration) to the first day of Spring ball. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for the next 5 weeks our football team will be preparing for what we hope will be a very successful season. It will culminate on Saturday, April 25th, Maryland Day, with an autograph session from 12:30-1:30PM followed at 3:30PM with the Spring Game.
Meantime if you or anyone wishes to get up early and go the practice or attend Saturday "more reasonably timed practices", you MUST call the office at 301-314-9057 and leave your name. You will be asked to show a photo ID at the gate when you arrive at practice. As Ralph said at our Town Hall Meeting, he is happy to open practice to ALL, as long as folks keep what they see off the message boards, etc. We hope this will bring our fans "up close and personal" to our program once again. GO TERPS!

Ralph Extends his Appreciation to our MGN members past and present

Heartfelt thanks go out to our band of loyal supporters who have given their time, talent and treasure to the improvement of our football program. As Ralph has said in the past, the MGN is the life blood of our football program. So as we begin our 9th football season, we give thanks to one and all. We still have much work to do and hope that you can continue to help us attain the goals that we have set. If you have renewed your membership for this season already, THANK YOU. If not because you have been occupied with all our other great sport teams at UMD, then take a moment to do it online or call the office at 301-314-9057. If your circumstances are such that being an active member is a challenge now, we wish you well and hope that times improve and you can join us in the future. THANKS AGAIN to all of you!