Oldsmar Christian has pulled out of the 27th annual Saladino Tournament.
Tournament founder Tony Saladino confirmed Friday morning the team will not play in the upcoming tournament, scheduled to begin tomorrow morning at five sites across Hillsborough County. Oldsmar Christian was scheduled into the Atlantic division along with Wharton, Gaither and Brandon, and the teams departure drops the tournament field to 27.
Oldsmar Christian was one of three private schools to accept an invitation to this year’s tournament. The others were Tampa Catholic and Cambridge.
An invitation was extended to Seffner Christian early Friday morning to replace Oldsmar Christian, but Seffner Christian coach Jim Self told The Tampa Tribune he had to decline because several of his players were going to be out of town. Tony Saladino said he was in the process of trying to find another team.
Stay tuned to TBO.com for more updates.
There’s no way the Bucs give up the #4 slot in the draft plus another first rounder next year to bring Charles Grant over from New Orleans. It’s sensationalistic and gets people talking, but not at all reasonable. The price is just too stiff.
So, why bring him in to talk to him? Lots of reasons. If he plays for New Orleans under the franchise tag in 2007, he’ll be eligible for free agency again in 2008 (unless he gets slapped with the tag again, which is unlikely) and the Bucs could be laying the groundwork for that now. Bruce Allen could also be throwing up a smokescreen with regard to the draft, trying to make other teams think they are desperate for a defensive end and willing to pass on Calvin Johnson in favor of Gaines Adams. If other teams bought into this, they’d be less likely to try and trade up with Cleveland or Detroit to take Johnson. But, more than likely, the franchise tag was placed on Grant so the Saints could guarantee they gotsomething for him instead of just walking away in free agency. The truth is that no team should be willing to pay two first-round picks for Grant because he simply isn’t worth that. But he does have value, so the Saints retain his rights, let him talk with other teams to determine his trade value and try to work something out with them.
If the Bucs were going to trade for Grant, I’d guess they’d be willing to part with one high and one low pick from this draft or possibly 2008. Since the team is drafting so high, I personally wouldn’t do it for any more than our #3 and #7 this year.
Union chief Don Fehr and his crew, which includes Bobby Bonilla, are visiting today. That usually means the pregame schedule gets knocked a bit out of whack, but the weather may have done the same anyway. The tarp is now covering the infield and judging from the radar it looks like the bad stuff is on the way in.
Was just handed, warm off the presses, the official 2007 Rays media guide. Looks pretty nice.
Here’s what we have to look forward to today as Jim Tracy’s Buccos come to town:
Pirates
Andrew McCutchen LF
Nate McLouth CF
Ronny Paulino C
Michael Ryan DH
Xavier Nady RF
Jose Bautista 2B
Don Kelly SS
Jose Hernandez 1B
Neil Walker 3B
Tom Gorzelanny P
Rays
Rocco Baldelli CF
Carl Crawford LF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Greg Norton DH
Jorge Cantu 2B
Delmon Young RF
Akinori Iwamura 3B
Brendan Harris SS
Josh Paul C
James Shields P
In other news, the Reds released Brian Meadows today. He and Shawn Camp were the only two Rays pitchers active for every game last season.
Tampa Tribune columnist Joey Johnston and University of Florida beat writer Andy Staples discuss Florida’s first-round NCAA Tournament matchup with Jackson State. Topics include Jackson State guard Trey Johnson, the Gators’ chances of repeating as national champs and the reasons why teams have such a hard time repeating in college basketball.
Give thanks for Anthony Grant’s VCU Rams. Without them, we would’ve had ZERO significant upsets on Day One of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
More Thursday thoughts:
* For the third time in his career, Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight was eliminated by Boston College at the NCAA Tournament.
* There sure are a lot of “Mean Green” shirts on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. As the final hours count down until St. Patrick’s Day, should No. 2-seeded Memphis be worried? Probably not. But if North Texas becomes the fifth No. 15 seed (ever) to win in the first round, just imagine the party.
* NIT detour: Looks like Florida State is playing with a chip on its shoulder and could be headed to New York.
* (Back on the NCAA Road): Does North Carolina-Michigan State sound like a normal second-round game? Didn’t think so.
* After the victories by North Carolina and Ohio State, No. 1 seeds are now 90-0 against No. 16 seeds since the current bracketing format was instituted in 1985.
By EDDIE DANIELS
The Tampa Tribune
DADE CITY - Gathered around the pitcher’s rubber on the Pasco High softball field Wednesday night, the voice of one player broke through the mass of athletes.
“I’m a nervous wreck!” the player admitted and for good reason.
Her Pirates faced a 10-inning duel in which Land O’ Lakes scored five runs in one inning, forced a lead change and their pitcher collected 14 strikeouts. Even so, Pasco outlasted Land O’ Lakes, 6-5.
After Pirates pitcher Colena Lazar struck out two of the four batters she faced at the top of the first inning, Pasco (12-2) went to work in the home half.
The first two Pirates batters, Megan Newsome and Colesa Lazar, were walked and Lucy Schnieder hit a blooper just over first base. Newsome scored on the play.
Two batters later, as Colesa Lazar broke for third in an attempt to steal, the throw went into the outfield, allowing her to take third and then come home for the 2-0 advantage.
Schneider, after stealing third, came home on a ball four, which got away from the catcher.
During Elizabeth Garcia’s at-bat, courtesy runner Tanesha Ranson, stole third. When the throw went into left field, Ranson scored, pushing the lead to 4-0.
Four innings later, the Gators (8-2) answered with five runs.
“It happens and I told the girls mistakes are going to happen, but it’s all about what you do after the mistake,” Pasco coach Shamalene Broner said.
Land O’ Lakes’ first run came on a Sam Adamo single, which scored Keica Schiffer. Pitcher Michelle Bradley then cranked a deep single to right field, scoring Kasey Murray, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
The next batter, Loren Smith, then sent an 0-1 pitch deep to right field. Smith, sped around the bases for an in the park, three run homer.
Pasco remained relentless, tying the game in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Lacey Cook.
It took until the bottom of the 10th for anyone else to cross the plate. After loading the bases on an error and two bunt singles, the Pirates were poised for the eventual victory.
On a one out pitch, Brianna Farmer sent the ball into left field for the sure out, but the ball was dropped, allowing Abigail Boyd to score from third.
“I knew it was going to be a hard fought game,”
Land O’ Lakes coach Jamie Martin said. “I don’t think anybody really prepares for the 10 inning games, but I kind of thought the team that made the least amount of errors was going to win and usually when you two very good teams match up, that’s what usually happens.”
Colena Lazar (9-2) collected 10 strikeouts, walking three.
Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 948-4214 or edaniels@tampatrib.com.
Tampa Bay could not have asked for a better situation as they sat back and watched several games unfold Thursday night, especially in Philadelphia.
And if the Lightning have their white unicorn in Toronto this year, then Atlanta has theirs with Philadelphia, which swept the season series from the Thrashers, a sweep that was completed with a 3-2 Flyers win. Sure, it didn’t put Tampa Bay into first place in the division, but it gives them a game in hand coming down the stretch and allows them to continue to hold their own destiny. Keep pace with the Thrashers and that season-ender in Atlanta determines the division winner. Got to watch most of that game and Marty Biron was the difference for the Flyers - he made some great saves in this game and outplayed Kari Lehtonen for sure. This had to hurt the Thrashers, just as much as Tuesday’s loss in Toronto hurt Tampa Bay. Now it’s incumbent upon the Lightning to take advantage of the opportunity Atlanta just presented to them. Had the Thrashers won Thursday and followed that up with a win Friday against the Rangers at home - and Tampa Bay lost to Buffalo - it could have been a six-point deficit by the end of Friday night.
In other action Thursday, Ottawa beat the Islanders and New Jersey held on despite letting up 23 third-period shots to beat Carolina, keeping both the Islanders and the Hurricanes four points back in the Eastern Conference. On Friday, Montreal, Toronto and the Rangers (who are in Atlanta) are all in action and all face off before Tampa Bay’s late faceoff against Buffalo.
Tampa Bay has another division title dangling in front of them, it’s up to them to grab it, especially with eight games at home in the final 11 and a stretch of six out of seven on home ice.
TAMPA At a time when the signing of free agents is starting to slow to a crawl, the Bucs are threatening to make one of the biggest market splashes yet.
Though it could cost them two first-round draft picks, the Bucs appear to be contemplating signing Saints defensive end Charles Grant.
The Saints recently placed the franchise tag on the 28-year-old Grant, but the Bucs have invited him to One Buc Place for a visit Friday, NFL.com reported.
The visit might be part of an effort to force a trade, because the Bucs would be forced to surrender two first-round picks should they sign Grant to an offer the Saints refuse to match.
Grant has played in every game for the Saints since New Orleans drafted him out of the Georgia in the first round in 2002. He has recorded 36 sacks, including six last year and 2.5 in 2005.
The Bucs went into free agency determined to improve their pass rush and have added pass-rush specialist Patrick Chukwurah and defensive end Kevin Carter.
The Bucs also are expected to visit today with Panthers free-agent linebacker Chris Draft.
NEW ORLEANS — If you read Friday’s Tampa Trib — and you’d better — you’ll learn about basketball stats guru Ken Pomeroy’s consistency statistic. Pomeroy also trotted out another statistic before this season, and it figures prominently into Friday’s Florida-Jackson State first-round game.
Before the season, Pomeroy created a stat he calls Luck. In Pomeroy’s world, Luck is defined by a team’s performance against its predicted success, which is another Pomeroy stat. Well, guess what the second-luckiest team in America is?
That’s right, Jackson State.
According to Pomeroy’s figures, there are 334 Division I teams more snakebit than the Tigers, who may have used their rabbit’s foot mojo to eek out a three-point win against NAIA powerhouse Tougaloo on Dec. 18. The only team luckier is Wright State, and the Raiders probably would have agreed with that when DaShaun Wood blocked Butler’s A.J. Graves to turn the tide late in last week’s Horizon League final.
How lucky are the Gators, you ask? Middle of the pack. Florida ranks No. 155 in luck, though the measure doesn’t take into account the fact that the NCAA Tournament selection committee blessed Florida with the easiest of all possible draws.
So will Jackson State’s luck carry the day against the top-seeded Gators? Not likely. Luck is fantastic, but give me overwhelming talent every time.
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byline By ADAM ADKINS[byline]
byline The Tampa Tribune
Riverview’s victory over Durant on Wednesday did two things.
First, it gave the Sharks a season split with their Class 6A-District 8 foe. Second, and maybe most importantly, it kept the Sharks’ on a roll with their sixth win in the last seven games, the type of stretch Coach Bill Leiby knew his team was capable of going on when the season first began.
“We knew we had the capability,” said Leiby, whose team dropped three of its first four to open the season. “It was just showing up everyday.”
Lieby points to a 2-0 win at perennial power Sarasota on Feb. 23 as the turning point, when junior Anthony Ferrara and senior Juan Carlin combined on a four-hit shutout. That game started a streak of five consecutive wins, mostly fueled by great pitching.
Riverview’s staff has yielded only six runs in the last seven games, with three of those ending in shutouts. In addition to the Sarasota win, senior Kyle Eastham tossed a two-hit shutout against East Bay (five innings) on March 6, while Ferrara tossed a three-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts against Lakeland three days later.
Also, the Sharks finally are swinging in the bats, led by Carlin (.394 average), who extended his hitting streak to seven games against Durant with a first-inning single. However, Leiby thinks there’s still room for improvement.
“I don’t think we’re there yet. I’ve seen us play better ball over the summer and I’ve seen us play very well together, and I still think we’ve got a little bit left to work on,” Leiby said.
A NICE SURPRISE: It’s hard to imagine a 6-4 start being a great one. Then again, when you’re Durant coach Ron Fussell and you’ve got only two returning starters and neither are pitchers, a winning record through 10 games is something to be smile about.
“These guys have played well,” Fussell said. “To be 6-2 in the [district] that we play in with teams like Riverview and Sarasota, we’re not going to hang our heads.”
Several new names have jumped right into vacant roles to help the Cougars roll. Senior OF Steve Bridwell (team-best .348 average) and junior OF Taed Moses (.345) have done well offensively, while RHP Josh Teplitzky has done his best to help fill the void on the mound.
Teplitzky was 3-1 wit a 1.06 ERA entering Wednesday’s game against Riverview, when he gave up five runs through five-plus innings in the loss. However, Fussell has been impressed with his senior hurler so far.
“He’s just a tough kid. He competes, he throws strikes …and the starts that he’s had have all been quality starts and he’s kept us in some ball games,” Fussell said.
ON A ROLL: Seffner Christian might be one of the little guys, but the Crusaders have been hot lately, winners of five straight heading into Thursday’s game against Lakeland Sonrise Christian. Junior Ben #####, sophomore Taylor Leggatt and freshman Derek Self have played a big part in the turnaround, first-year Coach Jim Self said.
##### not only made the switch from third to catcher to help the team, but he’s also swung a good bat and currently is second on the team in hitting (.320 average) and RBIs (seven). Leggatt has struggled at times at the plate, but he’s done well on the mound. He won his second consecutive start Tuesday against Tampa Baptist, striking out six in a complete-game.
Meanwhile, Self, the coach’s son, has done it all, leading the team in hitting (.333, 11 RBIs) while also posting a team-best 3.06 ERA and team-high 21 strikeouts.
TOUGH STRETCH: The last two weeks have been tough on King coach Jim Macaluso, who’s watched his team drop five straight by a combined nine runs, three of them one-run ball games. Even more troubling is it’s been the same formula for disappointment.
“We’ve been in the games, but we just haven’t been able to get that one hit,” said Macaluso, whose club is hitting .206 this season.
Sean Buckley (.318) is the only King hitter with an average better than .300. Buckley also leads the team with seven RBIs.
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Reporter Adam Adkins can be reached at (813) 657-4533 or aadkins@tampatrib.com.[Footer]
Last week was a huge letdown, to miss making the field at Las Vegas. But it’s the reality of Nextel Cup racing. It’s very, very tough. It’s disappointing but we definitely don’t let it affect your next race.
We’re trying to find more speed. Our Toyota motor program is good, and I think the support we’re getting from Toyota is good. We just need to take what we have and keep trying to engineer things better. We have a great group of guys here, but the car has to be dang near perfect to run a really good lap. You have to be able to get off the corner as deep as you possibly can, and it’s got to be able to rotate, and you’ve got to be able to go right back to the floor with it. If you can’t do that, you’re just not going to be close.
My teammates, Michael Waltrip and Dale Jarrett, obviously aren’t happy with where we are. (Waltrip has failed to qualify for the last two races, and Jarrett has needed to use his former champion’s provisional in all three races). But they know we’re not just hanging around and not trying to make changes. We’ve just got to get everybody on the same sheet of paper and working to make small gains every week.
They’re disappointed, but they’re not on suicide watch or anything like that. They knew there would be some growing pains in this deal, and we’re going through them right now.
This will be my first race at Atlanta in both a Cup car and a Busch car, but I’ve run five races there in the Craftsman Truck Series (and finished in the top-five three times). I won the first of my six truck series poles at Atlanta, and that meant a lot because it was the first for Toyota.
We’ll go to Atlanta, unload and try to get a feel for what we need to run fast there. Qualifying is late in the day (7 p.m.) after the track has cooled, so our draw won’t be as important as it was last week. Even though we didn’t get the lap we needed in Las Vegas, we were out-qualified by guys who were way down the sheet in practice speeds. That was because they got to qualify late in the session when the track had cooled and gained grip. I was on the receiving end of that in the previous race at California — I went out late and that helped me.
As for the Busch race on Saturday, I feel like we can be competitive. We had a really good car last week, and we just had a wiring issue that messed us up.
Season to date: 44th in the Nextel Cup points with a best finish of 33rd at California. 12th in the Busch standings with a best finish of 12th at Mexico City.
You can tell how popular this trip is by the makeup of the travel squad. Not exactly the first string over here in Winter Haven for tonight’s epic tilt. Good chance to see the kids against a solid starter.
Rays
B.J. Upton 2B
Elijah Dukes CF
Joel Guzman 3B
Greg Norton DH
Jonny Gomes LF
Delmon Young RF
Carlos Pena 1B
Shawn Riggans C
Ben Zobrist SS
Jae Seo P
Indians
Grady Sizemore CF
Trot Nixon DH
David Dellucci LF
Ryan Garko 1B
Jason Michaels RF
Andy Marte 3B
Mike Rouse SS
Luis Rivas 2B
Wyatt Toregas C
Jake Westbrook P
Florida State’s annual Pro Day was Thursday. So, what’s Pro Day you might ask? Well, it’s that glorious morning when a bunch of FSU’s senior football players decide to wake up too early, return to campus and work out for a bevy of pro scouts and NFL player personnel directors. A few coaches usually show up too. Steelers rookie coach Mike Tomlin, a former assistant with the Bucs, was on hand for the event Thursday primarily to watch FSU linebacker Lawrence Timmons.
“Spending five years down in Tampa, this is kind of a yearly ritual for me,’’ Tomlin said of making the trip to Tallahassee. “I’ve been to probably six or seven of these in a row. You always appreciate this program and what these guys do.’’
As for Timmons, he struggled once again to improve on the disappointing 4.6 he ran in the 40-yard dash at last month’s NFL Combine. Still, Tomlin likes what he sees from Timmons, expected to be a high first-round draft pick.
“His tape is his walking-talking resume,’’ Tomlin said. “Sometime people get enamored with workouts and things of that nature, but the No. 1 thing is the tape, and his tape is his biggest ally.’’
Anyway, we talked to several others. Here is a sampling from Pro Day:
Former FSU LB Ernie Sims on Timmons:
“If he just goes out here and does what he does ... the coaches will look at the film and be able to see he’s a ballplayer. He’s a gamer. He’s going to get to the ball no matter how fast he runs the 40.’’
Super agent Drew Rosenhaus on Timmons, who he happens to represent:
“There’s a lot of significant people here watching Lawrence work out. He’s a real candidate to be drafted in the top half of the first round. There are a lot of key decision makers here watching him, so I’m very encouraged. It means a lot to me to see all these top people in the area of the first round where we want to see him go.’’
FSU linebacker Buster Davis on the draft process:
“It’s like the recruiting process but it’s a little more in-depth,’’ he said. “In recruiting, you have five schools you can pick. Now they’re picking you. It’s been exciting for me. I’ve been out here watching the last four or five years and now it’s my turn.’’
For more on FSU’s Pro Day, read Friday’s edition of The Tampa Tribune.
TAMPA – Chris Draft’s visit with the Bucs has been rescheduled yet again.
Draft, the Panthers free-agent linebacker who was slated to visit the Bucs today, is now scheduled to come in Friday morning. There’s a chance, though, that Draft never gets here.
Draft spent part of Wednesday visiting with the St. Louis Rams and that visit has spilled over into today.
We’re not saying that visit is going to result in Draft signing with the Rams, but when visits get extended it’s often a sign the team arranging the visit is interested in more than idle chit-chat.
Interest in Draft and a lot of other second-tier free agents is starting to pick up, though, so Draft may consider it to be in his best interest to make several visits. If that’s the case, he’ll probably be here, as scheduled, Friday.
On another front we’re hearing that Cooper Carlisle is the top offensive lineman on what’s left of the Bucs free-agent wish list, so there’s a chance the former Gator will finally make it to town as well.
Thus far, the Tampa Bay Storm’s kicking position has resembled the Tilt-A-World ride at a carnival more than a position on a football roster. In two weeks, two kickers have hopped on for the ride and have been spit out, next up is 2001 Lou Groza award winner Seth Marler.
Marler, who kicked at Tulane (1999-2002) and was a Lou Groza finalist as a freshman and sophomore, kicked 16 games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003. He connected on 20 of 33 field goals with a long of 53 and 30 of 33 extra points.
While at Tulane, Marler hit 66 of 91 field goals and was 135 of 143 on extra points. He was the only freshman on the 1999 All-Conference USA, was an All-Louisiana second team selection in 2000 and was a Football Writers Association All-America first team pick.
After the season-opening loss to Orlando in which former kicker Bill Gramatica was 0-for-4 in extra points and 1-for-3 on field goal attempts, he was released. He was replaced by former Florida kicker Matt Leach, who kicked against Dallas. He connected on 4 of 6 extra points and was 0-for-1 in field goal attempts and was released Monday.
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