|
LIVE: St. John Lutheran vs. Sarasota Christian |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
2/20/2008 12:23 PM
|
|
|
Good morning. Live from the Lakeland Center, The Sports Blog is proud to bring you live updates of the St. John Lutheran girls’ basketball team in the FHSAA state semifinals. Today’s foe in the 1A bracket is Sarasota Christian.
UPDATE: Watching the teams warm up, the Lady Saints are a good match physically for the Lady Blazers. No ridiculously tall girls on the other side or anything like that. And I’m not sure anyone looks up to the task of guarding Ashley Hampton. As for the crowd, St. John’s got about three sections of fans, and a slight advantage over Sarasota in the noise department.
EARLY ACTION: Sarasota point Jenna Hostetler misses a pair of 3s on the Blazers’ first possession. Hampton knocks down a turnaround on the other end. 2-0 after 1:20.
FALLING BEHIND: 12-7 Sarasota with 2 minutes to play. Hampton is dominant on both ends, but the Blazers ar ...
|
 |
|
Comments (3)
|
More...
|
|
|
Get Walter Ray on Your Cell Phone |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
2/13/2008 5:54 PM
|
|
|
Ocala bowler Walter Ray Williams is so awesome that you'd probably like to put him in your pocket and carry him around with you at all times. Now, thanks to PBA.com, you can.
The Web site of the Professional Bowlers Association is now offering wallpapers and ringtones of your favorite bowlers, including a snazzy pic of our own WRW. No ringtone yet, but if you flood them with e-mails, perhaps we can change that. He's only the best bowler human eyes have ever seen. Sean Rash gets one, but no W? Seriously?
For now, it's just the wallpaper, and you can download that puppy right here for a cool $2.99. Do yourself a favor and click on that "PBA Rap" ringtone preview while you're there. ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
FSU and Miami Skeds Are Out |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
2/8/2008 9:08 PM
|
|
|
'Noles and 'Canes fans, mark your calendars. The teams' 2008 football schedules:
Florida State
Sept. 6, Western Carolina
Sept. 13, Chattanooga
Sept. 20, Wake Forest (ACC)
Sept. 27, Colorado, at Jacksonville
Oct. 4, at Miami (ACC)
Oct. 16, at North Carolina St. (ACC)
Oct. 25, Virginia Tech (ACC)
Nov. 1, ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (11)
|
More...
|
|
|
|
Shaq On the Way Out of Miami? |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
2/5/2008 9:49 PM
|
|
|
The Miami Herald reported Tuesday that the Miami Heat are engaged in "serious talks" with the Phoenix Suns about a trade involving center Shaquille O'Neal. The other side of the deal would have Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks heading to Miami.
My analysis: It's kind of harsh, seeing that we're just under two years removed from Shaq delivering that championship parade Pat Riley promised so many years ago, but it makes sense. This version of the Miami Heat is broken beyond the point where a cagey veteran signing or a single smart trade could help. Due to financial constraints, Riley's hubris or just bad basketball decisions, most of the quality support players to help Miami to its first NBA title ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Lakers vs. Celtics - The Next Generation |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
2/5/2008 9:11 PM
|
|
|
The above-pictured game had a huge effect on my life: it enhanced my burgeoning NBA fandom, deepened my understanding of what it meant to love a sports franchise and hate its rival; and delayed me from developing a healthy interest in girls. It consumed much of my 5th and 6th-grade school years and kept my frustrated dad from playing Hunt for Red October on our state-of-the-art Tandy machine.
Pleasant MS-DOS-based memories came flooding back this week when the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, a stick-thin 7-foot Spaniard who might be the key that unlocks a new era of the NBA's ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Reflections on the Best Football Game in Recorded History |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
2/4/2008 10:45 AM
|
|
|
|
I had more than 10 thoughts yesterday, but these are the ones I remember the best:
1. That was the best Super Bowl I've ever seen. Competitive, well-played, a dramatic ending, an abundance of storylines. It was pretty near perfect. And most surprising of all, the game didn't have a single controversial call - the refs handled the Belichick 12-men-on-the-field challe ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
|
|
ITEM: Florida's Been Good Lately, But Oklahoma Was Good Sooner |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
2/1/2008 10:57 AM
|
|
|
|
Rivals.com has come out with a "Best of Both Worlds" list, a rundown of the "best combined football and basketball programs since 1974."
The top of the list goes Oklahoma, Michigan, North Carolina (I know, right), a tie between inextricably linked Ohio State and Florida, and Florida State in sixth.
The list notes that Florida is the only school with multiple national titles in each sport since '74. You'd think that count for a little more in the formula. UNC gets by on three hoops titles and a pair of top 10 finishes under Mack Brown, and OSU knows how to get to the big game even if actually winning it manages to escape its grasp. FSU's longtime football prowess carries a mediocre basketball program into the top 10.
Lots of SEC reps on ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Super Bowl Urban Legends on the World's Greatest Web Site |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
1/31/2008 5:38 PM
|
|
|
About.com does its usual fantastic job in this life-changing article on various urban legends related to Super Bowl Sunday. The writing is crisp, the tone pleasant and conversational and the research impeccable. Outstanding work, as we have all come to expect from About.com. I insist that it become your home page immediately.
Full disclosure: About.com and the Star-Banner are both owned by the New York Times Company.
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
|
|
|
NFL Predictions Not Related to the Super Bowl |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
1/31/2008 2:49 PM
|
|
|
I'll post my Super Bowl pick later, finishing off a 7-0 run of playoff picks over the last four weeks. Turns out I know what I'm talking about sometimes.
But this article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution got me to thinking about the offseason, and where your favorite overpaid vets might be drawing their outsized paychecks next season. The story posits that former Florida State and Tampa Bay Bucs star Warrick Dunn will likely be cut loose by the Falcons, and quotes Dunn thusly:
...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
Florida-Connected Snubs Abound in NBA's Rookie Challenge |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
1/31/2008 2:07 PM
|
|
|
Former Gator Corey Brewer is feeling small today, having been left off the roster for next month's Rookie Challenge, also referred to as the Festival of Mis-timed Alley-Oops.
Brewer is joined by his former teammate Joakim Noah, a more surprising snub who is having a decent and considerably more interesting rookie campaign, and Florida State product Al Thornton, who is playing well for the Clippers.
The rosters:
SOPHOMORES:&l ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (1)
|
More...
|
|
|
5 Things You Didn't Know About Marty Smith |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
1/24/2008 5:21 PM
|
|
|
Here's five things I learned in my interview with CFCC baseball coach Marty Smith, the bulk of which can be found in Friday's paper.
• He idolized Ryne Sandberg and Dale Murphy as a young player, and has uniforms signed by each in his home.
• He followed the Braves growing up, but is "slowly switching" his allegiance to the Cubs, and visited Wrigley Field for the first time last summer. "I'd love to go to Fenway, but Wrigley's special," he said. "A totally different way to watch baseball."
• He has a hard time picking the best player he's ever coached, but the name of Minnesota Twins third baseman Brian Buscher comes up early in the co ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (2)
|
More...
|
|
|
ITEM: CFCC grad Auguste to start for Lady Vols tonight |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
1/24/2008 12:35 PM
|
|
|
Former Central Florida Community College basketball star Alberta Auguste will start against Arkansas tonight, taking the place of the injured Alexis Hornbuckle.
From GoVolsXtra.com:
"To me it's not a big deal,'' Auguste said. "It might be a big deal to everyone else. I'm humble about the situation."
First and foremost, UT coach Pat Summitt wants the 5-foot-11 senior, who's averaging 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as a reserve, to be mindful of the proper mindset.
"Bring intensity on every possession,'' Summitt said, "whether it's on offense or defense."
Auguste i ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
|
Predicting the NFL Conference Championship Games |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
1/18/2008 6:22 PM
|
|
|
|
Loyal readers of The Sports Blog - how's it going, Dad! - had the benefit of my wisdom a week ago, when I correctly predicted all four NFL divisional playoff games.
So, SportsCenter, if you're asking for the millionth time if anyone could have guessed that the Manning brother who would be playing this weekend would be Eli, and not Peyton, the answer is yes. I did.
And I fully expect to be right again this week. It's all about confidence.
The picks:
|
|
Comments (4)
|
More...
|
|
|
|
ITEM: Al Horford's in for a Rough Night |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
1/18/2008 1:30 PM
|
|
|
Atlanta Hawks rookie and former Florida star Al Horford expects to be booed loudly and repeatedly tonight as he visits Toronto for the first time since injuring Raptors point guard TJ Ford.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
"I've heard some pretty nasty things over the years, about myself and my family and just about anything else you can think of," Horford said. "I've never been one to play to the crowd or let them get to me, and I won't start now, no matter what's being said or done."
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|
|
ITEM: Retired NBA Player Tells Noah to "Shut Up" |
|
|
By Gregory Broome on
1/18/2008 1:12 PM
|
|
|
Former NBA player Eddie Johnson - not that Eddie Johnson, but this Eddie Johnson - thinks Chicago Bulls rookie Joakim Noah should put a sweat sock in it:
From Hoopshype.com::
Will someone please tell Chicago Bulls rookie Joakim Noah to shut up! I have never ever heard a rookie talk so much and be involved in so much controversy within the locker room. Noah, rookies are meant to be seen not heard...
Rookies must learn, this is another level. ...
|
|
|
|
Comments (0)
|
More...
|
|