Army All-American Bowl Wants Murray

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Katherine Smith

Updated Mar 31, 2008 at 11:12 PM

The All-American kid will play in an All-American Bowl.

Plant quarterback Aaron Murray has received a lot of offers, but one of the most prestigious ones came on Monday. Murray accepted an invitation to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Hillsborough County’s leading passer is one of the first national invites for the event.

“It’s a great tradition because you get to see so many stars,” Murray said.

A selection committee made up of several recruiting experts interview more than 4,000 potential Bowl participants before officially nominating 400 of the top seniors in the nation. From that list, 84 are selected to play in the annual game, which is nationally televised.

A high-ranking Army official will be a part of a formal ceremony at the school in the coming months.

Former Armwood offensive lineman Matt Patchan was selected last year, but was unable to play in the game. Former quarterbacks who have participated include Florida’s Tim Tebow and Terrelle Pryor.

Murray just wrapped up a busy weekend. On Saturday, he participated in the quarterbacks clinic with Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden and former Bucs quarterback Doug Williams. On Sunday, Murray helped lead a team comprised of Panthers teammates Orson Charles and Hunter Baldwin, Chamberlain’s Anthony Williams and players from Pahokee, Lake Region, Titusville and King’s Academy to victory at a 7-on-7 tournament at USF.

“Football’s always fun for me,” Murray said of his busy schedule. “We make sure things don’t get too hectic. I want to enjoy this process.”

In the coming months, Murray is expected to narrow his more than 50 Division I offers to about 10. He will announce his college decision before the start of his senior season. Murray is also on schedule to graduate from Plant in December so he can early enroll in college in January.

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Ch Ch Ch Changes

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Darin Shaw

Updated Mar 31, 2008 at 04:31 PM

The NFL Owners are meeting to discuss changes. Changes in the playoff format to allow for teams with better records in stronger divisions to host division winners in weaker divisions - so we don’t have the Giants visiting the Bucs… uh… Oh, and give the league a haircut. The Owners are weighing the length of a player’s hair among the big items on the agenda. Should a player’s hair be allowed to cover his name on the back of his jersey? A compromise? Write the player’s name on his behind - you know, like the shorts teenage girls wear that say ‘Pink’. And while we’re at it, I think that adopting the old XFL name rules would be fun. Names like ‘Killa’ and others, why even ‘Pac-Man’ could write that cross his buns.

Speaking about Pac-Man, he’s talking. Oops… I didn’t mean ‘talking’ like that. Some of his cohorts just fot real nervous. I meant that he’s talking to the press about football. Sort of. He’s said that he thinks his days as a Titan are over. Do you think? What clues did he consider? The fact that they’ve banned him from the facility? Maybe that they answer the telephone “Titan’s Pizzeria” when he calls? So where will he land? Let’s look at the stat sheet: For a player whose position is usually considered by ‘passes defensed’ and ‘interceptions’, Pac’s last two years are better considered in ‘allegations defensed’ and ‘incarcerations’. And, his numbers there are impressive. He also has an attempt at a professional wrestling career in which he was contractually forbidden to actually wrestle. I’ll bet the teams are lining up to work him out.

Word out of Tampa is that Chris Simms days are numbered. What else is new? Chris didn’t show for the QB club. That’s actually a good indicator that someone is saying something - whether it’s Chris saying “I want out” or Chucky saying “!@#$%^ Chris Simms!” I bet the latter. His fate was sealed when Brian Griese returned. Now, if he’s true to history, he’ll go on to become the next Super Bowl MVP QB that has a stint in Tampa atop his career stats.

The Bucs have been making some impressive off-season moves. Chief among them is not being in a hurry to add people at inflated prices. You have to admire a team that takes it wisely. Of course, in reading the comments on other blogs and articles here, I see that many a Buc fan has vented frustration over the off-season moves thus far. I’m cautiously optomistic - but you know that about me. There were voices squealing at the loss of Simeon Rice last year. Not me, you will recall. Where has Simeon surfaced? Figure skating, I think?

So, sound off for me. What do you think of the off-season moves so far? Where have the Buc succeeded? Where have they missed out? What’s left to address?

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No Determination On Jones’ Status

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Adam Adkins

Updated Mar 31, 2008 at 03:40 PM

Tampa Bay coach Tim Marcum made no determination on the status of offensive lineman Kenyatta Jones, who was arrested early Monday morning after a disturbance at a local bar.

During a session with the local media Monday afternoon Marcum did not say definitively whether Jones, who has started on the offensive line for the team’s first four games, would be on the field Saturday in Columbus when the Storm (2-2) look to snap a two-game losing skid against the Destroyers. Marcum said team officials were looking into the matter and that he would let the legal process run its course.

“I believe in jurisprudence,” Marcum said.

You can read about Jones’ run-in with Tampa police here in a story by the Tribune’s Josh Poltilove.

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At last - let’s play ball

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Marc Lancaster

Updated Mar 31, 2008 at 02:08 PM

BALTIMORE—Greeings from Camden Yards, where plenty of good and not-so-good seats are available for a season-opening tilt between teams that appear to be heading in opposite directions.

All the players and staff were introduced (interestingly enough, Aubrey Huff was booed by a decent percentage of the crowd) and there were the usual fireworks under increasingly colder temperatures here, but there hadn’t been any rain for the last hour or two…until right now. Suddenly all the umbrellas are popping out and ponchos are going on. The forecast calls for light rain and drizzle. Doesn’t sound like anything that will keep the game from being played, but it certainly doesn’t amount to ideal working conditions for guys who have been playing in Florida for the last six weeks.

Not much news from Joe Maddon pregame. He indicated he’d like to get every position player on the roster some action by the weekend at the latest just so they can get a feel for things. He’d like to see Nathan Haynes in the outfield, so we’ll probably see him in right as a defensive replacement sometime early, with perhaps a start by the end of the week.

We’ll keep an eye on two Rays starters who have had some leg problems lately, Willy Aybar (left hamstring) and Cliff Floyd (left knee), to see how they handle the conditions today. It didn’t escape anyone’s attention that Elijah Dukes, who ended the spring with hamstring troubles for the Nationals, had to leave last night’s season opener down the road in Washington when it flared up again and was put on the DL following the game.

The Orioles are on the field now and it’s time to go. Let’s play some baseball.

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Mitchell LB to Sign This Week

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Eddie Daniels

Updated Mar 31, 2008 at 12:26 PM

Mitchell linebacker Niko Hall will continue his football career when he signs a letter-of-intent with Jackson, Mississippi’s Belhaven College later this week.

“I’m really excited about that,” said Hall, who admitted the process was a stressful one. “Every since junior year, I really didn’t think I was going to play football [in college] until my senior year when I said, ‘I want to keep playing.’”

Hall, who played linebacker for the Mustangs, finished his senior season third in total tackles (55). He also collected one sack, three passes defensed, a quarterback hurry and an interception.

Hall, who will play outside linebacker, joins a Blazers squad that went 5-6 in 2007, wining three of its last four games.

Hall joins teammates Jesse Dustin (Campbellsville University in Kentucky), Tate Humphrey (Wayne State) and Tyrone Hendrix (New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico) slated to play college football on scholarship.

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Final home morning skate of the season (PLEASE NO BEACH BALLS)

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Erik Erlendsson

Updated Apr 1, 2008 at 12:47 AM

A very non-descript morning skate today. Lineup will be the same from Saturday, with Mike Smith in net and Shane O’Brien still out of the lineup.

Speaking of O’Brien, I think it must have been “get a haircut weekend’’ yesterday as both O’Brien and Brad Lukowich were sporting new, shorter haircuts this morning. As O’Brien stated, maybe it’s time for a fresh start. Still no word on why he’s out and why he had to do a “separate workout’’ the other day during practice. But my guess, and this is just a guess on my part, there has been some talk the team is not happy with him physical play especially along the wall and in the corners, so being a psychology minor in college, my guess is Torts’ message was, “If you don’t want to by physical, them I’m going to make you be physical in the workout room’‘. Just a theory…..

Wanted to check and see if Dan Boyle had been contacted by Team Canada for upcoming World Championships and he said that he has heard from any of their representatives. But I wouldn’t be surprised considering the season Boyle has had this year if he just opted out, take the summer to rest his psyche and come back strong next season.

No update on Paul Ranger’s shoulder situation. He has had some additional testing done, but the team is still evaluating the results.

Ryan Craig skated this morning, the second day he has skated. He also took to the ice on Saturday for about 45 minutes. There is no chance he comes back to play, but he said it was nice just to get back on the ice for a little time.

FIRST INTERMISSION

Relatively uneventful opening 20 minutes. Couple of good scoring chances on both sides, maybe a couple more in favor of Tampa Bay. It is a bit funny, Kari Lehtonen has been having a very subpar year, yet it seems that every game against Tampa Bay he looks like the former No. 2 overall pick in which he was….

A quick note to fans, you guys need to leave the inflatable beach balls at home DO NOT BRING THEM TO A HOCKEY GAME. This is the second consecutive game in which I have seen one being knock around the stands. This might be kind of fun and entertaining, but not at a hockey game. Think about what would happen if Vinny Lecavalier was coming down the ice at near full speed and all of a sudden a ball comes on the ice - just like it did tonight - and cause Lecavalier to wipe out resulting in blown knee or something. Come guys, you are smarting than that. Save those for the baseball games where they are not quite as dangerous. They have no business being smacked around during a hockey game.

OK, that’s my public service announcement for the night, and it was totally unsolicited….

Couple of observations . . . Lightning coach John Tortorella appeared to get a bit upset after a play in which Lecavalier did a spin-around with the puck inside the offensive zone. Didn’t think that was fair to be so up in arms over that move (but then again, that’s why I’m perched above). . .  Dan Boyle is skating pretty well tonight, having made a couple of end-to-end rushes up the ice. This is the element he needs to bring. . . Mike Smith made a save in the first that looked like he tweaked his left knee. He got up flexing it, then going down into a squat position before doing some more flexing. He went over and talked to assistant trainer Jason Serbus at the next TV timeout. . . I guess Tortorella doesn’t want to let Ilya Kovalchuk burn Tampa Bay tonight as he is matching Jeff Halpern’s line out there just about every time Kovalchuk is on the ice. . . .  You can tell this game has absolutely no meaning, of the four officials for the game, I don’t recognized three of them - referee Steve Kozari and both linesmen, Mark Shewchyk and Darren Gibbs.

SECOND INTERMISSION

Can we get a little offense around here? I mean, there are fantasy playoffs on the line here people!!!! I needs some goals, preferably on the power play, and Tampa Bay has had five of them to this point!!!! Can’t somebody get one behind Lehtonen tonight??? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

The Lightning have had chances with 27 shots through 40 minutes, but once again Lehtonen looks more like Pelle Lindbergh than Antero Nittymaki right now. Mike Smith has been pretty good. He’s faced 17 shots, but he’s seen some quality chances by the Thrashers.

By the way, this is the fourth consecutive game in which Tampa Bay has been tied entering the third period. In each of the previous three, they scored the first goal of the third period to take a lead, having held on twice - Florida and Carolina - while Washington tied it in regulation and won it in overtime.

Interesting D pairing with Matt Smaby and Dan Boyle, setting up the kid with the riverboat gambler. It’s worked so far. Speaking of Boyle, he’s already played 21 minutes, 40 seconds in this game . . um, there’s only 40 minutes in the first two periods… I guess five power play opportunities will up his ice time any time!!!!

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

Very interesting scene as I began to power down my computer tonight a pack up my bags. I looked down at the sound rumbling from the ice surface and imagine my surprise when the cause of sound was a bulldozer digging up the ice surface. Kind of strange to see. And to think, I just figured they would turn off the cooling mechanism, let it melt and then pump out the water. Good thing I write about this stuff and not try to come up with the ideas to solve the problems!!!

Saw some comments about why the game wasn’t televised tonight, and wanted to clear things up on that. Versus has exclusivity on Monday nights and if they wish to exercise their option on full exclusivity - which they did in this case - it prevents any other game from being telecast. Hope that clears things up.

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A Wet Start

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Joe Henderson

Updated Mar 31, 2008 at 10:49 AM

BALTIMORE - It’s a beautiful day for baseball.

Well, not exactly.

The temperature is hovering in the high ‘40s under a cloudy, wet sky that covers Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Rays are scheduled to open their season at 3:05 p.m. today. Showers are expected throughout the day but it is expected that the game will be played. Stay tuned.

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Watching Maya Moore, Thinking Of Noles

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Aaron Knox

Updated Mar 31, 2008 at 09:35 AM

Got the chance to watch Connecticut freshman Maya Moore in person for the first time on Sunday while covering the NCAA women’s tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

I haven’t paid much attention to her prior to this assignment, but I have to admit, I caught myself just watching her play at times during the game. Moore is an impressive player, athletic and graceful beyond anyone else on the court. I’m pretty sure she could beat me and my next door neighbor in a game of 2-on-1. Moore scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked three shots and had two steals in UConn’s victory over Old Dominion.

“Maya was obviously Maya,’’ UConn coach Geno Auriemma said afterward.

After watching the Florida State women come within a free throw of advancing to the Sweet 16, I thought about how the Noles might do in a game against the Huskies. For whatever reason, FSU was horrible against ranked teams during the regular season, going 0-11 with several close calls. But in the tournament, FSU knocked off Ohio State and then nearly upset Oklahoma State.

So, the talent is there for the Noles to be a factor in this tournament again next year. Their only major loss is point guard Shante Williams, and if center Britany Miller returns from academic trouble, FSU has a chance to still be playing this time next year.

But could they beat a team like the No. 1-ranked Huskies and slow down Moore? Probably not, but it would be fun to watch them try. Moore is nearly impossible to stop, but FSU’s Tanae Davis-Cain is athletic enough to at least challenge Moore than many of the players she faces.

Anyway, if you haven’t had a chance to watch Moore or Tennessee’s Candace Parker play, flip on the TV and check them out. They both will likely be in Tampa next week for the women’s Final Four. It’s kind of like watching the women’s version of Bird vs. Magic. Both players are great individually, but what makes them really great is how much better they make the players around them.

 

 

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Giles List Gets Longer

Posted Mar 31, 2008 by Katherine Smith

Updated Mar 31, 2008 at 02:18 PM

UPDATE: Before the end of the school day, Gaither’s Jarvis Giles received his second offer of the day, this time from North Carolina.

The Tar Heels became the 14th Division I program to offer the running back a scholarship.

Troy University is the latest to offer Jarvis Giles a scholarship, Gaither coach Mark Kantor said.

The Gaither junior running back also has offers from Florida, Florida State and Tennessee.

Giles is expected to attend the Vols and Seminoles football camps this summer. He will also narrow his choices, which now stands at 13, at some point before the start of his senior season.

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Chamberlain Track Coach Resigns

Posted Mar 30, 2008 by Bill Ward

Updated Mar 30, 2008 at 10:42 PM

Just days before the Vernon Korhn Hillsborough County track and field championships, Chamberlain boys track coach Hansford Johnson says he was asked to resign by the school’s principal for allowing an ineligible athlete to compete in a recent meet.

If Johnson’s wife, Tiffany Johnson, goes with him as he expects, the Chiefs’ girls track team will be losing its coach, too.

“All of us on the team are very shocked by this,” said Chamberlain sprint star Dentarius Locke, who is expected to contend for the Class 4A state title in the 100-meter dash. “We still have confidence and know we have to pull together as a team, but we can’t believe this is coming just a few days before the county championships. I just don’t think it was serious as they made it out to be.”

Chamberlain athletic director Richard Scionti declined to go into the details of Johnson’s departure, saying only Johnson submitted his resignation Thursday for “personal reasons.” Scionti did, however, confirm he will be turning in the necessary paperwork to the Florida High School Athletic Association to acknowledge an academically ineligible track-and-field athlete from Chamberlain competed in a meet.

Scionti said the violation could result in the FHSAA levying a fine against Chamberlain. In Johnson’s absence, he said Chiefs assistant coach Bill Strack, the school’s cross country coach, will act as boys track coach. Scionti said he expected Tiffany Johnson to remain the girls coach, while Johnson said his wife will likely step down Monday.

Johnson admits he allowed the ineligible athlete to run at the Disney Showcase meet, March 15 in Lake Buena Vista. But Johnson said he thought it was not a violation because he believed the event was not sanctioned by the FHSAA. He said the athlete in question did not compete in any other meets before or after the Disney Showcase. Michael Cain, Disney event manager for track and field, said his meet was sanctioned by the FHSAA and the national federation.

At the meet, Johnson said he tried to enter the athlete as “unattached,” but officials would not allow it. As a result, the athlete represented Chamberlain and competed in two individual events.

“I’m a firm believer in the law and rules and I take full responsibility for what I did,” Johnson said. “I just feel bad for the program because my wife and I teach the kids to never quit, no matter what the situation is.

“In all honesty, I just felt I was doing what was in the best interest of the athlete. I wasn’t doing it to gain anything because he can’t run in the district, region or state — meets where it counts. I was just doing it for him.”

The county championships will be held Tuesday at Jefferson. Chamberlain starts district competition April 17 at Gaither.

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