Seminoles vs. Black Bears

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Aaron Knox

Updated Apr 24, 2008 at 07:46 PM

The Maine Black Bears are coming to Tallahassee. They visited last December for a men’s basketball game and were smoked by 40 points in Florida State’s largest victory margin of the season.

Once upon a time, I would have said the FSU football team would have no problem rolling over the Black Bears by 40, but those days have been over for a while.

Regardless, Thursday’s announcement that FSU will host Maine on Sept. 5, 2009, at Doak Campbell Stadium should mean an early season victory for the Noles.

The Black Bears aren’t exactly a football powerhouse. They joined the Colonial Athletic Conference last season, finishing 4-7. Back in 2004, the Black Bears knocked off Mississippi State, 9-7, for their only victory over a FBS school, so this is a business trip to stock up on some FSU cash.

FSU opens next season against Division I-AA schools Western Carolina and Chattanooga.

What do you think of FSU’s new philosophy of playing cupcakes to start the season?

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Samaha, Hersh Don’t Disappoint

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Jarrett Guthrie

Updated Apr 25, 2008 at 12:21 PM

The differences between Plant’s Joel Samaha and Newsome’s Andy Hersh are easy to spot.

For one Samaha is a towering 6’6”, while Hersh is 5’8”. Samaha uses every bit of his size and long arms to cover the court from line to line. Hersh is a cardio kid whose style is to run up and down, back and forth at a fever pitch. Certainly each 3A individual semifinal was different for the two players on Thursday at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs. Samaha looked dominating in a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Satellite’s Patrick Killeavy. Hersh on the other hand, had to battle back after dropping the first set to Boca Raton’s Jeremy Delarue for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win.

However, early into the final similarities showed right through to the surface.

Neither player lacks intensity and the final didn’t disappoint as Samaha won in three sets (5-7, 6-0, 6-3).

Both Hersh and Samaha live less then 20 minutes from one another, but Thursday marked the first meeting between the two.

“Ever since I started playing tennis a few years ago, I’ve wanted to play Joel,” Hersh, a junior said before the match.

The first set opened with Hersh and Samaha trading games and ended with a 7-5 victory for Hersh.

Hersh said prior to the match his plan was to use drop shots and rush the net on Samaha and it worked for a while. Samaha said he planned to start aggressively, but forgot his plan in the first set.

“My strategy going in was to be aggressive from the beginning,” Samaha said. “But early on I was giving him control over the court and that was definitely not what I wanted.”

However, early in the second set Hersh started to visibly limp and was hobbled with cramps in his ankle. Samaha took advantage won the set 6-0.

After the set, Hersh had his ankle wrapped by a trainer and was ready to play. However, Samaha said after the match he went back to his original game plan and won the match with a 6-3 final set.

”At the end I went back to the aggressive game I started with,” Samaha said. “And I think that was the difference.”

After the match Hersh said he would have liked a different outcome but was not disappointed by the match he had so long hoped for.

“I started fast in the first set and jumped on him early,” Hersh said. “I fought the whole match. I fought until I couldn’t anymore. I guess my body was done. I’m just exited to have gotten this far in my first year [at states].”

—Wharton earned the school’s first tennis title with 13 team points over Ponte Verde Nease, which had 12 points. Seniors Mitchell Wong and Alex Bartholomew won their second No. 2 doubles title (also won in 2006) and freshman Rohit Navelkar won the No.4 singles title.

—Chamberlain’s Jamie Mera won the individual singles final defeating Gulf Coast’s Amy Grossklag 6-3, 6-3. Mera, who had also played in the semifinals of the individuals Thursday then teamed with doubles partner Jennifer Miller and played two more matches. Her and Miller won both of their doubles matches and advanced to the individual winners doubles finals Friday. 

Mera will face St. Thomas’ Courtney Clayton, the team singles winner for the overall title Friday at 8 a.m.

Check Friday’s Tampa Tribune for more coverage.

Correspondent Jarrett Guthrie can be contacted at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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Lady Byng Finalists and conference semifinals prediction

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Erik Erlendsson

Updated Apr 24, 2008 at 08:03 PM

This is late due to a couple of issues today, mainly field trip and soccer practice, but other things as well, so for that lateness, I apoligize especially since one of the finalists today is a Lightning player….

The three finalists for the Lady Byng Award (awarded for gentelmanly play while maintaining a high level of play) are:
Pavel Datsyuk - Detroit
Jason Pominville - Buffalo
Marty St. Louis - Tampa Bay

Here is the history of the trophy, for those who are interested in this, courtesy of the NHL: ” Lady Byng, wife of Canada’s Governor-General at the time, presented the Lady Byng Trophy to the NHL in the 1924-25 season. After Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers won the award seven times in an eight-year span, he was given the trophy to keep and Lady Byng donated another trophy in 1936. After Lady Byng’s death in 1949, the League presented a new trophy in her memory.’‘

These were my votes for the trophy:
1. Datsyuk
2. Anze Kopitar - Los Angeles Kings
3. Andrew Burnette - Colorado
4. Brad Boyes - St. Louis
5. Pominville

The finalists for the Selke Award as the top defensive forward will be announced on Friday (this was a tough one to figure out this year, by the way, so it will be interesting to see who the finalists are for this award)

Also today, the Lightning signed forward Paul Szczechura to a two-year contract. He scored 14 goals in 24 games with the Admirals last season after netting two in 29 games with the Iowa Stars before being traded to Norfolk on January 15 in exchange for future considerations.  He was tied for third on the Admirals in goals with 16 and was seventh in points with 31.  He led all Norfolk rookies in scoring and was tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals.

One last thing, I wanted to give my quick picks for the conference semifinal matchups, which start tonight (and have actually begun as I type this)...

Philadelphia vs. Montreal - A couple of teams coming off seven-game series victories, both of which after blowing 3-1 leads in the series. Geez, you think the league would push this series back a day and let the Pittsburgh-Ranger series start today since they each finished their first-round series in five or less games. Any way, I think the Canadiens take this series. I think they overlooked the Bruins in the first round because of the 8-0 record they had against Boston in the regular season. I don’t think they will make that mistake again despite going 4-0 against the Flyers in the regular season. Besides, Carey Price really showed something in shutting out the Bruins in Game 7 after giving up 10 goals in the previous two games. That’s some moxy for somebody who is supposed to be a rooke. Montreal in six

Pittsburgh vs. NY Rangers - I really like the Rangers, and they are my pick to come out of the East. I think they are a team that is really built for the postseason, starting with Henrik Lundqvist in net. I think they can roll three quality lines, they have a good enough defense and play good defense to go with some of their game-breakers they possess. Pittsburgh had such an easy time with a Ottawa team that was in shambles in the first round, they faced very little adversity to start the postseason and I think it will catch up with them. Rangers in six

Out West
Colorado vs. Detroit - What a great rivalry renewed. Postseason drama at its best. Some of the names have changed, but the rivalry remains the same. Before today I would have thought Colorado had a good chance to win this series. I just don’t think Detroit is a team built for the postseason. It’s kind of hard to put a finger on why I have that feeling, but I just do. I like the mix of veterans and youth the Avalanche possess and I think they are an underrated team. But seeing the Wings dominate the Avalanche in the first period, combined with the dominance they had over Colorado in the regular season, Detroit will win this series. Detroit in seven

Dallas vs. San Jose - What a difficult series to call. Part of me says that Dallas just won their Stanley Cup because they finally advanced past the first round and knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champs to do it. Maybe that gives a sense of relief in some of the players who have been there the past handful of seasons that ended in the first round. But it could work the other way, too, and serve as a launching pad to bigger and better things. San Jose, meanwhile, is coming off a hard-fought, seven-game series against a Calgary team that can wear opponents down. I was on the radio the other day thinking that San Jose is my pick to come out of the West (this was before they beat Calgary in Game 7), but I’m having some second thoughts on that notion. Either way, I think whichever team wins this series, ultimately wins the West. Dallas in seven

Any thoughts that contradict my thinking? Any predictions you guys are willing to put on writing?

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Sheppard Confirms Visit To Tampa

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Roy Cummings

Updated Apr 24, 2008 at 05:09 PM

TAMPA - I just got off the phone with Lito Sheppard, the Eagles cornerback who is on the trading block and was reportedly in Tampa visiting with the Bucs on Wednesday.

Sheppard confirmed he was here in Tampa, and he said he did visit with the Bucs. The Bucs he visited with, though, were players, not team officials, he said.

“I was there to see some people at [the University of] South Florida that I know,’’ he said. “And I saw some of [the Bucs players]. I saw Antonio Bryant a little bit and Matt McCoy. But I didn’t meet with anybody [in the front office].’‘

According to a report on Foxsports.com, Tampa Bay has emerged as the favorite to land Sheppard, who many believe will be traded before the first day of the draft expires on Saturday.

Sheppard said he is anxious to see if and where he will be traded, but he said he’s not sure that will happen.

Sheppard became expendable when the Eagles signed Asante Samuel in free agency. The Eagles are believed to be seeking a second- and fifth-round draft pick for Sheppard, who has missed 14 games in the last three seasons with a variety of injuries.

We’ll have more for you on this in tomorrow’s paper.

 

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Seeking a rare sweep

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Apr 24, 2008 at 05:02 PM

LAKE BUENA VISTA—Believe it or not, the same 25 players in uniform last night will be in uniform tonight for the Rays. Who’d have thunk it?

Then again, the Rays will have to make a move before tomorrow’s game, likely axing either Justin Ruggiano or Nathan Haynes to clear a spot for Matt Garza. Normally they would go ahead and do that following the game tonight, but because of the travel and logistics involved, they might wait until tomorrow to inform whoever is getting sent out.

As for the game itself, the Rays of course will be looking to run their regular-season record here to 6-0. They also will be gunning for their first three-game winning streak of the season, their first sweep at “home” since doing the same to the Rangers here last season and their first sweep overall since winning three at Baltimore last Aug. 29-31.

It’ll be in Andy Sonnanstine’s hands against Dustin McGowan, a pitcher the Rays aren’t fond of facing. Joe Maddon is of the opinion the Jays have the best top-to-bottom pitching staff in the division, if not the entire AL, and McGowan is one of those guys that tends to go unnoticed. He’s nasty, though, so we’ll see how this Rays lineup does against him as Gabe Gross gets his first start with the Rays:

Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Hinske DH
Gross RF
Navarro C
Bartlett SS
Sonnanstine P

Blue Jays
Eckstein SS
Hill 2B
Rios RF
Wells CF
Stairs DH
Stewart LF
Overbay 1B
Zaun C
Scutaro 3B
McGowan P

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Garton to sign with FAU baseball

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Cristina Ledra

Updated Apr 29, 2008 at 05:13 PM

Mitchell’s Ryan Garton has verbally committed to Florida Atlantic University and will sign his Letter of Intent Wednesday at Beef O’ Brady’s in Trinity on Wednesday.

Garton had a 3-3 record and two saves for the Mustangs with a 1.549 ERA. He pitched a shutout win over Land O’ Lakes on April 4 and had 12 strikeouts. He topped that strikeout mark on April 14 against Zephyrhills with 13. 

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DiFelice, Medlock back to Durham

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Apr 24, 2008 at 02:30 PM

LAKE BUENA VISTA—The Rays will get to hold onto the two players they have designated for assignment in the last week. Catcher Mike DiFelice and right-hander Calvin Medlock both cleared waivers and will report to Durham.

I don’t imagine the odds of Medlock ending up in a Rays uniform this season are all that good, but the way catchers seem to get hurt around here, I can imagine DiFelice might be back—and that would please a lot of folks in the Rays’ clubhouse. The guy did an outstanding job in the couple of weeks he was here.

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No surprise: Big East will be a bear next year

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Brett McMurphy

Updated Apr 24, 2008 at 02:17 PM

Since USF men’s basketball coach Stan Heath already locked up a commitment from North Port junior Shaun Noriega for the 2009-10 season, it’s never too early to look forward to the upcoming 2008-09 season.

And – surprise – it’s won’t be an easy road in conference play for the Bulls.

Based on the four major online preseason polls, USF will be competing in the rigorous Big East that could feature nine Top 25-ranked teams. That’s just sick.

Here’s a look at the Big East teams projected in next year’s Top 25 rankings:

ESPN.com’s Andy Katz: 3. Pittsburgh, 5. Notre Dame, 6. West Virginia, 7. UConn, 18. Syracuse, 19. Georgetown, 21. Louisville. Just missing his Top 25: Villanova, Providence.

CNN/SI.com’s Luke Winn: 2. UConn, 7. West Virginia, 8. Georgetown, 11. Notre Dame, 13. Pittsburgh, 16. Syracuse, 22. Marquette, 23. Villanova.

CBSSportsline.com’s Gary Parrish: 6. Georgetown, 7. Notre Dame, 9. Pittsburgh, 11. Louisville, 14. UConn, 17. Marquette, 19. Villanova. Just missing his Top 25: Syracuse, WVU

Fox Sports.com’s Jeff Goodman: 3. Notre Dame, 5. Georgetown, 11. UConn, 15. Villanova, 16. Pittsburgh, 17. Marquette, 23. Louisville. Just missing his Top 25: WVU, Syracuse

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More Changes In FSU’s Athletic Department

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Aaron Knox

Updated Apr 24, 2008 at 02:00 PM

Since taking over in February amid the fallout of an academic cheating scandal involving more than 50 student-athletes, Florida State athletic director Randy Spetman has quietly rebuilt the athletic department’s top hierarchy.

Spetman’s latest moves include a pair of longtime FSU staff members taking on new roles. Former FSU football player Monk Bonasorte, head of the Varsity Club, will assume a senior associate athletic director’s position in charge of internal operations, and Brian Battle, currently associate athletic director of compliance, will move up to become compliance director, replacing Bob Minnix. Minnix, whose last day is Friday, is leaving to take a similar position at Washington State.

Prior to those moves, Spetman hired Kellie Elliott away from San Jose State to become FSU’s deputy director of athletics and senior women’s administrator, and he recently brought former FSU softball player Brandi Stuart back to FSU an associate athletic director for women’s sports.

In January, interim athletic director Bill Proctor appointed Bill Shults, a former FSU coach and administrator, as head of the Athletics Academic Support Program. Shults replaced Mark Meleney.

With Battle’s promotion, Spetman is now looking to fill Battle’s former position and add another compliance official. Spetman is also in the process of outlining a strategic plan for the revamped department he hopes to unveil later this year.

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Former Buc To Assist At Middleton

Posted Apr 24, 2008 by Nick Williams

Updated Apr 24, 2008 at 05:29 PM

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Reidel Anthony will be on the sideline with the Middleton football team this upcoming season, Middleton coach Harry Hubbard said.

Hubbard said Anthony, who was drafted by the Bucs as the No. 16 overall in the 1997 NFL draft, will be the receiver’s coach.

“I’ve known him for a while,” Hubbard said.

The former Florida Gator is the Bucs’ second all-time kick returner with 2,232 yards.

Hubbard also said senior linebacker Reshard McFadden (5-foot-9, 190) will play for Division III Averett University.

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