Quick Hits (9/2)

The Hens leave for Annapolis earlier today.

The Blue & Gold arrived in Annapolis earlier today and checked out the field before their season opener versus Navy tomorrow.  Here are a few tidbits from today that are worth passing along:

• According to Kevin Tresolini, Mike Perry is no longer with the team after losing the kicking positions to Sean Baner.  In the last "Quick Hits," I said that Perry should consider transferring because it was his senior year, and it looks like this might be the case.
• Nihja White posted on Twitter that the team visited the field when they first arrived in Annapolis.  I love this move and would hope that every coach does this with his team before a game, no matter who the opponent is.  It always reminds me of the classic scene in Hoosiers where Gene Hackman has the players measure the distance between the floor and the hoop, proving to them that it's no different than the court they play on back home.  Getting the whole tradition and nostalgia out of the way now is always a great move and should help the players be more focused come game-time.
• Here's one more preview of the game, this one from Navy's website. Nothing entirely new here, but it is always important to see how the opponent views you before a game.
• One last random note is about the University of Central Arkansas.  First there was Boise State with the Smurf Turf.  Then Eastern Washington puts in a red field.  Now we have the purple and gray monstrosity that the Bears have installed.  I am torn on the whole concept of colored turf.  The home team usually tries to wear a monochrome uniform when playing on these fields to blend in and hide their defenders in the turf.
  
  With Boise State moving into the Mountain West, they have created a rule that prevents the Broncos from wearing all blue at home, and this should be the rule across the board for anyone that wants have a colored field at home.  I am not advocating this because of the advantage that it may give the players on the field, but because it sucks to watch on television.  I remember watching EWU in the playoffs last year and that bright red on the bright red field was just brutal on ESPN3.  At least this new field has the color differences mixed in to break up the image, but still, let's stick to natural grass whenever possible.