University of South Florida senior F Melvyn Richardson will not play today against Cincinnati because of a foot injury. Richardson averages 15.6 minutes, 2.8 points and 3.4 rebounds. Without Richardson, the Bulls will not have a back-up for C Kentrell Gransberry, if he gets in foul trouble. USF already is without reserve PG Chris Capko, F Aris Williams and F Zaronn Cann.
By EDDIE DANIELS
The Tampa Tribune
SPRING HILL – Springstead walked away with the team title in this weekend’s Brijbag Invitational at Springstead after placing six wrestlers in the finals Saturday night.
By the way, all six won.
The Eagles collected 197 points, beating out last season’s tournament champion Jesuit (182). The last time Springstead won the tournament was in 2002.
Bloomingdale (159.5) finished third, followed by Gulf (107), Hernando (99.5) and Chamberlain (95.5).
Bloomingdale’s Kyle Paladini was named the outstanding wrestler for the upper weights, after he gave Chamberlain wrestler Patrick Spano (34-1) his first loss of the season in the 152-pound finals with a 5-2 decision.
The lightweight outstanding wrestler honor was split between Springstead’s Schuyler Swanton and Skylar Huff. Each won individual championships. Swanton won the 103 weight class, while Huff took the 119-pound class.
The stories on the national champion Florida Gator football club won’t stop any time soon, especially when a welcome home party is thrown at The Swamp and some 60,000 came Saturday as well, as all of the team, which so far is conducting itself nicely, thank you very much, starters to walkons and subs.
Attentive Gator fans, and there are more than I thought, know Bill Latsko, a senior linebacker, fullback, leader and all-academic player. He is also a champion weight lifter (6-3, 230) and muscleman, as was his grandfather.
I know. And I know that I could claim — if you stretch it a tish - of the responsibility for the Latsko genes, and thus some credit for what this fine young man has so far become. A very long time ago at Florida, I was there (in the early 1940s), went off to WWII and was graduated in journalism in absentia.
The grandfather of current workaholic Gator Billy Latsko, William Latsko, was a lineman, as was his Pennsylvania roommate, Floyd Konetsky. Gator coach then, Tom Lieb, recruited them, along with a bunch of other linemen from that big man area in Pennsylvania. It was a men-only university then. The teams were not very good. Pretty rotten, in fact. Indeed, the students were so upset with the program, at one point they kidnapped Coach Lieb, threw him in the back of a pickup, took him to a lake, threw him in it and left him to hitch-hike home. No, I was not a part of that.
As a freshman I roomed on the top floor of Murphree Hall with Slim Anderson, a friend from Wauchula. Slim had money and a yellow Model-Convertible with a rumble seat. Nice. He quit at about mid-term. The late H.L Culbreath roomed next to me but got an appointment to Annapolis and was gone to a Navy career before returning to Tampa to head Tampa Electric and so many charitable groups here, including our first drive for the NFL franchise for which Culbreath, the Chamber of Commerce boss here, got Leonard Levy.
Slim and I were friendly with big William Latsko and big Floyd Konetsky. I tried to work with them and their academia, with their books.
At the first general college freshman midterm final, I had taken a spot in a chair in center of about 1,000 freshmen. They passed out the test, one of multiple-choice queries to be answered line of choice that was magnetic. Honor system, you know. Just a straight line. You all then know what I mean. When I was about to begin, I got a pencil tab on the shoulder. I looked around. It was William Latsko and Floyd Konetsky. They smiled back. We never had any conversation about it. They continued to play Gator ball. I chose intramural soccer and softball.
Bill and his wife, Linda, made Gainesville their home. Their fine son, Billy Latsko (42), was a walk-on Gator, and was voted the best walk-on player of his time. He in the construction business now and has had a fine Gator career.
Now, I don’t want to claim all the credit, but that tutoring of his granddad by me and Slim might well have contributed to the ongoing Latsko Gator cooperation.
BUFFALO, N.Y.[body] As the names flashed across television screens Saturday afternoon announcing the reserves for the All-Star teams, it wasn’t the two Lightning names on the list that raised eyebrows. It was the one omission.
Marty St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier were named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team, worthy considerations as the pair entered Saturday’s game against the Sabres tied for third in league scoring.
But Dan Boyle, who was tied for fifth in the league with 36 points by a defenseman and third in the Eastern Conference, was left off as one of the four reserve defensemen. The other defensemen named were: Tomas Kaberle (Toronto), Brian Rafalski (New Jersey), Zdeno Chara (Boston) and Jay Bouwmeester (Florida).
“I don’t understand, I wasn’t consulted and certainly I think Danny deserves to go,’’ Lightning general manager Jay Feaster said. “My initial thought was that I was disappointed for Danny, but my second thought was I hope he shoves it up somebody’s backside.’’
Asked about being snubbed, Boyle took the high road.
“I’m going to bite my lip,’’ he said. “Of course [I was thinking about it], it wasn’t dominating my thoughts but certainly …’’
Though there is no set guidelines to select one player from each of the 30 teams, NHL Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy said that was the league’s intention with only five of the 15 teams in the East with multiple players on the team.
“You don’t want to have an All-Star game where not every team is represented,’’ he said. “That’s not right.’’
The selection for St. Louis is his third consecutive (2003, ’04, ’07) while Lecavalier will play in his second (2003).
For Boyle, who has never played in an all-star game, his spot was likely taken by Florida’s Jay Bouwmeester who is second in scoring (22 pionts) among defenseman on his own team. Bouwmeester was also selected ahead of Boyle on Team Canada for the 2006 Olympics.
“I can use that as motivation,’’ Boyle said. “It’s been some of the focus that has kept me going this year. First it was the Olympics.’’
It was kind of strange last night to arrive in Buffalo and walk to find a place for dinner. First of all, when we got off the airplane it was downright balmy for Buffalo as you could barely see your breath. Then as we were walking around the city, it was RAINING! How can it be the middle of January and it’s raining in Buffalo. Is there really something to this global warming theory? (I also found out that the shoes I brought with me are not waterproof, by the way).
But there were no worries, all was returned to normal as I opened my curtains this morning and there was snow coming down and the cars down below were covered in the white powerdery substance. The precipitation has since stopped, but it feels more like Buffalo to look outside and see at least some snow on the ground.
All-Star reserves were named today and to nobody’s surprise Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis were named to the team that will play Jan. 24 in Dallas. Keep this note in mind, no Lightning player has scored a goal in an All-Star game. Somehow I get the feeling that will change this year.
I was a bit miffed on why Dan Boyle was left off the team, however. His numbers alone merit his participation. He is third in scoring among Eastern Conference defensemen and tied for fifth overall. I understand three of the other four selections as reserve defensemen - Zdeno Chara, Tomas Kaberle and Brian Rafalski. But somebody explain to me why Jay Bouwmeester was selected? He’s not even the top scoring defenseman on his own team? What has he done to merit his selection? I could have been convinced if Bryan McCabe or Sergei Gonchar were picked, but not Bouwmeester who doesn’t rank in the top 28 for scoring by a defenseman. I certainly understand that these selections are not based on numbers alone, that other things come into consideration and I’m sure picking three players from Tampa Bay was some sort of basis for not picking Boyle. But that’s a BS excuse. This is not baseball, there is no requirement to pick a player from each team. Players should be picked for their performance on the ice regardless of what team they play for or how many players from that team have been selected. Boyle should be there, no doubt and his exclusion should not come at the expense of Bouwmeester’s inclusion.
Now, on to tonight’s game.
Good challenge for the Lightning tonight. Tampa Bay feels as if they are doing a pretty good job the past few games, pulling out some victories against two teams - Pittsburgh and Washington - that were ahead of them in the standings. Points are at a premium, but when you can hunt down those in front of you and move past them it means something. Those two teams, however, are up-and-comers. Buffalo is the team at the top of the mountain and a team that has handled Tampa Bay fairly well this season (I’m sure everybody remembers the 7-goal outburst in the second period in November). The Sabres are coming off a loss to an undermanned Toronto team on Thursday, so you know they want to get their game back on track. It will be key to play well away from the puck and pay attention to defensive zone coverage. The Sabres love to skate and buzz around in the offensive zone.
Marc Denis gets the call in net (which is a bit of a surprise to me) but he has played well in his past two games.
Lines to start the game:
Vinny Prospal-Vinny Lecavalier-Marty St. Louis
Nikita Alexeev-Brad Richards-Ruslan Fedotenko
Ryan Craig-Eric Perrin-Nick Tarnasky
Tim Taylor-Andreas Karlsson-Andre Roy
By KEVIN CARLSON
kcarlson@highlandstoday.com
AVON PARK –– Despite winning its final regular-season game, Friday will forever be considered nothing more than a loss for the Lake Placid girls soccer team.
Florida Highway Patrolman Nick Sottile was shot and killed Friday afternoon after a routine traffic stop turned tragic, and the shock waves reverberated throughout the Heartland and beyond. As hoards of police cars sped to southern Highlands County on a manhunt, the Green Dragons were preparing to head to Avon Park for a tune-up match before next week’s Class 3A-District 10 tournament in Frostproof. Once on the bus, the players noticed someone was missing.
Elizabeth Sottile, the polite and unassuming coach of the Dragons, was Nick Sottile’s wife. The severity of the circumstances was kept from the kids on the ride up to Avon Park, but word got around during warm-ups that Mr. Sottile had passed away. Given the chance to cancel the game, the team instead elected to play in honor of the Sottile family and proceeded to notch a bittersweet 5-3 win.
Erica Resendiz led the charge with two goals, but no one wanted to talk much about soccer after the game.
“The girls wanted to play for Mrs. Sottile,” assistant coach Maureen Galban said. “We prayed before we left, and they didn’t know anything about the passing before we got here. They just wanted to play. I was very impressed with them. They held it.”
The tragic news came three days after a fight erupted at the end of a Lake Placid girls basketball game that had one player arrested for a misdemeanor. LPHS athletic director Cindy Rivers had trouble finding the right words to express her grief as she sat in the stands following the Green Dragons’ soccer victory.
“What do you say? What do you do? Obviously, the whole school, faculty and staff will be there in any capacity that she needs,” Rivers said, her eyes watering as a helicopter hovered overhead. “You don’t think about these things happening here. Between that and the fight the other night, God, can’t anything positive come out of Lake Placid for once? I keep saying that this shall pass, but...”
By MEL BERMAN
Somehow, weekend anglers have been the lucky recipients of great fishing weekends. Sure, we had another short-lived cold front, but all that bluster happened mid-week. Now that the weekend has arrived, our weather should be sunny and mild.
Though the season remains closed through January, snook are loving this ultra-mild winter. They are showing at docks, up in the rivers and along inland mangroves ready to jump all over well-presented bait.
Brian Goldsborough of Largo fished a line of mangroves. Using a 3-inch root beer-colored shrimp jig, he got a sudden pull, and then the line went dead. When he began reeling in, the line went the other way with his drag screaming. Goldsborough had what he described as a “beast.”
“It came right for the boat, jumped high and turned the opposite direction,” he said. “I did not re-rig after the last outing, so yeah, the jig broke off. This would have been the largest fish I’ve ever boated. It was at least 35 inches, a real bruiser.”
He finally did boat a couple of undersized linesiders and several ladyfish.
This mild weather has kept the nearshore grouper bite going. Diggers working the waters off Pasco and Hernando counties report brisk action in waters as shallow as 30 feet. There are many “dinks” — but enough keepers to make a trip worthwhile.
Hear “The Captain Mel Show” Saturdays from 6-9 a.m. on WFLA, 970 AM, and Sundays from 6-9 a.m. on WDAE, 620 AM. Also, visit “Fishing Florida OnLine Magazine” at capmel.com.
Here’s a list of local prospects and where they’re headed for visits this weekend (Jan. 12-14):
Player; Pos.; School; Will Visit
Derrall Anderson; LB; Armwood; Arizona State
Marquise Branton; RB; Armwood; Middle Tennessee State
Dino Cox; DL; Wharton; Florida Atlantic
Evan Cromer; WR; Jefferson; Western Kentucky
Darren deRochemont; K; Armwood; Tulane
Andres Harris; WR; Middleton; Bethune-Cookman
Justin Hickman; QB; Armwood; Virginia Military Institute
Chaz Hine; OL; Newsome; Charleston Southern
Jamere Johnson; DL; Wharton; North Carolina A&T
Josh Jones; LB; Wharton; Elon
Robert Marve; QB; Plant; Alabama
Joel Miller; RB; Wharton; Charleston Southern
Mike Peterson; DB; Jesuit; Boston College
Tim Tourdo; OL; Jesuit; Army
Kevin Valenti; RB; Jesuit; Union College (N.Y.)
Hi Frank,
Love your column. I very much appreciate some of the tips you provide us novice anglers with. It makes fishing even more fun. I have a couple questions about one of the more popular local winter species, the Sheepshead. I have had some luck with them around bridge structures inside the bay, but haven’t had the same luck along the Intracoastal Waterway (Indian Rocks/Belleair region). Can they be found in this area? Also, I am curious if they bite after dark. It seems that once the sun goes down, the bite shuts off. Is this always the case? I appreciate the time. Thanks! Frank Weber, St. Petersburg
Frank,
My sheepshead experts tell me that ‘heads around the ICW hang on riprap shores, as well as around bridge pilings, and sometimes in residential canals if they have been cut into limerock. They also tell me that in high current areas, the bite is usually best on slack tide, or with just a very slight flow. And, as you have discovered, they don’t bite very well after dark--can’t say why, because they feed by scent more than sight, but it seems to be true. Basically, just run the ICW and look for gnarly structure--that’s the key to finding ‘heads. Tight lines, FS
The Bucs have filled one of the defensive staff vacancies, promoting Casey Bradley to linebackers coach.
Bradley, the team’s defensive quality control coach in 2006, replaces Joe Barry, who recently took over as the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator.
Bradley joined the Bucs in 2006 after spending 10 seasons (1996-2005) as an assistant at North Dakota State.
Former Robinson standout Armando Murillo, a 2004 Robinson graduate and a Tribune first-team All-Hillsborough County selection as a senior with the Knights, has signed to play football at Nebraska.
Murillo starred as a two-way player (wide receiver and defensive back) for the Knights, but he has made his presence felt as a cornerback at Eastern Arizona Community College. He is listed as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and the No. 20 player on the Junior College Top 100, the fourth-highest defensive back.
The 6-foot, 195-pound Murillo, who runs a 4.4 second 40-yard dash, was a National Junior College Athletic Association first-team All-American in 2005 and was an honorable mention All-American this season after totaling 30 tackles and three interceptions. Murillo’s success in college hasn’t come as a surprise to his former high school coach, Robinson’s Mike DePue.
“God no, not at all,” DePue said. “We knew he was a great player. We had him playing some defensive back, but he was a premier receiver with [former quarterback] Marcello [Trigg].
“He must have found himself a little mean streak, though, because you have to be a little nasty to play at that level.”
Murillo is the brother of former Robinson standout Javier Arenas, who is now at the University of Alabama, and a cousin of current NBA star Gilbert Arenas.
The likelihood of the most anticipated high school wrestling match this season ever taking place is growing unlikelier by the minute.
Brandon, Florida’s most successful program and a nationally-known powerhouse, and Oviedo, Florida’s three-time defending Class 3A state champions, tentatively agreed to meet Jan. 24 in a dual match that would put Brandon’s vaunted win streak of 439 consecutive matches - after Thursday’s victory over Durant - on the line. But since that happened one week ago today, it’s been nothing but problems.
The latest has Oviedo demanding outside officials be used, reserved seating in Brandon’s gym and a conference call between the two head coaches. All this came after someone indirectly linked to Oviedo was caught illegally filming Brandon’s match with Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons during the Graves Duals last Saturday night at Brandon.
It seems like an awfully lot of trouble for one high school wrestling match to take place. But did Brandon coach Russ Cozart expect this type of trouble with Oviedo?
“Yes,” he said. “I’m not surprised with this group.”
Cozart, who agreed to two of the three stipulations set by his counterparts (outside officials will not be used), said he was still waiting to here back from Oviedo coaches to see if the match is a go. Oviedo is in California for a tournament.
Cozart originally had a deadline set for 3 p.m. EST today for final word on whether or not the Lions were going to make the trip to Brandon. As of 2:30 p.m. EST, Cozart had not received word - though he’s called Oviedo coaches again today and left a message about the deadline, after the same message was delivered yesterday to Coach J.D. Robbins via assistant Hank Porcher. Cozart was hopeful word would come back “any minute.”
However, Cozart said he will wait as long as noon EST on Tuesday for a final answer, which would still give him long enough to take care of all the paperwork that needs to be filed. Brandon athletic director Johnny Bush said Thursday that paperwork had not been submitted to the FHSAA, and Cozart reiterated Friday it still had not been sent in. Also, the Hillsborough County athletic office was still awaiting paperwork from Oviedo officials as of late Thursday, according to assistant director of athletics Jennifer Burchill.
But is Cozart optimistic this match ever take place?
“I don’t know. I have no idea,” Cozart said. “This really puts us in a bad position.
“I’m the type of coach who likes to set the schedule at the beginning of the year and then say, ‘OK, lets do it.’ We’ve tried to accommodate them in getting this match done. I’m not really upset [with the situation]. I’m just hoping we can get it done.”
The University of South Florida received some huge recruiting news Friday when Mike Ford, one of the nation’s top running backs out of Sarasota High School in 2004, was cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse and will begin classes at USF Tuesday. Ford (6-2, 220) will participate in spring practice and will have four years eligibility at USF.
As a senior at Sarasota in 2004, Ford rushed for 2,836 yards, including a streak of 11 consecutive games with at least 200 yards. He also had 37 TDs and was named Class 5A player of the year. He signed with Alabama out of high school, but was not eligible. He kept his commitment to Alabama through last season until the firing of Coach Mike Shula.
Ford, who comes to USF from Hargrave Military Academy, joins three other incoming recruits that are eligible this spring: Bradenton Southeast defensive end David Fonua and linemen Kevin McCaskill, of Tallahassee Godby, and Jeremiah Warren, of Palm Bay. All four count toward USF’s 2007 recruiting class. The Bulls also added junior linebacker Tyrone McKenzie, who transferred from Iowa State, and is trying to get an NCAA waiver so he won’t have to sit out the mandatory transfer season and can play in 2007.
Cadillac Williams: Ok, Cadillac had a not-so-great year with only 3.5 YPC on less than 800 yards and one touchdown. And three lost fumbles. But let’s not lay it all at his feet (except the fumbles.) His offensive line only sporadically blocked for him and his coach, for at least a couple games, forgot his playbook also contains running plays. Like when high winds are blowing at Giants Stadium, for example. Still, Michael Pittman had the same coach and the same line and managed 4.9 YPC. Cadillac should spend this offseason squashing whatever injury bug is living in his shoes and strength-training so he can rip through a crease instead of having it close on top of him.
Michael Pittman: Just keep paying Pittman to do what he’s doing; catching passes and supporting Williams while still applying pressure as a viable starter should Williams get hurt or pull a Michael Clayton. The only issue I see with Pittman is that during kickoff returns he always seems just on the verge of breaking one when he trips over… a shoelace? I don’t know, sometimes there’s just nothing out there but grass and for some reason he still stumbles into a coverage guy. I’m not sure how to coach that, but if he can overcome it, Pittman could very well be the guy that finally runs one back.
Just kidding. That record will never be broken.
Earnest Graham: Just signed an extension in 2006 to keep him in Tampa for at least two more years, so the Bucs obvoiusly have plans for him. We still don’t know how well Graham can perform in real game conditions; we’ve only seen him in preseason and garbage time. With Cadillac’s pay grade and Pittman’s performance, Graham is probably resigned to toil away as a third string running back and special teams guy for at least another season, the latter being the main reason he got the extension in the first place. Graham was second on the team in special teams tackles.
Lionel Gates: Moved to the active roster in the final week due to Cadillac’s injury, but isn’t anything more than a camp body at this point.
Mike Alstott: Much like the Brett Favre retirement game they play in Green Bay every year, it’s time again to speculate on whether Alstott will call it a career with dignity or roll the bones through one more season of frustration in an offense that will never revolve around him. Alstott is becoming a better lead blocker and can still catch the ball well and make plays in open space, so if he’s going to come back, that’s what he needs to focus on. He’s not the A-Train of 1999 anymore and at 2.9 YPC, he’s not scaring too many linebackers these days, so the fans insisting that Jon Gruden feed the ball to Alstott up the middle are wasting their breath. Wouldn’t you hate for your last image of Alstott to be watching Julian Peterson take him down in the backfield helmet-to-helmet, causing a fumble and messing up Mike’s neck in the process? There are other options at fullback. How about it? A nice retirement ceremony on the Ray Jay 50 yard line one halftime in September where the team hands him a framed jersey and retires his number? Wouldn’t that be better?
Jerald Sowell: Was brought in last year as a replacement to Jameel Cook, but only dressed for 11 games, caught one pass and never ran the ball. Sowell found out, as Cook did, that life as a backup to Mike Alstott can be less than fulfilling. Sowell’s major contribution to the season was that one block against the Panthers that sprung Chris Simms for his two-yard touchdown. That was sweet. Chances are good he sticks around, especially if Alstott retires.
The Bucs should have no interest in the halfback market this season; all the main players are under contract and performing well-enough to keep their jobs. No one is going to look great behind a line that can’t open holes. Maybe an upgrade to Jerald Sowell as a backup fullback is in order, but that’s a risky proposition. Gruden drafted Rick Razzano at fullback a couple years ago and that didn’t turn out so well (no pun.) Younger players have trouble understanding blitz schemes, so if you rely on a rookie fullback to pick up a blitz, you risk getting your quarterback killed. Sowell is a ten year vet, and even though his veteran minimum salary isn’t all that cheap, it’s still a good idea to keep him around.
Plant senior outside hitter Jennifer Chamblee and Berkeley Prep senior setter Kate Parker were recently named to Prepvolleyball.com’s 2006 Academic All-American Second-Team. Chamblee and Parker chosen out of at least 100 nominees.
Parker, who has a 3.94 grade point average, was named to the Tribune’s All-County first team after leading Berkeley Prep to the Class 3A state championship. Parker finished the season with 652 assists and was also named to the Class 3A All-State first-team. Parker will play for Yale in the fall.
“Kate is deserving of everything she gets,” Berkeley Prep coach Randy Dagostino said.
Chamblee, who earned a 5.69 grade point average, helped Plant win its first Class 5A state title since 2003. She was selected to the Tribune’s All-Hillsborough second-team and Western Conference first-team. Chamblee will play Division I volleyball at Davidson in the fall
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