Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas is THE place to be for gadgets, giveaways, extravagant booths, booth maidens, networking and crazy parties — a techie Mecca.  No doubt,  I am stoked about taking the Ping road show back this year …

But it ain’t my first ro-D-yo.  Ha … at my first CES, electronics manufacturers were just unveiling the Sony Walkman and various knockoffs.

Years later, at one of my more memorable CES visits, let’s just say “a computer giant” launched a VIP party with truckloads of food, a seemingly endless open bar and the NEVILLE BROTHERS!

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Ha … I was doing my part to further the cause of twitters everywhere — commenting on the AT&T Cotton Bowl … but they shut me down on Twitter.  Too many tweets.  Hopefully I will be back on soon.

If I were still tweeting … I would say kudos to the Rebs … and oh my … would someone for Tech quit dropping perfectly thrown passes from Harrell.

Internet is today’s radio!

What I mean … years ago I worked for an Album Oriented Rock station in a cowboy oriented town … long story … but anyway, I always enjoyed working those radio remotes.  The deejay would do live breakaways from Pink Floyd or whatever, and we would give stuff away on location.  And we would do wild stuff on the air, trying to create good “theater of the mind” attempting to make it sound like so much fun, folks had to rush on over.

The highlight of my radio career … we were at a tanning salon, broadcasting live, so on the air, we cut out the call letters from a station bumpersticker.  I pasted the K square on my left haunch … and entered the tanning booth.  Well … the lights worked just fine and thousands of listeners (sadly) had the mental picture of my newly branded behind.  Perhaps giving away t-shirts was more effective.  We did that too.

So, today I am reminded of that because I am givin it away now, away now … As I twitter the Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss Cotton Bowl on line … I am giving away merchandise provided by Jeremy at Boingo.  Michelle from Boston just nabbed the first t-shirt.

The next person to e-mail me here at the PingWi-Fi site gets their choice of a t-shirt or a really funky little luggage tag that lights up when it moves.  I need to ask Jeremy if it is also a Wi-Fi finder … frankly … I don’t know.

Anyway … the booty is up for grabs.  If you haven’t found it … the “Ping Us” tab at the top will get your e-mail to us.

So … halftime of the AT&T Cotton Bowl is almost over … need to get back to the twitter controls.

Know what I sayin?

Line of Scrimmage

In a game that set a record for rushing attempts — 97 carries — The Houston Coo-Gs (as I like to call them) won the 2008 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, outlasting Air Force 34-28.

Houston scored their last TD with 10:58 showing on the clock.  But Air Force answered with just over six minutes remaining, making the score 26 -31.  Air Force elected to go for two points, and ran the ball in, to trail by only three, 28-31.

Bruce, Tyler Raben

Houston closed out the scoring with a 37-yard field goal, and Air Force was unable to answer.

What a game … and yes, this year PingWi-Fi was the first to twitter the entire Armed Forces Bowl … live from the pressbox … in addition to this blog.

And yes Amon G. Carter Stadium has excellent Wi-Fi … allowing blogging and twittering from the sidelines and the pressbox … great game! … 7 pings.

Know what I sayin?

Two-Point Conversion

Color Guard

This has been a great game so far.  Two more records broken.  The 55-yard field goal attempt was the longest attempt in the history of this bowl game.  The Air Force kicker made the first one, but the whistle had blown, as Houston called time out to ice the Air Force kicker.  That was in the first half.

In the second half, Air Force set a new record for the longest time of a scoring possesion … marching, slowly for 8:37, 70 yards and settling for a 37-yard field goal.

To begin the fourth quarter — 24-20, Houston’s favor, but Houston has the ball on the one-yard line.

Here’s some video:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PingWiFI

Flying The Colors

I will venture to say that this is the first time in the history of the world that someone has blogged and twittered an entire Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Game.  The kickoff will post below.  So far in the game … a new record for the most points scored in the first quarter — that being 28, with 17 of those going to the

Band

Houston Coo-Gs, and Air Force puting up 7.  Also, Chase Turner’s punt (Houston) is a new Armed Forces Bowl record … 60 yards, in the second quarter.  With 4:35 left in the first half, the score is 17-14, Houston.

Are You Ready For Football

I won’t lie. My ears perked up when I heard that former Texas Tech great Kliff Kingbury was on the coaching staff at Houston … for tomorrow’s upcoming Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.

Passing Leader Case Keenum

Remember? People used to say KK was a “system quarterback” as he methodically rewrote the record books. Well Texas Tech — spurred on by the genius that is Mike Leach — is still airing it out. I have been a self-admitted Leach evangelist for years …

But what’s this? Yes, Graham Harrell of Texas Tech throws so much he probably should be pulled from the game due to a “high pitch count.” But notice who leads the United States in total yards passing — young Case Keenum, quarterback of the Houston Coo-Gs, weighing in at 4,993 yards.

So when I met Coach Kevin Sumlin of Houston it begged the question in jest, “With those kind of numbers, is your quarterback a product of the ‘Kevin Sumlin system?'”

Coach Kevin Sumlin, Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, Coach Troy Calhoun

Sumlin just laughed, “What we do on offense is what we do. Coach Holgorsen did a great job with the transition of the offense. You have to have the people to do that (put up big numbers.) You don’t hear people talking about system quarterbacks if they don’t have numbers too. I know that we have been able to move the football from point to point and our quarterback, our receivers and our offensive coaches have had a lot to do with that.”

When I pulled Air Force Coach Troy Calhoun aside, I had been thinking about the discipline on any football team … probably compounded when you coach young men about to embark on a military career.

So, Coach Calhoun … did you see that certain NFL quarterback last Sunday … the one who “overruled” his coach on national TV, and sent the punting team back to the sidelines so that he could go for a first down on fourth and one (which was successful, by the way)?
Coach Calhoun answered respectfully, “Well, unless you were there, it’s hard to give you a response about that.”

So then Coach Calhoun, do you think your players would have waved you off and sent your punter back to the sideline?

“No, sir.”

'Cowtown Skyline' (commemorative footwear)

So that was the extent of my shoot-from-the-hip blogger questioning. With several excellent opening statements by both teams, most of my other questions had already been answered. He are some highlights from the press event the day before the bowl game:

Coach Calhoun on senior linebacker Hunter Altman:
“Hunter plays outside linebacker for us. He is extremely agile, very involved and all over the field. He did that for us last year on special teams and this year he has made a lot of plays. He is instinctively one of those guys that is always around the football.”

On senior tight end Travis Dekker:
“Travis missed the first five games of the season and he has recovered rapidly. He is getting ready to go to medical school. He and Hunter are two terrific young men. They are what we want as graduates of the Academy, and they are good football players too.”

And here are Coach Sumlin’s comments on Case Keenum and Phillip Hunt:
“I couldn’t be prouder, particularly in my first year of being here, of these two guys. I say this all the time but a coaching transition is the hardest for the seniors and these two guys have accepted us as the coaching staff and excelled this year. Case Keenum has gotten a lot of credit, and rightfully so, I think he has really proved, in leading the country in total offense, that he is an elite force on offense with a bunch of young guys around him, and of course Phillip Hunt is a defensive player who can change the game, a guy who is at the top of the country in sacks, these guys are the heart and soul of the team and I can’t be more appreciative of them. These guys have taken the leadership role and have played hard.”

Oh what I wouldn’t do to lace up the football cleats again and strap on a helmet … back to the days before an injury ended my interest in playing football.

Lt. Col. Gadson

Lt. Col. Greg Gadson never lost interest in the game, but he will never wear those shoes again.  He was a three-year starter at his linebacker position at West Point, playing for Army in two bowl games.  After graduation, duty called and then for his last tour he was deployed to Iraq.  Soon after, a roadside boobytrap ripped apart his armored vehicle, hurling him to the side of the road … his legs destroyed, he was bleeding to death.  That was May 7, 2007.

But thanks to the heroics of a 19-year-old private, with two weeks worth of emergency medical training, Gadson lived.

As news of his devastating injury spread, fellow soldiers and Army teammates rallied to help him through the recovery process.  One former Army teammate, Mike Sullivan of the New York Giants connected Gadson with his NFL team — sending Gadson and family to a Giants game.  Then the coaching staff invited Gadson to a special meeting with the Giants at their hotel.  Gadson’s talk with the team is credited with helping to motivate the NFL team to win their division and ultimately take home one of the biggest upset wins in Super Bowl history.

CBS 11, Colorado Springs, Interviews Gadson

Today, just 24 hours before the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Gadson stood on prosthetic legs to address a full room of football fans, bowl dignitaries, military, media and squads from the University of Houston and the Air Force Academy.

He retold his painful story with no regrets, urging the players to take pride in their every action, to compete and to build teams that result in lifelong relationships.

Coaches Kevin Sumlin, Troy Calhoun

Man!  Good stuff!  This is what America is about.  That is what football is about, and Gadson is the epitome of an American hero.  I challenge any other bowl game in the land to compete with this much bravery … this much significance … this much patriotism.

http://armedforcesbowl.com

Can’t wait until the 11 a.m. CST kickoff on Dec. 31.  Check out the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl on ESPN television … but I must warn you that the fighterjet flyover (and the football action) is much better live at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.

Know what I sayin?

Farm-cicle

As my teacher told me in grade four, “If your head wasn’t tied on, you would lose it.” Maybe so … but I have also found some pretty interesting things in my day to compensate.

I think my eye for all things lost began with an educational/historic interest. On the farm as kids, my siblings and I would walk up and down the dirt roads around our pasture every time it rained. There is nothing like the smell of a recent shower in that dusty part of the world … As the rainwater ran down to the ditch, it would erode the topsoil and reveal lots of pieces of flint and occasionally arrowheads. If memory serves, that part of Texas had once been the home of Kiowas, Comanches and perhaps an Arapaho or two and Apache. We found their discarded arrowheads, probably used for hunting small game, judging by the size.

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The coffee is free.  The pastries are free.  And the Wi-Fi is … well … available at the Marriott Courtyard Blackstone — media headquarters for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.

Thanks to Boingo and its roaming ability, I got right on the Wi-Fi network, to download the latest Armed Forces Bowl news release, rather than walk across the room and grab one.  (All departures from the cushy chair are reserved for coffee and cinamon rolls from Corner Bakery … LOL!)

The Marriott’s Wi-Fi signal is also muy delicioso.  Strong signal, lots of roaming partner options via iBAHN — including one of my faves Boingo — 6 pings.

Here’s the latest from Armed Forces Bowl HQ:

FORT WORTH – Both Air Force and Houston will practice here Monday morning for the last time at the training facilities at TCU as both teams finish their preparation for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

http://armedforcesbowl.com.s13175.gridserver.com/

The sixth annual Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl will be played Wednesday (December 31) with ESPN and ESPN Radio covering the post-season college contest starting at 11 a.m. (CST) for the first of five bowl games to be played on New Year’s Eve.

The game will be the fifth this season between schools from Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference. The Mountain West Conference has won three of the four meetings with Conference USA schools in 2008. Tulsa scored a 56-14 win at home over New Mexico September 20 while TCU was winning 48-7 at SMU. Houston dropped a 31-28 decision to Air Force in Dallas at SMU September 13 followed by Colorado State’s 28-25 win over the Cougars in Fort Collins. Schools from the two conferences also played nine times the past two seasons with the MWC holding an 8-5 edge in the competition over the last three seasons.