Super Bowl: The Greatest Show in the World

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by TBO.com

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 11:59 PM

We just experienced the 2012 Super Bowl and Madonna: the game, the Patriots and the Giants, was great, the ads spectacular and all had a good time except at the end when the New England fans got disappointed. It brought to mind our first Super Bowl here in Tampa and a letter I had saved of Tom writing to Jim Steeg, who was in charge of the games for years and years, a man unmatched in putting on the greatest show in the world, and a great personal friend of both Tom and I.

I was invited to watch the game at Val Pinchback Jr’s home with his wife, Mindy, and family and friends. It brought back memories of the monumental tasks of putting on the Super Bowl and the heartstopping problems to solve. Val Sr. was in the NFL headquarters and did all of the scheduling of the NFL team games for many, many years until his death. In 1984, Tampa’s first Super Bowl, Jim did the impossible. - Linda

Steeg: This is McEwen

They told me I could not mention the women at Hooters and your 50th birthday party.

They told me I could not mention the insurance costs of the ‘84 Super Bowl Party at the Florida Fairgrounds when you hired and allowed high wire trapeze acts and motorcycle acts on wires above the diners in the great hall there, probably the most daring of all parties.

They told me I could not mention your skills at juggling ticket allotments and the Commissioner’s Party - also not improperly recognized as Jim Steeg’s Super Bowl Party - not the wonder at who and the heck are all the people there every year?

They did not tell me I could not say I have no idea who has the second-toughest, and second-best, job in the world to you, Jim Steeg, nor who could possibly succeed you.

Remember who followed Vince Lombardi, or Bear Bryant? No one remains who could manage the greatest event in the world with the aplomb, absence of known malice, or getting a case of the crazies, of despite some acts seeming to make no one who counts angry. And how bold but lasting it was to come to Tampa for a Super Bowl, then three more, to start the Host Committee and the NFL Experience with us, and paving the way for the mid-sized American cities to get on the rotation - Tampa, Phoenix and San Diego and Jacksonville and others later.

Yet, in these tense moments, you remain the same, unsmiling, stoic, impersonal, yet loyal to friends and pro-Super Bowlers, fair and fun, if without much of a sense of humor. It did show once when you had to change the wallpaper in the bathroom for the NFL Commissioner’s wife at Saddlebrook near Tampa. And your patriotism burst through In smile and tears and gratitude when your choice, Whitney Houston, sang the great National Anthem in Tampa during the Gulf War and the tense circumstance came off brilliantly, without a hitch, and as American as the Super Bowl wants to be.

Finally, riding with you on a Saturday inspection of venues at a Super Bowl, I watched with admiration at the great Jim Steeg Juggling Act when on the car phone, you had the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Paul Brown, George Halas, and a representative of the White House while you and Brownie and Weiss settled the matter positioning of coin flip participants, or something equally critical.

Thank you, Steeg, for the fun and the lessons, helping take Tampa to the bigtime, but mostly for the unchanged friendship.

McEwen

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Hillsborough’s Sherit lands offers from Oklahoma, Ole Miss

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 09:31 PM

Two more scholarship offers have landed in the big hands of Hillsborough defensive end Jordan Sherit, including his first from the Big 12.

Seven-time national champions Oklahoma has made an official pitch for the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Sherit, Terriers coach Earl Garcia said Friday. Later that day, Garcia said Sherit picked up Ole Miss, his fourth Southeastern Conference school.

That brings his Division I total to 16 offers. And it’s still only the winter of his junior season.

Rivals.com recently rated Sherit the nation’s No. 76 player and the No. 5 defensive end. And with his frame, speed, tackling ability (a team-high 110 tackles and nine sacks) and grades (he’s in Hillsborough’s International Baccalaureate program), there’s a good reason why Garcia says Sherit “has all the parts.”

Sherit also owns offers from Arizona, Illinois, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Connecticut, the University of Central Florida, South Carolina, Auburn, Purdue, Duke, Miami, Vanderbilt and the University of South Florida.

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Mays is first Topps Prime 9 redemption card for 2012

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 06:47 PM

Topps announced its first card in the 2012 Home Run Legends Prime 9 program today, and it belongs to one of the classic power hitters of all time: Willie Mays.

Mays will be redemption card No. 1. Every Friday, Topps will name its “Prime 9 Player of the Week.”  Collectors holding the corresponding Prime 9 Redemption card for that week can bring the card into their participating local HTA card/hobby store and redeem it for an exclusive limited edition Topps Chrome Refractor.

Redemption cards can be found in 2012 Topps Baseball Series 1 Hobby packs (1:18) and Jumbo packs (1:5). Each card is denoted by a week number.

Who will be card No. 2? I vote for Hank Aaron, because as much as I loved Willie as a player, the man who originally broke the unbreakable home run record was Hammerin Hank. And No. 1 would have been a nice honor.

That said, Mays is still a good choice. With nine sluggers to choose from, Topps will keep us guessing through mid-April.

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Rays accepting applications for the Community Fund Grant Program

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 05:54 PM

The Rays Baseball Foundation, the charitable arm of the Tampa Bay Rays, is accepting applications for its Community Fund Grant Program.

Applications for the Community Fund Grant Program are currently available on raysbaseball.com, on the Community page.

The Rays Baseball Foundation Community Fund Grant Program provides financial support to local nonprofit institutions in the Tampa Bay region.  These funds will support current youth and/or education programs offered by community-based nonprofit organizations.  Grants up to $5,000 are awarded through this program.

For more information on the Community Fund Grant Program or the Rays Baseball Foundation, please contact the Rays Community Relations department at (727) 825-3137 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Applications must be received by mail no later than March 1, 2012. Applications can be sent to:

Rays Baseball Foundation
Attn: Rays Community Fund Grant
One Tropicana Drive
St. Petersburg, FL 33705

The Rays Baseball Foundation is committed to supporting youth and education programs throughout the Tampa Bay region that make a measurable difference in the community. Since 2008, the Rays Baseball Foundation has proudly invested $2.2 million in youth and education programs in the Tampa Bay area. 

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Gaither’s Stanger ranked tops in his class by Golfweek Magazine

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by Jarrett Guthrie

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 12:38 PM

Gaither junior Jimmy Stanger has been ranked as the No. 1 golfer graduating in 2013 in the state of Florida and No. 11 nationally by Golfweek Magazine for the month of February. In the adjusted poll of all junior golfers (with c/0 2012 and younger included) Stanger is ranked No. 50 nationally and sixth in the state.

Stanger won the Class 2A-9 district title at Temple Terrace finishing five strokes ahead of the next competitor shooting a 3-under 69. Stanger qualified for the 2A state tournament in November finishing 28th and was awarded Tampa Tribune All-Hillsborough County first team honors.

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Former Shorecrest football coach Hayford among 34 applying for Brandon job

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 12:09 PM

Brandon High athletic director Tibor Kovacs has released the list of names who have applied for the head football coaching position at the school. A total of 34 applications sit on his desk and Kovacs said he and a selection panel will begin narrowing the list Monday.

Some notable names are on the list, including former Shorecrest Prep head coach Phil Hayford. He headed the Chargers’ football program in St. Petersburg for 33 years—the longest run of ay coach in Pinellas County—when he learned last fall the school’s administrators were not going to renew his contract.

Others on the list include former Hillsborough County heads coaches Hugh Dehnert (Leto), now an assistant at Plant, Mark Kantor (Gaither), now an assistant at Wharton, Sean Washington (Blake) and two former Strawberry Crest head coaches, Todd Donohoe and Gerold Dickens.

Current Armwoos assistant Isaac Anderson has also applied. Many on the list have also applied for jobs at other openings in the county.

Also applying are Chuck Darby, a defensive tackle on the Bucs’ 2003 Super Bowl championship squad, former Tampa Bay Storm assistant Ron Selesky and former Bloomigdale High and South Florida running back Brian Surcy.

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Jesuit QB Tommy Eveld accepts USF walk-on offer, joins brother

Posted Feb 10, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 09:40 AM

Jesuit quarterback Tommy Eveld, who last season threw for 2,326 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 111 yards and another three TDs, has accepted a preferred walk-on spot at the University of South Florida.

Despite his impressive statistics last fall, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound Eveld only had scholarship offers from several smaller schools, including Division II Fairmont State and Division III John Carroll and Marietta. He also had a grayshirt offer from Western Kentucky.

Jesuit coach James Harrell put it down to the fact Eveld came on strong as a senior when most Division I programs begin seeking quarterbacks in their junior season or earlier. But after a recent visit to the USF campus and considering his options, Tommy chose to stay close to home.

Tommy Eveld said USF was his dream school all along and is glad he will be a Bull.

“It didn’t turn out exactly like what I wanted it to but I’m happy with my decision. And with the quarterback situation there at USF, I think I will eventually have a shot at playing,” Tommy said. “I’ve been talking to a lot of coaches and spending a lot of time on this. Now I can concentrate on school and my studies. It’s a big relief.”

At South Florida, Eveld will join his brother, Bobby, who is a sophomore. He, too, was a recruited walk-on out of Jesuit in 2010. That season, he went on to appear in six games and started in the Bulls’ season finale against Cincinnati.

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USF at Boise State in 2012?

Posted Feb 9, 2012 by Joey Johnston

Updated Feb 10, 2012 at 12:32 AM

Could the University of South Florida Bulls be playing on Boise State’s fabled blue turf this season?

Maybe so.

Late Thursday, the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail reported that West Virginia University has reached a conditional agreement with the Big East Conference and a settlement cost of $20-million to cover its departure and a jump to the Big 12 by July 1. Part of the agreement reportedly would cover a buyout for Boise State to leave the Mountain West Conference. That would allow the Broncos to replace West Virginia and join their new football-only home in the Big East in 2012, one season earlier than expected.

USF was scheduled to play at West Virginia this fall. Neither the Big East nor the Big 12 has released its football schedule, although CBSSports.com reported the Big 12 schedule would be announced on Friday.

The potential arrangement could leave USF in the unusual position of playing TWO games west of the Rocky Mountains. The Bulls recently scheduled a home-and-home series against Nevada with the first game scheduled for Reno, Nev., on Sept. 8.

West Virginia announced last fall that it was jumping to the Big 12, shortly after Pittsburgh and Syracuse decided to join the ACC. Big East commissioner John Marinatto, citing the league’s bylaws, said all three schools were bound to the conference for a 27-month waiting period, meaning they couldn’t leave until July 1, 2014. West Virginia then sued the Big East, which promptly filed a countersuit.

If West Virginia’s early flight to the Big 12 is successful, it’s unknown how that would affect the plans of Pittsburgh and Syracuse, which have maintained they will honor the Big East’s waiting-period stipulation.

The Idaho Statesman reported that Boise State was exploring the possibility of placing all its non-football sports in the Western Athletic Conference for the 2012-13 school year.

After the defections, the Big East moved to complete a revamped 12-team football lineup, adding Central Florida, Houston, Memphis and SMU for all sports in 2013, while bringing aboard Boise State and San Diego State for football only. Navy plans to join the Big East in 2015, when the league would presumably have enough football-playing members to stage a championship game, perhaps in New York.

Boise State was 12-1 last season with a victory against Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl, plus a season-opening win against Georgia. Broncos coach Chris Petersen is 73-6 in six seasons, including Fiesta Bowl triumphs against Oklahoma (following the 2006 season) and TCU (following the 2009 season).
 

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Panini Playoff football is no longer a secret

Posted Feb 9, 2012 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Feb 9, 2012 at 09:40 PM

Super Bowl XLVI is history, and the NFL draft begins on April 26. If you still have a buzz from the Super Bowl’s exciting finish and are already getting out your draft sheets to begin your analysis (I don’t do this, but boy, there are people who do, and that’s pretty hardcore), then Panini America has something to whet your appetite.

Panini alluded to a new product in an early January post on its website blog, keeping it under wraps like a football player would guard his team’s playbook. We should have known. Panini’s newest NFL product is scheduled for an April 4 release and will be called 2011 Panini Playbook football (there’s that 2011 designation again. I get it that the cards depict stars from the 2011 season, but arrgh, it’s 2012 ...). It’s going to be a high-end product, but I like the concept.

The set will feature four cards to a pack, and 10 packs to a box. Here’s what that one pack will contain: One on-card signed prime-memorabilia-piece Rookie Premiere Booklet, one rookie autograph and one memorabilia card. The fourth card will contain either another autograph, a prime-piece memorabilia card or a booklet card.

Panini Playbook will have a 136-card base set that will include 50 common signatures numbered to 99 or less, 50 Rookies Signature Silver cards numbered to 299 or less, and 36 Rookies Booklet Silver cards numbered to 399 or less.

That’s just the beginning. Some collectors will unwrap Chronicle Signatures Booklets, which will be numbered to 10 or less and contain up to eight autographs. Others could find Playbook Materials Booklets, another hinge-like card that will include up to eight pieces of game-worn memorabilia and numbered to 49 or less.

There’s more. The Accolades Signatures autographs will feature current stars and fan favorites from the past. Those cards also will be numbered to 49 or less. I like the Accolades based on the Charles Woodson card I saw (and am featuring in this post). Bold block letters at the top, with the player’s name and team also in block letters with a black background. The autograph is large and bold and is positioned under a feathered photo of the player. Very attractive.

There also will be Limited Edition Materials memorabilia cards featuring top NFL stars and retired greats—again, numbered to 49 or less.

I also like the Mammoth memorabilia card featuring Calvin Johnson. I mean, not only is that a large swatch, it’s multi-colored. If all are like then, well, that’s pretty nice.

I always say this, but if you have the means to buy something like this, then it is probably worth the effort (and the cash). If you don’t, well, don’t sweat it.

Since every card is a hit of some sort, it’s hard to lose. Of course, buyer beware, everyone is not going to get a low-numbered Cam Newton card, for example. But that’s the gamble one takes. I’d have to think that opening the product would be fun, and certainly thrilling. I mean, if I opened a pack and saw four autographs of former stars like Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Phil Simms and Shannon Sharpe on one booklet card, well, I’d be excited.

Panini promises to reveal more “pages” from its Playbook in future news releases. Stay tuned.

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2 baseball players make commitments

Posted Feb 9, 2012 by Adam Adkins

Updated Feb 9, 2012 at 05:03 PM

Two Hillsborough County junior baseball players have made verbal commitments to in-state Division I programs.

Gaither shortstop Oscar Mercado has pledged to Florida State according to coach Frank Permuy, while Durant coach Butch Valdes said shortstop/pitcher Tyler Danish has pledged to Florida.

Mercado, entering his third year as a starter for the Cowboys, hit .338 with four doubles, three triples, 23 RBIs and 21 runs scored last season.

Danish was a second team all-county pick by the Tribune in 2011 after batting .484 with 15 doubles, 16 RBIs and 23 runs scored.

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