It’s hard to tell if we’re actually seeing a long-term comeback for the National Basketball Association, or we’ve just caught a cycle of good games. But either way, there’s no denying that these playoffs have been very good for a league that seemed less relevant than a commencement address by Britney Spears.
The games have been tremendous for the most part. It was hard not to root for the L.A. Clippers, even if you’ve never watched a Clippers’ game in your life before the playoffs began. LeBron James elevated his game to the superstar level so many expected in taking Cleveland to a 7-game series with Detroit. And, of course, the Dallas-San Antonio series was great theater.
Even going back to the regular season, Orlando seemed to discover the right combination near the end of the regular and made a dash for the playoffs. This was an awakening for those of us who had forgotten Orlando still had a team.
Look, I’ll be the first to admit that the NBA had totally fallen off my radar screen until this run. The regular-season was essentially unwatchable, but something has changed during these playoffs. I love basketball, but the last few years I’ve barely tuned into the NBA - even the finals. But there is a new generation of stars taking their place in the game, and enough time has passed since Michael Jordan and that group ruled the league so we aren’t constantly comparing the new guys to the old guys.
My guess is the league is still a long way from being “back” in the mind of many fans, especially those with only casual interest in the game. But when Jack Nicholson starts showing up at Clippers games, as happened this year, it means there’s a revolution under way and perhaps we should pay attention.
Q: What are the chances of John Wade being cut on June 1 if he loses his starting spot to Sean Mahan? Are there any other prominent Bucs who could be on the chopping block on June 1? - Skip Simpson, Dallas
A: I’d be very surprised if the Bucs cut anyone on June 1. They’re in good shape under the cap right now so there’s no reason to let anyone go at this time.
Q: Great coverage online. I am one of a few Bucs fans here in Seattle, but I hold my own here with all the Seahawks fans. I was wondering what the status of David Boston is. Are they going to sign him? I feel by adding him with Galloway, Clayton (hopefully having a rebound year), Hilliard, Shepherd and Brackins, they have a deep receiver corps. I feel Boston could this year’s Chris Hovan that they sign for minimum and has a comeback year. Your guys’ feelings?—Geoff, Seattle
A: I think that in working Boston out, the Bucs were simply doing their due diligence. I don’t see signing him as a great priority. The Bucs have a lot of young receivers with potential, and that’s really all that Boston is. I think you would also have to concern yourself with what he might do to the chemistry inside the locker room. The Bucs have very good chemistry there right now and you wouldn’t want to add anyone that could possibly destroy that.
TORONTO—Rocco Baldelli will begin his rehab assignment Tuesday in Triple-A Durham when the Bulls play Richmond.
Before today’s game against Toronto, Rays manager Joe Maddon said that the team is sending Baldelli down for about 20 days. Of course, Baldelli hasn’t played competitively since Oct. 3, 2004, so has to hone in on hitting, fielding and baserunning skills that haven’t been tested in 20 months.
Because of that, Maddon is determined that Baldelli will stay in Durham until he is 100 percent. So the 20-day assignment may be more of a guideline than a hard and fast time frame. Keep in mind that Baldelli not only needs to test his healing left hamstring, but also his knee and shoulder—and all at once.
At the same time, it could take less time. They Rays—for the right reasons—have coddled Baldelli by trying to be certain he won’t get reinjured. Once thing’s for sure, Baldelli is itching to get back out there. He’s been away from the game he loves for way too long. Maybe, once the Rays turns the reins loose on Baldelli, he will show everything he needs immediately.
Still, it’s a big step toward his return.
TORONTO—After winning five of their past six at home, the Rays are hitting the road for a 10-game, 11-day road trip—their longest trip of the season.
The trip takes them to Toronto, Boston and Baltimore—all division opponents—which means this trip could be the most important of the first half.
The Rays are no longer beating up on the Marlins, the worst team in baseball. They’ll have their hands full with division opponents.
“It’s a good time for us to be out there and test what we’re doing a bit and see how we match up,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
Q:Mr. Sargeant,
I have a couple questions regarding your recent article about shark fishing. I have been fishing for sharks for many years up
near the Crystal River area. I am looking at doing shark fishing here in Tampa Bay now. Some of the terms and areas are unfamiliar to me. I was hoping you could give me some extra guidance.
1. I am looking for the best places to go close to the Gandy Bridge. You mentioned the shadow line. What’s the shadow line? And is this only good after dark? What about during the day?
2. I have been told the Howard Frankland is a good area. Where? What other areas close to the Gandy would be good?
3. Are there any areas in Hillsborough Bay that have lots of sharks?
4. Most of the areas you described were flats and spoil areas. This is drastically different then what we experience up north. There the deeper holes were better as the water temps increased.
Thanks so much.
Brian
A: Gandy Bridge is by far best after dark, when you might actually see 15 or 20 bull sharks over a period of a few hours running right down the line under the bridge where the lights fall. Trick is to get in there in a boat and tie to the pilings, then throw a ladyfish in front of them as they approach. Same tactic works for tarpon, by the way. I’m not sure about Howard Frankland, but I’d bet they’re around there, too. Tie to a piling and drop a couple of big bags of cut fish chum over the side and you’ll likely draw them in, day or night, at either bridge.
Regarding fishing ‘’flats,’’ in this case I’m talking the outside edge, where water is typically 4 to 10 feet deep, rather than up in the very shallow areas. Same for spoil areas - water is typically no less than 5 feet over these areas, more commonly 8 to 10 in surrounds of 20 feet or more. The sharks lay in the deeper water, then rush into the shallows when ladyfish or mackerel get up there feeding. Again, a chum bag works wonders. Tight lines, FS
By MARK COOK
Anyone who has done any driving through eastern Hillsborough County or Polk County certainly has noticed the huge piles of phosphate byproduct called gypsum stacks. While mining has scarred our landscape forever, one positive that has come are the numerous pools or pits that are left after the draglines are gone.
These pits produce some of the best fishing in the state and Florida’s “phosphate pit bass” are known around the country. Unfortunately a majority of these pits are on private land and most people are left out. However, the average citizen can take advantage of several that are now owned or managed by the state.
One of the best is Teneroc Fish Management Area in Lakeland, where anglers can get a taste of phosphate fishing at its finest. With 14 lakes to choose from, Teneroc offers bass, bluegill, shellcracker, specks and several varieties of catfish.
Bluegill and shellcracker are an easy catch this time of year. Bass catches also are excellent at Teneroc and in the private pits, although the size has dropped considerably since earlier this spring. For bass, fish shallow early and late, then deeper in the middle parts of the day.
Look for irregular bottoms, humps or ledges, and structure when fishing phosphate pits. Most natural Florida lakes have sloping flat bottoms, while phosphate pits may have 20-foot holes just offshore.
For rules and hours of operations visit www.myfwc.comor call (863) 648-3203.
Mark Cook can be reached at tribfishing@aol.com.
It is Sunday afternoon and I finally have time to relax. I had a game Thursday night, my girlfriend’s graduation party Friday night, and the Nike Camp in Gainesville Saturday morning. I left Saturday morning at 7 a.m to go to Gainesville. It was a pretty quick trip, I was watching ‘’Braveheart’’ the whole way there.
As for the game Thursday night: We ended up beating our rival Plant, 16-0 in one half (we only play one half). It started off with a interception return for a 75-yard touchdown by our linebacker Troy Wolfe. Our defense played awesome! I was really proud of the way they played. On offense, we moved up and down the field. Our offense looked very good for a jamboree game. Our second touchdown was a 50-yard touchdown pass from me to our wide receiver Evan Cromer. Coach Fenton set the defense up good with a bunch of consecutive running plays, then a play-action post. It was a thing of beauty.
There were over 40 college scouts at the game, it was incredible! Media, college coaches, last year’s players, all on the sidelines, it was very crowded. There was also a funny thing in the stands that was pretty impressive: South Carolina fans [check out the video]. I didn’t expect to see any college fans there, but I liked it. So, bottom line of the game, it was very good because now I can enjoy my summer without having the thought of us losing to Plant in the back of my head.
Now for the Nike Camp. I think it went real well. As I was walking to the camp field, I ran into Tim Tebow and talked to him for like 5 minutes. He just wished me luck and told me to relax and stuff. I think I performed well. FlaVarsity.com had me ranked the No. 2 best prospect in all positions at the camp, the No. 1 quarterback. So I was real excited about that. I met a lot of good guys out there. I talked with John Brantley for a while, he is a great guy man. I also talked with Joe Weatherford. He was pretty cool as well. I also met some guys who I didn’t really care for at all also. The quarterback who commited to Miami was not very friendly. He actually was the complete opposite. But who cares, I really don’t. But all the other QBs there were cool and most of them were fairly good! I was very glad to go there.
A couple of my teammates went up there as well. Byron McClead, Evan Cromer, Mike Williams and TJ Simpson. They all said they had a good camp and they think their stock will rise soon! Cromer actually got offered by the Air Force! He was really excited about that!
Well, that’s about it. I got Coach Fenton and his wife, my uncles and aunts, some of my friends, and my girlfriend Amanda over here for dinner. So I will be writing again later this week. It is exam week so I have to do a little studying. Thanks for all the support!
My thanks to Carl Lisciandrello for chiming in with his thougths regarding the return of ECW in any form. I share some of the same memories and excitement of the group’s early days, and how I remember feeling about some of the unbelievable things I witnessed that took place in (and out of) the ring.
But my years of following the sport cause me to have other thoughts about the advent of the new venture, as well.
ECW! ECW! ECW!
It was the cry of every die-hard, hardcore wrestling fan that followed the amazing, ridiculously outrageous antics of Extreme Championship Wrestling during the mid-to-late 1990s. And rightfully so.
With it’s penchant for violence, the Philadelphia-based group run by Paul (E. Dangerously) Heyman introduced the phenomenon known as “hard-core†to the world of professional wrestling through a long list of talented workers, including Cactus Jack, Terry Funk, Sabu, Public Enemy, Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, the Tazmaniac (Taz), Raven, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, Stevie Richards and Chris Jericho.
So it’s quite understandable that fans are excited about the fact that ECW is on the way back. Personally, I’m not so thrilled and I’ll tell you why.
Vince McMahon bought all the rights to ECW some time after the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001. That means anything marketed under the ECW brand is really being marketing by McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment. And that means, you guessed it. More of the same.
Sure, fans might finally get a chance to see some real action instead of the mostly R-rated, three-ring circus being served up each week through RAW and Smackdown! They may even see something surface similar to the competition reminiscent of the days of the Monday Night wars between WWE (then WWF) and WCW.
But bottom line is that McMahon is in control. He orchestrates what takes place on RAW, he dictates what happens on Smackdown! And for sure he will sign off on the storyline associated with the “new” ECW.
Regardless of how it “looks†on the surface, there is no real competition being forged between ECW and WWE. And, as I have said in the past, as long as McMahon is in control of the whole kit and caboodle WWE will always come out on top.
There is no real competition. And there won’t be until a wrestling company not connected in any way with WWE—one with the money and the courage—steps up to the plate to take on the giant.
Not to invade Ron’s space, but when the WWE seems on the verge of something special, it warrants some props. Especially because it really hits home here.
It started about 10 years ago, when a few of us in the sports department were flipping channels and came across a wrestling match where fans were handing cheese graters, pans, and other assorted kitchen utensils to the wrestlers, who were in turn using them as foreign (apologies to Ted Turner) objects in what seems to be perfectly legal means. The wrestlers looked not like chiseled Adonises, but guys you’d see working at a construction site - and nearly as approachable.
Our fascination with ECW resembled a cult following, with similar shock value as Morton Downey Jr. and Andrew Dice Clay. How can New Jack jump 30 feet from a balcony, onto another wrestler splayed out on a table, and live to tell about it? What’s up with this Sandman smoking cigarettes and chugging beer in the ring, and smashing the can against his head and drawing blood BEFORE the match as an exclamation point? And isn’t Terry Funk old enough to be a grandfather, yet still getting wrapped up in barbed wire for entertainment purposes, only?
We all took turns imitating Joey Styles (catfight! catfight!) and his straightforward, deadpan play-by-play that reminded us of a more animated Gordon Solie. We laughed at the edgy, trashy personas of the various valets (Francine was no Diva, but we loved her anyway).
It had that anti-establishment, we’re-not-here-to-entertainment-you attituede that lured me to ECW, and kept me a fan even when the roster started thinning out one-by-one - The Dudleys, Rob Van Dam, Tazz, Shane Douglas, Sabu, Lance Storm ... the list goes on. Paul Heyman was the anti-Vince McMahon - ‘’This is what we are, and if you don’t like it, there’s always the WWE and WCW.’’
So when the WWE started dropping hints at bringing back another ECW One Night Stand - set for June 11 - I marveled at the possibilities. When Styles ‘’quit’’ with an inspired speech that - I’m sure - was half-script, half-truth (’’I’m SICK of sports entertainment’’ - Yes!), I quietly applauded. And when Mick Foley and Edge teamed up to leave Tommy Dreamer a crumpled, bloody mess (OK, so I’m not thrilled with the Foley heel turn and hate to see Dreamer laying face-first in his own blood), I appreciated where they were going.
Styles’ speech - and the second ECW show - have me thinking that the WWE understands the value of offering an alternative to their polished ‘’sports entertainment.’’ Just as any other established product gives consumers a diverse choice, it seems the WWE sees ECW as a potentially lucrative option for wrestling fans who truly want to see wrestling in its raw form.
And here’s hoping the ‘’One Night Stand’’ is a precursor to more shows in the future. Styles, Van Dam, Tazz, Dreamer and Sandman - among others - together again?
E-C-W!
Pssst. Yeah, you over there. Want to know the real reason, the inside, inside scoop, on why Reggie Kohn, USF’s former point guard, was hired Wednesday as the Bulls’ director of basketball operations? “I guess,’’ Kohn said, “because I’m their good luck charm.’’ That’s right, the Bulls are unbeatable in Big East play with Kohn in the house. Last season, Kohn attended one USF game - the finale against Georgetown, a 63-56 victory - so the Bulls have never lost a Big East game with Kohn in attendance. So don’t be surprised when the Bulls finish league play 16-0 next season with Kohn on the bench.
Seriously, Kohn was excited to get a chance to return to his alma mater. He spent the past three years coaching Winter Park Lake Howell, reaching the state tournament each season. At USF he finished as the all-time leader in assists and 3-pointers and was one of the classiest and, without question, one of the toughest athletes I’ve covered since I took over the Tribune’s USF beat in 1999.
Six weeks ago when I spoke to Kohn from the Final Four in Indianapolis, there was some rumblings that Kohn would be offered a graduate assistant position with Florida. However, that never materialized. So when Scott Thompson resigned his position at USF, it opened up a slot for Kohn to come back to Tampa.
Kohn said he had a chance to visit the new athletic facility before the Georgetown game and was stunned. “It was 15, no 20 times, better than anything we had when I was here,’’ said Kohn, who started from 2000-03. “The study hall, the weight room, I remember having to go to the Village to study. They’ve taken athletics to a whole new level - and that was just four years ago [since he left]. It could do nothing but help recruiting.’’
USF coach Robert McCullum said he was impressed with Kohn. “I watched him [as Lake Howell’s coach] the three years he’s been away from here,’’ McCullum said. “I like the way he handled himself. I’m really impressed with his loyalty to South Florida. Each year he had his team at our team camp, when they’ve had other choices to go elsewhere.”
I told McCullum and Kohn if they have a 3-point shooting contest between the coaching staff and USF’s current players, I’m taking the staff because of their newest addition. Kohn said I was on the right side. “Oh yeah, I can still shoot it,’’ Kohn said. “I can’t get up and down the court as well, but I can still shoot.”
Q: If Chris Simms has an all-world year in 2006, can the Bucs put the franchise tag on him? — Fred Arliss, Jacksonville
A: They sure can. But I doubt that will happen. Even if Chris has an all-world year, the Bucs aren’t going to pay him the average of the 10 highest-paid QBs in the league.
We are counting down the days we have until we play Plant. I have never seen the team so anxious before. It’s almost scary. I am very excited, because that’s the kind of attitude we have to have week in and week out. We have worked very hard this whole week, and a lot of the other players have really been opening up scouts’ eyes! It’s a beautiful thing when you see your teammates getting a lot of attention and recognition. To be completely honest, they are even surprising me!
On Monday night, I had to leave practice early to attend the annual Tampa Tribune Parade of Athletes. It was a very good banquet. Well organized. I talked with Jarred Fayson and a couple other football players for a little bit, and some of my other friends that play different sports and go to different schools. I was very shocked to learn that I won the Offensive Player of the Year. I thought that only seniors won the award. I was thrilled and honored to win that award. Throughout the entire deal, people came over to me and asked where I was going to go next year. I have to admit, this whole process is pretty fun. I’m enjoying every day of it, because not only am I getting recognized, but I also get to put my teammates’ names out there and this whole little blog thing is a pretty cool deal.
There were some more coaches at practice and school today. Florida State, Northwestern, UCF and Akron were here today. They will all be there in Gainesville for the Nike combine. I really can’t wait!
Well, my next blog entry will contain how the spring game against Plant went. The outcome better favor us, and if we stay focused, I believe it will be. We can only lose to ourselves, we’ve just got to play smart!
I also want to take time and say thank you to all who have posted comments, including my grandfather Ag, and my aunt, Laura! Also my
family members in South Carolina. Thank you to all who have been following and keeping up with me, it means a lot! Thank you!
One of the most surprising facts for me about Wednesday’s story on USF baseball coach Eddie Cardieri was the fact only Florida A&M had a worse winning percentage than USF among the state’s 11 Division I programs since 2000. Obviously a huge reason for that is the pathetic baseball stadium Cardieri has had to recruit players to play in. While other state schools and Big East schools (Louisville, Cincinnati) have sparkling new digs, the Bulls “stadium” is worse than some high school facilities. What’s your take on why USF hasn’t matched the same success it had in the 1980s and 1990s? Is it coaching, facilities, the players underachieving, recruiting, all of the above or other factors?
Q: Hey guys from sunny Italy. Do you see any of the offensive linemen who we have picked up via free agency or the draft starting over any of the current starters? — Mike Caudill, Naples, Italy
A: It’s hard to say at this point if any of the newcomers will start, but you can be sure that a couple of them will challenge the incumbents. I see a big battle brewing at RG. Not that Sean Mahan hasn’t played well, but the Bucs believe his best spot is center and I think they want to see either Toniu Fonoti or Davin Joseph at RG. If that happens, then you’ll see a battle develop for the starting center spot between John Wade and Mahan. I think the tackle spots are set with Anthony Davis and Kenyatta Walker, but both will have to play very well and more consistently to keep the likes of Torrin Tucker and Jeremy Trueblood from taking snaps away from them. Ciao, Roy C.
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