Kicker

[eulesseagle]

LINK

Rogersville Review

December 12, 2007

Rogersville Man to North Texas

by Jack Hampton, Sports Editor

jhampton@xtn.net

Sergeant John A. York, 24, Army Ranger, 3rd Battalion, 75th Regiment, is ready to sign a Letter of Intent to play for the Eagles of North Texas as a kicker/punter according to his step-mother, Terri, who lives in Rogersville, Tn.

John's discharge from the Rangers is effective 1 February, 2008. Terri said, "John played safety along with punting and kicking at Rogersville High School until he enlisted in the Army with other guys from around here after 9-11."

According to Terri, John planned on spending one tour in the Army then planned on getting out and said he wanted to get a junior college scholarship. Two months before John got out his cousin was killed near Bagdad by an IED and John re-enlisted for another tour. Early last year he lost his right leg, above the knee, in an Al Quida ambush in northeast Afganistan. Sergeant York called airstrikes to neutralize 24 Al Quida terrorists and captured a substantial cache of weapons.

York has been in rehabilitation with his prosthetic limb since July 2006 at Bethesda Naval Hospital outside of Washington, D.C..

York said, "some of the other guys in rehab go outside of the Bethesda Medical Complex and play touch football and that all us gimps look pretty funny running and falling trying to keep our balance. This is where I tried to pick up kicking the football through the posts again." Terri, York's step-mother said he would fall down every time he tried until he could kick without falling.

York has tried working with three different prosthetic limbs but likes the one from Lockheed-Martin that is made from some of the same material used in the stealth fighers and bombers. Lockheed-Martin along with Boeing and several other defense contractors have been developing specialty limbs for our wounded men and also for research and development for future robotic soldiers on the battlefield lifting unlimited weight over extended distances.

Currently, I can make 4 out of 10 attempts at 60 yards and 2 out of 15 at 65 yards.

In April of this year some of the members of the New York Jets football team visited our ward to thank us for our duty and sacrifice and that is where I met several players including Brad Kassell, #55, who really inspired me to seek my dreams of going to college as a kicker/punter. Brad sure is a great guy and gave a bunch of us some 40 yard tickets to all the Jets home games this year. Kassell got me in touch with the Jets kicker, Mike Nugent, to help me with my technique from all distances and Mike would come by once a week. Kassell was just a great guy and got me interested into looking at North Texas instead of some Tennessee junior college. Kassell called me several times during the college season to tell me I might have a shot at the kicking position at North Texas.

Mike Nugent, the kicker for the Jets said, "Sergeant York is mentally and physically tough at 6'3", 220 pounds and has great kicking skills for anyone, especially a gimp." "Anyone who can nail 87% of their kicks from 50-60 yards is NFL material.

Punting, York has gone from averaging 34 yards per punt at Rogersville High School to 47 yards with a hang time of 5.1 unofficial seconds.

York said before he is cleared to play college ball the NCAA is investigating the "unfair/fair practice" clause on use of prosthetics in NCAA athletics.

Three years ago the NCAA had USC swimmers Beth Williams and Joan Vilache disqualified and their scholarships revoked and USC Swimming placed on five year probation because both Williams and Vilache had their toes fused together, at the USC Medical Center, essentially making two webbed feet giving them an additional 10.5 seconds in the 200 meter freestyle events from their times from the previous year. Beth told the NCAA to, "Go quack themselves." She now lives in Pasadena, Ca. with her father Donald.

York plans on majoring in Psychology while York's life mate, Benniey, plans to attend UNT in the fall majoring in transgender education.

[good_ken]

In April of this year some of the members of the New York Jets football team visited our ward to thank us for our duty and sacrifice and that is where I met several players including Brad Kassell, #55, who really inspired me to seek my dreams of going to college as a kicker/punter. Brad sure is a great guy and gave a bunch of us some 40 yard tickets to all the Jets home games this year. Kassell got me in touch with the Jets kicker, Mike Nugent, to help me with my technique from all distances and Mike would come by once a week. Kassell was just a great guy and got me interested into looking at North Texas instead of some Tennessee junior college. Kassell called me several times during the college season to tell me I might have a shot at the kicking position at North Texas.

I liked that part of the article best.

[BeanCounterGrad'03]

Is this a true story?...the last couple of paragraphs make it sound like it is an article from The Onion

[GreenBat]

York plans on majoring in Psychology while York's life mate, Benniey, plans to attend UNT in the fall majoring in transgender education.

Does anyone else notice anything "Queer" about this.

[Mean Green 93-98]

This story is a bunch of bunk. Here is the link to the website for the Rogersville Review. You're welcome to see if you can find any mention of this story there.

I might add that Mike Williams is the sports editor for the Rogersville Review, not Gary hampton.

Edited December 11, 2007 by Mean Green 93-98

[Stan R]

Come on... webbed feet? hilarious - onion material.

[CorinthEagle]

Sergeant York? Isn't that a movie title?

[NT Drummer]

You forgot to mention his uncanny resemblance to Gary Cooper.

Edited December 11, 2007 by NT Drummer

[Smitty]

Sergeant York? Isn't that a movie title?

Sergeant York is a great movie starring Gary Cooper, based on the true story of Alvin C. York, an American soldier who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War I.

The movie was nominated for Best Picture, and Cooper won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

[DeepGreen]

Not sure who came up with this "bogus" article, but I take exception to our brave soldiers being used as characters in this spoof. These soldiers are being killed and maimed to preserve our freedom to write this kind of stuff. And describing them as "gimps" is classless. Have a little respect people!

[THOR]

Not sure who came up with this "bogus" article, but I take exception to our brave soldiers being used as characters in this spoof. These soldiers are being killed and maimed to preserve our freedom to write this kind of stuff. And describing them as "gimps" is classless. Have a little respect people!

i'm in the class that believes that if one group of people is fair game to be used in funny stories and jokes, then all groups are fair game. i don't believe that you can laugh at some jokes at people, but then turn it around and get offended when the joke/story is about something you care about....just my thoughts...