Posted on Gazette.com, thought I’d share the link here for those who visit the blog more regularly than our paper’s site.

Attempts to reach Clark haven’t been successful. A phone message left at his parents’ house wasn’t returned. Air Force coach Troy Calhoun hasn’t returned messages regarding Clark.

Scott Thomas and Eric Dodson – “Spike” and “Neck” if we’re going by their Air Force nicknames – were friends from the academy, when Thomas was a standout football player and Dodson played lacrosse and wrestled. And on Feb. 17, 1991, they were finally assigned to fly the same mission, with Dodson as his wingman.

They got to the planes and a crew chief snapped shots of them with a disposable camera, and the two hammed it up for the pictures before their first flight together. Then it dawned on them that, well, this isn’t this how it goes in the movies before something bad happens to one of the people?

“He took the camera and said, ‘That wasn’t a good idea,’” Dodson said. “And I said ‘Yeah, not a good idea.’”

Thomas threw the camera into his helmet bag and put the bag into the plane, which would crash a little while later in Iraq. Thomas – with Dodson monitoring the apparent fuel leak from the plane, and then letting Thomas know his engine was on fire – ejected from the plane and was rescued a couple hours later.

While the plane was faltering, the men kept remarkably calm, but Dodson said that’s how Thomas – who was announced Tuesday as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2012 class – always was.

“He was always in control, confident and had it together,” Dodson said. “That always trickled downhill to the people he was with.”

One of the things that stood out most to Dodson about his old friend was his leadership ability. He told a story about how the squadron was facing a tense mission of dropping bombs in Baghdad. The young pilots were grim and nervous on the bus ride over to the planes, knowing the danger involved.

“Spike just stepped up and was the leader, and said ‘Look guys, today we have an away game!’” Dodson said. “It pulled people out of their heads and got them to focus on their jobs.”

Dodson said the old Air Force football captain always had a well-timed joke that put others around him at ease before or during a mission, and that Thomas’ leadership seemed to come naturally. Although Thomas wasn’t a major or colonel, he was well respected in the squadron.

“Spike ‘s rank didn’t project him in a role of leadership,” Dodson said. “But the aura about him, people looked to him as a leader, especially the group of younger fighter pilots.”

Thomas has often spoke about how his football career at Air Force was invaluable during his time as a pilot, including when he had to parachute into Iraq after ejecting from his burning plane.

“I don’t want to make it seem like a small thing, but I had been put in pressure situations and had to rely on others to do their job on the football field to have success,” Thomas said a couple hours after the hall of fame announcement. “(Being rescued in Iraq) just all orchestrated like returning a kick. Every guy was doing their job, no matter how big or small.”

Although Dodson joked that he couldn’t believe he had to hear about his old friend’s election to the hall of fame from a reporter and not Thomas himself, he praised his old friend’s dedication to his wife, two children, parents and friends.

“I can’t tell you enough about what a great person he is,” Dodson said. “Down to the core.”

Many members of the 2012 College Football Hall of Fame class have some pretty entertaining highlight clips you can find on YouTube, but I bet none are quite like Scott Thomas’ most noteworthy clip.

In the video below is audio from when Thomas, a former Air Force safety known as “Spike” who was elected to the hall of fame, had to eject from his F-16 fighter jet over Iraq – during the Gulf War – because of an engine fire. In what would be the most terrifying moment of most anyone’s life, it’s striking how calm Thomas remains. He has spoken before about how his Falcons football career prepared him to keep a level head in that moment. If you want some insight into why Thomas is still revered by Air Force fans, perhaps more than any other player that has ever played for the Falcons, click the video before and listen to him in action.

Of all the players in Air Force football history, Scott Thomas might evoke the most passion.

He might not have been as dominant as Chad Hennings or finished in the Heisman Trophy voting like Dee Dowis, but Thomas was tough, exciting and fun to watch. Fans will talk lovingly about the big hits, the big plays, and how he parachuted out of his malfunctioning F-16 fighter jet over Iraq during the Gulf War and survived.

Now, Thomas is a hall of famer.

Thomas was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday, becoming the fourth Falcon to get that honor. Offensive tackle Brock Strom and defensive tackle Hennings were joined by longtime Falcons coach Fisher DeBerry last year. Thomas’ induction makes it two hall of famers in two years for Air Force.

Thomas played for the Falcons from 1982-85. He had 221 tackles, 10 interceptions and averaged 28.8 yards per kickoff return. He was an All-American in 1985, and returned a punt, kickoff and interception for a touchdown on a team that went 12-1 and finished the season ranked fifth in the country. He was also part of four wins over Notre Dame and helped Air Force go 7-1 against Army and Navy.

Thomas logged 4,100 hours of military flight time after graduation from the academy. He currently works at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, training pilots.

After getting coach Fisher DeBerry into the College Football Hall of Fame last year, Air Force is hoping for a repeat with safety Scott Thomas this year. Thomas, the Falcons’ All-American safety from 1982-85, is on the hall of fame ballot this year. He is the only Air Force player up for induction.

The announcement today at 9:30 a.m. Mountain time will be live online, at the National Football Foundation’s site, its YouTube channel and on ESPN3.com. Here are the details. There will be 14 players and three coaches added to the hall of fame in this year’s class.

What Air Force’s Mountain West outdoor track and field championship on Saturday provided was validation. It’s one thing to win an indoor championship on the final event of the day, it’s another to back that up with a dominant performance over the rest of the league in the outdoor event.

Air Force outclassed the rest of the conference by 30.5 points in the MW outdoor championships last week. That is two Mountain West team titles for the Falcons’ men’s track team this year, or as many as every other Air Force program combined since the academy entered the league in 1999. Ralph Lindeman, not surprisingly, was named the Mountain West track coach of the year for the third time.

In terms of success, one can easily make a case that men’s track and field has become the premier program in the Air Force athletic department.

Back in April, when the track program was about to open it’s newly renovated $4.1 million outdoor facility, I wrote about how Air Force men’s track’s success and how it happened, how the new facilities help the program and in some way was a hat tip to the track program for its success, and how the coaches think the women’s track team can win a conference title too. That would be an amazing accomplishment. At the outdoor meet the women matched their highest finish, placing sixth, and junior Morgan Mosby became the first woman to win a track conference title for Air Force, in the 1,500-meter run. Paige Blackburn won in the javelin.

Track and field won’t be as popular as football or men’s basketball, and hockey has won many more conference championships (those who argue track and field is the most successful program at Air Force would probably point out the hockey team plays in the smaller Atlantic Hockey Association, and that could rightfully be refuted by the fact that Air Force won its two MW track and field titles after conference heavyweight BYU left the league), but at the moment, Lindeman’s program could arguably be the crown jewel of Air Force sports.

The Broncos email out transcriptions of their press conferences, and after Friday’s rookie minicamp practice Broncos coach John Fox addressed defensive lineman Ben Garland, an Air Force Academy graduate who is trying to make Denver’s opening day roster this year. Here are Fox’s quotes, courtesy of the Broncos:

On DL Ben Garland, an Air Force Academy graduate who was activated from Denver’s reserve/military list

“I think it’s a great tribute to our armed forces that are training young men. He’s been in good hands for the last couple of years. He actually dropped by and was part of some security detail and he came up and I actually got a chance to meet him in uniform a year ago. He’s had a good offseason; he started the Phase One workouts in there with [Strength and Conditioning Coach] Luke Richesson and his staff. He’s no stranger to working hard and giving great effort. Over the time, I’ve found that those qualities usually amount to a pretty good football player.”

On the challenge Garland faces after being away from football for two years

“You have to bring the WD-40 out and get the rust off, but I think given that effort and that work ethic, his determination will override some of that time away.”

The Sporting News ranked every FBS coach, and Air Force’s Troy Calhoun checked in at No. 29.

That’s a pretty good ranking for Calhoun, especially when one scans the names below him. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz makes a lot of money and always seems to be on the fringe of NFL rumors, Gene Chizik has a BCS title at Auburn, Bo Pelini is 39-16 at Nebraska, and Rich Rodriguez, Charlie Weis, Dana Holgorsen and Kevin Sumlin are among those below No. 29 and have all been among the hot names in the sport at one time or another. And yes, Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo is behind Calhoun, at No. 35.

The Mountain West outdoor track and field championships began Wednesday on a bright, clear day with temperatures in the 70s and a light breeze, and Air Force track coach Ralph Lindeman was worried about the weather.

There is a chance of rain on Saturday, the final day of the event. Lindeman has no control over this, but since Air Force is hosting the event, he has to worry about everything.

“If there’s bad weather on Saturday, the thing they’re going to remember is the weather,” Lindeman said.

Hosting the event has a competitive advantage, but the coaches and administration at Air Force wouldn’t be nearly as concerned about the small details of the event if it were at San Diego State or Colorado State.

“The athletic department tries to relieve us off a lot of that responsibility, but you care about how the event comes off and is perceived,” Lindeman said. “Scott (Irving, Air Force’s throws coach) has been out here moving fences and setting up cages and everything like that. We’re conscientious and we want to put our best foot forward.”

The event, which continues Thursday at noon and will feature the second half of the women’s heptathlon and men’s decathlon and the men’s hammer throw, has taken on even a little more importance than usual for Air Force because it is behind held at the newly renovated outdoor facility, which cost $4.1 million to refurbish. Before this season, Air Force hadn’t hosted an outdoor track event in six years.

“We want everyone leaving here feeling like ‘Wow, what a first-class operation and facility and well run meet,” Lindeman said.

Bleacher Report has a top 20 list and corresponding slideshow for just about everything, and Air Force coach Troy Calhoun made it onto this one: 20 football coaches you’d want your kid to play for. He was No. 7 (though I can’t tell you if that was in any order).

It’s hard to argue his inclusion on the list (though I found it odd that Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo and Army’s Rich Ellerson aren’t on the list – I’m sure Air Force fans will enjoy that, but from what I know about those two coaches, they are definitely men you’d want your children to play for). I’ve overheard enough of Calhoun’s post-practice speeches to know he preaches lessons that have little to do with football, and I’ve also spoken with plenty of Air Force football parents who praise Calhoun and his staff. He fits well at the academy.