Gymnastics Camp Coming To Tampa

Posted Jul 11, 2008 by Nick Williams

Updated Jul 11, 2008 at 12:11 PM

From the Tampa Bay Sports Commission:

The Olympia Gymnastics Camp (OGC), featuring three-time Olympic Gymnast Svetlana Boguinskaia (1988, 1992, 1996), is coming to Tampa Bay on July 14-18. Local gymnasts will have an opportunity to learn from some of the best gymnasts in the world at the Lightning City Gymnastics facility located at 14214 N. Nebraska Ave. in Tampa. 

Boguinskaia will lead the sessions along with a select group of top-notch instructors. The camp will also feature 2004 Olympic All-Around Gold Medalist Carly Patterson (Tuesday and Wednesday) and two-time Olympic Gymnast Shannon Miller (Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m). 

Camp hours are: Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon; Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.  Additional OGC’s will be held in various locations throughout the United States including Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Indiana and Maryland. 

Olympia Gymnastics Camps were established in 2000 with the notion that most summer camps are just for fun with very little gymnastics.  OGC showcases elite level coaches who will help develop the skills necessary for each gymnast to be their best and has been rated top day camp by its peers and visiting coaches.  For more information, log on to http://www.ogcamp.com. 

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Locals Teams Headed To USF Sling & Shoot

Posted Jul 11, 2008 by Adam Adkins

Updated Jul 11, 2008 at 10:53 AM

Several local football teams are headed to the annual USF Sling & Shoot 7-on-7 tournament this weekend at the University of South Florida.

The two-day event begins Saturday morning, when teams will compete in pool-play competition. On Sunday, the teams will be seeded and will compete in a single-elimination tournament format, with the championship scheduled for late Sunday afternoon.

Forty-six teams are scheduled to compete in this year’s event, representing 44 high schools (Plant and East Lake each have two teams in the field). Below is the pool divisions, as provided by the University of South Florida. Jefferson is the defending USF Sling & Shoot champion.

POOL A
Dr. Phillips, Alonso, Countryside, Lake Gibson, Zephyrhills, Venice, Brandon, Plant, Pinellas Park, St. Cloud.

POOL B
Atlantic, East Lake, Lee, Pasco, Spoto, Sarasota Riverview, Hollywood Hills, Middleton, Gulf Coast, Springstead

POOL C
Lyman, Jenkins, North Marion, Jefferson, Gibbs, Bloomingdale, Naples, Boca Raton, Lake Weir, Lakewood

POOL D
Riverview, Hallandale, Charlotte, Dunedin, Cardinal Mooney, East Ridge, McArthur, Tarpon Springs, Freedom, Clearwater Central Catholic, Leto

POOL E
Plant (2), Penarock, Carrollwood Day School Prep, East Lake (2), Lakeland Christian

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Got a question for Leavitt?

Posted Jul 10, 2008 by Brett McMurphy

Updated Jul 10, 2008 at 10:23 PM

On Thursday, USF coach Jim Leavitt will participate in the Florida Sports Writers Association’s College Football Media Days in downtown Tampa.

It’s a chance for the state’s media members to interview the state’s 12 football coaches – six on Thursday and six on Friday. And here’s a chance for you to ask Leavitt some questions about the upcoming season.

Just list your question on the comment link below. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to get every question that’s posted answered, but I’ll do my best. I’ll post the questions and answers after the event on Thursday.

Also, NBCSports.com lists DE George Selvie as a first-team preseason All-American. However, MSNBC.com’s John Walters, in a story titled: “Non-BCS teams can still pack a punch” refers to the Bulls as one of the state’s four non-BCS schools along with UCF, Florida Atlantic and Florida International.

Kind of ironic, isn’t it? The same week USF is lauded nationally for its recruiting class by ESPN.com, another national outlet mistakenly refers to the Bulls as a non-BCS school. Hey, at least they didn’t refer to USF as “Southern Florida.”

I’m taking a few days off until the FSWA media days, so I’ll talk to you then.

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Lightning to find help on defense plus other notes

Posted Jul 10, 2008 by Erik Erlendsson

Updated Jul 10, 2008 at 11:10 PM

Had the chance this afternoon to get introduced to new vice president of hockey operations Brian Lawton. Spent about an hour talking with him on a variety of topics, including a few of the newsworthy variety that I wanted to pass along. First off, don’t worry, the defense you see right now, most likely won’t be the defense you see suit up in Prague in October. Sounds like there is a plan to try to find some help in that department, and considering the lack of overall experience on the blue line, that’s an encouraging sign because if not, this would be your top eight on defense - Filip Kuba, Paul Ranger, Shane O’Brien, Alex Picard, Mike Lundin, Matt Smaby, Janne Niskala and Andre Hutchinson (yes, it was a typo, I forgot about Matt Carle, who should log top-four minutes. So many new faces, so many that slip through the crevices of my mind   .

Here’s a sampling of what Lawton had to say about the plans in works for improving the defense:

“We have some nice depth and some nice pieces I’m very happy about, but I still don’t think we’re there yet. We still have some work to do,” he said.

The most likely option is using some of the team’s excess forwards to land some help. There’s not much out there in terms of free agents, so that route is virtually closed off (remember, they tried to go after the likes of Mike Commodore in free agency and were in the running for Rob Blake). The waiver wire option has been brought up, but Lawton said it’s a bit premature to be thinking in terms of sifting through players on waivers.

Some other quick hit notes:

The contract of Vinny Lecavalier, which is expected to be announced on Tuesday, is apparently a bit off base of what has been reported. TSN and Sportsnet were both stating that the final salary number would be in the $77 million range on a nine-year deal. Sounds like the final salary number might be different from that.

“The numbers are not as advertised,” Lawton said Thursday. “We are putting the final touches on it. Everything you have read and all that’s been reported in the media, they are all false. We’ll announce it all next week.”

* While Jay Feaster still holds the title as Lightning general manager, that situation should be resolved in the near future.

Lawton said he is in discussions with Feaster about how everything is going to be resolved, with a buy out the topic that’s making the rounds right now.

In the meantime, Lawton said Thursday that newly hired assistant GM Tom Kurvers will share the title with current assistant GM Claude Loiselle. While Lawton didn’t say what titles each would hold, Kurvers will be primarily responsible for player personnel issues while Loiselle will handle legal issues, including negotiating contracts and matters involving the collective bargaining agreement.

Lawton also mentioned that assistant coaches Mike Sullivan and Jeff Reese, who have one year remaining on their contracts, have been speaking to other teams.

The members of the team’s training and equipment staff are all expected to remain with the team.

Lawton said no decision has been made on video coach Nigel Kirwan, but Lawton stated he has heard plenty of positives about how he does his job.

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Palma Ceia Advances After Delay, Faces Citrus Park

Posted Jul 10, 2008 by Nick Murray

Updated Jul 10, 2008 at 07:48 PM

Palma Ceia moved into the final of the District 6 Major baseball All-Star tournament with a 5-3 win against Bayshore Little League after their game resumed Thursday evening.

Trailing 2-1 when the game resumed in the bottom of the fourth inning with Andrew Suarez on second base and no outs, Palma Ceia’s Blake Stanford walked, and both runners advanced on a passed ball. Jake Woodford then reached on an error, which allowed both runners to score, giving Palma Ceia its first lead of the game.

Bayshore came right back in the top of the fifth, when Matt Vaka tripled, and was driven in by Sam Martin to tie the game. But Palma Ceia took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth as Grant Fraley hit a solo homer, and Ben Rowley scored on a single by Stanford.

Palma Ceia advanced to face Citrus Park in the championship series, which began later on Thursday evening after Citrus Park completed a 25-5 win against Tampa Bay Little League to win Bracket A. Due to Palma Ceia’s loss earlier in the tournament, Citrus Park could win the District title with a win. Palma Ceia would need to beat undefeated Citrus Park twice in order to move on to the Section tournament.

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Dine With Jeff And Carmella Garcia

Posted Jul 10, 2008 by Anwar S. Richardson

Updated Jul 10, 2008 at 05:32 PM

Jeff Garcia’s Pass It On Foundation will hold a charity dinner at Bern’s Steak House on September 26.

The dinner costs $500 (includes dinner, dessert, beverages, autograph opportunites and a gift bag) and benefits the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. Seating at Jeff and Carmella Garcia’s table is limited to 40 people.

For information or sponsorship opportunities, call (440) 250-2104 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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And Longo makes three

Posted Jul 10, 2008 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Jul 10, 2008 at 05:29 PM

CLEVELAND—Great scene here about 20 minutes ago. Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn, after much anxious pacing, finally got the call the whole organization had been awaiting around 5:15 p.m., telling him Evan Longoria had won the fan voting for the final spot on the AL All-Star team.

Vaughn handed the phone to Longoria, who was stretching on the field before batting practice, and gave the rest of the Rays a heads-up. That led Longoria’s teammates to burst into spontaneous applause.

“What can I say? Now it’s going to be the dream come true that I was hoping for. I’m totally excited,” Longoria said. “I just want to say thanks to the fans, thanks to everybody who voted, that’s got to be first and foremost. I couldn’t have done it without everybody who voted.”

Longoria beat out four established players - Jason Giambi, Jermaine Dye, Brian Roberts and Jose Guillen in a heavy voting turnout. He got nine million votes, the most for any player since the final ballot was instituted in 2002.

The rookie third baseman admitted the final push today included “about 20” votes he made for himself.

“I had to,” he said with a huge smile.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Longoria winning such a vote was that it couldn’t have been simply people from Tampa Bay voting for him, considering the players he was up against. To Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman, Longoria’s election is another indication that people everywhere are paying attention.

“Going head-to-head with a player from the Chicago market and a player from the New York market, I think it’s quite an accomplishment for him to have won that,” said Friedman. “A lot of it has to do with the success of the team and the success he’s had, so I think it’s kind of a perfect storm of events that has allowed him to win that vote. Even last year, we weren’t in a position to win one of those votes and the success we’ve had, obviously we’ve gotten a lot of national recognition and that certainly aided him as well.”

Updating with another cool gesture: Red Sox skipper Terry Francona called Vaughn during batting practice and asked him to congratulate Longoria for him.

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Nate Campbell Will Fight In September, But Where?

Posted Jul 10, 2008 by Eddie Daniels

Updated Jul 10, 2008 at 03:42 PM

The date has been set and Jacksonville’s Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) knows who he will step in the ring against – Joan Guzman (28-0, 17 KOs). But there’s an issue.

No one is quite sure where that September 13 fight for two of Campbell’s three lightweight belts (WBA and WBO) will take place. Tampa nearly scored on having the Showtime event here, but the XFC will be holding its Salute Our Armed Forces 5 at the Forum.

“We’re just looking for sites. I wanted to do it here [in Tampa], but there’s an MMA show at the Forum that night,” said Campbell’s promoter, Terry Trekas of Tampa. “So all I could get was the SunDome and the MMA show won’t move to another date. So I’m looking at Jacksonville and Don [King] is shopping some sites, too.

“So I don’t know exactly where the fight’s going to land yet, but it won’t be in Tampa unfortunately. I would have liked to have done it here, but it’s not possible.”

Stay tuned here for the site’s announcement.

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It’s still The Jake to me

Posted Jul 10, 2008 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Jul 10, 2008 at 02:57 PM

CLEVELAND—Lots of overhauling done on the signage around here with the name change to Progressive Field. None of it looks natural. The Jake just had such a nice ring to it. But alas, nothing we can do about it now…

Only about an hour left to vote for Evan Longoria, who still led the balloting as of 9 a.m. today. We should know shortly after 5 p.m. whether he made it.

The Rays have their usual facing-a-lefty lineup, which surprises me a bit. I don’t know that you can leave both Hinske and Floyd on the bench three of the next four games and I figured Joe Maddon would pop at least one of them in there today against Aaron Laffey rather than tomorrow against Cliff Lee. Guess we’ll see tomorrow.

Rays
Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Navarro C
Aybar DH
Gomes RF
Zobrist SS
Sonnanstine P

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Zenon Konopka officially in the fold

Posted Jul 10, 2008 by Erik Erlendsson

Updated Jul 10, 2008 at 02:39 PM

This has been out there for a bit now, but the i’s were dotted and the t’s were crossed, so Zenon Konopka was officially signed to a two-year contract today.

- The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed free agent center Zenon Konopka to a two-year contract today, owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie announced.

“Zenon Konopka is a prime example of the type of player we want to have in our organization,” vice president of hockey operations Brian Lawton said.  “He is a great leader in the dressing room and is one of those players that you love to have on your team, but hate to play against.”

Konopka, 6-foot-1, 213-pounds, played in 62 games with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League last season.  He scored a career-high 24 goals and recorded a professional-best 55 points.  Konopka ranked third on the team in goals and was second in points.  He also ranked second on the team with 11 power play goals and tied for fourth among forwards with a plus-9 rating.  Konopka also played in three games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, recording four shots on goal and 15 penalty minutes.

A native of Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Konopka has played in 32 career NHL games with Columbus and the Anaheim Ducks.  He recorded a career-best four goals and seven points with two power-play goals in 23 games with the Ducks in 2005-06. 

Konopka has played in 280 career AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Utah, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Portland.  He has netted 86 career goals and recorded 212 points.  He also played in 44 career Calder Cup Playoff games, recording 17 goals and 45 points.  Konopka has also played in 91 career games in the ECHL with Wheeling and Idaho, recording 28 goals and 98 points.

The 27-year-old played in 242 games with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League during his junior career.  Konopka scored 28 goals and recorded 98 points with Ottawa.  He also played in 51 career playoff games, recording 16 goals and 37 points.

Undrafted out of juniors, Konopka served as the captain for the Crunch last season.

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