MGN Invades Sonoma's Bar and Grille in Columbia

Over 200 people came to the MGN meet and greet where the entire football coaching staff gathered to mingle with fans. After an hour of socializing, Larry Grabenstein kicked things off by welcoming all in attendance. Coach Friedgen spoke next and stressed the importance of helping the football program by joining the MGN. Our strength, he said, is our numbers. We have over 150,000 living alumni in a one hour radius of the University. We need their help! Next up was Coach Don Brown, new defensive coordinator, who got the crowd excited about his pressing blitzing defense! We need more INTs and TOs for touchdowns and much effort is going into this goal. New Special Teams Coordinator, Charles Bankins, reminded us all that he coaches all the players on the team because all are involved in Special Teams! His desire is to give us great field position and score points on FGs, too! Coach Franklin in his 2nd year as Offensive Coordinator spoke about the comfort that our players feel in the second year of his system. We have some great offensive weapons in our receiving corps and backs. Chris Turner in his 4th year is the starting QB and has a confidence that should be a benefit this year. Jamarr Robinson is coming on strong as the number 2 guy.

Following the coaches talks and Q and A's, drawings were done for TERP stuff. We had about 30 winners. The fans that showed up had a great time and Sonoma's had some great deals on food and drink. We even had a Hokie fan, Ron Cote, JOIN the MGN!!! We picked up 10 new memberships and need many more.

If you missed this event we will be doing the same thing at Caddie's on Cordell in Bethesda, August 6th! Hope to see you there!!!

The Way They Were....

On August 10th, 2005, the TERPS had just reported for camp and it was Media Day. As I had done each year before, I took photos of the incoming freshman players so that I could learn their names. Thought you might like to see who is still with us. Some have graduated from that class, some have left, but I am looking forward to a great 2009 season.

2009 ACC Football Kickoff

Entering his 9th season, Coach Ralph Friedgen along with Chris Turner and Nolan Carroll represented the Terps at the annual ACC Football Kickoff. Players and coaches arrived Sunday at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, NC, the location of the home office for the ACC. Nolan and Chris handled media questions on Sunday and posed for lots of photos and autographs. Monday Chris and Coach Friedgen participated in the Skeeter Davis Golf Tournament (Ralph finished in 3rd place!!) while Nolan took some golf lessons by the pros at Grandover. The afternoon was filled with media interviews of all the coaches. The official ACC page for this event can be found at this link.

Meet Our Staff Wives: Carla Griffin

Name

Carla Griffin

Years married: 2-years

Names and ages of your children: Brandon Griffin 12, Joshua
Griffin, 1

Occupation: Regulatory
Submissions Publisher

Hobbies: Singing,
Theater, Tennis, and Scrabble

Favorite Movie: Usual
Suspects

Favorite Restaurant: Linwoods,
Owings Mills MD

How did you meet your husband? We were both teachers at Woodlawn
High School. Jemal passed me notes in the hall.

Describe a typical game day. While Jemal has left a day
or two earlier, the boys and I need to be up and ready by 7:30am Saturday
morning to travel and weigh in for Brandon’s Olney Rec football game.
BJ plays and then we’re off and rushing to College Park. Hopefully,
we are able to grab a bite to eat, because by then pre-game tailgating
is over. So for us, its football all day and we enjoy it. Whew, wait
until Joshua can play. Go Terps!

What’s the best part about being
a coach’s wife? Knowing
that my husband is living his dream.

What’s the worst part? The time Jemal spends away
from home.

Would you also include a favorite recipe?

White Bean Chicken
Chile

1 tablespoon vegetable
oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (4 ounce) can diced
jalapeno peppers

1 (4 ounce) can chopped
green chile peppers

2 teaspoons ground
cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cayenne
pepper

2 (14.5 ounce) cans
chicken broth

3 cups chopped cooked
chicken breast

3 (15 ounce) cans white
beans

1 cup shredded Monterey
Jack cheese

Directions

Heat the oil in a large
saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until
tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano
and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about
3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer
15 minutes, stirring occasionally

Remove the mixture
from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Serve warm.

I serve over rice or
with tortilla chips. It’s a great tailgating dish.

Winter Workout/Spring Practice WINNERS!

The winter workout/spring practice intrasquad competition culminated in a dinner at the Friedgens' home on July 14th. Remember that the squad is broken down into teams, headed up by senior captains, who "draft" their fellow teammates. Captain Nolan Carroll's team won by doing what there were supposed to do and more, on and off the field. Congratulations! Members of Nolan's team included Lamar Young, Quinton McCree, Antoine Perez, Hakeem Sule, Andrew Gonnella, Herb Law, Michael Carter, Ben Pooler, and winner from last year, Trenton Hughes! The boys opened with chicken wings (a big hit), shrimp, and chips and salsa. Ralph grilled filet mignon, NY strip steaks, and chicken breasts; we enjoyed pulled pork and sides of haricot verts, southern style baked beans, and diner rolls. Dessert was blondies with ice cream and add what you wanted from chocolate chips, whipped cream, nuts, and chocolate syrup. Boy could these guys put some food away!! There was good dinner time conversation in a relaxed atmosphere. Ralph had a chance to tell some stories and that's always fun. Our sous chef was MGN Board member, Debbie Bebee, who also handled clean up - thanks, Deb!
After dinner there was a group that satisfied Gloria's thirst for ROCK BAND - Herb Law is on fire on the drums, and Trenton Hughes is quite a ham on the vocals - just like Gloria!

Check out the photos!!

Football Is Just Around the Corner! Check out these Events!

We are delighted to do two football kickoff events in the community. One at Sonoma's Bar and Grill and one at Caddie's! It's a mix and mingle event and we hope to see many MGN members and folks that might like to become members! GO TERPS!!

Ralph Friedgen Invitational Golf Outing 2009

It was a great day - low humidity, comfortable temperature, wonderful food and drink, great people, cigars on the terrace, and golf. What could be better!!! David Dorn, Josh Trembley and the entire staff at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland put on a great event. Special thanks to our special guest, Scott Van Pelt, of ESPN, and great supporter of our program. We were also joined by Mark Bryan, Maryland native of Hootie and the Blowfish, and Doc Walker, former Redskin. Coaches who played were Don Brown, Johnny Donovan, and Al Seamonson; on hand to meet and greet were Tom Brattan, David Sollazzo, Lee Hull, and Charles Bankins. Phil Costa, starting OL for 2009, took part from our current team. Former players in attendance were Kevin Glover, Bruce Perry, Stan Gelbaugh, Jordan Steffy, Sam Hollenbach, Nick Novak, Scott McBrien, Delbert Cowsette, Darryl Hill, Justin Duffie, Todd Wike, Greg Harraka, Brad Schell, and Aaron Thompson. James Franklin ran the "Football Throw" event, coaching up the golfers. The object was to throw for distance - and then your team could tee from there.

Awards went to:
Longest Throw: interesting outcome - Jay Walker, former NFL QB had the longest throw, but we also awarded this distinction to the best civilians, male and female - Casey Connor and Lisa Splaine
Longest Drive: Walker Jones who turned around and gave his award to Bruce Perry in honor of his work at Walter Reed. Under Armour will also be sponsoring a program called the Wounded Warrior - stay tuned for more info.
Closest to the Pin: Kathy Waters
Sponsor Team with the Highest Score - Good in Football, not in Golf: Ed Woods - TerpSys Team
Flight 1 Winners: Pat Caulfield - Coakley Williams
Flight 2 Winners: Greg Harraka - Coakley Williams
Flight 3 Winners: Under Armour Team

Interesting to note that each winning team had a former UM QB - Scott McBrien, Stan Gelbaugh, and Sam Hollenbach!!

Special thanks to our sponsors:

Presenting Sponsor: Barry Gossett and Acton Mobile

Gold Sponsor: Ed Woods and Terpsys

Gold Sponsor: Patrick Caulfield and Coakley Williams Construction

Bronze Sponsor: Rohit Kishore and Sila SG

Bronze Sponsor: John Brophy and ACS

Bronze Sponsor: Carole Harris

Gifts sponsor: Kevin Plank - Under Armour

Hole in One Sponsor: Marquis Jets

In Kind Sponsor: Nick Cibel of Nick’s Riverside Grill

Hole Sponsor: David Lee of LMN Solutions

MGN Gala and Auction

On Saturday, May 16th, the N. Bethesda Marriott was the beautiful venue for the MGN Gala and Auction. Those in attendance enjoyed an opportunity to obtain great bargains on various gift certificates, football access and memorabilia and various other great merchandise. It was also a chance to relax and enjoy a night of dining and dancing. We are grateful to our wonderful sponsors, without whose support we would could not offer such grand opportunities for all our football family!



Our sponsors:
Barry Gossett and Acton Mobile
Pat Caulfield and Coakley Williams
John Alahouzas and MDG
Lawrence Grabenstein and Raymond James Financial
Tom McCausland
Rick Jaklitsch and Debbie Potter and the Jaklitsch Group
Joe Katz and Auntie Anne's Pretzel Perfect
Jeff Herndon and JTP Printing
Paul Intlekofer and Medifast
Tiffany and Co.
Maryland Book Exchange
Men's Wearhouse

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.