TORONTO—So the Durham Bulls will get an unscheduled break tonight, as Game 3 of their playoff series against Louisville has been rained out.
They’ll try to play it tomorrow, but their success in that endeavor probably will depend on how quickly Hanna decides to move up the Eastern Seaboard.
This is getting out of hand.
Over the summer, there’s been some back-and-forth graffiti between the two schools. That was minor compared to two incidents last night. Aaron Murray’s family was awakened at 3 a.m. to find several police cars outside there home. The police had received a report that there was a gunman outside the Murray house.
Also around 3 a.m., Plant assistant coach Bo Puckett and his wife were awakened by someone knocking at their door. Puckett said it was an escort sent to his house as a joke. He also received several prank calls on his cell phone. Puckett called the police and he said they traced the call phone to the Seffner area. Puckett, who happens to live next door to Plant coach Robert Weiner, said one of the neighbors houses was vandalized with spray paints that read “AHS.” Police are investigating both incidents.
Enough already. Let the teams play the game!
By MEL BERMAN
Retired New York electrician Richard Reile has found his passion in Florida. He grabs every opportunity to work the waters surrounding his Venice home. On a recent wade-fishing trip with friend Andrew Schoener, they were confronted with the prospect of some unsettled weather.
“We waded one of our areas out of the wind [in the] morning,” Schoener said. “Rain and 25- to 30-mph winds didn’t stop Richard from having maybe his best day wading.”
Using live shrimp, Reile caught eight redfish and a 32-inch snook.
“As for me, I really had no hook-ups. So when Richard got into the fish, I just stayed with him to take the pictures,” Schoener said.
The snook season started with some solid action. Jim Ellison of Discount Tackle Outlet in Bradenton said several of his customers have been catching good numbers of linesiders at the Rod and Reel Pier on Anna Maria Island, as well as on many other local piers and in the passes.
Ellison also said there has been a lot of mangrove snapper action, mostly near structure using live and cut baits. “The reds are beginning to show up off some of the bigger sandbars. Most of them are over the slot limit, but fun to catch and release,” he said.
He suggests working sand bars and drop-offs for the most productive locations this weekend.
Hear “The Captain Mel Show” Saturdays from 6-9 a.m. on WFLA, 970 AM. Also, visit “Fishing Florida OnLine Magazine” at capmel.com.
TORONTO—The Rays will run their usual lineup out there tonight against Roy Halladay as they attempt (for the second time) to become the first team to beat the Jays’ ace four times in a season.
If that occurs, Andy Sonnanstine could match Rolando Arrojo’s franchise win record of 14 along the way.
After looking at the Rays’ numbers against Halladay, I thought Joe Maddon might make a change at the DH spot. Floyd is 1-for-11 lifetime against the Doc, while Rocco Baldelli is 5-for-14 with a homer. He’s sticking lefty-righty, though.
Rays
Iwamura 2B
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Floyd DH
Aybar 3B
Hinske LF
Navarro C
Gross RF
Bartlett SS
Sonnanstine P
If you didn’t get a ticket to the game or don’t have ESPNU, don’t fret.
I’ll be blogging updates throughout the Armwood-Plant game that kicks off tonight at 8 p.m.
Also, I’ll be giving the latest update leading up to the game during the 5:30 p.m. report on News Channel 8.
Some may be asking why I’m posting some news about somebody named David Frost, but anytime this guy makes the news, it just creeps me out.
Frost, if you remember, is the former agent of one-time Lightning prospect/player Sheldon Keefe. Another of Frost’s “clients Mike Danton (formally Jefferson) is currently in jail for an alleged plot to have Frost killed while Danton was playing with the St. Louis Blues. If you Google Frost, you’ll come across some very interesting, and honestly downright frightening, stories about Frost and how he has allegedly treated players, including Keefe and Danton. Frost in currently awaiting trial in Canada, but has been granted permission to leave the country to attend training camp for the Phoenix Coyotes where Sheldon’s younger brother, Adam, is a farmhand for the Coyotes. You can read the story in the Toronto Sun from today.
On a personal note, I had a couple of encounters with Frost, including a phone call at my house at 1:15 a.m. one night after I wrote something about Sheldon that he didn’t like/agree with and he wanted to talk to me right away. I can tell you, I just did not get a good vibe. I also believe, but have no way to verify, that Frost called me a couple of times misrepresenting himself - the one that stands out is an out-of-the-blue call I got from a somebody claiming to be a with a radio station in New Jersey and he had the scoop on a deal involving Vinny Lecavalier (this was around the time Vinny was being shopped around by Rick Dudley) and basically he claimed the trade involved Danton coming back to Tampa. The conversation quickly turned to my thoughts on Sheldon, where he fit in with the Lightning and then touting Danton as a player. I also received a call around the same time from somebody claiming to be with an Ottawa radio station claiming Sheldon Keefe was being traded to the Senators. Again, I can’t say with 100 percent certainty that it was Frost, but judging by the conversations I had with him when he was a certified agent, the voices were pretty similar.
Any way, thought I would pass it along because every time Frost’s name comes up in the news, I get a little creeped out. And there are some pretty strong comments from Phoenix general manager Don Maloney, stating that Frost better not show his face anywhere near the Coyotes’ training camp and that if Adam Keefe is still involved with Frost, then the team is done with Adam Keefe.
TORONTO—So there we were at the Atlanta airport this morning, about to board our connecting flight to Toronto, when who should appear out of thin air but Jonny Gomes.
Did he get called up? Nope. The Bulls were merely connecting through Atlanta on their way back home from last night’s 19-3 pounding in Louisville. Don’t have those nifty postgame charter flights in the International League—the Bulls had a 5:30 a.m. call this morning for the bus to the airport, and they’ll play again tonight, weather permitting.
Jonny seemed in good spirits and obviously hopes to be back here whenever the Bulls’ season comes to an end. We’ll see.
Speaking of out of place, the sight of a Buffalo Bills Team Shop here at Rogers Centre is a bit off-putting...but I imagine it bothers the pigskin-loving folks in Buffalo more than it does me.
Anyway, I’ll pass along the lineups when I get ‘em.
Armwood officials confirmed they sold out of their allotment of tickets earlier today so if you don’t have a ticket, plan on watching it on TV.
Plant sold out of its allotment of tickets in a matter of hours on Tuesday.
As Florida-Miami games go, Saturday night’s meeting already has been a disappointment.
I’m talking about talking.
Where is it?
For the most part, outside a little self-promotion, the build up to the two schools first regular-season meeting since 2003 has been darn-near polite.
UF senior wide receiver Louis Murphy did a pretty good job of trying to get the smack going early when, immediately after the Gators win last week over Hawaii, he announced he would not refer to Miami by its pet nickname, The U, because Florida is the state’s real university.
Nobel effort. The press corps appreciated it greatly. But what did Murphy get out of it?
A scolding from Gators coach Urban Meyer.
And a gag order.
“He won’t be doing any more interviews this week,’’ Meyer announced on Monday.
By the sound of things, a similar attitude was taken in Miami by Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon.
About the closest thing to inflammatory that came out of South Florida was Xavier Shannon, the coach’s son, telling the Miami Herald that he welcomed the national stage that will be the 8 p.m. ESPN kickoff.
“We wanted the game at 8 o’clock,’’ he said. “Let all the other games get out of the way and everybody else can see us play. I believe it is zero and six lately for Florida. We want to keep it that way. We plan on winning this game.’’
Of course they do. That’s not talking trash.
I’ll tell you what it is. For both teams.
It’s disappointing.
Respectful, sportsmanlike, focused and classy, too.
But disappointing,
You might remember a story we ran in the youth sports notebook last month about the Tampa Heatwave Under-14 softball team. They won the World Fastpitch Connection World Series in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Well, Heatwave coach Sonny LeBlanc has found a photo of the team celebrating at the beach after its win, as well as some stats that weren’t available when the story originally ran. The team as a whole hit .353 for the tournament, with Catie Lytle hitting .526, Megan Borak .516, Amanda Polk .424 and Tricie Santiago .414.
The Heatwave’s next tournament comes up next month, with its Under-14, -16 and -18 teams playing in Clermont at the Sweet 16 College Showcase.
Back (l to r) - Sonny LeBlanc, Tricie Santiago, Kwanza Gannon, Jessica Razinski, Catie Lytle, Regan Knotts, Mickey Cogburn, Megan Tice, Taylor Cogburn, Shelby Mathews
Front (l to r) - Amanda Polk, Sierra Rock, Megan Borak, Barbara Fulch, Alyssa Bastin
The stage is set, literally, for tonight’s nationally televised game between Armwood and Plant.
The field at Dad’s Stadium has been painted and Nike signage is in place. Both teams will be sporting new Nike uniforms - Plant in white and Armwood in blue.
There’s also a bank of lights in place behind the press box just in case of any power outages. Last week in the Kickoff Classic against Wharton, a bank of lights in the corner of the north end zone were out. Plant coach Robert Weiner said electrical crews were working on the lights all week and they should be fine. ESPN will surely bring enough wattage to light up the entire neighborhood.
Eager South Tampa fans who don’t have tickets are waiting to see if Armwood sells out of its allotment. After school yesterday, the Hawks still had about 650 tickets remaining. Any tickets not sold will be available at Plant’s gate before the game. Dad’s Stadium is scheduled to open around 5:30 p.m.
Gaither coach Mark Kantor said Jarvis Giles will be a game-time decision.
The senior running back was injured in last week’s Kickoff Classic and may have to be sidelined for tonight’s game against Chamberlain. The University of Tennessee commit took a helmet to the back of his leg and his muscle tightened up in the Cowboys preseason victory over Durant.
Last year in Gaither’s regular-season loss to Chamberlain, Giles rushed for 210 yards.
For what it’s worth, Giles just sent me a text message and said “I am str8.” OK, I have to admit, I might be too old to actually know what that means. I’m not up on all the latest text lingo, but I think he means he’s going to be OK. I’m pretty sure Chamberlain coach Billy Turner would like to know!
TAMPA - Quarterback Jeff Garcia is back on the Bucs injury list. This time it’s a sprained right pinky that’s put him there. Don’t be too concerned. Garcia certainly isn’t.
“I actually sprained it in the one exhibition game I played,’’ Garcia said. “My hand came down on someone’s shoulder pad and I sprained it. But it’s fine really. It’s not a problem at all. I don’t even know why it would be an issue.’’
NFL teams are required to notify the league of all injured players. Since Garcia has a slightly swollen right pinky he’s on the list. He hasn’t been limited at practice, though, so no one with the Bucs seems concerned about the injury.
As far as other injury news, there really isn’t much to tell you. It looks like Davin Joseph (foot) will be the only player listed as out for the game. Everyone else should be ready to go, including WR Antonio Bryant (knee), WR Michael Clayton (chest) and FS Sabby Piscitelli (knee).
We’ll get the official injury report around 4 p.m. If there’s anything alarming there, we’ll let you know but right now it looks as though the biggest concern Coach Jon Gruden has regards what healthy players he’ll have to scratch on Sunday.
We’re already pretty sure that RB Michael Bennett will be one of those who doesn’t dress. There could be a receiver in that group, too, because Dexter Jackson has earned his way onto the field for the opener. Said Gruden on Friday when asked about Jackson, “He’ll be up; based on what he did last week.’’
For those who might have missed it, Jackson returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown and had a 23-yard kickoff return to his own 26 to start the final preseason game against Houston. He’ll return kicks and punts against the Saints and if another wideout is scratched, he could even see time at receiver.
With kickoff only a day away, UCF officials are asking fans to leave pets at home on game day, the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday.
In the past, the school has had to deal with goats, pigs, rabbits, cats and dogs at tailgate parties on campus. Service-aid dogs are allowed, but anyone else with a pet will be asked to leave and take the animal home.
I wonder if that pertains to the media. I was planning on bringing my pet Llama into the press box.
UCF to honor Plancher: The Orlando Sentinel reports a moment of silence will be held before Saturday’s game to honor Ereck Plancher, a 19-year-old wide receiver from Naples, who died March 18. Plancher was a cousin of USF RB Moise Plancher.
Also, UCF LB Cory Hogue , who missed the opener with a leg injury will play Saturday.
Thursday night, FHSAA spokesperson Cristina Alvarez said three Brandon volleyball players who transferred from Bloomingdale had been ruled ineligible under FHSAA bylaw 11.4.12, which states “participation by a student in non-school athletics (i.e. AAU, American Legion, club settings, etc.) on a team that is affiliated with any school other than the school which the student attends, or attended the prior year, followed by enrollment by that student in the affiliated school shall be considered prima facie evidence of recruiting by the school to which that student enrolled, or that the student enrolled in that school in whole or in part for athletic reasons.”
Alvarez said the players would present their case before the Sectional Appeals Committee Friday, but also said the program is not under investigation.
After the hearing in Bartow Friday, Brandon coach Amy Watson said one player, a projected starter, was cleared to play while the other two were denied. Watson said the two players will present their case again on Oct. 10.
“In all three hearings, the FHSAA said there were no recruiting violations,” Watson said. “Two of them played on my (AAU) club this past season. They were ruled ineligible for prior contact.”
The Brandon volleyball team is currently competing in the KSA Classic tournament at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
Brandon, one of the top programs in Hillsborough County, reached the Class 5A region final last year.
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