Final results of the 2007 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am.
The first full-squad workout isn’t until Thursday, but the remaining position players continue to trickle in. Carl Crawford got into town last night and showed up at the complex a little while ago. Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes reported this morning (though Dukes has been working out here regularly throughout the winter).
Look for more on all three outfielders in tomorrow’s Tribune.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention today’s other arrivals: Wes Bankston and Jason Grabowski. The players on the 40-man who have not yet reported are Jonny Gomes, Ben Zobrist, Joel Guzman and Elliot Johnson.
Though workouts didn’t begin until 10 a.m. today, an estimated 15-20 players showed up for a voluntary yoga session that began at 7:45 a.m. Instructor Dana Edison put the Rays—most of them trying yoga for the first time—through their paces for about an hour. Afterward, the participants marveled at what was required of them.
“It’s hard,” said Dioner Navarro. “You’ve got to move your body all over the place and stuff like that.”
“I didn’t know my body could bend that way,” said Shawn Camp.
Nonetheless, both plan to keep attending the sessions, which will be held three times a week for a couple of weeks.
“Yeah, I’m going to do it – Monday, Wednesday, Friday,” said Camp. “My wife said this would be a good idea for me to do it. She does it.”
Before the University of South Florida takes the court Saturday night at Seton Hall, the Bulls could already be eliminated from the Big East Tournament. USF must win its remaining three games to stay alive, but is eliminated if UConn, Providence and Villanova each win one of their remaining four games.
USF will be eliminated before Saturday night’s 8 p.m. tip-off if UConn wins at Rutgers Wednesday night and Providence defeats either West Virginia at home Tuesday night or Syracuse at home Saturday at noon and Villanova wins at Marquette Monday night or defeats Rutgers at home Saturday at 4 p.m.
“I wouldn’t say I’m worried about [motivation],” USF coach Robert McCullum said. “At the same time I can’t say I know for certain that they’ll approach it the way last year’s team did [ending a 17-game losing streak by beating Georgetown in the regular season finale].
“If here during the course of Wednesday, or we look up and another team is able to get its seventh win, so there’s 12 teams with seven or more wins, then obviously we’ll know. But until that happens, we have a chance mathematically, which means we need to win our next three, starting with Seton Hall.
“If 12 teams before playing Seton Hall [have] seven wins you refocus your attention, refocus your approach. Hey guys, there’s no chance we can go to New York, but we still have a chance to finish the year at .500, still have a chance to get six, five conference wins. There’s still a lot to play for.”
SOUTH FLORIA BULLS: That’s right, South Floria. For the second consecutive game with the game on the line, there was no D in South Florida.
Wednesday against Syracuse with USF trailing 47-44 with 10:30 remaining, Syracuse scored on 10 of its final 14 possessions to pull away for the 70-53 win.
Saturday against DePaul tied at 44 with 9:59 remaining, DePaul scored on 10 of its next 13 possessions to build a 65-56 lead with two minutes remaining. And that doesn’t include USF fouling DePaul in the final two minutes, allowing the Blue Demons to score on six of their final seven possessions.
WHAT’S SIGNIFICANT? Last season, USF AD Doug Woolard said he needed to see “significant improvement” from McCullum this year. That’s this week’s USF TBO poll question, whether there has been significant improvement this season. I’m curious why you think there has or hasn’t been significant improvement this season.
With the leaders preparing to make the turn, only one of the them is under par on the day.
Curtis Strange is 2-under par through nine holes, which has him tied for second with Tom Watson and Wayne Levi at 3-under for the tournament. Lakeland resident Andy Bean still leads at 4-under. Bean bogeyed his first hole, but birdied the par-3 No. 6.
The team of Scott Simpson and Bill Murray remains in the lead for the amateur title at 20-under. Murray had some trouble on the par-4 No. 18 when his second shot sailed into the grandstand. After a drop, his next shot found the water.
The golfers are dealing with winds, that at times, are gusting up to 34 mph. Last year’s final round featured 25 mph winds.
Courtney Stager, a junior catcher for Mitchell, verbally committed to Florida State Saturday. Stager will join her older sister Ashley, who committed to FSU in November of her junior year.
Courtney Stager led the Mustangs with triples (two), and was second with 33 singles and a .460 batting average. The Seminoles got the nod over Florida Atlantic, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgetown among others.
A verbal commitment is nonbinding and will not be official until a National Letter of Intent is signed, which can’t happen until November.
To those diehards that came out to watch today’s workout, your efforts are appreciated. Hope you liked what you saw, because it didn’t last long. The Rays cut short the outdoor portion of their workout after about an hour because of high winds and generally unpleasant conditions. Two groups of pitchers threw in the bullpen, but the rest hustled inside for extra conditioning. The catchers are taking batting practice in the indoor cages as we speak, but that’s about it.
Tune in tomorrow, when hopefully something more exciting will happen…
Tom Watson birdied his final hole to complete the second round early Sunday morning and is one shot behind co-leaders Andy Bean and Wayne Levi.
Watson and his amateur partner Ronde Barber were one of three groups that needed some extra time Sunday morning to complete the second round. Rookie Mark O’Meara also birdied his last hole of the second round and is two shots back.
Barber and his Tampa Bay teammates Derrick Brooks and Shelton Quarles were three of the 16 amateurs that advanced to today’s final round. Players teed off at 9:30 a.m. NBC is scheduled to broadcast live coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Strange doings here at the blog. I put a post up following yesterday’s workout, but apparently it floated off into cyberspace, never to be seen again. My apologies for that, folks.
That said, it’s more of the same here at the Naimoli Complex today, though the wind might make things interesting once baseball activities really get going.
For those interested in coming out tomorrow, they’ve once again moved the start time back a half-hour to 10 a.m. because of the Florida-chilly weather. That means the real on-field activity won’t get cranked up until just before 11. So plan accordingly.
I’ll check back in later—or sooner, if anything interesting occurs. Apologies again for yesterday’s glitch.
By EDDIE DANIELS
The Tampa Tribune
LAKELAND – Shortly after receiving the tournament’s Russell A. “Russ” Mauger Jr. Mental Attitude Award, Sean Joyce became the first to win four state titles with one coming prior to entering high school. Joyce won titles as an eight grader at Temple Heights (2003) – the first eighth grader in the state to do so - and three with Brandon as a sophomore, junior and now as a senior.
Joyce, 260-9 for his career, joins former teammates David Craig and Cesar Grajales as Brandon’s only four-time state champions for Brandon.
ANOTHER ONE: Seconds after Tampa Baptist seventh grader Clark Glass logged his 103-pound wrestling title with a 4-1 decision over Cody Singletary of Naples Palmetto Ridge, Mike Joyce, father Brandon wrestler Sean Joyce, whispered: “The next David Craig.”
If you need a reminder, Craig, a former Brandon wrestler now at Lehigh University, collected four state titles and went 179-0 in his high school career and just the sixth wrestler in the state to collect four state titles. Those are big shoes, but Glass had other things on his mind – like his first state tournament.
“It was great,” Glass said, admitting to being nervous. “A little, but I prayed to the Lord and asked Him to help me.”
Glass went 4-0, running his record to 41-1. He also becomes Tampa Baptist’s first champion in the program’s first year.
“That David was a special boy in more ways than wrestling,” Clark’s father, Greg, said. “God has blessed him. He gets all the glory.”
LIGHTS, CAMERA…: Brandon is used to having a following when it comes to the wrestling team. Saturday, the Eagles out a whole new spin on the word.
The same production company that introduced the world to the Hoover (Ala.) High School football team will now turn its lenses on the Brandon wrestling team. The crew of three followed each Eagle still competing Saturday and will continue to chronicle the team during the offseason.
The project is slated to air on ESPN.
FIRST TIME: Wharton’s Ben Krcmar not only scored his first trip to the state finals, but he also became the first Wildcat to place in the tournament. His 23-6 major decision victory against Dixie Hollins’ Travis Williams gave him a fifth place finish. Wharton opened in 1997.
The senior ends his final season 25-12 after a 3-2 showing in Lakeland in the tournament.
“It’s an experience of a lifetime,” Krcmar said. He attributed his state placement not only to God, but his work in the wrestling under the tutelage of David Mitchell, also his football coach. “Working as hard as you can in practice, so it can show up later on the mat and always give it your all.”
Middleton’s Moses McCray became the first Tiger to place at state since the school re-opened in 2002 with his sixth place finish.
MORE HISTORY: Wesley Chapel’s Eddie Ortiz (112) and Alex Turner (152) became the second and third wrestlers to place in the state tournament. Before them, Bill Zeranski was the first with his Class 1A second place finished in 2002-03. Ortiz and Turner, who each placed fifth, are the fourth and fifth qualifiers for the school, which opened in 1999.
“If anything, I’m proud for the kids,” Wesley Chapel coach Brian Simmons said. “It at least gives some validation that hopefully the program is moving in the right direction. Hopefully we can build on that ad have more kids come out and keep having return trips back here.”
CHOICES: This is the sixth consecutive season Terry Brockland has had one of his Sickles wrestlers place in the state tournament. This time it was 189-pounder Adam Waymouth, who took sixth. Waymouth now must grapple with the selection of a service academy. According to Brockland, he was accepted to both the Air Force and Naval academies.
OTHER STATE PLACERS: In Class 3A, Bloomingdale had three state placers, with Kyle Paladini (152) and Chris Figari (135) each finishing third, while Austin Figari (125) took fifth. Jesuit, in 1A, also had three, with 171-pound runner-up Matt Lynn and fourth-placers heavyweight Paul Lazaro and Craig Spranger (145).
In Class 2A, Newsome had two with Sam Johnson (189, fourth) and Jordan Scott (215, sixth).
Also in 3A, Durant’s Justin Bechtold (119) took third, while Alonso’s Kurt Ivy (152) finished fifth and Sickles’ Adam Waymouth (189) sixth.
In Class 1A, Tampa Prep’s Tyler Liberatore (103), Robinson’s Ruddy Santiago (152), Gulf’s Tim Longnecker (171) and Hudson heavyweight Travis Tindell each took fifth.
Reporter Adam Adkins contributed to this report. Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 948-4214 or edaniels@tampatrib.com.
How did two items run side by side Thursday with conflicting information? Maybe you should tell blowhard Martin Fennelly to read his own paper. Tony Fabrizio cited a NASCAR source as confirming the substance found in Michael Waltrip’s car was not jet fuel. Fennelly definitively stated it was. Who’s checking these things? - BUD CONOVER, Tampa
From Nick: The fact that Martin also wrote there were traces of Barry Bonds in the substance should have given you a clue that Fennelly was making a point in a column and not writing a second news story.
Thanks to some frost on the ground Saturday morning, the Outback Pro-Am will need a little bit of time Sunday morning to finish the second round.
Golfers teed off about an hour-and-a-half late. The final group, which included Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber didn’t begin their round until 2:30 p.m. and will be unable to finish as darkness sets in.
Andy Bean, one of the first to finish on Saturday, is tied with first-round leader David Eger at 4-under par. Eger remains at 4-under through 13 holes. His group will likely not be able to finish today.
The second round will be wrapped up Sunday morning before the final round begins.
The fifth and third-place matches have just begun at The Lakeland Center, but Brandon has already clinched its state record seventh consecutive Class 2A state wrestling championship.
The Eagles stand with 201.5 points heading into tonight’s final matches. Bradenton Manatee currently is second with 132.5 points, but the lead is mathematically insurmountable. It is Brandon’s 18th team title overall, also a state record.
Victories by Brandon wrestlers Zaq Berridge, Kyle Keller, Phil Uno and Sean Patrick during this morning’s wrestlebacks clinched the title.
Brandon advanced 13 of 14 wrestlers to this year’s state tournament, but only 12 competed after freshman 103-pounder Terry Dawson fractured his knee cap during an individual workout on the eve of the tournament. Of the 12 Brandon wrestlers who competed, 10 will place in the top four of their weight class.
Brandon’s Eric Grajales, Joey Cozart, Kevin Timothy, Sean Joyce, Keith Koziel and Tommy Timothy all will wrestle for individual titles later tonight. The championship matches are slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Armwood’s Ruben Perez, Chamberlain’s Patrick Spano, Gulf’s Michael Calafiore, Tampa Baptist’s Clark Glass and Jesuit’s Matt Lynn also will wrestle for individual state titles.
It’s a bit hard to believe, but Tampa Bay could be surpass Atlanta tonight and take the lead in the Southeast division. The Lightning are one point behind the Thrashers, who play an afternoon game in Ottawa today, and a Tampa Bay victory puts them in first place if Atlanta loses in regulation or overtime.
Wasn’t sure that was going to happen when Tampa Bay lost to Philadelphia on Dec. 28 in a game that could have sent the team into a spiral. Instead it acted a bit more like a springboard as the Lightning have gone 16-5 since then. There are a few factors in the turnaround - first is more consistent goaltending, particularly from Johan Holmqvist. The power play has been playing like the $22 million dollar unit it is. Less goals against and more goals for are normally a good combination to have.
Also, before the team left on a four-game road trip on New Year’s Day, a meeting was held where it was spelled out candidly that if the team didn’t start winning some games the roster was going to be gutted in a cost-cutting move. Around that same time, the team has started to take over leadership in the locker room, a significant sign of growth for the leaders in the room.
And I do believe, as I said at the start of the season, that Tampa Bay will end up in first in the division when the regular season ends.
As far as tonight.....
Johan Holmqvist back in net, even after the showing Marc Denis had Thursday against Washington.
Lines to start the game should be (based on practice Friday)
Vinny Prospal-Vinny Lecavalier-Marty St. Louis
Eric Perrin-Brad Richards-Ruslan Fedotenko
Ryan Craig-Andreas Karlsson-Nick Tarnasky
Nikita Alexeev-Tim Taylor-Andre Roy
Blair Jones will be a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive game. Don’t be surprised if he is reassigned to Springfield in the next couple of days. He needs to play, and though he can benefit from time practicing and observing what it takes to play at this level on a consistent basis, he won’t benefit as much if he is back in the minors playing 18-plus minutes a night.
Ed Belfour will be in net for Florida.
Tampa Bay needs to take care of its own business tonight. This building has not been kind to them the past couple of years. They lost all four games here last year and the first one this season. In the Lightning’s win here in November, the blew a two-goal lead only to rally back in the third for the win. Here and Atlanta, strange things just seem to happen. But if they forecheck the Florida defense for the full game, it should result in a victory -and quite possibly grab them the division lead.
By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON and BRETT McMURPHY
The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA – Former Jefferson quarterback Stephen Garcia, who enrolled at the University of South Carolina last month, was arrested Saturday at 12:40 a.m. in Columbia, S.C. and charged with “failure to stop on police command” and “drunkenness,” according to a Columbia Police Department incident report obtained by The Tampa Tribune.
The report indicates a witness alerted police that Garcia was involved in an altercation behind the Knock Knock Club on Harden Street in the Five Points area of Columbia where Garcia had attended a private party.
As an officer, dressed in full police uniform, approached Garcia, he began to “quickly walk away.” The officer asked Garcia to stop and Garcia “ran north behind the building and attempted to conceal himself in the alley,” according to the report.
Garcia then “turned toward the officer in a threatening manner. The officer immediately engaged his baton. [Garcia] at that time was trying to zip up his pants and fix his belt. [Garcia] had a very strong odor of alcohol about his breath and person, was unsteady on his feet and had slurred speech,” the report indicated.
Garcia admitted to the officer he was aware he ran from the officer requiring him to stop. The officer did not use the baton to complete the arrest.
Garcia, who turned 19 Thursday, was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and has a bond hearing scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.
Gary Garcia, Stephen’s father, and Jefferson football coach Mike Fenton declined comment to the Tribune Saturday about the incident.
Garcia graduated in December from Jefferson as Hillsborough County’s all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdown passes. He enrolled at South Carolina in January to be able to participate in spring practice and increase his chances to play this fall for the Gamecocks. Garcia is considered one of USC coach Steve Spurrier’s highest-rated recruits.
Garcia finished his career with 8,081 yards passing (506 of 821) with 83 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,345 yards on 263 careers with 17 TDs. He ranks third in the state for career passing yards and sixth in touchdown passes.
As a three-year starter at Jefferson, the Dragons were 28-11 and advanced to the Class 3A state championship game Garcia’s sophomore year. He was a three-time first-team Tribune’s All-Hillsborough County selection and recently received The Coca-Cola Golden Helmet Award (Class 4A-3A division, honoring Hillsborough’s top football player.
Reporter Anwar Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425 or arichardson@tampatrib.com
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